Free travel guides
Where to go, when to go, and which tours are actually worth your money in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Cambodia. Written by people who have done these trips, not stitched together from brochures.
Destinations
Most people who come to this part of the world combine two or three of these. They sit close together, flights between them are short, and the weather is good somewhere every month of the year.
Long and thin, so you travel it in a line. Sleep on a boat among the islands of Ha Long Bay, spend a slow week cooking and cycling around Hoi An, then go underground in Phong Nha, home to the largest cave passage ever found.
Best months: October to April in the north, February to August in the centre
The easiest country in the region to travel. Cycle Bangkok's green lung at Bang Krachao, walk with rescued elephants near Chiang Mai, and take an early speedboat to the Phi Phi Islands before the crowds arrive.
Best months: November to April, especially on the Andaman coast
Seventeen thousand islands, so pick a region. Learn to surf on Bali, see Komodo dragons in the wild from a wooden phinisi boat, or go to Raja Ampat, where scientists have counted more reef fish than anywhere else on Earth.
Best months: April to October for Bali and Komodo, October to April for Raja Ampat
Often squeezed into two days, and almost everyone wishes they had stayed longer. Give Angkor three mornings, then head out by quad bike past stilt houses and rice paddies as the sun goes down.
Best months: November to February, though the green season has its fans
Route ideas
These routes follow the map rather than a wish list, so you spend your days seeing things instead of sitting in transit.
Each route is written out day by day in the Southeast Asia itineraries guide.
Weather
There is no single best month for the whole region. This is the short version; the guides go month by month.
| Region | Best months | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Vietnam | October to April | Ha Long can be misty in February and March |
| Central Vietnam | February to August | Heavy rain and floods from September |
| Thailand, Andaman coast | November to April | Similan Islands close mid-May to mid-October |
| Bali and Komodo | April to October | July and August are the busiest weeks |
| Raja Ampat | October to April | Calmer seas, most liveaboards run then |
| Cambodia | November to February | March to May is very hot |
Before you book
The full list, including money, transport and health, is in the trip planning checklist.
Questions
November to February suits most of the region: Thailand, Cambodia and northern and southern Vietnam are dry and cooler. Bali and Komodo are best from April to October, and central Vietnam from February to August, so a trip across several countries is usually planned around the weather.
Three weeks is comfortable: about eleven days in Vietnam from north to centre, three days at Angkor, and a week split between Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
Thailand is easier to move around and has more variety in one country. Bali is better if you want one base with surf, rice terraces and diving close by. Plenty of people do both, since Bangkok has direct flights to Bali.
It depends on your passport, and each country sets its own rules. Some passports enter visa free, others need an e-visa before travel. Check every country on your route before you book flights.
Yes. They are free to read and shared under a Creative Commons licence, written by the team behind JetlyGo, the free trip planner.
Your language
Each version is written for its own readers, not run through a translator, and links to the matching language edition of JetlyGo.
Who writes this
JetlyGo is a free travel planner that keeps flights, stays, tours, visas and a day-by-day plan in one place, so you are not juggling a dozen tabs. Tell it where you want to go and for how long, and you get a plan you can change, share and book from.
The tours we list in Southeast Asia come from operators we work with directly. Every price says what it covers, for your group and your dates, and we would rather tell you a trip is a bad idea in the rainy season than sell it to you anyway. Browse them on the Southeast Asia tours page.