u/Charming-Pomelo4367

Hi! I’m planning my first solo trip around Southeast Asia for around 3 months, starting in October.
I’ve already been to Thailand for 15 days (Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Krabi, Phi Phi and Phuket), but I still have a lot left to see, especially northern Thailand and islands like Koh Tao.
My plan is to travel through Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines as well.
I’m unsure whether I should fly into Bangkok and start with the parts of Thailand I missed, which might be an easy/social way to start my first solo trip, or fly directly somewhere completely new like Vietnam/Indonesia and leave Thailand for another time.
For people who have done a similar solo trip, what would you choose?

Hi! I’m planning my first solo trip around Southeast Asia for around 3 months, starting in October.
I’ve already been to Thailand for 15 days (Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Krabi, Phi Phi and Phuket), but I still have a lot left to see, especially northern Thailand and islands like Koh Tao.
My plan is to travel through Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines as well.
I’m unsure whether I should fly into Bangkok and start with the parts of Thailand I missed, which might be an easy/social way to start my first solo trip, or fly directly somewhere completely new like Vietnam/Indonesia and leave Thailand for another time.
For people who have done a similar solo trip, what would you choose?

Hi everyone!

I’m planning my first long solo backpacking trip around Southeast Asia, probably starting around October and travelling for at least 90 days.

After doing some research, my current idea is:

🇹🇭 Thailand → 🇻🇳 Vietnam → 🇵🇭 Philippines

I’ve already been to Thailand and visited Bangkok, Chiang Mai (very briefly), Krabi, Phi Phi and Phuket. I loved the country, but I feel like I only scratched the surface, especially in the north. So I’m considering starting there again, exploring some new places (Pai, more of northern Thailand, Koh Tao, etc.) and then continuing to Vietnam.

For Vietnam, I’d like to spend around a month travelling through the country. My current idea is to go north to south, roughly:

Hanoi → Ha Giang → Ninh Binh → Phong Nha → Hue → Hoi An/Da Nang → Da Lat → Ho Chi Minh City

Then I’d fly to the Philippines, where I’d also like to spend around a month. I’m still researching this part, but something along the lines of:

Coron → El Nido → Palawan → Moalboal → Siquijor → Siargao

My priorities aren't ticking off as many places as possible. I’d rather travel relatively slowly, stay in social hostels, meet other travellers, improve my English and have enough flexibility to change plans along the way.

One of my main concerns is also transport. I don't mind long buses, trains or ferries if they make sense, and I'd prefer to avoid taking unnecessary flights and spending a huge part of my budget just moving between places.

For anyone who has backpacked through these countries: does the overall Thailand → Vietnam → Philippines route make sense? Would you change the order or spend significantly more/less time in any of them?

I’d also love to hear about places where you ended up staying much longer than expected, or places that you felt weren’t worth the time/money.

Any advice from people who have done a similar 2–3 month trip would be really appreciated!

Hi everyone,

I'm 25 from Spain (barcelona) and I'm planning a solo trip around Asia. After that, I'd like to move to an English-speaking country (probably Australia or Canada) to work and improve my English.

My English is around B1. I understand most conversations, but speaking is still very difficult for me. I can communicate, but only in a very basic way.

My question is: Should I improve my English first, or just start travelling and learn along the way?

I'm worried that my English will stop me from meeting people and fully enjoying the experience.

I'd love to hear from people who started travelling with a similar level. Any advice or personal experiences would be really appreciated!

P.S. I'm from Barcelona, so if anyone lives here and wants to do a language exchange, I'd be happy to help with Spanish or Catalan in exchange for English. 😊