r/SouthEastAsia_Travel

Hi everyone,

​I have visited Thailand many times, but I have never been to Koh Chang or Koh Kood. I really love the vibe of islands like Koh Lanta and Koh Phangan, and I am looking for something similar.

​I am planning my next trip and I am deciding between two different options. Could you give me your advice?

1. ​Koh Chang: I am considering staying for 10 nights. Is 10 nights too long? Will I get bored, or does the island have the right energy to support a long, slow stay compared to the typical 3-4 night island-hopping visits?
2. ​Koh Kood: I am planning to stay for 4 nights. Is this a good amount of time to truly enjoy the island, or would you recommend more or less?

​I would love to hear your experiences and thoughts on these durations. Thank you!

Share some of the weirdest, coolest, and most unique things you did in Thailand! I’m talking stuff that isn’t listed in every single guide post you see. Stuff you have to randomly stumble across, get a rec from a friend or local, or dig deep to find. These can be guided tours to relatively unknown areas, bizarre entertainment shows, or things you won’t find anywhere else on the planet.

They could also be relatively mundane things that were special to you, but not often talked about in the general Thailand conversation.

Cheers!

Hi,

I am planning to visit thailand in mid November. I have total 13 days planned. Currently I have planned 3 days in phuket, 3 days in krabi and 3 days in Bangkok.
Need some advice on how should I plan the remaining 4 days. I was thinking of 1 day in khao sok or maybe day trip from krabi only.
Preference: Nature

Hello community,
I am planning a trip with my partner to visit Asia, we will start in Japan (Tokyo- Kyoto), stop by Vietnam (Hanoi- Tam Coc) and end in Thailand (main stay is in Bangkok). We are from Mexico so visiting again is very unlikely. We would like to make the most of this trip and part of the goal is to visit some beautiful beaches while in Thailand.

We are staying 10 nights, end of november to early december.

We thought about going to Krabi but considering we are already doing a lot of flights, we would prefer to visit close enought to Bangkok that you can take ground transportation. Also, hotel stays and day excursions seem expensive in Krabi compared to other places.

The main island we have been seeing is Koh Samet. It looks nice, small but easy to explore and with good beaches. However we have heard many different opinions, mainly people saying it is overcrowded on weekends and very polluted with trash along the roads etc. Would it be worth it to stay there 3-4 nights?

We would also love to visit mountain areas, nature reserves, waterfalls, rivers or ancient sites, maybe day trips that leave from Bangkok and come back same day.

Any advice is welcome, as is comments on Koh Samet or other beaches accesible from Bangkok.

Hey everyone!

I’m planning a 35-day trip around Southeast Asia, and I’ll be spending around 10 days in Thailand. I’ll be flying into Krabi, then making my way to Bangkok and Chiang Mai.

I’d love to hear your advice, especially from people who have travelled around Thailand before!
Where would you recommend staying in Krabi, Bangkok and Chiang Mai?

Which areas/neighbourhoods are best to stay in, especially for a first-time visitor?
What are the must-see places and things to do in each destination?

How would you divide the 10 days between Krabi, Bangkok and Chiang Mai?

Any tips for getting around, booking accommodation or avoiding tourist traps?

And if there’s anything you wish you had known before visiting Thailand, I’d love to hear it!

Thanks! 🙏🇹🇭

hey everyone i'm planning a route through SEA and was wondering if i should cut sri lanka to give more time in other places. currently it's as follows

PHILIPPINES 2 WEEKS
THAILAND 4 WEEKS
LAOS 2 WEEKS
VIETNAM 4 WEEKS
CAMBODIA 2 WEEKS
SRI LANKA 2 WEEKS

i was thinking if i should cut sri lanka add a week in the philippines and maybe another in cambodia? i really want to go to sri lanka and im not sure when ill next be able to travel as im trying to get an apprenticeship after this trip which will last a minimum of a year and a half. im worried the original route it too rushed? any advice would be appreciated

25M planning a 14-day birthday trip this September, and I cannot decide between Thailand and the Philippines! My budget is $4000 (after flights). I want to meet new people & lady’s out there , make and celebrate my birthday, but I do not drink alcohol. This is also likely my last big trip before I join the Air Force. Which country is better for a sober traveler who wants a fun scene, and how is the weather in September? Would love to hear your advice!

Me (24M) and my partner (24F) are looking to go on holiday for 2 weeks in March next year. We want to to do a 'big' holiday and have never ventured as far as Thailand or Vietnam before. We've done a couple of exploring/adventure holidays in Europe, along with some relaxing ones in Europe, and have individually done family holidays to the US and North African countries.

We would like to do either Vietnam or Thailand but can't settle on which one. We've done some research and would like to do a 7 day exploring/adventure and 7 day relaxing split. Which one do you think will be the best one to do? I've seen that Vietnam tends to be cheaper but Thailand can be easier for first time travellers to SEA.

What is everyone's opinion? I know there's no right answer but would be good to know what people think!

Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone,

My partner and I are planning our first time visiting Bali in 1st week of November and we are not sure what to expect due to the scrambled opinions all over so I would appreciate some experienced travelers insights.

We would be going for 3 days in Ubud first, 3 days in Nusa Lembongan and 2 days in Semenyak then head to the airport.

Anything to change? What to do? She wears thong bikinis, where is it safe to do so there and not too much local crowd?

Any beach bars? Any exciting encounters? We love swimming in the sea but not snorkeling or diving. We got intrigued by Au Naturel but we do not know if worth to change the trip to accommodate it and if there is anything similar.

We would love to have fun and at the same time relax and enjoy sandy beaches and clear waters. Open to suggestions as we are a fun couple.

Thanks!

Will be visiting Phuket in 1st week of September, what would you advise, don't have any plans for island visit like Phi phi

Hi everyone,

Last month, on an island in Malaysia, the only way to reach the nearest ATM was by boat. Once there, most shops only accepted local payment methods, not my card.

I'm digging into this for a personal project — a quick 5-min anonymous survey if you've experienced something similar (Asia, Africa, Latin America).

Curious if it's just me or an actual pattern.

Thanks to anyone who takes 5 minutes 🙏

Hi everyone! I’m planning a solo trip around Indonesia from late September until mid/late October and would love to hear your thoughts.

I’m in my late 30s, travelling on a budget (around €60 a day max), and looking for something slow and peaceful rather than nightlife or partying. I’m happiest eating local food, swimming, being in nature, watching sunsets, reading, wandering around and generally just slowing down a bit.
I’ll be flying in and out of Bali because of flight prices, so I’ll spend a little time there, but I don’t want to rush around. Ideally I’d like to visit no more than 3 places in total.

I don’t ride a scooter, which is probably my biggest limitation! I’m happy walking, taking local transport, boats or the occasional driver/tour, but I’d love somewhere where I can manage without a scooter.
I’ve been looking at Karimunjawa, Sumbawa, Lombok/Gili Air and Nusa Lembongan, but I’m very open to other ideas. I’d love somewhere beautiful and fairly quiet, with nature, beaches, sunsets and a more local feel rather than lots of tourism.

If you’ve travelled solo in Indonesia, especially without a scooter, I’d really love to hear where you’d go and what you’d recommend.

Thank you! 🌴

First time SEA trip! We are taking the direct NYC to Singapore flight both ways (save me!). We really want to see Angkor Wat, otherwise our primary goal is to see Southern Thailand beaches and Bangkok. Can you help with this itinerary? (Travel is late November, early December).

Day 1: Air travel
Day 2: Transfer from Singapore to Phuket (early morning)
Day 3, 4, 5, 6: Yet to be identified beaches
Day 7: Fly Phuket to Bangkok
Day 8, 9, 10, 11: Bangkok
Day 11: Bangkok to Siem Reap
Day 12, 13, 14, 15: Siem Reap / Angkor Wat
Day 16: Bus SR to Phnom Phenh (not much longer than dealing w/ air travel)
Day 17, 18: Phnom Penh
Day 19: Phnom Penh to Singapore
Day 20: Singapore
Day 21: Fly home

Should we not go to Phnom Penh? Seeing the Killing Fields feels so important, but it's a lot of schlepping between locations. And lots of redditors say they otherwise would skip PP. If we didn't go, I'd probably add 2 nites to the beach area, and perhaps 1 more night in Singapore. (Open to ideas where to add it if we do skip PP).

Alternatively, if we kept it in and wanted one more day at the beach, would you subtract it from Bangkok or Siem Reap? Or, would you cut Singapore out altogether and just go there the night before for the early flight the next day? (We live in NYC, so we have our share of impressive city life...but, still, it seems like we are there, so we shoudl spend a day exploring Singapore. It's also easy for us to travel to the Carribean and Mexico, so we get decent beach time each year...but, still, we want to decompress and see these beautiful islands))

​

How likely is the chance of a typhoon grounding flights in Hoi An / Da Nang? Specificly october 3rd to 6th?

I really want to visit it with a night train and then leave by flight to saigon, but its early october...and i was reading online however nobody answered for flights

Hello, I am taking my 19 year old son on a whirlwind tour of Asia. We are flying from Siem Reap to Cambodia in mid-September. Our flight lands at KTi at 12:30pm. I know with traffic this is not ideal but we are trying to see both S21 and the Killing Fields before they close at 5:30pm. ChatGPT and Claude are suggesting we do the opposite of what most would do given traffic and our timing and do the killing fields first and then S21. And that a guide is definitely recommended. Does this seem like a wise plan, and is $200 CDN to take two people from the airport/drives us to both locations /then drops us back at the airport for an evening flight seem like the going rate?

Thank you very much! My first time in Asia and I’m planning all this on my own and getting so many pieces of different advice on this itinerary…