Hello, I've never posted here but everyone is always very helpful in the posts I read! My boyfriend and I want to take a trip to Asia in May of 2017. We think we would like to go to Vietnam, Japan, Cambodia, and possibly Singapore, although at this point we're pretty open to anything! We're both 22 and are really hoping to see as much as possible! This will be our first trip without family so we're very excited but obviously very inexperienced, so absolutely any advice or ideas would be appreciated, thank you!

How long are you planning to go for?

We're thinking about 3 weeks, definitely not longer than a month!

Just wing it. Show up in Bangkok. Go straight to the south terminal bus station and start exploring

?

I agree, that's what I did when I was 23 ?

We went to Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore for 6 weeks a few years back and it was awesome. Traveling between countries was super easy and so much to see. Singapore is SUPER expensive but absolutely beautiful with its clean streets, great gardens and artistic touches. Kuala Lumpur on Christmas is unbelievable. I've been to Cambodia and Laos as well, and travel between those two and Thailand was even easier and all three are super affordable and have lots to offer. Pending on how long you're going for and when would be the deciding factor I think. Never been to Japan and heading to Vietnam in January. Absolutely love SE Asia

You should email Marcella, shes doing an epic trip to Thailand next years with her daughter?

Skylar oh I will!

I have done Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia. Research will be your friend. Cambodia you should research where you are staying and how you are getting there because there are so many scams there. If you are taking the bus from Bangkok to Cambodia, there will be a time where the bus company will try and take your passport and then you have to pay extra to get it back. Do not give your passport to anyone that is not an Cambodian boarder official. Google the bus company and read through other people's experiences when it comes to Cambodia.
Vietnam is much easier and there are a lot of ways to get down the coast.

No matter what you choose, you will love it. I was lucky enough to live in Asia for six years. Thorn Tree on lonely planet is an excellent resource. Will you be gone the entire month? Less is more. This is your first trip to Asia; don't try to pack too much in. Is there a reason you have left Thailand off your list?

Paula gives great advice. With 1 month just take your time. I loved Laos Cambodia Vietnam and that's a good month. Or go down to indo and play around bali and Gili islands for a month... you really can't go wrong. I didn't research.much I just talked to other travels and followed what sounded like a good time to me. I was there for 7 months

Huge thumbs up for Gili!

And a Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia month would be perfect. If you do choose Laos, and have the time, Phonsavan is pretty cool.

Thank you so much for the advice! As for Thailand, the only reason I left it off is because I really know nothing about it aside from info from some very party-crazy friends! I'm definitely open to going there though!

It is a beautiful country. True, there are a lot of parties to be had, but it is so so much more. Maybe leave it for another stand-alone trip.

go to the Philippines and visit El Nido Palawan! I guarantee you won't find pristene white sand beaches like you do there! Snorkelling and scuba diving with beautiful coral and fish. If you want to stay at a hostel, i highly recommend staying at Spin Hostel in El Nido! Have a great time on your trip!

If you're in Cambodia/Vietnam it would be a shame to miss Laos. It's still got a ton of genuinely beautiful areas that haven't been changed by tourism yet.

I completely forgot to include Laos! I know almost nothing about it, but if travel from Cambodia or Vietnam is easy then I'd love to go there too!

Claire travel is easy by air to Luang Prabang. Travel within the country by bus or such is a little harder just because it's a smaller country with less tourists and the roads are smallllll and windy. I must say though, that I loved Laos more than Cambodia. It was really
Cool to see the history in Cambodia but Laos has a really amazing feel to it with the river and slower tourism. Thailand was really neat too, but definitely need more than a week or two there alone to get to more than one or two places. (The north is VERY different than the islands, both have very special parts to them) totally feel free to PM me if you have any more questions! I spent 5 weeks there three years ago. Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. We also had a short stop over in Tokyo.

Lived in Singapore... Very $$$$. Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong, Bali and top picks!!

Singapore is great, but if you're on any sort of budget it really eats into what you can do elsewhere. I had a beer and some chips and salsa for $22 last month, and that was the happy hour price! Unless your budget is absolutely unlimited I would skip Singapore and spend that money having nicer or more unique experiences elsewhere (literally, you can stay in a five-star hotel in Kuala Lumpur with a pool and massive breakfast buffet for significantly less than the cost of two dorm beds in the nicer hostels in Singapore!).

Thanks for the advice! The only places we're really set on are Japan and Vietnam, so if we could do and see more by not going to Singapore on this particular trip that's definitely fine!

Singapore is a waste of time.

If you're only going for 3-4 weeks I would pick 2 of those countries max and even that will be rushed. I spent 6 mnths backpacking Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam. 1 week is enough time for Singapore could do only 3-4 days but I had only 2 weeks in Vietnam and 2 weeks in Cambodia and that felt tight. Thailand was the most touristy out of all of them. I would pick 2 countries in se Asia and go to Japan another time, there is often good flight deals for Japan. Important to decide what kind of experience you want when you pick certain countries; beaches, culture, jungle, cities, authentic etc. Easy to spend only $30-40 per day for everything in Cambodia and Vietnam. Spent about $50 per day in Singapore. Bus transportation or train is very easy in all these countries. I would book your hostel for the first night. But after that plan as you go. May is the end of high season in Cambodia and Vietnam so you may need to book 3-7 days in advance. I was travelling with my bf and most guesthouses a private room was only $10 unless you are staying on the beach in Thailand. If going to Cambodia going to siem reap is a must for Angkor wat. If going to Vietnam my favourite place was phong nha national park, incredible caves and the mountain valley and fields are beautiful, rent a motorbike or scooter and spend a day riding through the park. If you want more suggestions for these countries just message me. You can also search SE Asia in the search bar of this group.

Thanks for your advice! I know the trip is a bit short to go to more than two countries, but we were hoping to get more of a taste for several countries and then return in the future for a more immersive experience!

Only rent scooter or motorbike if you already know how to drive such!

Yes, decide what kind of experience you want. I definitely second Phong Nha National Park. I've been to Vietnam twice, both times for three weeks and I still haven't been to Sapa. Years ago my bf and I did an Easyrider trip. It was so much fun! We just showed up in Dalat and talked to people on the street to find guides. Ended up staying in a cottage beside a waterfall they took us to on NYE. Great experience.
You could definitely spend a whole month in Vietnam alone.

Go to Boracay Philippines. Lots of beachfront hotels for less than 40CAD a night

That looks gorgeous! We'll definitely look into that thank you!

http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=58C5I&m=3iYt.rUm.sYRkDn...
THAIZER.COM
Thailand travel guide

Very good site for thialand

I loved Singapore the most!!! I just flew into Bangkok and made travel plans as I went, it's super cheap to fly around while you're there

I always believe you should land in Hong Kong first, just so you get a taste of Asia. English works good over there. BnB works. Hotel can be $$. In all central locations. Just don't expect North America ways of doing things, be adventurous.

For 3 weeks max 1-2 countries. You could spend the whole time in Thailand and not see everything.

I agree. Don't make a rookie traveler mistake and try to see too much in a short period. You'll find yourself always packing up and travelling with no time to relax and enjoy your adventure. I found Thailand an easy place to get around and traveler friendly. My tip is to use travel company itineraries as a general guide and then do the thing independently using a travel guide such as lonely planet. Here is an example of a typical itinerary.
https://www.gadventures.com/trips/best-of-thailand/2493/
GADVENTURES.COM
Best of Thailand

Do SE Asia and Japan on separate trips. They're further away from each other than you think and you won't have enough time to do either area justice by jamming so much into 3 weeks.

That's what I was thinking after actually looking at a map yesterday haha, I think maybe Japan and South Korea could be one separate trip

In Vietnam, go to Halong Bay (but have to take one day cruise) and Hoi An ( small town in central Vietnam). Both must see places!

Yes! Great suggestions!

We spent 7 weeks in SE Asia, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Redang (in Malaysia) and Bali. We used Singapoe as our 'hub' and took flights into and out of there so that we could use Star Alliance carriers, which allowed us to pay for our following year trip to Canada's maritines with points! If you did this you could over night in Singapore, a lovely place with lots to see, at the beginning and end of your trip without adding too much expense. We did a tour in Vietnam. Even with a professional guide, pre booked tickets and some internal flights, it took two weeks! If you want to see most of the highlights fly into Saigon, take local tours there and the Mekong River delta, fly to the central area see Hoi An and Hue, fly or fast transit to Hanoi and see the hightlights there including Halong Bay. Sapa is an over night train and long bus ride from Hanoi, you may have to skip this because of time. We flew from Hanoi to Siem Riep. It was quick, inexpensive and maxed our use of time. Btw, if you are going to Cambodia beware of online visa rip off companies. We purchased these and had to repurchase new ones at the airport. We flew back through Singapore to get to Bali, Redang and Canada. If you decide to have your itinerary similar to this and fly on singapore airlines, you are in for a treat!

Thank you! We are definitely thinking about using Singapore as our hub, like you mentioned, especially since we're so inexperienced!

Hey Claire! A friend and I did a cool trip last spring. We did Cambodia, Singapore and Philippines. Airfare was super reasonable ($1100 for all flights) and we really just "winged it" on hotels and such.
Cambodia - flew into Phnom Penh, hired a car to visit Siem Reap. Stayed there 3 nights, did the temples, pub street, etc. We stayed at the Mad Monkey Hostel in a private room and was SO awesome and cheap. Then flew Siem Reap to the south coast beach town of Sianoukville for 3 days, super backpacker-friendly. Hired a car back to Phnom Penh.
Singapore - Flew Phnom Penh to Singapore. Didn't spend nearly enough time here! We splurged ($100/nt) and stayed at the W Sentosa Cove (?) on the water. It was fancy pants but totally worth it. Mostly just toured around.
Philippines - flew into Manila, immediately jumped another cheap flight to Puerto Princesa, Palawan and then onto a shuttle to the other end of the island to El Nido. 4 days here was NOT enough. It was quiet and incredible sights and food. We basically stayed in the Hugh Hefner suite on the beach for $45 a night. It was unreal! Found a super cool little secluded beach with a teeny beach bar that had a blender. We spent tons of time there
Anyway, if you want more info, pics, anything, I can share more! Ask anything you can think of.

That trip sounds amazing! Thanks so much for your advice, once we have it a bit more refined I will definitely ask for a few more details if that's okay!

Claire Absolutely! And to be fair we did it all in 16 days which wasn't ideal, but possible.

In that case I definitely want to hear more! We're thinking about 3 weeks would be best for us, just since we're students and have to get back somewhat soon! We realize that cramming three countries into 3 weeks or so isn't ideal, but we really just want to get a bit of a taste for the places so that we can go back later if we want to!

Claire Awesome. Well when you get sorted what countries to visit, if any of those three are on your list let me know