Southeast Asia Travel Guide

Southeast Asia is a region rather than a country, and the single most useful thing you can learn is that it has two monsoons, not one. The southwest monsoon and the northeast monsoon hit different coastlines at different times, which means there is almost always somewhere in the region at its best. This is what makes a three or four month trip viable here and nowhere else on earth for the same money.

At a glance

Reference facts for planning Southeast Asia.

Countries

11 (mainland and maritime)

Common currencies

THB, VND, IDR, MYR, SGD, PHP, KHR, LAK, MMK

Main hubs

Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City

Drives on

left in most former British territories; right in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Philippines

Plug type

A/B/C/G, mostly 220–240V

Best time to visit

Where the good months sit, and why.

Months to think twice about: Booking a fixed multi-country itinerary around a single visa-free window without checking each country's rules. Entry conditions differ considerably and change often.

Where to go

The places that justify the trip, and the guides we have written for them.

• Undiscovered islands

  Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia

  Away from Bali and Phuket, thousands of islands with liveaboard diving, empty beaches and village homestays.

  Read the guide

• Northern mountains

  Vietnam, Laos, Thailand

  Karst landscapes, hill-tribe trekking and cool highlands — a completely different region from the beaches.

• Temple plains

  Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand

  Bagan, Angkor, Ayutthaya and Sukhothai: the archaeological heart of mainland Southeast Asia.

• The Mekong corridor

  Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam

  Slow river travel through four countries, with the delta and the gorges at either end.

Visas & entry

Entry rules vary widely by country and by passport. Many offer visa-free entry or e-visas for short tourism stays.

• Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines offer generous visa-free or e-visa arrangements for most Western passports.
• Vietnam and Laos operate e-visa systems; Vietnam's is single or multiple entry with a defined validity period.
• Indonesia offers a visa on arrival that can usually be extended once for a further 30 days.
• Always check the specific country's current rules — this region changes requirements more often than almost anywhere else.

Use each country's official government immigration portal for e-visas. Agent sites are widespread and often charge several times the official fee.

Daily budget

Rough per-person costs, excluding international flights.

• Singapore and Brunei are the outliers and cost three to five times the regional average — budget for them separately.
• Overnight buses, trains and ferries routinely remove a night's accommodation cost from the trip total.
• Street food is the region's great advantage: cheap, safe at high-turnover stalls, and genuinely excellent.
• Island and diving costs rise sharply in remote areas where everything is barged in.

Recommended routes

Three ways to structure a trip, depending on how much time you have.

Getting around

Southeast Asia has one of the densest low-cost airline networks in the world, which makes flying often cheaper than the equivalent bus or train. Buses and sleeper trains cover everywhere else. Ferries and fast boats link the islands, and liveaboards are the standard way to reach the best diving. Grab and Gojek-style ride apps work in most cities.

Safety & hazards

The region is well-trodden and generally safe. The realistic hazards are road traffic, undertow on unpatrolled beaches, petty theft in tourist areas, and waterborne illness — drink treated water, be sceptical of ice in remote places, and be aware that motorbike accidents are the single most common cause of serious injury to travellers here.

Southeast Asia guides

Long-form guides published for this destination.