Gap Year Asia Tour Recommendations for DD

[Piknik]

DD (21) and her friend have just graduated after going straight to Uni from 6th form so planning to travel early next year. Plan is around 4 months taking in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Philippines, Bali and Malaysia.

They have been talking to a very passionate and experienced travel rep at Trailfinders and he has put an itinerary together but it is very regimented and 'tour' heavy - for example the whole 17 days in Philippines is a tour - no free days at all. Ditto Cambodia (which is only a week at the moment) whereas there seem to be nearly 40 days allocated to Thailand with no touring at all.

I think he is pushing for them to book tours with a favoured provider so they are sort of being shoe-horned into those start dates and then moved on to the next country/tour. DD would like more flexibility and to shorten some of the tours so she has time to be more spontaneous/chill on a beach for a few days etc. I think she is going to have to book these independtly of Trailfinders who are not offering much flexibility. Can anyone recommend good and reasonable tour providers for any of the countries listed? Ideally aimed at young people and ideally tried and tested?

That's a lot of ground to cover in 4m.

She doesn't need a tour in Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Bali or Vietnam. It can all be done independently.

Perhaps do a tour when they first arrive to get them started, then any areas of special interest where a tour might give me detail and or take care of longer travels or between islands... places like the mountains of Vietnam or the highlands of the Phillipines.

Then build in lots of time relaxing on beaches between.

I agree the agent is trying to sell the tours.

Can she find girls in her network who have already done the trip and follow their itinerary ? That’s what both mine have done and will do. Seems odd they are doing formal organised tours.

You go independently and book tours and trips when you are there.

This really. It’s very easy at that age to book tours and make friends and get recommendations. Some tour companies will have better facilities, boats, coaches than others, so she should look out for that.

My dd and friend went to Thailand / Japan / Philippines for a month this year in her gap year. They just booked flights and air bnb themselves.

they did a a couple of day tours in the Philippines but most stuff they just used public transport and did their own thing.

Booking lots of tours in advance from UK would make it a very pricey trip I am sure…..

I think Tik Tok was used a lot for inspiration.

nothing went wrong despite everything being booked separately and independently by two 18 yo!

My daughter loved Cambodia and has gone back a few times since.

I travelled a lot in my 20s and have just got back from Malaysia and Vietnam with my boys (teens). The countries are easy to navigate, my advice is book the flights and just go with the flow and book things as they go along. Not only will it be considerably cheaper but also the freedom of not been tied down to a schedule

Weird using a travel agent

It’s not really when they’re inexperienced and want help and reassurance. But, I agree with everyone else that they will be fine just booking flights then sorting out tours once they are there.

Your DD can use the itineraries from the Trailfinders tours to give her a good idea of what she could do and some timings. I did this years ago when I went backpacking. I also found the Lonely Planet extremely useful for helping to plan routes.
As someone else has already said, it’s a lot of ground to cover in four months and probably wouldn’t allow much time for relaxing. I imagine that shoukd could see all those places if she goes straight from one Trailfinders tour to another, but it’ll be very full on. I suggest she choose some absolute non-negotiables regarding what she wants to see then plan from there.

They spoke to Trailfinders to plan flights/follow the sun, and maybe get af few ideas of activities and accommodation, but they ended up getting a bit rail-roaded. Friend is quite passive and happy to throw money at it in order to mitigate effort but DD wants freedom/flexibility and to to be economical. I was trying to offer up a couple of reputable tour operators that they could link up with in various countries to persuade friend to be less rigid about pre-planning.

Surely part of the joy of travelling rather than going on holiday is that you don't book stuff like this, you meet other people in hostels and make friends and hear about what other people have done and then decide there and then what to do.

Exactly! You get the cheapest flight you can find do your research then follow your nose. Then if you find somewhere nice you can just stay there. I would hate to be marched around by a bossy tour guide!

The only people I know who use Trailfinders are my parents and their mates - 75 plus.

Dd is going to a party in London next week of one of the girls she met travelling. They were both in pairs but palled up as a 4.

I don't know much about them but there was a tour company called Plotpackers on Dragon's Den last week, started by an impressive young girl in her 20s and doing short-ish, small group tours aimed at backpackers without a huge budget. Could be good to do one or two short tours, maybe to get their bearings when they first arrive. But I agree with PP that for most of those locations they don't need to plan too much in advance.

https://www.plotpackers.com/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=24124587769&gbraid=0AAAABEaANh8omKvBxAqYi-YkVlozxtnjx&gclid=CjwKCAjwwL_UBhAjEiwAEhuT5Adi5BjhV69a44E4Ach6ci9qx8uqQFH9JAnSN-LxrP5LNVHN7YDEhxoCr68QAvD_BwE

I agree with everything being said. So does DD. I think she should book a 6 month ‘round the world’ air ticket which gives her the destinations she wants but flexibility in dates and just follow her nose. Friend is keen to see everything and thinks organised tours are the way to ensure nothing is missed. DS is holy to do a few short ones but not at the scale currently being pushed on her.

I don’t think Trailfinders is just for olds. They’re good at long hail multi-stop/flexi air tickets but happy to be told of better companies for this element.

OP I really think the bigger issue is the travel companion. The cracks/different outlooks are already showing. Your DD is being put in the position of either doing what friend wants or asserting herself and risking the friendship/possibly having to travel alone. Would she not be better finding another friend to go with or solo travelling? Also I would strongly recommend she steer well clear of Laos, it’s the trendy backpacker place atm but it’s not a good or safe country. The methanol deaths are the tip of the iceberg. I work relatively nearby and literally no one goes there from here.

Second that. Family member lives out that way and they did big backpacker trip and Laos was their low light. Thailand and Malaysia much better.

Thanks for the advice re: Laos. I have mentioned that this is the methanol capital of the world and am also aware of the dangers of tubing on Van Vieng.

Will be having another chat with DD tonight.

Gap years aren’t supposed to be that scripted lol.

Book flights, then wing it when you get there. There’s a massive backpacker community that will advise, support and guide them.

And please make sure they get their travel vaccines!

💯 on the vaccines. DD is all over this bit.

Definitely. Dd has done a lot of travelling and for her she would meet people she’d clicked with in a hostel and they’d be like “oh we’re going to x country/town” do you want to come “. And then she’d be tagging along for a bit.

3 years on she’s still in a relationship with a guy she met in a hostel 😁.

they definitely need down time. I wouldn’t book anything apart from a first flight to wherever and a few nights in a hostel.

Oh and Sri Lanka is amazing if they can fit that in.

My DD and her bf worked for a while then travelled for 6 months. They went to Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Bali and Vietnam. Not necessarily in that order! One of the highlights was staying in a log cabin on the beach on an island off the coast of Vietnam I think. They were there for 2 weeks. The pair of them had a great time and came back to their jobs. The have just given me my first Granddaughter

She is trying to fit in Sri Lanka but it's hard!