Help with itinerary for Asia please

[Theirishwan]

We are planning a 'once in a lifetime' holiday to Asia next year. I have booked the flights - depart Dublin to Bangkok 28th June and ret 28th July.

There are a number of places we would like to see and will start our holiday by flying to Chiangmai and staying in a 3 star hotel with a poor for 2 night to get acclimatised, after that we would be staying at airbnbs or home stays.

During our travels we would like to visit Laos, Vietnam (Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hoi An) then into Cambodia, then to Ko Samui to a 3 star hotel for around 5 or 6 nights to unwind on the beach and then to finish up with a couple of days in Bangkok for a little bit of shopping before heading home.

Does this all sound reasonable or is it pushing it a bit. Any recommendations? Any must see / do? Any advice?

Thanks for help in advance.

Sorry but you are trying to do far far too much! You would spend your whole time travelling and I don't think it's even possible especially for example laos which is pretty inaccessible. Due to the time difference you will land in bkk on 29th...if you then immediately fly to cm for 2 nights that leaves you with 2nd til 21st July before the end bit of trip outlined above. Personally I would either stick to thailand or if you want to see another county too then pick one of either laos vietnam or Cambodia. Honestly they are all amazing places but the joy is the people and the pace of life which you will miss of you are continually rushing ahead

One option would be to travel from chiang mai to the Lao border and get the slow boat down the mekong river before reenter in thailand at vientiene

Or you could nip into Cambodia from the south of thailand to visit siam reap and ankhor wat etc

Vietnam is deceptively long and travel between places takes a long time. The only way you could fit in haling bay/Hanoi would be to fly in and out but do you really want to spend days sat in airports? I have travelled all over the region...I have done big trips of month in each country but have also been back for a few 3 week hols so am happy to advise. ..please feel free to ask anything :-)

Yy to boat down Mekong. It's amazing but make sure you book a decent one with overnight stop as the speedboats are pretty dangerous. You could go from Chiangmai to Chiang Rai then cross border and sail to Luang Prabang (wonderful place). You could save some time by flying to Hanoi and then travelling down Vietnam although you would miss other parts of Laos.

Totally envious - it's my fave part of the world!!!!

What sort of trip are you after? I lived in Laos and Cambodia and am happy to help with info if needed.

Personally I would spend use BKK as a hub. Travelling overland is v cheap and can be v rewarding BUT it is unreliable and time consuming. If you do want to fit a lot in then the local airlines (Tiger Air, Air Asia) can be marvellous.

I'd consider a loop that involved flying from BKK to Siem Reap (Cambodia) to see the temples at Angkor for approx. 3 days. Then maybe flying up from there to Luang Prabang in northern Laos (via BKK or via Vientiane) which is a stunning town by the river than you can explore for a few days too.

A total alternative to your existing plans to throw into the mix - have you considered Burma? It is a stunning and fascinating place that is changing rapidly, think Thailand 40 years ago, and now is a good time to visit before it all changes...

Thank for advice and suggestions, a lot to mull over. We were originally thinking of only going for 3 weeks but managed to extend to a month as we want to do so much. We will have a good look and revise the plan a little.

I will probably be back on looking for more information. Thanks for the help so far.