Backpacking south east Asia - which company to book through? Not solo but group

[mumma24]

My 19 yr sold want to travel for 3 months with a friend but want to join a group of other backpackers. Are there any good agencies that will arrange the trip for you?

That should read son not sold

I’d just go, and stay in hostels-they’ll meet others easily. It’s so easy to independently travel in SE Asia, and better to have the flexibility

I agree with the PP that it's very easy to meet other backpackers .South East Asia is a well trodden path.It's also good to have the flexibility.
Tour groups in the region are Gap and Intrepid travel.

Asia is great to travel solo or in a group. Check out topdeck,contiki,and G adventures.I’ve used them all and are fantastic.

I used Intrepid in my early twenties and had some brilliant trips. I'm still in touch with some of the people in my group nearly 20yrs later.

Intrepid!

Intrepid isn't 'backpacking' though. And he wants to go for three months.

It's the easiest thing in the world to meet other backpackers when you hostel. Especially at that age. Even in my 60s I easily meet people when I solo backpack!

Also the great thing is you meet people is that you can be spontaneous. You meet people you like, they're heading of to somewhere you hadn't considered, they invite you along, you have a spontaneous adventure that makes your trip even better!

Honestly, backpacking in an organized group is such a sterile and restrictive option compared to doing it independently..

Also the great thing is you meet people is that you can be spontaneous

I've no idea how that word salad happened. 'The great thing about meeting people along the way, is that you can be spontaneous', makes more sense.

I agree that going with a group lacks the spontaneity and can be restrictive. However, my dd has done a lot of solo travel over the last year. She started with a group trip to give herself a bit of confidence. Once she had done the first two weeks with a group she was off on her own without a backward glance.

She used a company called Trutravels.

Intro travel do great shorter trips that often have people who are continuing travelling afterwards or at least help with getting used to a new country.

We booked through STA travel and it was great. The condition of us going for my boyfriend's parents was that we had a route already roughly planned (very very wise advice!) and it was also very good for us that we'd paid for it before we went, meaning we could budget much better for accommodation and food etc whilst we were there. The pass actually worked out significantly cheaper to buy in the UK than if we'd paid for it as we went round SE Asia which was an added bonus - it included all our travel plus day trips in nearly every place including a couple of overnight excursions. It also meant we had someone in the uk we could contact when things went a bit wrong along the way who knew the area and the route well.

When I went travelling as a teen I always booked the first week or so in a new country with intrepid. After the tour finished, most of the kids were staying in the country another month or two before moving on so I always had some people to travel with. I think this was a really good way to travel as it gave you some time to get used to the country and meet some people - if you didn’t want to stay with any of the others afterwards there was no need but most of us did. I would use intrepid again, I had amazing times with them!