Southeast Asia forum
Hello! Advice needed :) 3 month trip.
Have questions? Jump to our menu of forum quicklinks
Add your reply
You need to be logged in to add a reply.
Not a member? you can join here.
| Possibly related discussions | Replies | Views | Latest reply |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Month Trip..Advice Needed ... By AdamCarter on 4 May 2012 | 2 | 1654 | 6 May 2012 |
| 5 month trip - rough route advice needed ! ... By nickolt on 28 Oct 2010 | 7 | 2613 | 6 Nov 2010 |
| Itinerary 1 Month - Backpacking Through Thailand Laos Cambodia and Vietnam... Advice Needed :) ... By reneejordan on 5 Nov 2010 | 8 | 13978 | 6 Mar 2011 |
| Trip Advice Needed ... By famous29 on 22 Feb 2012 | 3 | 1230 | 13 Mar 2012 |
| Advice needed on SE Asia trip ... By Decoy on 8 Aug 2012 | 6 | 1532 | 6 Feb 2013 |
| Trip planning advice needed ... By simonmobiledisco on 16 Jan 2009 | 10 | 2260 | 19 Jan 2009 |
| Last minute advice for trip needed ... By travelinchen on 19 Jul 2011 | 14 | 2211 | 23 Jul 2011 |
| Advice needed about trip length / plans ... By cas84utd on 15 Jun 2010 | 4 | 1556 | 16 Jun 2010 |
| Two month trip through Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Any advice? ... By o_kaija on 2 May 2010 | 3 | 2728 | 4 May 2010 |
| SEA 3-month trip: general + specific (+any other type of) advice, please ... By Brecht on 7 Feb 2011 | 6 | 2613 | 12 Feb 2011 |
2Peas
Joined Travelfish
10th November, 2012
Posts 10
Member profile
Profile page
Private message
Hi all,
Me and my girlfriend leave on 11th February for a 13 week trip, flying home on 13th May. We will be flying into Bangkok and plan to spend 4 nights there to start with. Afterwards the rough plan goes something like this but will probably go out the window!...
Firstly, this is my first post on here but I have been looking over this forum for a loooong time now. I thought I would post my trip plan on here and hopefully get some tips
Bangkok - Chiang Mai - Luang Prabang - Vientiane - 4000 islands - Kratie (Overnight stop) - Siem Reap - Battambang - Phnom Penh - Saigon - Da Lat - Hoi An - Hanoi - Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island - (Flight from Hanoi to Kuala Lumpur ) - Kuala Lumpur - Cameron Highlands - Penang - Perhentian Islands - Tioman Islands - (Flight from Johor Bahru to Kota Kinabalu) - Kota Kinabalu - Kuching - Singapore - Fly home from Kuala Lumpur.
Phew...it sounds a lot when I write it like that but as I say it is not in anyway fixed. I anticipate we will love some places and want to stay longer and miss out on others. Both me and my girlfriend are looking for a good mix of culture and nature along with a good chance to socialise but we aren't looking for the party 'gap year experience'. Are there any on that list that you would give a miss from experience or ones I have missed which are a must? I am aware the Southern Thai Islands arent on our list, but we felt we would rather take in some malaysian islands might find the thai islands pretty ott tourist wise?
Flight wise I planned on using air asia and booking a flight from hanoi to kuala lumpur about 2 weeks in advance when we are traveling through Vietnam. Similarly, for internal malaysian flights I planned on booking when in Malaysia. The saving on booking early doesn't really warrant the loss of freedom in my eyes. Any thoughts?
Lastly, are there any guesthouses in these places people would particularly recommend? We don't mind roughing it a bit but would prefer a decent level of comfort where possible. Does the walk in price usually match that on booking in advance? I am aware sometimes this isn't possible though.
Sorry this has been such a long post! Would appreciate any help
#1 Posted: 12/1/2013 - 14:45
somtam2000
admin
Joined Travelfish
21st January, 2004
Location Indonesia
Posts 6413
Member profile
Profile page
Private message
Sounds like a great trip to me. You've got some pretty long travel lengths in there and may want to consider breaking it up a little more - eg Perhentians to Tioman, Vientiane to 4,000 islands, I'd also fit in Hue between Hoi An and Hanoi.
Re booking flights, it's a hard call -- the savings can be substantial -- I've paid as little as $90 for Bali to Bangkok through to $400 for a ticket I had to buy at the last minute...
On booking online vs doing walkins and bargaining it varies. There is no hard and fast rule -- I've found the savings found through booking online to be more in Thailand than Malaysia, but that is just based on my own travels...
Cheers
#2 Posted: 12/1/2013 - 23:33
somtam2000's social networks[Twitter] [Facebook] [Flickr] [Google+] [Instagram] [Pinterest]
------------------------------
Travel films for Southeast Asia
Advertisement
meacham
Joined Travelfish
16th January, 2013
Posts 11
Member profile
Profile private
Messaging not enabled.
hi there i plan on doing the same trip with my gf we go in october and come back in march how much money do u think i should save for this trip?
#3 Posted: 19/1/2013 - 02:15
caseyprich
Joined Travelfish
3rd March, 2010
Location China
Posts 1001
Member profile
Profile page
Private message
I know you have a limited time and maybe aren't filling in all the blanks between - but for a nice stop off before 4,000 islands I'd recommend a night in Pakse followed by renting motorbikes out to Tad Lo to check out some of the falls (but more for the journey than the destination) and a friendly little town. I preferred Tad Lo to Paksong personally, so I'd say spending a hand full of nights on that would be nice - though ou could do the short Bolavan Plateau loop of Tad Lo to Paksong and back to Pakse in 3/4 nights easily. As well, I happen to think Champasak is one of the most charming towns I've visited in Southeast Asia and a good warm-up to Siem Reap - I would recommend stopping there for 2 nights. It was a more charming than 4,000 Islands, though I wouldn't say anything bad about 4,000 Islands.
In Pakse I'd recommend http://www.travelfish.org/accommodation_profile/laos/southern_laos/champasak/pakse/all/1659
In Champasak http://www.travelfish.org/accommodation_profile/laos/southern_laos/champasak/champasak/all/1667
I know - you probably didn't want MORE places to think about.
I've found some fairly good deals through Agoda in Malaysia - though in my opinon Malaysia is more expensive than most places in SE Asia (especially for drinks and accommodation).
In KL - I recommend staying around Bukit Bintang - around Jalan Sahabat (Sahabat Guesthouse is nice) and Tropical Guesthouse on Jalan Tong Shin is popular - though my #1 pick in the area is Anggun.
#4 Posted: 19/1/2013 - 07:41
------------------------------
千里之行，始于足下
alfredm
Joined Travelfish
6th January, 2013
Posts 11
Member profile
Profile private
Messaging not enabled.
If you already visit Perhentian, skip Tioman. It's not as nice as Perhentian and you would be disappointed. Spend the extra time in Malaysian Borneo, where there is a lot to see.
#5 Posted: 19/1/2013 - 15:11
somtam2000
admin
Joined Travelfish
21st January, 2004
Location Indonesia
Posts 6413
Member profile
Profile page
Private message
Another vote for Sahabat Guesthouse -- in Bukit Bintang KL -- good spot.
#6 Posted: 19/1/2013 - 18:50
somtam2000's social networks[Twitter] [Facebook] [Flickr] [Google+] [Instagram] [Pinterest]
------------------------------
Travel films for Southeast Asia
2Peas
Joined Travelfish
10th November, 2012
Posts 10
Member profile
Profile page
Private message
Thank you for all your replies. Much appreciated!
I have considered skipping tiomans and I do like the sound of spending more time in Laos and champasak!
The main thing i was putting the tiomans in was because of traveling down the eastern side before flying air Asia from Johor Bahru to Kota Kinabalu?
#7 Posted: 21/1/2013 - 21:20