Backpacking in Southeast Asia - Designing Your One Month Southeast Asia Itinerary

If you are thinking of backpacking Southeast Asia, there are many things that you will want to consider while building you itinerary, but the most important are what type of sights you wish to visit, how you are going to get around, and how much money do you have to spend? Below are some things to consider when building your itinerary.

Sights:

The first thing you need to decide is what types of sites or activities you want to see as there are an endless variety of attractions in Southeast Asia? From spending time on the beach, to visiting ancient ruins, to experiencing the craziness of Ho Chi Minh or Bangkok, you will need to decide what is important to you on your trip. Below are a few examples of different sights available to consider when planning your itinerary.

Below is a list of some if the major sightseeing sights in Southeast Asia.

- Siem Reap, Cambodia - Some of the best ancient ruins in all of Southeast Asia.

- Bangkok, Thailand - Sites such as Wat Pho or the Grand Palace.

- Hoi An, Vietnam - My Son Ruins

- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Petronas Towers

- Hanoi, Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

If you are thinking of spending most of your time relaxing on the nicest beaches Southeast Asia has to offer, here are some of the places you may want to consider visiting:

- Ko Phi Phi, Thailand

- Mu Ne Beach, Vietnam

- Perhentian Islands, Malaysia

- Ko Samet, Thailand

- Ko Pha Ngan, Thailand

- Phuket, Thailand

If you would like to try something a little different from your lifestyle, check out these:

- Chiang Mai, Thailand - Jungle Treks

- Borneo, Malaysia - The Headhunters Trail Borneo

- Huay Xai to Luang Prabang, Laos - Slow boat trips down the Mekong

- Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam - The Cu Chi Tunnels

- Chiang Mai, Thailand - Elephant Jungle Rides

Travel:

Once you have decided what you are interested in seeing, you will need to decide how you are going to get around? If you want to see several countries in one month you will most likely need to budget some money for flying. Luckily, Southeast Asia has a few quality discount airlines, such as Air Asia, that offer cheap flights.

If you plan to only travel one or two countries, you can likely get by will local buses and trains.

Budget:

The last thing you will need to consider is how much money you have to spend? Cost of travel for the same standard varies throughout Southeast Asia. In general, Vietnam and Laos, tend to be the cheapest countries to visit. Thailand and Cambodia are a bit more expensive, but are less expensive that Malaysia. Knowing how much money you have to spend, will make your trip more enjoyable and will let you avoid scrounging up every last dollar towards the end of your trip.

When designing your Southeast Asia backpacking itinerary, if you consider these three main factors, you will get the most out of your experience.

Are you planning a backpacking trip to Southeast Asia? If so, check out http://www.timetogobackpacking.com to create your free itinerary for backpacking Southeast Asia. Also, checkout the backpacker's checklist or chat with our travelers in the backpacker forum.