If any continent was made for backpackers, it is Asia. It is cheap, you meet other travellers everywhere, and within a few hours you can go from rice fields to a tropical island to the middle of a chaotic megacity.
Southeast Asia in particular has been the most popular corner for years. The distances are manageable, there are hostels everywhere, and four of the five countries below sit so close together that you can link them overland into one route.
But they are not interchangeable. The differences in price, pace and what you actually do there are bigger than the map suggests. Here is what each country costs, what it does best and who it is for.
1. Thailand
If one country is practically another word for backpacking, it is Thailand. For most travellers Bangkok is their first taste of Asia: you walk out of the airport into a completely different world, with tuk-tuks weaving through everything and food being cooked right there on the street.
But Thailand is a lot more than Bangkok. In the north you have Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Pai, with mountains, temples and jungle. In the south, Krabi, Koh Phi Phi, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao are waiting. From street food for €2 to diving, jungle treks, island hopping and partying until the sun comes up: it is all here.
What really makes it easy is how well everything works. Hostels, buses, trains, minivans and ferries everywhere, and you meet other backpackers without trying. Reckon on about €30 a day and a bed from €8. How long you can stay depends on your passport, and that is on our visa page. The five experiences you should not miss are in the best things to do in Thailand.
Our verdict: the best first country in Asia, and the most expensive of this list on the mainland
2. Vietnam
Vietnam feels like it was designed to be backpacked. The country is sixteen hundred and fifty kilometres long and narrow, so you naturally follow a route from north to south, or the other way round.
Most backpackers start in Hanoi and head south through Ha Giang, Sapa, Ninh Binh, Cat Ba, Phong Nha, Hue, Da Nang and Hoi An, finishing in Da Lat, Ho Chi Minh City and maybe Phu Quoc. For a lot of people the biggest highlight is the Ha Giang Loop: a multi-day ride through the far north over mountain passes, past small villages and views that do not fit in a photo.
On top of that, Vietnam is still cheap: around €25 a day, a meal for €1.50 and a sleeper bus for €10. And that is before we even get to the food, which for a lot of travellers is the real surprise.
Our verdict: the clearest route in Southeast Asia, and the best pick if you love being on the move
3. The Philippines
More than seven thousand islands, white sand, clear water and some of the best dive sites in Asia. Thirty-six thousand kilometres of coastline, to be exact.
Backpacking works differently here than in Thailand or Vietnam. You do not hop on a bus to the next place every few days: you regularly need a ferry or a domestic flight. That costs time and money, and it is exactly what makes the Philippines so special.
The best-known destinations are Coron, El Nido, Port Barton, Siargao, Siquijor, Moalboal, Bohol, Boracay and Malapascua. Palawan above all is fantastic: you can spend several days sailing from Coron to El Nido, sleeping on remote islands along the way and stopping at beaches you would never reach otherwise. And for divers this is a dream, with sardine runs, turtles, wreck dives and, in some places, thresher sharks.
The honest catch is the price: reckon on €35 a day, €10 for a bed and €10 per boat trip. That is a good deal more than the mainland.
Our verdict: the best water of these five, and it takes a bit more planning and money
4. Laos
Laos sometimes gets forgotten next to Thailand and Vietnam, and that is exactly why it is so good. The pace here is noticeably slower, and you feel it within a day.
There is no tropical coast, but seventy percent of the country is mountains and jungle, with rivers, waterfalls and small villages. The classic route starts in Huay Xai, where you take the slow boat down the Mekong to Luang Prabang. The trip takes two days and for a lot of backpackers it is one of the best experiences of their entire trip.
After that you carry on to Vang Vieng and Vientiane, or south to Pakse and the four thousand islands of the Mekong. Vang Vieng has the viewpoints, caves and lagoons, Luang Prabang the temples, markets and the Kuang Si waterfalls. Reckon on €25 a day and a bed from €6. More in the best things to do in Laos.
Our verdict: the calmest and most adventurous country on this list, and the most underrated
5. Cambodia
Cambodia often gets treated as a stopover between Thailand and Vietnam, and that is a shame. The country deserves more than the few days it usually gets.
Angkor Wat near Siem Reap is of course the best-known highlight, and with more than a thousand temples spread over four hundred square kilometres it is not a day trip but a destination in its own right. In Phnom Penh you learn about the country’s heavy recent history, and off the coast lie Koh Rong and Koh Rong Sanloem: tropical islands nowhere near as busy as their Thai counterparts.
Here too you travel for around €25 a day, with a beer for €0.60. The backpacker route is clear, so you easily run into other travellers along the way. See the best things to do in Cambodia.
Our verdict: the best mix of culture, history and beach, and the country that most often gets sold short
Which country suits you
First trip and you mainly want things to be easy? Thailand. Everything is set up for you and you do not have to figure anything out.
A clear route with lots of different stops? Vietnam. You start at one end and finish at the other.
Beaches, diving and island hopping above all else? The Philippines, as long as your budget can handle it.
Peace, mountains and nature? Laos, ideally arriving by slow boat.
Culture and history with a beach to finish? Cambodia.
Got time to spare?
Three countries in a month. All five in four weeks is technically possible, and then you mostly see the inside of buses. Three countries at an easy pace gives you more, and you save the fourth and fifth for your next trip.
The Philippines with a few extra days. It is the only country here you have to fly into, and once inside you regularly need a flight or a ferry. So set aside a few extra days and a bit more budget, and it is straight away the best water on this list.
Cambodia with ten days. With three days you only do Angkor, and that is just part of the story. Give it at least ten days and you get Phnom Penh, Kampot and the islands as well.
Once you have picked your country, the map with all our destinations takes you through to every place we cover.
Do you have to choose between these five countries?
No, and that is the beauty of it. Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia sit in a way that lets you link them overland into one long route. Start in Thailand, carry on down the Mekong into Laos, then Vietnam from north to south, and finish in Cambodia. Crossing borders overland is completely normal here and well organised.
If you still have time and budget after that, take a flight to the Philippines to finish. That way you get almost everything that makes Southeast Asia special in one trip: chaotic megacities, mountain villages, jungle, temples, street food, nightlife and finally those beaches you have been dreaming about for months.
To be honest about the time, though: for four countries you want at least two months, and even then you are moving fast. And remember that nothing on the road has to go to plan. Maybe you stay somewhere longer, meet people you keep travelling with, or throw your whole route out of the window. That is exactly the point of backpacking.
