Hardly anyone goes to just one country. You book a flight to Bangkok, you have ten weeks, and somewhere between comparing hostels and reading up on visas the real question sinks in: what order do you do this in? Because there are a handful of ways through these countries, and the wrong one costs you days on buses, a border you cannot reach or three weeks of rain.
The good news is that there is a route that makes sense the moment you see it. Four countries, four borders, and at the end you are back at the airport where you started. Backpackers have been doing it for forty years, and not for lack of imagination: it is simply the order the roads and rivers run in.
We have written up a separate route for each country, with the stops, the hostels and the transport. This one is about the seams in between: which way round to go, how to cross those borders, whether your visas fit and what the whole thing costs. Going for the first time? Start with backpacking Southeast Asia for the first time, and ask yourself whether one or two countries might be plenty.
The route at a glance
You land in Bangkok and work your way north: Chiang Mai, Pai, and then Chiang Rai, which sits in exactly the right spot. The border is two hours up the road.
From there it goes like this:
- Thailand from Bangkok to Chiang Rai. Our route is in our Thailand itinerary.
- Across the border into Laos at Chiang Khong, then two days down the Mekong on the slow boat to Luang Prabang.
- Laos from top to bottom: our Laos itinerary.
- Across the border into Vietnam from Thakhek, towards Phong Nha.
- Vietnam from the centre to the south: our Vietnam itinerary.
- Across the border into Cambodia from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh.
- Cambodia up to Siem Reap: our Cambodia itinerary.
- Back to Bangkok over the border at Poipet, and the loop is closed.
You can also ride it the exact opposite way. For the transport that makes no difference, but for the weather it does, and that is what the next section is about.
Which way round? Your departure month decides
This is the one real trap in the planning, and it costs people their best days.
Leaving between November and February? Then the direction does not matter. That is the best time of year in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia alike: dry, sunny, and in the north cool enough in the mornings for a jumper. Just ride the route as above.
Leaving in March or April? Flip it. In those two months the north of Thailand and Laos is in burning season: farmers burn off the fields, smoke fills the air for days at a time, the views over the mountains disappear and the air quality drops. Those are exactly the mountains you came for. So start in the south, do Cambodia and Vietnam first, and only reach the north in May.
There is no single answer to “when” for Vietnam, because the country is too long for one climate. On this route that works in your favour: whichever way you go, there is always a part of Vietnam with good weather. Month by month it is all in best time to visit Vietnam, and we do the same for Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.
The four border crossings
This is the part people dread, and it is far easier than it sounds. All four are just ordinary days with a bus or a boat in them.
Thailand to Laos: Chiang Khong and the slow boat
The border is at Chiang Khong, about two hours by road from Chiang Rai, and you cross it on the Friendship Bridge. On the other side is Huay Xai, and that is where the slow boat starts: two days on the Mekong to Luang Prabang, with a night halfway.
Keep one thing in mind: that boat leaves only once a day. Get to the border late and you simply sleep a night in Huay Xai and set off the next morning, well rested. No hardship at all. How that day runs, step by step, is in Chiang Rai to Laos, and the town and the pier are on our Huay Xai page.
Laos to Vietnam: Cha Lo
From Thakhek you carry on into Vietnam through the border at Cha Lo, and you come out at Phong Nha, where the caves are. That is straight away one of the best first impressions Vietnam has to offer.
Vietnam to Cambodia: Bavet
From Ho Chi Minh City the bus takes six to seven hours to Phnom Penh, through the border at Bavet. It is the easiest of the four: one bus, one day, done.
Down south on Phu Quoc? Then you can also go via Ha Tien and the border at Prek Chak, and come out in Kampot. That is the prettier way in if you are on that side of the country anyway.
Cambodia to Thailand: Poipet
The border is at Poipet, and from Siem Reap the bus runs all the way through to Bangkok. It is a long day however you do it. You can also fly, which saves you that day: the new airport at Siem Reap is about an hour’s drive east of town.
Two things that apply at every border. Bring cash, because you often cannot use a card there and you pay in the local currency. And tuck a few passport photos into your passport, because more than one border will ask for them.
How much time do you need?
Our four routes add up to about ten weeks, and even then you are moving at a good pace. Count on:
| Country | Our route | Stops |
|---|---|---|
| Thailand | 3 weeks | 12 |
| Laos | 2 weeks | 8 |
| Vietnam | 3 weeks | 14 |
| Cambodia | 10 days | 5 |
Got less time? Then do two countries properly rather than four by halves. That is not a consolation prize: the people who are happiest with their trip afterwards are almost never the ones who collected the most stamps.
- Six weeks: two countries. Thailand and Laos flows best, with the slow boat as the hinge. Vietnam and Cambodia is the other natural half.
- Eight weeks: three countries, leaving out either Vietnam or Thailand.
- Twelve weeks: all four, with room to hang around somewhere. And you will, because there is always one place where you stay longer than planned.
Do your visas fit?
Yes, but do the maths once, because every country has its own rules.
- Thailand: most passports walk in visa free, and you can extend once by thirty days at an immigration office. Since 15 September 2026 the stamp on arrival is 30 days instead of 60, so check it again just before you fly.
- Laos: nearly every passport needs a visa, either an e-visa online in advance or a visa on arrival. Valid for thirty days.
- Vietnam: depends on your passport. Some walk in visa free for 45 days, others apply for an e-visa first and get 90 days for it. Either way you need to be able to show a return or onward ticket.
- Cambodia: every passport needs a visa, either online in advance through the official portal or on arrival, paid in cash. Valid for thirty days.
Because you spend at most three weeks in each country, every leg fits comfortably inside its own limit. The count starts again as soon as you cross into the next country. What applies to your passport, and what it costs, you can check with the passport picker on our visa page, and that onward ticket you sort without buying an expensive flight through an onward ticket.
What does the whole trip cost?
These are the daily budgets we use per country, and they include your bed, your food, your beer and the transport between stops:
| Country | Per day | Our route | Subtotal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand | €30 | 21 days | €630 |
| Laos | €25 | 14 days | €350 |
| Vietnam | €25 | 21 days | €525 |
| Cambodia | €25 | 10 days | €250 |
| Total | 66 days | €1,755 |
So roughly €1,750 for just over two months, not counting your flight to Bangkok and back, and not counting the big trips you choose for yourself: a dive course, the Ha Giang Loop, a multi-day trek.
Want it broken down per place? That is in backpacking Thailand: cost per day and the versions for Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. You can work out your own route in My Trip, where you can also keep track of your spending on the road.
If you only want to cross one border
Not everyone wants to be away for eight weeks. These three combinations work well on their own, each with a single border crossing:
- Thailand and Laos. The best of the three, purely because of that slow boat. Bangkok, the north, then down the Mekong.
- Vietnam and Cambodia. One bus from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh and you are there. Two countries that are nothing alike.
- Thailand and Cambodia. The shortest: from Bangkok you reach Siem Reap in one long day on the road, or an hour in the air.
What about the Philippines?
It belongs on the list, just not on this route. The Philippines is more than 7,000 islands behind a stretch of sea: the only way in is by plane, and inside the country you keep going by domestic flight, ferry and bangka.
That does not make it a lesser destination, quite the opposite, but it does make it a trip of its own. Plan it as a separate block at the start or the end, and use our Philippines itinerary. Budget around €35 a day there instead of €25, and that difference is almost entirely water and air: boats and domestic flights.
What is the best order for these four countries?
Into Bangkok, up north, into Laos on the slow boat, then Vietnam, then Cambodia, and back to Bangkok over the border at Poipet. That order simply follows the roads and the rivers, and you finish where you started, so you do not have to stack up expensive one-way flights.
The only reason to flip it is your departure month. Going in March or April? Start in the south: in those two months it is burning season in the north of Thailand and Laos, and you end up on a viewpoint staring into the smoke at something you cannot see. Between November and February it makes no difference and either direction works.
And if you are torn between seeing everything and staying put somewhere: pick the second. Four countries in six weeks is doable, but you will mostly see the inside of buses. Two countries in six weeks is a trip you will still be talking about years from now.
