Twelve journeys, thirteen to twenty-eight days, one party at a time

All twelve at a glance

Prices are per person, land only, twin share, at five to eight travellers on the Comfortable standard. Smaller parties pay more per head; the pricing page gives the full grid and the supplier-level breakdown behind it.

The four-country journey

One route covers all four countries, and it needs twenty-eight days to do it without turning a country into a transit stop.

Grand Indochina, 28 days — from USD 7,000

Hanoi 3N, Lan Ha Bay 1N, Ninh Binh 1N, Hue 1N, Hoi An 3N, Ho Chi Minh City 2N, Mekong Delta 1N, Phnom Penh 2N, Siem Reap 3N, Luang Prabang 3N, Vientiane 1N, Chiang Mai 3N, Bangkok 3N.

The route runs north to south through Vietnam, crosses into Cambodia, lifts to Laos, then finishes in Thailand so that the closed land border sits at the end of the journey rather than in the middle of it. Siem Reap gets three nights because a three-day Angkor pass costs USD 62 and is valid on any three days within ten — two mornings and one late afternoon is the pattern that works.

Three countries

Two routes take three countries. Both are long enough that each country gets a proper block of nights rather than a stopover.

Indochina Classic, 21 days — from USD 5,250

Hanoi 3N, Lan Ha 1N, Hoi An 3N, Ho Chi Minh City 2N, Mekong Delta 1N, Phnom Penh 2N, Siem Reap 3N, Vientiane 2N, Luang Prabang 3N. This is the shape most first journeys take: the full length of Vietnam, the Cambodian pair, then Laos as the slow finish. Vientiane to Luang Prabang runs by train in 1 h 50 rather than ten hours by road.

Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, 19 days — from USD 4,750

Bangkok 3N, Chiang Mai 3N, Chiang Rai 1N, Pakbeng 1N, Luang Prabang 3N, Vientiane 1N, Siem Reap 3N, Phnom Penh 3N. The Pakbeng night is the compulsory overnight on the two-day slow boat down the Mekong from the Lao border, roughly six hours on the water each day, arriving at a pier about 10 km outside Luang Prabang. Avoid March: the burning season in northern Thailand and northern Laos runs late January to late April and is at its worst that month.

Two countries

Six routes pair two countries. Fewer borders means more nights per place and fewer internal flights, which is also why these are the cheapest per day.

Vietnam and Laos, 17 days — from USD 4,250

Hanoi 3N, Lan Ha 1N, Ninh Binh 1N, Hue 2N, Hoi An 3N, Luang Prabang 4N, Vientiane 2N. Four nights in Luang Prabang is the longest single stay in the range, which is the point — the alms round is at 05:30 to 06:30 from March to October and 06:00 to 07:00 from November to February, and one attempt is rarely the right one.

Vietnam and Cambodia, 16 days — from USD 4,000

Hanoi 3N, Lan Ha 1N, Hue 1N, Hoi An 3N, Ho Chi Minh City 2N, Mekong Delta 1N, Phnom Penh 2N, Siem Reap 2N. The most requested pairing on the site. Siem Reap to Ho Chi Minh City is about 1 h 10 in the air, so the two halves join without a wasted day.

Mekong River Journey, 15 days — from USD 5,600

Siem Reap 3N, seven nights aboard a Mekong ship down to Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City 2N, Phu Quoc 2N. The highest day rate in the range because a cabin costs more than a hotel room. In low water, roughly December to July, ships cannot cross Tonle Sap Lake to Siem Reap and the final leg is flown or driven — the operator confirms which about a month out.

Vietnam and Thailand, 15 days — from USD 3,750

Hanoi 3N, Lan Ha 1N, Hoi An 3N, Ho Chi Minh City 2N, Bangkok 3N, Chiang Mai 2N. Two capitals, one old town, one bay and the northern Thai hills, with a single international sector in the middle.

Laos and Cambodia, 14 days — from USD 3,500

Luang Prabang 4N, Vientiane 2N, Siem Reap 4N, Phnom Penh 3N. Four stops in fourteen days is the slowest pacing we publish. Siem Reap to Luang Prabang is about 1 h 25 direct, five times a week, which is what makes this pairing practical at all.

Cambodia and Thailand, 13 days — from USD 3,250

Siem Reap 3N, Phnom Penh 2N, Bangkok 3N, Chiang Mai 4N. Our shortest route, one day above the twelve-day floor. The Phnom Penh to Bangkok leg is flown because the land border is closed; anyone quoting it overland in 2026 has not checked.

One country, twenty days

Vietnam in Depth, 20 days — from USD 5,000

Hanoi 3N, Sapa 2N, Lan Ha 1N, Ninh Binh 1N, Hue 2N, Hoi An 3N, Ho Chi Minh City 2N, Mekong Delta 1N, Phu Quoc 4N. Sapa and Phu Quoc only appear on this route, because they are the two places that need a country to themselves before they earn their nights. Hanoi to Saigon is 1,726 km, and this journey covers it without a single day that runs over five hours in the car.

The two themed journeys

These two exist because the request behind them changes the itinerary, not just the hotel list.

Indochina Honeymoon, 16 days — from USD 4,800

Hanoi 2N, Lan Ha 1N, Hoi An 3N, Siem Reap 3N, Bangkok 1N, Koh Samui 5N. Cities are cut short and the last five nights sit on one island. Koh Samui runs against the rest of the region: the Gulf is wettest from October to December and good from June to August, so a honeymoon in the peak mainland window still needs a conversation about the beach.

Family Journey, 18 days — from USD 4,400

Hanoi 3N, Lan Ha 1N, Hoi An 3N, Ho Chi Minh City 2N, Siem Reap 3N, Bangkok 2N, Koh Samui 3N. Driving days are capped tighter than on the adult routes, temple mornings start early and end before the heat, and under-12s enter the Angkor park free on their passport. No elephant camp appears on this itinerary or any other.

What is on a journey page, and why each route is separate

Every journey page carries the same six things: a day-by-day itinerary with the drive time and distance for each transfer, the hotels used as the standard for both the Comfortable and the Excellent build, the price grid by party size, what is included and what is not, the months the route works and the months it does not, and the flights that hold it together.

A shorter journey is not a longer one with days deleted. Take Vietnam and Cambodia at sixteen days against Indochina Classic at twenty-one: the sixteen-day route drops Hue to a single night and cuts the Lao block entirely, but it also reorders the Cambodian half so Siem Reap comes last and the flight home leaves from SAI rather than Phnom Penh. Every night removed moves a flight, and every flight moved changes which morning is free. Publishing them as separate routes means the itinerary you read is the one that can be operated, rather than a length variant that falls apart when someone tries to run it.

Changes are expected. Adding nights, swapping a beach, dropping a country and moving a flight to a train are all routine — the tailor-made page lists what we change most often, what we refuse to change and how much of the price moves each time. When you are ready to start, how to book sets out the six steps and the calendar.

Questions travellers ask most

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