Southeast Asia demands to be traveled as a whole region, rather than as the individual countries that comprise it. Barring the fact that travel to Southeast Asia from the United States or Europe tends to be expensive, it’s sad to think you’d fly literally to the other side of the world and see only one country or worse, one city.
Thankfully, travel in Southeast Asia is not only convenient, but also very cheap. Whether you prefer to fly, take a train or even travel by bus or share taxi, Southeast Asia travel is quick, safe and won’t put much of a dent in your travel budget.
Southeast Asia Flights
Siem Reap, Cambodia
I heard about an airline called “AirAsia” more than a year before I visited Southeast Asia. “It’s like Southwest Airlines,” my friend and fellow travel blogger Laura Jones said, referring to the pre-eminent low-cost carrier in the United States. “But better — and cheaper. It’s your best bet for Southeast Asia flights”
To be fair, flights to Southeast Asia on AirAsia aren’t always cheap. When I lived in Shanghai, for example, a one-way flight to Bangkok from nearby Hangzhou cost significantly more than on China Eastern, the dominant carrier of China’s eastern seaboard.
Pattaya, Thailand
For flights within Southeast Asia, however, it’s difficult to beat the fares you find on Air Asia, which funnels most of its flights through its main hub in Kuala Lumpur and its secondary hub for sub-carrier Thai AirAsia in Bangkok. For example, I flew from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur, one-way, in August 2010 for $23. Four months later, I flew from Bangkok to Yangon, Myanmar roundtrip for under $100.
Of course, even if AirAsia’s Southeast Asia flights prove to be too expensive for you, several other low-cost carriers operate in the region. Singapore-based Tiger Airways, for example, is perhaps AirAsia’s fiercest competitor. While AirAsia wanted to charge more almost $100 to fly roundtrip between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, Tiger’s fare was just $35. Another popular option is JetStar, an Australian carrier with Asian hubs in Vietnam and Singapore. Traveling by air makes your Southeast Asia travel easier.
Train Travel in Southeast Asia
Nha Trang, Vietnam
If you aren’t traversing bodies of water, of course, it isn’t absolutely necessary to take a plane. Safe and relatively fast trains are a common means of travel in Southeast Asia.
From Bangkok, for example, it’s possible not only to travel to Aranyaprathet at the Cambodian border, but also to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. While the former train operates only with only third-class, fan-cooled coaches, it’s possible to purchase a wide range of seats and even beats in either fan or air conditioning for travel to Laos. I slept in a second-class bed for my 13-hour journey from Vientiane to Bangkok in August 2010 — and paid under $20 for the one-way ticket.
Yangon, Myanmar
Other popular train routes during Southeast Asia travel include the Reunification Express, which travels north and south up the entire length of Vietnam, and the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore circuit.
Of course, it isn’t always possible to travel in Southeast Asia by train. Trains don’t travel within Laos or the Philippines. Likewise, although a train service exists between the Burmese capital of Yangon and the northern city of Mandalay, no trains travel from any other country into Myanmar.
Overland Travel in Southeast Asia
Luang Prabang, Laos
As I detail in my post about traveling overland from Hanoi, Vietnam to Luang Prabang, Laos, overland Asia travel is possible — although it isn’t for everyone and tends to be exhausting. This goes for travel within countries as well, as I describe in a post about traveling the coast of Vietnam by bus.
Some places don’t give you much of a choice. After taking the train from Bangkok to the Cambodian border, for example, your only option for travel to Siem Reap, home of Angkor Wat, is to take a share taxi. Likewise, since trains don’t operate in Laos or the Philippines, overland travel is your only option there — typically via van or minibus in Laos or tour bus in the Philippines.
Singapore
Southeast Asia overland travel is definitely an experience and I recommend you do it at least once. Southeast Asia flights are frankly too generally cheap — and by train too comfortable a secondary option in the event of expensive airfare — for me to recommend you go overland during Southeast Asia travel if you don’t absolutely have to.
Boats and Ferries
Boat and ferry travel in Southeast Asia does exist, although it’s even less convenient for tourists than traveling overland. It’s possible, for example, to travel from Singapore or Jakarta to the island of Bali by ferry, but doing so takes two (or more) days and costs even more than discounted fares on AirAsia or Tiger Airways. Definitely not worth it.
For short bursts of Southeast Asia travel, boat transport is pretty standard. If you want to get from Trat, Thailand to the islands of Koh Mak or Koh Chang, for instance, you don’t have any choice. I don’t recommend traveling between countries in Southeast Asia by boat, however, under any circumstances.
About The Author
Robert Schrader is the author of 255 posts on Leave Your Daily Hell.
Robert founded Leave Your Daily Hell in 2010 so that other travelers would have an entertaining, reliable source of information, advice and inspiration at their fingertips. Robert has traveled to more than 36 countries since he got his first passport stamp in 2005. Want to travel more often? Subscribe to email updates today!
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