The circuit that gives Southeast Asia in its most varied and most honest form in 14 days: Bangkok for the temples and the street food that has no equal in the region, Chiang Mai for the north Thai kingdom and the elephant sanctuary and the khao soi that justifies the flight alone, Luang Prabang for the monk alms round and the Mekong and the specific Laos quality of a UNESCO city that is genuinely undiscovered relative to its beauty, and Vietnam’s Hội An and Ho Chi Minh City for the tailors and the war history and the bánh mì that closes the food argument definitively.
Reading time: 11 minutes | Last updated: 2026
Southeast Asia rewards the traveller who stays in fewer places longer over the traveller who moves every two days. This 2-week circuit uses 4 countries (Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam with an optional Cambodia extension) at 3-4 nights per city — the minimum time for a city to show you what it actually is rather than what it presents in the first 48 hours.
The circuit works as a one-way route: London-Bangkok in, Ho Chi Minh City-London out. The open-jaw fare (London-Bangkok / HCMC-London) is typically the same price as the return to either city and saves the backtracking.
Before You Leave
Visas (2025 for UK citizens):
- Thailand: 60-day visa-free entry (extended from 30 days in 2024)
- Laos: 30-day visa on arrival (USD 35-50 / £27.56-39.37 depending on nationality — paid in USD at the border)
- Vietnam: e-Visa required (USD 25 / £19.69, apply at evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn, 3 working days processing)
The money: The Thai baht, Laos kip, and Vietnamese dong are all available from ATMs at the destination. The Wise or Starling card (the zero foreign exchange fee cards) for ATM withdrawals. The airport ATM on arrival is the correct first cash source — the exchange desks at airports have poor rates.
The budget signal: Southeast Asia at the budget level (the guesthouses, the street food, the shared transport) costs £25-40/day. The mid-range (the boutique guesthouses, the restaurant meals, the private taxis) costs £50-90/day. The luxury (the design hotels, the fine dining, the private guides) costs £120-250/day. All three levels are available throughout the circuit.
The Route
Bangkok (3 nights) → Chiang Mai (3 nights) → Luang Prabang, Laos (3 nights, fly or overland) → Hội An, Vietnam (2 nights, fly from Luang Prabang via Hanoi) → Ho Chi Minh City (3 nights) → fly home
The 14 Days
DAYS 1-3 — Bangkok
The complete Bangkok guide: Bangkok in 48 Hours and Thailand — The BGGD Guide.
The specific Day 3 Bangkok addition:
The Jim Thompson House (6 Kasem San 2, Bang Rak — the 1967 house of the American businessman who revived the Thai silk industry and disappeared mysteriously in the Malaysian Cameron Highlands in 1967, the house preserved as he left it, the Thai silk on every surface, the antique Buddhist art in every room): entry THB 200 / £4.41. The most atmosphere-dense interior in Bangkok.
The Chatuchak Weekend Market (if arriving on Saturday or Sunday — the world’s largest weekend market, 15,000 stalls, the vintage section in Section 5, the plant section in Section 3, the art section in Section 7): the full-day Bangkok alternative to the temple circuit for the second visit.
Where to stay: The Mandarin Oriental Bangkok (the most celebrated hotel in Asia: £200-400/night), the Ariyasom Villa (the boutique Art Deco hotel in Sukhumvit: £80-150/night), the NapPark Hostel (the design hostel in the old city near the democracy monument: private rooms from £18-35/night).
DAYS 4-6 — Chiang Mai
The complete Chiang Mai guide: Chiang Mai in 48 Hours and Chiang Mai for Digital Nomads.
The specific Day 6 Chiang Mai addition:
The Doi Inthanon National Park (Thailand’s highest peak at 2,565 metres, 2 hours from Chiang Mai — the royal chedis (the twin pagodas commissioned by the royal family for the King’s 60th and Queen’s 60th birthdays), the cloud forest at the summit, the bird watching (the Doi Inthanon species list of 383 birds includes several found nowhere else in Thailand)):
Day trip by hire car or tour (the tour from Chiang Mai: THB 800-1,400 / £17.67-30.92 per person including transport) or self-drive (the road is tarmac throughout, the 2,565-metre summit accessible in a standard car in 2 hours from Chiang Mai city).
Where to stay: The Rachamankha (£80-150/night), the Tamarind Village (£60-110/night), the Deejai Backpackers (private rooms from £15-30/night).
DAYS 7-9 — Luang Prabang, Laos
Getting to Luang Prabang:
From Chiang Mai: the Lao Airlines or Bangkok Airways flight (via Vientiane or direct, 1.5-2 hours, USD 80-160 / £63-126). Or the Lao-China high-speed railway from Vientiane (the railway from Vientiane to Luang Prabang completed 2021, the 2-hour journey through the jungle and the mountains).
The Luang Prabang Difference:
Luang Prabang (the UNESCO-listed former royal capital of Laos — the town at the confluence of the Mekong and the Nam Khan rivers, the 33 active Buddhist monasteries, the French colonial architecture overlaying the Lao temple townscape): the city that the Indochina backpacker circuit discovered in the 1990s and that has remained the most specific combination of intact Buddhist culture and accessible travel infrastructure in mainland Southeast Asia.
Day 7: The Alms Round and the Market
The tak bat (the monk alms round — the Buddhist practice where the monks of the monasteries walk the streets at dawn to receive offerings of food from the laypersons, the practice in Luang Prabang beginning at 5:30am): stand at the side of the road, the monks in the saffron robes walking in a long line through the streets, the laypersons kneeling and placing the sticky rice into the alms bowls.
The specific instruction: observe rather than participate unless you are genuinely practicing the offering. The tourist participation in the tak bat has become a disruption in recent years — the flash photography, the staged tourist offering (the vendors selling sticky rice to tourists on the street, the tourist placing the rice while photographing simultaneously): the respectful position is the side of the road, observing, no flash, before 6am.
The Luang Prabang Morning Market (the Phosi Market, adjacent to the main road — the food market, the Lao vegetables (the morning glory, the bitter melon, the yard-long beans), the fresh river fish, and the specific Lao breakfast (the khao niew — the sticky rice in the bamboo basket, the Lao staple): the market at 6am, the freshest produce.
Day 8: The Kuang Si Falls and the Bear Sanctuary
The Kuang Si Falls (32km from Luang Prabang — the three-tier waterfall in the limestone forest, the turquoise pools at each level, the swimming in the lower pool, the path above the upper falls, the Tat Kuang Si Bears Rescue Centre at the entrance — the Asiatic black bear rescue programme, the rescued bears visible in the sanctuary): tuk-tuk or songthaew from Luang Prabang, 45 minutes, LAK 20,000 / £0.82 per person in the shared vehicle. Entry: LAK 50,000 / £2.06.
Day 9: The Mekong and the Pak Ou Caves
The slow boat on the Mekong (the 2-hour boat from Luang Prabang upstream to the Pak Ou Caves — the cave complex at the junction of the Nam Ou and the Mekong, the 4,000 Buddha images covering the cave walls and shelves, the figures in every position and size donated by pilgrims over centuries): LAK 80,000-120,000 / £3.30-4.95 per person each way by chartered boat.
The Mekong at the Pak Ou return (the river in the late afternoon, the limestone mountains above the river visible in every direction, the fishing boats, the riverbank villages): the specific Mekong quality available only by being on the river rather than beside it.
Where to stay: The Maison Souvannaphoum Hotel (former Laotian prince’s residence, £80-150/night), the Villa Santi Hotel (£55-95/night), the Sayo Guest House (private rooms from £18-35/night).
DAYS 10-11 — Hội An, Vietnam
Getting to Hội An:
From Luang Prabang: fly to Đà Nẵng via Hanoi or via Bangkok (Lao Airlines or Vietnam Airlines, 3-4 hours total with connection): USD 100-200 / £78.74-157.48. Taxi from Đà Nẵng to Hội An: 30 minutes, VND 200,000-300,000 / £6.28-9.42.
The Hội An guide: Hội An in 48 Hours and 7 Days in Vietnam. The specific 2-day Hội An addition:
The Tailor:
Hội An has over 400 tailors — the town’s entire economic history has been built on the textile trade since the 16th century when it was the primary Silk Road port of central Vietnam. The tailor visit on Day 10 evening: the suit or the dress measured and ordered, the fitting on Day 11 morning, the collection on Day 11 afternoon.
The correct tailor selection: not the tourist street-facing shops but the Hội An Tailors Association members whose quality is verified by the association. The recommended names (current as of 2025, verify by the nomad community at the Hội An Facebook group): Yaly Couture (47 Trần Phú), A Dong Silk (40 Lê Lợi).
Cost: VND 800,000-2,500,000 / £25.14-78.54 for a tailored dress or suit.
DAYS 12-14 — Ho Chi Minh City
The complete HCMC guide: Ho Chi Minh City in 48 Hours.
The specific 3-day HCMC additions:
The Mekong Delta Day Trip (Day 13):
The Cái Bè or Mỹ Tho day tour: the floating market at 8am, the coconut candy factory, the river channels by sampan, the lunch at the riverside restaurant. Full guide in Ho Chi Minh City in 48 Hours.
The Bến Thành Night Market and the Bui Vien Walking Street (Day 12 evening):
The Bui Vien Walking Street (the backpacker street of Phạm Ngũ Lão, the night market version) — the specific HCMC evening at the plastic tables, the Tiger beer at 25,000 VND / £0.78 per can, the grilled seafood from the street cart, the specific energy of the most concentrated tourist street in Southeast Asia at 10pm.
The Bến Thành Night Market (adjacent to the Bến Thành Market — the evening version of the day market, the clothing and the food and the specific tourist economy of the HCMC night market): 6pm-midnight.
What It Costs
| Category | Budget | Mid-Range |
|---|---|---|
| Return flights (London-Bangkok, HCMC-London, open jaw) | £500-800 | £650-1,000 |
| Internal flights (Chiang Mai-Luang Prabang, Luang Prabang-Đà Nẵng) | £120-260 | £160-350 |
| 14 nights accommodation | £250-490 | £560-1,120 |
| Food (14 days) | £100-200 | £200-420 |
| Activities (elephant sanctuary, Kuang Si, Cu Chi, etc.) | £80-160 | £120-240 |
| Local transport (tuk-tuks, taxis, buses) | £50-100 | £80-160 |
| Total | £1,100-2,010 | £1,770-3,290 |
