Southeast Asia / Getting around · 16 min read
There is no single network, and no pass that covers it.
Flights, sleepers, day trains, buses, ferries and ride apps — what each one is actually for, and the one border that is shut.
In this guide
How to Get Around Southeast Asia: Start with Your Route
Europe trained a generation to expect one pass. This is not that.
At 9.25pm, train 133 pulls out of Bangkok's Krung Thep Aphiwat terminal, and somewhere north of the city the seats become bunks. By 7.55 the next morning it is standing at Nong Khai, on the Thai bank of the Mekong. Forty minutes later it rolls over the river, and at 9.05 it stops at Khamsavath station on the edge of Vientiane. A lower berth for the whole run costs 874 baht, about $25, on the timetable kept by The Man in Seat 61.
Point yourself east from the same terminal and the story changes. Every land crossing between Thailand and Cambodia has been suspended since the fighting of 2025, so the old backpacker run from Bangkok to Siem Reap now starts at an airport. That contrast explains how to get around Southeast Asia in 2027. No pass covers the region and no single network joins it up: you move through a patchwork of national systems, a few of them excellent and one of them broken. What follows goes mode by mode, with the operators I'd trust and the legs I'd fly.
Europe trained a generation of travellers to expect one pass and one timetable. Nothing like that exists here. Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Indonesia each run their own railway, sell their own tickets and open sales on their own schedule: seven days ahead on the Laos–China Railway, around 60 days for Vietnam's long runs, months ahead for a Thai sleeper, by Mark Smith's reckoning at Seat 61.
Two aggregators cover most of what the national sites miss. 12Go, founded in 2012 and run from Bangkok, lists more than 45,000 routes on its own count; Baolau started in Vietnam and sells trains, buses, ferries and flights across the Mekong countries. I'd use the railway's own site where it works in English and takes a foreign card, and an aggregator where it doesn't. The table below sorts them.
The second thing to know is political. The classic loop ran Bangkok, Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Ho Chi Minh City, then north through Vietnam and home via Laos. Its first leg is gone. British government advice, current on 11 October 2026, says 'Land borders and crossings between Thailand and Cambodia remain suspended', and warns against all but essential travel within 20km of the frontier. Thailand's prime minister said in May that the checkpoints would stay shut until Cambodia accepts Bangkok's conditions, according to Malaysia's The Star. Plan as though that will hold: fly between the two countries, or run the loop through Laos and Vietnam and enter Cambodia from the east.
Every booking site, sortable
| Book with | What it sells | Use it for | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| SRT D-Ticket (dticket.railway.co.th) | State Railway of Thailand trains | Sleepers from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Nong Khai and the south | A site that is slow to load; berths go early around holidays |
| KTMB KITS (online.ktmb.com.my) | Malaysian trains | ETS trains between Johor Bahru, Kuala Lumpur, Butterworth and Padang Besar, with no booking fee | Sells neither Thai trains nor the Komuter shuttle to the border |
| dsvn.vn | Vietnam Railways | Berths on the Hanoi–Hué–Da Nang–Saigon line | Station counters want cash in dong |
| Laos–China Railway app or station | Lao trains only | Vientiane, Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang | Sales open days ahead, never weeks; counters take cash in kip |
| 12Go | Trains, buses, ferries, flights and transfers across the region | Joint bus-and-boat tickets to Thai islands, Lao trains, Cambodian buses | Lao train bookings are confirmed only two or three days before departure |
| Baolau | Trains, buses, ferries and flights | Vietnamese and Thai trains, with a seat plan | Can show a Thai train as sold out while seats remain |
| redBus | Coaches and some ferries in Malaysia and Singapore | Kuala Lumpur to Singapore or Melaka; boats to Langkawi and Tioman | More than 200 operators: check which terminal yours leaves from |
| tiket.com or Traveloka | Indonesian trains | Java's long-distance trains, paid with a foreign card | The state railway's own site is Indonesian-only and rejects overseas cards |
Three networks, none of them joined up
Flights: For Water, or a Closed Border
Low-cost airlines are the region’s real network, and the headline fare is an opening bid.
Low-cost airlines are the region's real network. AirAsia has the densest map, with Scoot working out of Singapore, VietJet out of Vietnam and Cebu Pacific out of Manila. In Skytrax's 2026 passenger survey AirAsia was named the world's best low-cost airline for the 17th year running, and Scoot came second.
The headline fare is an opening bid. Scoot's baggage page allows economy passengers two cabin pieces weighing 10kg between them, puts nothing in the hold on its basic Fly fare, and tells you to buy checked weight in advance because the airport rate is higher. Expect the same logic on every budget carrier here. Safety oversight is uneven too: the Foreign Office notes that Thailand's aviation regulator has suspended Nok Air from international flights over safety concerns, though the airline still flies domestic routes.
I'd fly three kinds of leg. Thailand to Cambodia, while the border stays shut: the Thai tour operator Explera describes Bangkok to Siem Reap and Bangkok to Phnom Penh as ordinary scheduled services. Anything that crosses open sea, which means most of the Philippines and Indonesia beyond Java and Bali. And long diagonals such as Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, about 34 hours by rail. Book on the airline's own site and add the bag then.
Airports sit a long way out, so a one-hour flight still eats half a day. Bangkok has two of them: read your booking. Phnom Penh's flights moved in September 2025 to the new Techo International, south of the city. British advice also warns that the Middle East crisis is delaying and cancelling flights well beyond that region.
Sleeper Trains in Thailand and Vietnam
The best way to cover distance, and the berth doubles as the night’s accommodation.
Thailand's long-distance trains leave Bangkok from Krung Thep Aphiwat, the terminal that replaced Hua Lamphong for these services in January 2023, and run north to Chiang Mai, north-east to Nong Khai and Vientiane, and south towards the islands and Malaysia. Vietnam has one trunk line, from Hanoi through Hué and Da Nang to Saigon.
On Seat 61's Thailand page, Mark Smith rates trains 9 and 10 between Bangkok and Chiang Mai above the rest for their newer Chinese-built sleeping cars and restaurant car; the northbound leaves at 6.40pm and arrives at 7.15am. Vietnam's soft sleepers are four-berth compartments with a trolley selling coffee and beer. The scenery arrives late in the trip: between Hué and Da Nang the track climbs around the Hải Vân Pass above the South China Sea, a stretch Smith calls 'the most magical part' of the line.
Buy Thai tickets on the State Railway's D-Ticket site and choose a lower berth, which is wider and has the window: 1,038 baht (about $30) to Chiang Mai at the last fares Smith lists. For Vietnam, use dsvn.vn or Baolau about 60 days out. My pick is Hanoi to Da Nang on the SE3, leaving at 7.20pm and arriving at 10.36am, so the pass comes in daylight. A lower soft sleeper is 1,137,000₫, roughly $45.
Hanoi to Saigon in one go is about 34 hours, and I'd break it at Hué or fly. Thai trains have been dry since 2014, when alcohol was banned on board and at stations. After Bangkok's floods in late September 2026, check that your train is running before you cross town.
The sleeper, which is a bed you are paying for anyway
Day Trains in Laos, Malaysia and Java Are the Easy Wins
Three newer railways have changed their countries.
Three newer railways have changed their countries. The Laos–China Railway, open since December 2021, links Vientiane, Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang in about two hours. Malaysia's ETS electric trains have run direct between Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur since the southern line was electrified in December 2025, and reach Butterworth, for Penang, in four hours. On Java, the Whoosh covers Jakarta to Bandung in 46 minutes.
James Clark of Nomadic Notes rode the Lao line in 2024 and found stations run like airports: no entry without a ticket, bags scanned, aerosols confiscated (he lost a deodorant). Water bottles pass if you take a sip, which he called 'the most sensible system I have seen anywhere for liquid security'. Second class is five seats across with generous legroom and no wifi, and north of Vang Vieng much of the view is tunnel. Malaysia's ETS carries a bistro counter in coach C, by the operator's own description.
Laos is the fiddly one. Station counters sell seven days ahead for cash in kip, and Seat 61 reports that the railway's app now accepts an email sign-up and a Visa card; failing that, ask your guesthouse. Second class from Vientiane to Luang Prabang is 330,000 kip, around $15. In Malaysia, book on KTMB's own KITS system, which adds no fee. For Java, tiket.com and Traveloka take foreign cards where the state railway's site will not.
New stations were built where land was cheap. Clark measured Vientiane's at about 17km from town and Luang Prabang's at 12km, with a shared minivan at 35,000 kip. The Whoosh terminals are 14km from central Jakarta and 23km from Bandung's main station, which hands back much of the 46 minutes.
The rail route from Malaysia into Thailand crosses at Padang Besar and continues through Hat Yai. The Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel on that stretch of line, because of attacks in Thailand's far south. Read your insurance policy before you book it, or fly from Penang or Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok.
Buses and Minivans Fill the Gaps — Ride Them by Day
Where the rails stop, the bus takes over. Night buses are the false economy.
Where the rails stop, the bus takes over: across most of Cambodia, through rural Laos, into Vietnam's highlands and around provincial Thailand. Thai intercity buses are run mainly by the government company known as Baw Khaw Saw, alongside licensed private firms using the same terminals. Cambodia's better-known names are Giant Ibis, Mekong Express and Vireak Buntham.
Rough Guides' Thailand chapter prices a VIP seat from Bangkok to Chiang Mai at 600 to 800 baht ($17 to $23) and is blunt about the tourist coaches sold on Khao San Road: promised as VIP, often shabby, with luggage theft a regular complaint. 'Overnight buses, in particular, have a reputation for reckless driving,' it adds. At the other end of the scale, Giant Ibis says it tracks every coach by GPS, removes a row of seats for legroom and hands out a pastry from the Blue Pumpkin bakery, water and a cold towel.
Go by day, with a named operator, from the main terminal. Phnom Penh to Siem Reap on Giant Ibis is about six and a half hours and $15 by Seat 61's figures, with morning departures at 8.45 and 9.45 on the company's timetable. Saigon to Phnom Penh costs about $14 and takes as long. Book direct, or through 12Go, Baolau or Cambodia's Camboticket. Minivans are quicker and tighter; in Thailand a big rucksack can cost extra.
Night buses are the false economy. British advice for Vietnam says bus and coach crashes are not uncommon, are more likely after dark, and that tired night drivers keep going. Giant Ibis's timetable still shows a Bangkok service; with the border suspended, I wouldn't pay for a seat on it.
Ferries and Fast Boats: Take the Bigger Vessel
Islands mean boats, and the month matters more than the operator.
Islands mean boats. In the Gulf of Thailand, Lomprayah's high-speed catamarans and its rival Seatran link Chumphon and the Surat Thani coast with Koh Tao, Koh Phangan and Koh Samui. Indonesia runs public car ferries between its main islands and a private fast-boat trade out of Bali. In the Philippines, 2GO sails passenger ships and fast ferries across Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.
Lomprayah quotes 45 to 90 minutes for its fast crossings and sells joint tickets that add a coach from Bangkok or a van from Chumphon and Surat Thani airports, with the caveat that schedules may vary. Rough Guides puts Chumphon to Koh Tao at anything from 200 baht for a six-hour slow boat to 600 baht for an hour and three-quarters. The official tone is darker. The Foreign Office says boats in Thailand have sunk or collided, killing British nationals among others, and blames overloading, poor maintenance and monsoon seas.
I'd choose the largest vessel on the route and a morning sailing, and buy the joint ticket so that a late bus is the operator's problem. Season matters more than price: the Samui side of Thailand gets its rain from November to March, while the rest of the country's wet months are May to October. Our guide to the best islands in Southeast Asia helps you match island to month. Keep a spare day before any international flight.
The Philippines is where I'd be strictest. British advice says the ferry network has a poor record of maritime safety, with more accidents between June and December. In Indonesia the same source says to avoid crossings after dark and warns that children's life jackets are not always carried.
Java to Bali needs no tourist boat. Seat 61's Indonesia page has the public ferry from Ketapang to Gilimanuk leaving every 15 minutes, day and night, for a 45-minute crossing at 10,600 rupiah, about 65 cents. The pier is a five-minute walk from Ketapang railway station.
In Cities, Grab and Its Rivals Beat Haggling
A ride app fixes the price before the door closes.
A ride app fixes the price before the door closes, which removes the oldest argument in travel. Grab lists eight countries: Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia and Myanmar. It is absent from Laos, where the local equivalent is LOCA. Indonesia also has Gojek, which began in Jakarta in 2010 with 20 motorbike taxis.
Even the Foreign Office recommends them. Its Vietnam page tells visitors to use official apps such as Grab or Xanh SM, the electric taxi fleet, and to book the whole journey inside the app, because scammers pose as drivers from both. The Indonesia page repeats the warning about men on the street claiming to be app drivers, and names Bluebird as a registered taxi firm to call. LOCA promises fixed fares, no haggling and payment by foreign card, which helps in a country where the station counter wants kip.
Install the apps and add a card before you land; our rundown of the best travel apps for Southeast Asia covers the rest of the phone. Match the number plate and the driver's face to the screen. Travelling alone with a small bag, I'd pick the motorbike option in traffic and a car in the rain. Where a city has a metro or an airport train, as Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore do, that beats both at rush hour.
Prices surge in rush hour and rain, and the app needs data, so sort a SIM or eSIM at the airport. It also cures only one kind of rip-off. The others are in our guide to tourist traps in Southeast Asia.
In the city, and the last mile
Renting a Scooter Is the Riskiest Way to Get Around
Every beach town will rent you one with no questions. That is the problem.
Every beach town will rent you a scooter with no questions. The law asks several. For British licence holders, Thailand and Vietnam require the 1968 international driving permit alongside the home licence, Cambodia and Laos the 1949 version, and Indonesia does not recognise a UK licence without one. Other nationalities should check their own government's page.
Read the British advice country by country and a pattern forms. Thailand: the World Health Organization ranks it among the deadliest places on earth for motorcyclists, and hire bikes in tourist areas are often unregistered, so they cannot legally be on a public road at all. Bali: a large rise in moped and motorbike accidents, some fatal, and foreigners vulnerable to extortion after even a minor collision. Laos: reports of rental firms arranging for their own bikes to be stolen or damaged, then holding the customer's passport until a fee is paid.
If you ride at home and hold a motorcycle licence, get the right permit before you leave (British ones cannot be bought abroad), ask your insurer in writing whether the engine size is covered, and wear a helmet, which the law in Thailand and Vietnam demands. Leave a cash deposit or a photocopy, never the passport. Photograph every scratch before you ride away.
Insurance is the trap. The Foreign Office warns that riding without a valid licence can invalidate a travel policy, leaving you with the hospital bill. In Vietnam an accident can also bring a travel ban while police investigate. Without the licence, I'd use an app's motorbike taxi and let someone else drive.
What to Eat on the Move
Dining cars, trolleys and station markets.
Thai long-distance trains still carry restaurant cars. Seat 61 prices a set meal at 150 to 200 baht, about $4 to $6, calls the food cheap and good, and adds a wry warning: attendants earn commission on the set menus they bring to your seat and have been known to deny that the restaurant car exists. Walk down the train and look. Only alcohol-free beer is sold on board.
Vietnam does it by trolley and by ticket: a hot meal from the kitchen car, delivered to your berth, runs to about 35,000₫ ($1.40). Malaysia's ETS has its bistro in coach C. On a bus, lunch is wherever the driver stops, and you get no vote. So I'd shop before boarding. The stalls outside a station or beside a terminal will usually beat the trolley, and our guide to night market food in Southeast Asia tells you what travels well.
Crossing Borders Overland: What Works and What Is Shut
Three crossings are easy. One is closed.
Three land crossings are easy. Thailand to Laos is the sleeper at the top of this page, and Seat 61 notes that Lao e-visas have been accepted at the Vientiane station since February 2025. Vietnam to Cambodia is the Saigon to Phnom Penh bus. Singapore to Malaysia is a shuttle train from Woodlands to Johor Bahru today; the new 4km RTS Link between Woodlands North and Bukit Chagar is now targeted for February 2027, the two governments said on 2 October, pending safety certification. Fares are unannounced.
One is shut. Beyond the British warning, the US State Department rates the Cambodian side of the Thai border Level 4, do not travel, within 50km. Treat any agent selling a Bangkok to Siem Reap bus with suspicion.
Every Mode, Side by Side
What each is best for, where to book it, and what to watch.
Every mode, sortable
| Mode | Best for | Book with | Sample price | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low-cost flights | Sea crossings, Thailand to Cambodia, long diagonals | The airline's own site or app | Fare plus bags, bought in advance | Out-of-town airports; cabin-bag weight limits |
| Sleeper trains | Bangkok–Chiang Mai, Bangkok–Vientiane, Hanoi–Da Nang | SRT D-Ticket, dsvn.vn, Baolau | 874 baht Bangkok–Vientiane; 1,137,000₫ Hanoi–Da Nang | Holiday sell-outs; no alcohol on Thai trains |
| Day trains | Laos, Malaysia's west coast, Java | Lao railway app, KTMB KITS, tiket.com | 330,000 kip Vientiane–Luang Prabang | Stations far from town; the Padang Besar advisory |
| Buses and minivans | Cambodia, rural Laos, short hops | Operator direct, 12Go, redBus | $15 Phnom Penh–Siem Reap | Night services; Khao San tourist coaches |
| Ferries | Thai gulf islands, Java–Bali, the Philippines | Lomprayah, Seatran, 2GO | 200–600 baht Chumphon–Koh Tao | Monsoon seas; overloaded boats |
| Ride apps | Cities and airport runs | Grab, Gojek, Xanh SM, LOCA | Fixed in the app before you ride | Fake app drivers on the street; surge pricing |
| Rented scooter | Licensed, insured riders only | A registered local shop | Cash deposit, never your passport | Void insurance without the right licence |
Prices are the latest listed by the sources named in each section, read in October 2026. Thai rail fares on Seat 61 date from 2023 and Rough Guides' ferry and bus prices are undated, so treat them as a floor. Dollar figures use roughly 35 baht, 25,000₫, 21,500 kip and 16,300 rupiah to US$1.
Seasons, Booking Windows, Money and Time
The layer that decides whether any of it works.
When to go: Weather cancels more trips than anything else. Thailand's rains run from May to October (November to March around Koh Samui), Vietnam's storm season from May to November with central floods from October to December, and around 20 typhoons a year hit the Philippines, mostly between June and November. Bangkok was badly flooded in late September 2026: the Foreign Office reported all 50 districts declared disaster-affected. Our month-by-month guide to Southeast Asia sets out the calendar.
Booking: Buy the scarce thing first. Sleeper berths sell out around Tết, which falls on 6 February 2027, and Songkran in mid-April. Vietnam opens long-distance sales about 60 days ahead and Laos seven; Thai sleepers go on sale months in advance. Outside holidays, buses and ferries rarely need more than a day or two.
Money: Station counters in Laos and Vietnam want local cash and generally refuse cards and dollars, according to Seat 61. Apps and airline sites take foreign cards. Carry small notes for the tuk-tuk at the far end, since the new stations are rarely walkable.
How long: I'd budget one full day for any transfer over six hours and avoid two in a row. Three weeks suits two countries; a month suits three. Our backpacking Southeast Asia guide has route ideas.
Safety: Check your own government's advice the week you travel. As of 11 October 2026 the Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel within 20km of the Thai–Cambodian border, to Thailand's Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat provinces, to Xaisomboun in Laos, to the islands off eastern Sabah and to most of Mindanao, and against all travel to western and central Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago. Travelling against that advice can void your insurance.
The Bottom Line
Book the sleeper first and build the trip around it.
Southeast Asia rewards the traveller who mixes modes. Trains are the pleasure: the sleeper to Chiang Mai or Vientiane, the two-hour run to Luang Prabang, the coast between Hué and Da Nang. Planes are the patch for sea crossings and for the border Thailand and Cambodia have kept shut. Buses do the unglamorous middle, by day. Boats need the right month, and the rented scooter needs a licence most visitors don't hold. I'd plan the route around two or three rail journeys worth staying awake for and let everything else serve them.
Book the sleeper first and build the trip around it.
Before you go
What is the cheapest way to travel around Southeast Asia?
Buses and seated trains are the cheapest way to cover distance. Rough Guides lists a second-class bus from Bangkok to Chiang Mai at around 400 baht, and Seat 61 has Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from $13. A sleeper train costs more but replaces a night's accommodation, which is why I'd call it the better value on any run over ten hours.
Can you travel from Thailand to Cambodia by land in 2027?
Not on current evidence. As of 11 October 2026, British government advice says all land borders and crossings between the two countries remain suspended after the fighting of 2025, and it warns against travel within 20km of the frontier. Scheduled flights link Bangkok with both Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, so book one of those and recheck the advice before you go.
Is there a rail pass for Southeast Asia?
No. Each country's railway sells its own tickets, and no pass or single ticket covers a border. You book leg by leg: the State Railway of Thailand's D-Ticket site, KTMB in Malaysia, dsvn.vn in Vietnam, and the Laos–China Railway's app or station counters. Aggregators such as 12Go and Baolau put several of these in one basket, sometimes for a small fee.
Can you travel from Singapore to Bangkok by train?
Yes, in four stages. Take the shuttle from Woodlands to Johor Bahru, an ETS train to Kuala Lumpur and another to Padang Besar on the Thai border, then a Thai train to Bangkok, which is 958 baht from the border on Seat 61's fare table. The catch is that the Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel on the line between Padang Besar and Hat Yai.
Are night buses safe in Southeast Asia?
They are the least safe mainstream option. British advice for Vietnam says coach crashes are more likely at night and that tired drivers carry on driving; Rough Guides says much the same of Thailand's overnight buses. Where a sleeper train or a short flight covers the same ground, I'd take it. If a night bus is unavoidable, choose an established operator leaving from the main terminal.
Do you need an international driving permit to rent a scooter in Southeast Asia?
In most countries, yes. British riders need the 1968 permit plus their home licence in Thailand and Vietnam, and the 1949 version in Cambodia and Laos; Indonesia will not accept a UK licence alone. The permit only covers what you are licensed to ride at home. Rental shops rarely ask to see it, but your insurer will after an accident.
Keep going
Sources
Checked against official and institutional sources · State Railway of Thailand ticketing · Vietnam Railways · Laos-China Railway · Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) · UK FCDO Thailand travel advice · UK FCDO Vietnam travel advice · US State Dept Cambodia · PAGASA: Philippine weather · Philippine Maritime Industry Authority · UK government: international driving permits
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