Southeast Asia Backpacking Route: A 2-Month Plan

A classic Southeast Asia backpacking route for two months: Bangkok (4 nights), Koh Phangan (12), Chiang Mai (10), then fly to Hanoi (7), take the night train south to Da Nang and Hoi An (11), and finish with 18 nights in Bali. That's 63 nights and three countries.

The part people get wrong is the borders. Thailand cut its visa-free stay to 30 days in September 2026, so the three Thai stops have to fit inside that. Vietnam needs an e-visa for most passports. Bali gives you 30 days on a visa on arrival, extendable once.

Disclosure: we make NomadPoint. Facts checked on 4 November 2026.

This is an example plan, built the way we'd set it up in NomadPoint. We use real routes and current entry rules, but we haven't travelled this exact itinerary, and the dates below are only a sample start (8 January 2027).

The route at a glance

The day counts in the "Days in country" column include the arrival day and the departure day, which is the safe way to count against an allowance.

For a 3-month Southeast Asia itinerary, add Bali time (with the extension) or more Vietnam, not more Thai stops.

Leg 1: Bangkok, 4 nights

From 15 September 2026, citizens of 60 countries and territories get a visa-free stay of up to 30 days for tourism, replacing the old 60-day exemption. The Tourism Authority of Thailand's announcement lists the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany and the other EU states among them. Some nationalities get 15 days or need a visa on arrival, and a few bilateral agreements give 90 days, so check your own passport. You also need to fill in the free Thailand Digital Arrival Card before you land.

Leg 2: Koh Phangan, 12 nights

The overland option is Lomprayah's combined ticket: a VIP bus from Bangkok (Pinklao) and then a catamaran, sold as one booking on Lomprayah's site. It takes most of a day. The faster option is to fly to Koh Samui and take a boat across; Lomprayah also runs catamarans from Bangrak Pier, near Samui airport.

If you plan to work from the island, our Koh Phangan digital nomad guide covers areas, coworking and internet.

Leg 3: Chiang Mai, 10 nights

Take the boat back to Samui and fly. Bangkok Airways lists direct flights between Samui and Chiang Mai. Check its current timetable for your date before you lock in the Koh Phangan checkout.

This leg finishes your Thai days. Arrive 8 January, leave 3 February: that's 27 days counted inclusively, three under the limit. That buffer covers a missed boat or a cancelled ferry.

Leg 4: Hanoi, 7 nights

Getting there. Chiang Mai to Hanoi is a short flight. Search CNX to HAN in Google Flights for your date. If no nonstop fits your dates, connect through Bangkok.

Entry rule. Vietnam issues e-visas to citizens of every country. The official Vietnam tourism guide says it is valid for up to 90 days with multiple entries. Apply on the government portal, evisa.gov.vn, not on look-alike agency sites. Some passports can enter Vietnam visa-free for shorter stays; if yours is one, check whether the visa-free period covers your 20 days.

A date to watch. In this sample plan, Hanoi falls on Tet, the Lunar New Year, on 6 February 2027. VnExpress reports the official break runs 4 to 10 February. Expect closed shops and busy trains. Either book the onward train early or move Vietnam to after Tet.

Leg 5: Da Nang and Hoi An, 11 nights

Getting there. The North-South railway runs from Hanoi through Hue to Da Nang. The night train is a cheap way to cover the distance and saves a night's accommodation. Book on Vietnam Railways' site, dsvn.vn, or take a domestic flight if Tet has sold out the train.

Da Nang is the base and Hoi An is a short ride south. Our Da Nang digital nomad guide goes into neighbourhoods and longer stays, and the Vietnam backpacking route covers the full north to south trip if you want more Vietnam and less Thailand.

The flight out sets this leg's length. Indonesia AirAsia launched a direct Bali to Da Nang route in March 2026. It isn't daily (VnExpress reported four flights a week), so pick your Vietnam exit date from the days it flies, then work backwards. The other option is a connection through Kuala Lumpur, Singapore or Ho Chi Minh City.

Leg 6: Bali, 18 nights

Entry rule. Indonesia's visa on arrival is available to passports on the immigration directorate's list, which includes the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, France and the Netherlands. You can buy it online in advance as an e-VOA. According to Indonesian immigration, the stay is 30 days from the date your passport is stamped, it can be extended once for another 30 days (60 in total), and you have to enter within 90 days of the e-VOA being issued. Indonesia also requires the free All Indonesia arrival card, filed through allindonesia.imigrasi.go.id shortly before you fly.

Eighteen nights fits inside 30 days, so this plan needs no extension. If you stretch Bali to six weeks, apply for the extension well before day 30. Our 30-day Bali itinerary covers how to split that time across the island.

Nyepi. Bali's Day of Silence falls in early March 2027. In 2026, Ngurah Rai airport suspended all flights for 24 hours. Check the 2027 date before you book a flight out of Bali in March.

The visa-days puzzle across three countries

Each country has its own count, and they don't share days. The trouble is the order of the legs.

1. Thailand is the tight one. Three stops, 26 nights and a 30-day cap. Add a few days to Koh Phangan and you're over. If you want more Thai time, apply for a Thai visa before you go instead of relying on the exemption.
2. Vietnam is set by the e-visa dates you apply for. The e-visa covers the dates you put on the application, so apply after your Chiang Mai to Hanoi flight is booked and give yourself a few days on each side.
3. Bali is set by the flight out of Da Nang. Because that flight isn't daily, a two-day slip in Vietnam can push Bali two days later.
4. Passports differ. The numbers in this article apply to US, UK, Canadian, Australian and EU passports. Other passports get different allowances in all three countries, and older guides still quote Thailand's 60-day rule, which ended on 15 September 2026.

The pattern: book the cross-border flights first, check the days per country against those, then book stays to fill the nights in between.

How we'd set this up in NomadPoint

NomadPoint screen with example data: entry rules and days left for one country.

1. Add your passport (and a second one if you hold two). NomadPoint then shows Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia as visa-free, e-visa or visa on arrival for that passport, and checks your passport's validity against each one.
2. Create one journey called Southeast Asia, with the six stops in order. The itinerary lays them out day by day.
3. Add the four cross-border and inter-island legs first: the boat and flight to Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai to Hanoi, the train to Da Nang, and Da Nang to Bali. You can forward booking emails so they land in the journey, or import from TripIt, Tripsy, Flighty or your calendar. For hops you haven't booked yet, NomadPoint fills in routes, fares and the ticket apps people use.
4. Read the days-left counts. With flights in place, each country shows days used against its allowance. In this plan Thailand shows 27 of 30. Move the Chiang Mai flight a few days later and you'll see the number change before you book.
5. Fill the stays. A night with no stay shows up as a gap, so a ferry that arrives the evening before your Koh Phangan check-in is obvious.
6. Store the documents. Put the Vietnam e-visa approval, your e-VOA, insurance and boarding passes in the journey's documents. The whole itinerary works offline, which helps on the ferry and the night train.

All of that is free. NomadPoint Pro ($29.99 a year or $7.99 a month in the US) adds flight delay, gate and cancellation alerts, the travel-day Live Activity, and alerts before a visa or stay allowance runs out, which is the one you'd want around day 25 in Thailand. NomadPoint runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch; the Watch shows your next flight, where you're staying and visa days left.

NomadPoint screen with example data: a journey on the map.

For the general method behind this, see our multi-city trip planner guide. For a comparison of the apps that count visa days, see the best visa tracker apps for digital nomads.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a Southeast Asia backpacking route be?

Two months covers Thailand, Vietnam and Bali at a pace where you're not moving every two days. With three months, add more Vietnam (the e-visa allows up to 90 days) or extend Bali to 60 days, rather than adding Thai stops, since Thailand's visa-free stay is now 30 days for most Western passports.

Can I still stay 60 days in Thailand without a visa?

Not on the new rules. From 15 September 2026 the visa-free stay is 30 days for the 60 eligible countries and territories, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand. For a longer stay, get a visa before you travel.

Do I need a visa for Vietnam?

Most passports need the e-visa, which you apply for at evisa.gov.vn. It's open to every nationality and can cover up to 90 days. Apply once your flight into Hanoi is booked so the dates match.

How long can I stay in Bali on a visa on arrival?

Thirty days from the day you enter, extendable once for another 30, so 60 days at most, according to Indonesian immigration. This applies to passports on Indonesia's visa-on-arrival list.

Which order is best: Thailand, Vietnam, then Bali, or the reverse?

Either works for visas, since each country counts separately. This order avoids backtracking: Bangkok to the southern islands, up to Chiang Mai, a short flight to Hanoi, south through Vietnam, and the direct Da Nang to Bali flight to finish.

Plan the whole route in one journey. NomadPoint puts every flight, ferry and stay on one timeline, checks entry rules for your passport and counts the days left in each country. Free on iPhone, iPad and Mac.

Download NomadPoint on the App Store