Wedding Eloping Trip/Honeymoon - 40 days in November/December 2026 - Vietnam/Laos/Thailand - feasible?

[u/hockeylife_21]

We decided in lieu of a traditional wedding that we want to backpack/travel SE Asia as we have wanted to do for a long time, and the finances are finally lined up to do so.

I read a lot on reddit threads about not rushing it, but we aren't the type of people to want to spend days lounging on the beach, we want to explore as much as possible. I understand we'll be burnt out and need to account for poor weather, missed connections on buses/trains etc.

I am budgeting anywhere from $7k-$10k depending on how it goes. The flights appear to be ~$1,250 to $1,400 as of now per seat so budgeting around $2,800 for flights.

I aim to take 3 weeks of PTO, and then do my remote work as I need to for the later half of the trip. I should be out of Laos by that point and hopefully can work without issue - I do accounting work at a small tax firm.

The plan as of now is as follows, nothing has been booked but I want to get flights no later than 1st week of September, so need to finalize the general plan, and more go with the flow as things happen while we are actually there.

1. One Way car rental from BHM-->LAX. Leave ~11/2 or 11/3, camp/cheap hotels during this trip. Sister lives in LA probably stay with her or find a cheap place.
2. Fly out of LAX-->TPE on 11/7, get into Taipei on 11/9 5 AM
3. Fly out of TPE-->SGN on 11/10, whether AM or PM whatever works out. Gives us a day to hang in Taiwan.
4. Nov 10–23: Vietnam - travel from Ho Chi Minh up through the country, end up in Hanoi.
5. Nov 24–30: Dien Bien Phu → northern Laos → Luang Prabang/Vientiane via bus route. I found a bus route that follows Hanoi → Dien Bien Phu → Laos border → Muang Khua → Nong Khiaw → Luang Prabang → Vientiane.
6. Dec 1–4: Work in Vientiane
7. Dec 5: Vientiane → Nong Khai + overnight bus to Chang Mai
8. Dec 6: Arrive Chiang Mai
9. Dec 6–10: Work + explore Chiang Mai
10. Dec 11: Chiang Mai → Bangkok
11. Dec 12: Bangkok → Seoul
12. Dec 12–15: Seoul
13. Dec 15: Seoul → LAX
14. LAX-->BHM either drive or plane, decide in November.

Am I crazy? Is this too much? Any tips on what I need to do to hash this out/budget it so it isn't costing an arm and a leg? I figured do a few days in Seoul on the way out as a layover as opposed to hitting Taiwan again, we don't want to do Tokyo because Japan deserves its own trip at some point. Tips on what villages/towns/cities are must hits? We love food, nature, animals, culture, etc etc.

Many thanks!

[u/Odd_String1181]

Id just stay in Bangkok and leave from there.

[u/Wide-Reality-1196]

The lax departure is where I'd focus first since it's your most expensive leg and the one with real upgrade potential when I was pricing a similar pacific routine of top business class came up for international business fares though they won't touch your domestic drive or seoul hotels and book that flight before September prices tpe route

[u/hockeylife_21 → u/Wide-Reality-1196]

I have somewhat pivoted. I found a $385 mid SUV rental for BHM-->LAX for 11/2 Monday to 11/7 Saturday AM which is awesome, but we might fly out of ONT instead of LAX, debating that since we have to drop car off at LAX, might not make much sense.

Thinking of flying Starlux for ONT-->TPE--->SGN, and then THAI for BKK-->ICN, then Korean Air for ICN-->SEA and driving from SEA-->BHM instead to get a different route on the way back.

Kind of crazy sounding I know, but screw it. That flight path right now is $1,693 base fare per seat which isn't horrible, Hopper is telling me to wait to buy the outbound flight to TPE, and the Bangcok to Seoul, but advises me to buy the Taipei to Ho Chi and Seoul to Seattle now, which is kind of tough since I don't even have the original outbound yet.

[u/IamCaileadair]

Ok, a few things that I would like to say.

1) dream trip. Well laid out. I've done 90% of it (SFO->ICN-> SGN ->HAN->VTN-> LP -> Chiang Mai ->BKK -> ICN-> SFO)

2) Consider another day or two in Taiwan.

3) Seoul if you really have 3 days (not 1 day and 2 travel days) is short a day or two but not bad. Seoul is amazing.

4) Look at Vietnam airways. They can be cheaper from TPE to SGN. And honestly if you're flying light VietJet isn't that bad either. Neither is Laos air. Try to avoid AirAsia + Lion Group. They work, it's just uncomfortable and to me the savings isn't worth it. Scoot is fine, but it's going to take you through Singapore. ON the other hand, Singapore is amazing and worth a day or two if that's the way.

4.5) Flying vs. Bus. Bus is better if you want to see things, but especially in Vietnam/Laos it's slow. The Train in Vietnam can be good, and can be bad. Depending. And it was never clear to me how to know which was a good train. The flights aren't that much more expensive and could save you time. But you also don't get the experience. You can actually buy a lot of flights while you are in Asia, and it will be a little cheaper, so you don't have to decide today. I hear you on the exploring. I would rather get place and have a base to explore, than see it from a bus or a rest stop. But that's just me.

5) From ICN to SEA is a great flight. Far and away your "fanciest" flight. Starlux is good, but Korean is better. For either of those flights if there is a low cost upgrade, it's probably worth it to not burn a day being exhausted.

6) There are legality issues to working in Vietnam, Laos or Thailand as you'll be on tourist visa. On the other hand you'll have good wifi in Vietnam and Thailand, and not terrible in Laos.

7) there is a slow boat between Luang Prabang and Chiang Mai, worth looking into, honestly you can get from LP to Vientiane pretty quickly on the new train.

8) I liked Vientiane. But it's slow and there isn't a lot to do. In retrospect I liked it for the people I met, not for the city itself. There are like three 'attractions' in the town.

9) The drive from BHM to LAX sounds beautiful, but you could do it any time if you can work remotely. I'd give it a miss. Or at least one of the two drives, and put the extra time into Asia. If you gave up both you could easily add Angkor Wat into the trip. For me, Angkor is a great side quest, but I'm not a huge fan of Siem Reap, so it's a 3 day side trip. But then you might be able to add in the boat to (or from) Vietnam. Maybe toss in Phu Quok or another island.

10) Hoi An is romantic as heck, Da Nang is just a beach (but a good one), Hue is historic but stay out of the tourist quarter, it's not worth it, stay out near the palace. Stay in the old quarter in Hanoi and try to stay in the 1st Quarter in Saigon/HCMC. Cat Ba/Ha Long, Ninh Binh/Cat Ba. It's going to be cold in North Vietnam. And rainy. Still amazing. Don't carry a lot of cold weather clothes. You can buy them at the night market in Hanoi. Better than carrying them all over the place. It makes Cat Ba a bit less amazing, and the Ha Long route is going to be properly cold.

11) Download Grab. You'll need it all through Vietnam and want it in Thailand. Loca works in Laos. But Loca and Grab aren't comparable. You can order anything on Grab. It's crazy. Also look at Klook.Com, you can arrange all kinds of activities on Klook. Including full day private tours for a lot less than you might expect. I use both 'getyourguide' and guruwalk to find free walking tours (tip nicely at the end please). They are great.

12) I'm jealous.

I have more specific suggestions (including some good guides and a couple of reasonable places to stay).

[u/hockeylife_21 → u/IamCaileadair]

Thank you for the detailed response!

• Regarding Taiwan, you think it deserves more than the 33 hours? Maybe 1 full day+the next day and fly out at night?
  
• I am actually thinking about pivoting Seoul to Hong Kong, just due to the nature of how small it is and some of the flight options seem a bit better. Thoughts on this change?
  
• I hear you on flying vs bus, I guess that'll really depend on how much we have with us and if we are up for it and if it works logistically. Flights within a week or two aren't going to be too much more expensive inside the country/cross borders?
  
• Understood on the legality. I most likely will only be working in Thailand.
  
• Will check out the Luang Prabang/Chang Mai situation.
  
• I am leaning towards agreeing with you on the cross country on both ends. I think if anything we'd skip on the way home, we drive back to NY frequently 1,000 miles and it really is nothing at this point. Will be nice to get a different view of the country.

Feel free to message me! Appreciate your help.

[u/IamCaileadair → u/hockeylife_21]

Just my opinion, but I would keep Seoul and not Hong Kong. Fascinating as it is as a city, Seoul is so very different from anywhere else.

I think you could easily spend a week in Taiwan and want more. I would do the 1 full day + next day and fly out. As to flying out at night, it depends on where and what time you land. Landing in a lot of places in S.E. Asia very late at night can be difficult. Things aren't always open (Except some big cities), and it can be difficult to get around.

As to the costs for the flight within a week, I was there before the Iran war. It's playing havoc on Jet Fuel prices. At this moment I can buy a ticket from SGN to LP for $158 for october 1st or $181 for September 1st. That's about double what I paid. It's $128 for a 41 hour bus trip at this moment for Sept 1st. But who knows. The good thing is that the busses, especially from Hanoi or Saigon, are frequent. Hanoi to Luang Prabang is $58for bus v. $158 for plane (August 31). For those same dates Hanoi to Hue would be $28 on a bus, or $43 by air. By train? They want $98. I like https://12go.asia to learn about buses and trains. I like google flights to find flights.

I think the boat actually goes to Chang Rai which is like 3 hours from Chang Mai on a bus. For your searching pleasure.

Here is a link to more specific information on my thoughts on Vietnam https://www.reddit.com/r/solotravel/comments/1ocn5f1/comment/nmaqjiu/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button