The Itinerary Asia
Enormous variety, and often the shortest flights to get there.
Middle East
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Bahrain in 4 days: Dilmun, pearls and the island long weekend
A fort built on four thousand years of occupied city, a UNESCO trail through the houses that pearl money built, tens of thousands of Bronze Age burial mounds in the suburbs, and a lone tree surviving in the desert with no water anyone can find.
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Iran in 10 days: Persepolis, Isfahan's square and the mudbrick city of Yazd
Twenty-six World Heritage sites, a square second in size only to Tiananmen, and the ceremonial capital Alexander burned — in a country where several governments warn their nationals of arbitrary arrest and where dual nationals face particular danger.
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Iraq in 8 days: Erbil's citadel, Babylon and the marshes of the south
Six thousand years of continuous settlement on one mound, the walls Nebuchadnezzar built, and wetlands where people still live on floating reed islands — across a country where the north and the south carry very different warnings.
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Israel in 7 days: Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, Galilee and Tel Aviv
A walled city holy to three religions, a fortress on a desert plateau reached before dawn, water you cannot sink in four hundred metres below sea level, and a Bauhaus beach city two hours away — plus the weekly shutdown that decides your itinerary and the advice to read before you book.
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Israel and Jordan in 12 days: Jerusalem, Masada, the Dead Sea, Petra and Wadi Rum
A walled city holy to three religions, a fortress above the lowest point on earth, a rose-red city carved into a gorge, and a granite desert where Lawrence rode — two countries that share a border, a sea and four thousand years, with the planning advice this trip genuinely needs.
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Amman in 3 days: the Citadel, Jerash and the Dead Sea
Amman in a day, Jerash in a morning, and the Dead Sea 1,200 metres below the city — plus the Jordan Pass, which waives your visa fee and pays for itself before you reach Petra.
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Jordan in 7 days: Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea
The rose-red city carved by hand two thousand years ago, a Mars-red desert you sleep in, and a sea you cannot sink in — Jordan packs three wonders into a country the size of a UAE road trip, with the Jordan Pass trick that makes the visa free and Petra's real step-count told honestly.
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Jordan and Egypt in 12 days: Petra, Wadi Rum, the Pyramids and the Nile
A rose-red city cut into a gorge, a desert of sandstone islands slept in under the stars, the last of the seven wonders still standing, and three nights on the Nile between temples — the archaeology trip most people have in mind when they say they want one.
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Kuwait in 4 days: towers, souqs and Failaka island
Three towers clad in eight thousand enamelled discs, the oldest working souq on the Gulf, an island with a Greek temple and an abandoned town, and a suburban house left exactly as the 1991 fighting finished with it.
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Lebanon in 6 days: Beirut, Baalbek, the Qadisha valley and the cedars
A Roman temple complex with columns twenty metres tall, a gorge of cliff-face monasteries under a grove of ancient cedars, one of the oldest continuously inhabited towns anywhere — and two practical realities, the travel advice and the cash-only economy, that decide whether the trip works.
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Muscat in 3 days: the mosque, the corniche and Nizwa
The Grand Mosque's narrow visiting window, Mutrah souq at the hour it is worth being there, and the Nizwa day that makes three days better than two. Plus the one building-height law that explains what Muscat looks like.
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Oman in 8 days: Muscat, mountains, desert and turtles
The Gulf's gentlest adventure: a marble mosque for 20,000, forts and Friday goat auctions, the Grand Canyon of Arabia, a night among apricot dunes, emerald wadi swims and green turtles nesting by red torchlight — one easy self-drive loop, an entry route to suit whatever passport you hold, and petrol so cheap it feels like a typo.
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Palestine in 6 days: Bethlehem, Hebron and the terraces of Battir
The church built over the cave where Jesus is said to have been born, agricultural terraces farmed the same way for two thousand years, and a city with ten thousand years of settlement — across a territory where movement is controlled and advice varies sharply by area.
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Doha in 2 days: the souq, the museums and the desert
The Museum of Islamic Art and the National Museum are the reason to stop here, and the souq is the reason to stay the evening. Plus the desert run to the inland sea — and why the Corniche walk is best at dusk.
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Doha in an 8–12 hour layover: souq, museum, Corniche
Hamad is fifteen minutes from the centre, which changes what a layover can be. Transit rules, the free city tour, and the one loop that works — plus what to do if you never leave the terminal.
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Qatar in 4 days: the Doha long weekend
The easiest international trip on this site: visa-free on arrival for most passports, an hour from the Gulf hubs, and a capital that spent a fortune becoming interesting — a desert-rose museum, a five-storey falcon souq, I.M. Pei's masterpiece on its own island, and dunes that roll straight into the sea.
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AlUla in 3 days: Hegra, Elephant Rock and the old town
Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO site, 500km of sandstone valley, and the tombs Petra's builders cut here first — with far fewer people. How the rawi guide system works, when the season actually runs, and why you need a car.
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Saudi Arabia in 7 days: Riyadh and AlUla
The trip next door that nobody's done yet: Nabataean tombs to rival Petra with a hundredth of the crowd, a cliff edge that ends the world outside Riyadh, and mud-brick palaces reborn as the Kingdom's showpiece — with the one-year multiple-entry eVisa decoded and the winter-only flight hack that lands you home from the desert direct.
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Syria in 8 days: Damascus, Krak des Chevaliers and Palmyra — and the warnings
One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on earth, the Crusader castle T. E. Lawrence called the finest in the world, and a desert city ISIS dynamited — in a country emerging from fourteen years of war where every government still advises against all travel.
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Turkey honeymoon in 7 days: a cave suite, the balloon and the Lycian coast
Seven days that pair the two things Turkey does best for a honeymoon: a cave suite in Cappadocia with a balloon at dawn, and three nights on the Lycian coast at Kaş. One night in Istanbul at the front, and the sightseeing deliberately thin after day three.
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Turkey in winter: Cappadocia under snow and skiing Uludağ
Six days built around the one Cappadocia image that beats the summer version: balloons over snow-covered fairy chimneys at sunrise. Two nights in Istanbul, two in a cave hotel with a spare morning for the balloon, and a ski day on Uludağ above Bursa on the way back.
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Istanbul in 2 days: the old city and the Bosphorus
Two days, two geographies: Sultanahmet walked end to end on the first, the Bosphorus and Galata on the second. What to drop when the time is halved, and the public ferry that beats every cruise on the quay.
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Istanbul in 3 days: the old city, the Bosphorus and the Asian side
One day in Sultanahmet, one on the water and in Galata, one on the Asian side — walked in the order the geography actually allows. Which ticket covers what, when each mosque closes to visitors, and why the public ferry beats every cruise sold on the quay.
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Istanbul in a 12-hour layover: what actually fits
Whether you can leave, how long the metro really takes, where the bags go, and the single loop that fits — with the margin to get back through security without running. Transit rules checked and dated.
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Turkey in 14 days: Istanbul, Cappadocia, Antalya, Pamukkale and Ephesus
Two weeks is where Turkey's west opens up: the Lycian coast, the white terraces at Pamukkale and the best-preserved classical city in the Mediterranean at Ephesus, added to Istanbul and Cappadocia. One loop, one internal flight each end, no backtracking.
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Turkey in 5 days: Istanbul and Cappadocia
Five days is two nights in Istanbul and two in Cappadocia, and it works — with one caveat worth reading before you book. The balloon flies perhaps three mornings in four, and on this timeline you only get two chances at it.
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Turkey in 7 days: Istanbul and Cappadocia
Four nights in Istanbul and three in Cappadocia is the week that works — two cities, one hour of flying, and nothing else. The balloon booking that needs a spare morning, the museum pass arithmetic, and why the coast is a different trip.
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Turkey in 11 days: Istanbul, Cappadocia, Ephesus and Pamukkale
The complete first Turkey trip — Istanbul's imperial skyline, balloons over Cappadocia, the marble streets of Ephesus and Pamukkale's white terraces — as one flight triangle with no backtracking.
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Turkey's Black Sea: Trabzon, Uzungol and the Ayder highlands
The green Turkey — a cliff-hung monastery, a mosque mirrored in a mountain lake, tea gardens in the mist and hot springs above the clouds — one week, direct flights from the Gulf.
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Istanbul, Cappadocia and Dubai in 9 days
Three days in Istanbul, two under the balloons in Cappadocia, then three in Dubai. Why the balloon is the one thing to book first and the one most likely to be cancelled, how to use the stopover the airlines already sell you, and the month this trip becomes unwalkable.
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Dubai with kids in 5 days: parks, the aquarium and indoor afternoons
Five days built on one rule: outdoors before eleven and after five, indoors in between. The parks and aquarium that are worth the money, the ones that are not, the abra crossing that costs a dirham, and the desert safari question for a child who gets carsick.
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Abu Dhabi in a 24-hour stopover: the mosque and the Louvre
Etihad's stopover programme, whether you can leave the airport, and the two-stop loop that fits comfortably in a day — with the mosque timed for the hour it is actually worth seeing.
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Abu Dhabi in 2 days: the mosque, the Louvre and Yas
The mosque at the hour it is worth being there, the palace most visitors skip, and the Louvre under Nouvel's dome — plus whether Yas is worth a day. Dress rules, free slots and the timings that keep you out of 45°C.
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Dubai in 3 days: a stopover itinerary
Three days is a stopover, and it is enough for the tower, the creek and a desert evening if you plan the metro properly. What to book before you land, what is free, and the one thing worth cutting if your layover is shorter than you thought.
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Dubai in 5 days: Downtown, Old Dubai, the desert and Abu Dhabi
Five days is enough for Dubai properly — which means the creek and the souks as well as the tower, a night in the desert, and a day trip to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. The metro that makes it cheap, the free beaches, and when the desert safari is worth it.
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The UAE in 10 days: Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah
Ten days is enough to leave the two big cities behind: the oasis at Al Ain, the highest mountain in the country at Jebel Jais, and the Gulf of Oman coast at Fujairah, where the diving is and the crowds are not. A hire car, five bases, and the week most UAE visitors never have.
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UAE in 7 days: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
The two-city UAE done properly — old Dubai's souks and the Burj at sunset, a night in the dunes, the Grand Mosque, and Saadiyat Island's brand-new museum district — with real prices and the tourist traps named.
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Dubai and Egypt in 9 days: the skyline, the pyramids and a Nile cruise
Three days in Dubai, then six working up the Nile from Cairo to Aswan with three nights on a boat. The flight that makes the pairing obvious, what a cruise fare does and does not include, and the one thing in Egypt that costs more in patience than money.
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Dubai and the Maldives in 8 days: the stopover done properly
Dubai is on the way to Malé from almost everywhere, which is why this pairing exists. Three nights of city and desert, then five on an overwater villa — with the seaplane daylight window that decides your flight times, and an honest account of what the second half really costs.
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UAE and Oman in 9 days: Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Muscat and the Wahiba Sands
Two neighbours that went in different directions: towers, malls and a mosque of inlaid marble on one side of the Hajar mountains, and mud forts, wadis you swim in and a sand sea you sleep in on the other — and the contrast is the reason to do them together.
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Yemen in 8 days: Socotra's dragon's blood trees — and a mainland you cannot visit
An island of umbrella-shaped trees that bleed red resin, reached by charter from the Gulf — and a mainland holding three more World Heritage sites that is in the middle of a humanitarian catastrophe and cannot responsibly be visited.
Caucasus
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Armenia in winter: Tsaghkadzor skiing and Yerevan
Four days built around Tsaghkadzor, Armenia's main resort, an hour from Yerevan with a five-stage ropeway to 2,800m. Two nights on the mountain, a half-frozen Lake Sevan, and a last night in Yerevan. Short transfers are the whole argument for this one.
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Yerevan in 3 days: the Cascade, Garni and Khor Virap
The Genocide Memorial and the Matenadaran, a rock-cut monastery with a choir in it, and the view of a mountain that belongs to another country. Which day to keep clear for Ararat, and why the brandy tour is better than it sounds.
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Armenia in 7 days: Yerevan, ancient monasteries and Dilijan
One easy base, one green overnight — Yerevan's café life, Mount Ararat over Khor Virap, rock-cut Geghard, Areni wine and the forests of Dilijan, at some of the gentlest prices in travel.
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Azerbaijan in winter: Shahdag skiing and a night in Baku
Four days splitting a modern mountain resort and a very old walled city: two nights at Shahdag in the Greater Caucasus, three hours north of Baku, and a night in Icherisheher under the Flame Towers. The drive is the thing to plan around — everything else here is easy.
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Azerbaijan in 5 days: Baku, Gobustan, Absheron and Gabala
Five days is Baku plus two day trips and a night in the Caucasus foothills: rock carvings older than the pyramids, half the world's mud volcanoes, a hillside that has been alight since antiquity, and a walled old city in the middle of it all.
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Baku in 4 days: the old city, Gobustan and the fire sites
Four days is Baku and its two day trips: 40,000-year-old carvings at Gobustan, mud volcanoes, and the fire sites that gave the country its name. A walled UNESCO old city in the middle, and the border rule that catches out anyone touring the Caucasus.
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Azerbaijan in 7 days: Baku, fire country and Sheki
The land of fire in one week — Baku's flame-lit skyline and walled Old City, bubbling mud volcanoes and Stone Age rock art, a burning mountain, and the Silk Road palace town of Sheki in the Caucasus foothills.
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The Caucasus in 12 days: Baku, Tbilisi and Yerevan, with the closed border worked around
A flame-lit capital on the Caspian, a Georgian supra that goes on for hours, a church on a saddle below Kazbek, and monasteries hung off Armenian gorges — three countries that share a mountain range and very little else, routed around a border that has been shut for thirty years.
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Georgia honeymoon in 6 days: Kazbegi lodges and Kakheti wine estates
The hotel-first version of Georgia: two nights at Kazbegi in a room that faces Gergeti and Mount Kazbek, two on a Kakheti wine estate among the vines, and one in Tbilisi for the sulphur baths. The standard route drives both as day trips; this one sleeps in them.
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Georgia on a budget in 5 days: marshrutkas, guesthouses and the real difference
Tbilisi, Kazbegi and Kakheti done on minibuses and guesthouses, costed line by line — and set honestly against the arranged version of the identical route, because the gap is smaller than people assume and what it buys is specific.
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Georgia in summer: Svaneti's towers and Kazbegi, out of the Gulf heat
Summer is the only season Svaneti is properly open, which is the argument for this route over the standard one. Medieval tower houses at 2,100m, the Ushguli road, Kazbegi on the way back, and an honest account of how long that drive actually takes.
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Georgia in winter: Gudauri skiing and Tbilisi in the cold
The winter version of the short Georgia break: three nights at Gudauri on the Georgian Military Highway, skiing a lift system that tops out above 3,250m for a fraction of Alpine money, and a last night in Tbilisi for the sulphur baths. Kakheti comes out — the vineyards are bare and the day is better spent on the mountain.
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Georgia with kids in 6 days: cable cars, parks and short drives
Six days with the driving cut down: three nights in a Tbilisi apartment, two at Kazbegi, and Kakheti dropped because a wine region is a poor day out at four. The cable cars children actually remember, the parks worth building an afternoon around, and the one mountain road to think about.
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Tbilisi in 3 days: the old town, the baths and Mtskheta
Three days in a city built on hot springs: the old town and Narikala, a private bath with the scrub, the day trip to Georgia's old capital, and where to find amber wine that tastes like nothing in a supermarket.
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Georgia in 10 days: Tbilisi, Kazbegi, Kakheti, Kutaisi and Batumi
Ten days takes Georgia coast to mountain: Tbilisi and the Caucasus, the Kakheti vineyards, Stalin's home town, the cave monasteries and canyons around Kutaisi, and three nights on the Black Sea at Batumi. One country, one road, no flights.
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Georgia in 4 days: Tbilisi, Mtskheta and Kazbegi
Four days is the shortest trip that gets you from Dubai to a church at 2,170m under a five-thousand-metre peak. Two nights in Tbilisi, one in the mountains, and the visa rule that makes this the easiest border in the region for a UAE resident.
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Georgia in 5 days: Tbilisi, Mtskheta, Kazbegi and Kakheti
Five days is the short-break version of Georgia: two nights in Tbilisi either side of a day at Gergeti under the Caucasus and a day in the Kakheti vineyards. The 4am Gudauri road, the marshrutka-versus-driver maths, and why this is the easiest visa in the region for a UAE resident.
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Georgia in 7 days: Tbilisi, Kazbegi and Kakheti
One week across Tbilisi, the Kazbegi mountains and Kakheti wine country — hour-by-hour plans, visas, real costs, and the new 2026 insurance rule.
Central Asia
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Almaty in winter: Shymbulak, Medeu and a city under the Tian Shan
Five days where the ski resort is a gondola ride from a city of two million: Shymbulak above Almaty, the Soviet-era Medeu ice rink on the way up, and the Green Bazaar and Zenkov Cathedral on the days the weather shuts the mountain. Four hours from the Gulf and priced like nowhere else at this altitude.
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Kazakhstan in 7 days: Almaty and the mountains
The best-value mountain trip on this site: a leafy city with 3,000-metre peaks at the end of its avenues, a canyon doing Arizona impressions, a lake with a drowned forest standing in it — visa-free for most passports, four hours from the Gulf, and priced like a domestic holiday.
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Kyrgyzstan in 9 days: Song-Kul, Issyk-Kul and the Tian Shan
Ninety per cent mountain, visa-free for most passports, and still almost empty: a night in a yurt beside a lake at 3,000 metres, a canyon of red rock towers, an alpine lake the size of a small sea, and a valley of seven bulls — with the short season that decides everything and the shared taxis that are how the country moves.
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The Silk Road in 13 days: Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva and the Kyrgyz jailoo
The cities first — a square of madrasas that stops conversation, a working old town nobody has prettified, a walled desert capital — and then up into the Tian Shan, where the summer pastures are still used the way they were when the caravans came through.
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Tajikistan in 11 days: the Pamir Highway, Khorog and the Wakhan
The M41 runs from Dushanbe to Kyrgyzstan across a 4,655-metre pass, along a river with Afghanistan on the far bank for three days, past hot springs and Silk Road forts and a lake made by a meteorite — and it needs a permit, a 4x4 and a tolerance for altitude that most road trips do not ask for.
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Turkmenistan in 6 days: Ashgabat, Darvaza and Merv
A capital built almost entirely of white marble and holding several world records for it, a crater in the Karakum desert that has been on fire since 1971, and the ruins of a Silk Road city that was briefly the largest in the world — in one of the least visited countries on earth.
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Uzbekistan in 9 days: Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva
The full Silk Road arc — Registan sunsets, Bukhara's minarets and the walled city of Khiva — by high-speed train, one direction, no backtracking, with 2026's new visa-free rules covered.
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Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in 10 days: Almaty, Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara
Three days in the mountains above Almaty, then the blue-tiled cities of the Uzbek Silk Road by high-speed train. Why this order and not the other, the registration slips you must keep, and the two months that are genuinely the best of the year.
South Asia
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Afghanistan in 8 days: Band-e-Amir, the Bamiyan niches and Herat
Lapis-blue lakes held back by mineral walls, the cliff where two sixth-century Buddhas stood until 2001, and a city Alexander founded — in a country every government advises against visiting, where women's lives are restricted by decree.
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Bangladesh in 7 days: Dhaka, the Sundarbans and tea country
The largest mangrove forest on earth with tigers still in it, a medieval mosque city of seventy-seven domes, a capital with a million cycle rickshaws and a parliament building by Louis Kahn, and hills of tea where the drink is served in seven separate layers.
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Bhutan in 7 days: Paro, Thimphu and Punakha
The kingdom that measures happiness: a monastery glued to a cliff, dzongs the size of walled towns, 108 chortens on a Himalayan pass and a hot-stone bath in a farmhouse — with the two-tier fee system decoded (a ₹1,200-a-night regional SDF against US$100, and who qualifies for which) and the permit choreography that makes the whole trip run.
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Char Dham by helicopter in 5 days: the four shrines without the trek
The circuit that takes ten days by road done in five by air, which is why it exists: for pilgrims who cannot walk it. What the operators are licensed to do, the weight limits, the walk at Kedarnath that no helicopter removes, and the weather that cancels flights without refunding days.
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Goa in the monsoon: waterfalls, spice farms and an empty coast
The green season turns Goa inside out: the beach shacks come down, the interior comes alive, and Dudhsagar runs at full volume. What closes, what opens, why swimming is genuinely dangerous, and how the state looks when nobody is in it.
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Hornbill Festival in 5 days: Kisama, Kohima and the Naga villages
The festival runs 1 to 10 December every year at Kisama, which makes it the easiest date on this list and the hardest logistics. The permits, the one road in, a village that gave up headhunting and took up conservation, and why two days at the festival is the right number.
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Kashmir honeymoon in 6 days: a houseboat, Gulmarg and Pahalgam
Two nights on a Dal Lake houseboat, two at Gulmarg and one in the Lidder valley at Pahalgam, with the drives shortened and the sightseeing cut back. Several governments maintain travel advisories for Jammu and Kashmir, and this guide opens with that rather than burying it.
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Kashmir tulip season in 5 days: the garden, the blossom and the valley
The Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden opens for about three weeks each spring and the dates move with the winter. Almond and cherry blossom either side of it, the valley at its greenest, and the standard circuit underneath. Several governments maintain travel advisories for Jammu and Kashmir, and this guide opens with that.
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Kashmir in winter: Gulmarg, the gondola and a frozen Dal Lake
The winter version of the Kashmir valley: two nights at Gulmarg for the gondola and the snow, a houseboat on a half-frozen Dal Lake, and the Mughal gardens under a metre of it. Pahalgam comes out of the plan because the road is the problem. Several governments maintain travel advisories for Jammu and Kashmir, and this guide opens with that.
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Kerala in the monsoon: Ayurveda season, green Munnar and low rates
Monsoon is the traditional Ayurveda season here, not an off-season to be endured — the humidity is held to open the pores and the treatment calendar is built around it. Munnar at its greenest, half-price rooms, and an honest account of what the rain actually does to a backwater day.
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Pushkar Camel Fair in 4 days: the fair, the lake and Jaipur
The fair runs to the lunar calendar around Kartik Purnima, so the dates move each year. The trading happens early and thins as the tourist programme builds, which is the single most useful thing to know. Two nights in a tented camp, the ghats at dawn, and Jaipur on the way through.
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Rajasthan at Diwali in 6 days: Jaipur's lit bazaars and Udaipur's lakes
Diwali moves with the lunar calendar and runs five days, not one. Jaipur's markets are lit end to end and judged on it, Udaipur's lakes take the reflections, and the air quality afterwards is the thing nobody tells you. Which nights matter and what shuts.
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Delhi in 2 days: Old Delhi, the Mughal tombs and New Delhi
Old Delhi in the morning on a cycle rickshaw, the Mughal tombs in the afternoon light, and New Delhi's colonial grid on the second day. Plus the hotel scam that catches people on arrival, and the metro that avoids all of it.
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Hyderabad in 2 days: Charminar, Golconda and the biryani
Golconda's clap that carries to the summit, the Qutb Shahi necropolis next door that visitors skip, and the Charminar bazaars. Plus which biryani place, and why Hyderabad's version is different.
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Jaipur in 2 days: Amber Fort, the City Palace and the bazaars
Amber Fort at opening and why to take the jeep, the stepwell nobody stops at, and the gem scam that is specific to this city. Plus where the Hawa Mahal photograph is actually taken from.
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Kochi in 2 days: Fort Kochi, Mattancherry and Kathakali
Portuguese, Dutch, British and Jewish layers inside one square mile, fishing nets that need six men, and a Kathakali performance where the make-up is the first hour. Plus the ferry that is the best transport in the city.
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Mumbai in 3 days: the Gateway, Bandra and Elephanta
Colaba's colonial core on foot, the cave temples an hour across the harbour, and the suburbs where the city actually lives. Plus the dabbawalas, the local trains, and how to do Dharavi without it being a zoo.
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Taj Mahal day trip from Delhi: the train, the sunrise slot and Agra Fort
The Gatimaan Express times, the Friday closure that catches people out, what the three-hour ticket actually means, and why Mehtab Bagh at sunset beats a second Taj visit.
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Udaipur in 2 days: the City Palace, Lake Pichola and the old city
The largest palace complex in Rajasthan, a boat at the right hour, and a sunset palace on a hill — plus the honest note about what the lakes look like in a dry year.
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Varanasi in 2 days: the ghats, the aarti and Sarnath
The dawn boat is the single best hour in India and everything here is arranged around it. Plus the burning ghats and the rules that apply there, the aarti from the water, and the Buddhist site half an hour away.
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India in 10 days: Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur and Mumbai
Ten days is the Golden Triangle plus Udaipur's lakes and a finish in Mumbai — one coherent region rather than a dash across the country. The flights are the design: one internal hop to Mumbai instead of three, and no backtracking to Delhi.
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India in 14 days: the Golden Triangle, Varanasi and Kerala
Two weeks is the one length at which a first India trip can take in three genuinely different Indias — Mughal north, the Ganges at Varanasi, and Kerala's hills and backwaters. Two internal flights carry the whole structure, and the order matters: north first while you are fresh, Kerala last because it is the rest.
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India in 21 days: the north, Rajasthan, the Ganges and Kerala
Three weeks is the Golden Triangle, the full Rajasthan loop out to the Jaisalmer dunes, Varanasi on the Ganges, and a proper Kerala finish with Thekkady and a houseboat. The structure is the same as the two-week route with the desert built into the middle, and it is the version that never feels rushed.
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Amritsar in 3 days: the Golden Temple, Jallianwala Bagh and Wagah
Three days is all Amritsar needs and more than most people give it — the Golden Temple at dawn and after dark, the kitchen that feeds 100,000 people a day for nothing, Jallianwala Bagh next door, the Partition Museum, and the border ceremony at Wagah.
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Andaman in 5 days: Port Blair and Havelock
Five days is Port Blair's colonial history and three nights on Havelock — Radhanagar at sunset, snorkelling at Elephant Beach, and a first dive if you want one. Neil Island is left out deliberately: on five days the extra ferry costs more than the island gives back.
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Char Dham Yatra in 10 days: Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath
Ten days for the four Himalayan shrines in their traditional west-to-east order — a 6km climb to Yamunotri, road access at Gangotri, the 16km ascent to Kedarnath at 3,583m, and Badrinath below the Tibet border. Registration is mandatory, the season is short, and the physical demands are higher than most accounts admit.
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Darjeeling and Sikkim in 7 days: tea, the toy train and Tsomgo Lake
Seven days in the eastern Himalaya — Darjeeling's tea estates and the toy train, sunrise on Kanchenjunga from Tiger Hill, then over into Sikkim for Gangtok's monasteries and the high glacial lake at Tsomgo. Permit rules here are strict and differ by passport; this guide spells out which.
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Goa in 4 days: north beaches, Old Goa and the Latin Quarter
Four days is North Goa done properly — one base, the beaches between Sinquerim and Arambol, the cathedrals at Old Goa and an evening in Panjim's Latin Quarter. South Goa and Dudhsagar are deliberately left out; at this length the drive would cost you a day.
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Golden Triangle in 5 days: Delhi, Agra and Jaipur
Five days is the Golden Triangle at its tightest honest length — one night in Delhi, one in Agra, two in Jaipur, with the Taj at sunrise and Fatehpur Sikri taken on the drive. It works, but only if you book the train and the Taj morning before anything else.
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Gujarat in 7 days: Ahmedabad, the white Rann, Gir's lions and Somnath
Seven days across Gujarat — Ahmedabad's old pols, the white salt desert of the Rann at full moon, the only wild Asiatic lions left on earth at Gir, and the temple at Somnath. It is a dry state with the best vegetarian food in India and almost no foreign tourists.
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Hampi in 4 days: the Vijayanagara ruins, Badami and Pattadakal
Four days for the capital of an empire and the architecture that preceded it — two days among Hampi's ruins and granite boulders, then the Chalukyan cave temples at Badami and the UNESCO cluster at Pattadakal and Aihole, where south Indian temple architecture was effectively invented.
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Himachal in 6 days: Shimla, Kufri, Manali and Solang
Six days on the standard Himachal circuit — the Kalka–Shimla toy train, the Mall and the ridge at Shimla, then the Kullu valley for Manali's temples, Solang's meadows and the Atal Tunnel into Lahaul. Two hill stations, one long drive between them, no altitude problems.
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Himachal in 8 days: Manali, the Parvati valley and Dharamshala
Eight days through the other Himachal — Manali and the Atal Tunnel, the Parvati valley at Kasol and the hot springs at Manikaran, then across to Dharamshala and McLeod Ganj, where the Dalai Lama has lived since 1959. More interesting than the Shimla circuit and barely harder.
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Karnataka in 6 days: Bangalore, Mysore and the Coorg hills
Six days is Mysore's palace, a night of coffee estates in Coorg, and a safari at Nagarhole or Bandipur on the way between them. It is the gentlest route in south India — short drives, good roads, and no temple marathon.
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Kashmir in 7 days: Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonmarg
Seven days covers the whole Kashmir valley — Dal Lake and the Mughal gardens, the quiet meadows at Doodhpathri, the Gulmarg gondola to 3,979m, two nights on the Lidder at Pahalgam, and the Thajiwas glacier at Sonmarg. Several governments maintain advisories for Jammu and Kashmir, and this guide opens with that.
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Kashmir in 5 days: Srinagar, Gulmarg and Pahalgam
Five days in the Kashmir valley — a houseboat on Dal Lake, the Mughal gardens, the Gulmarg gondola to nearly 4,000m, and the Lidder valley at Pahalgam. Several governments maintain travel advisories for Jammu and Kashmir, and this guide opens with that rather than burying it.
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Kerala in 5 days: Kochi, Munnar and one night on the backwaters
Five days is Kochi, the Munnar tea hills and one night on a houseboat — the three things people actually come to Kerala for. Thekkady and the beach are deliberately left out, the drives are the real constraint, and the houseboat is the one booking you cannot leave late.
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Kerala in 7 days: Kochi, Munnar, Thekkady and the backwaters
Seven days is the complete Kerala loop — Fort Kochi, the Munnar tea hills, Periyar's spice country at Thekkady, and a night on the Alleppey backwaters. The extra two days over the short version buy Thekkady, and Thekkady is what turns a tea trip into a Western Ghats one.
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Ladakh in 10 days: Lamayuru, Nubra, Pangong and Tso Moriri
Ten days covers Ladakh properly — the moonscape and 11th-century murals of the western Indus, Nubra over Khardung La, Pangong Tso, and the remote Changthang plateau at Tso Moriri. The extra days are spent on altitude and on the two places seven-day trips always cut.
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Ladakh in 7 days: Leh, Nubra Valley and Pangong Tso
Seven days is the standard Ladakh circuit done safely — two full days acclimatising in Leh before anything else, then Khardung La into the Nubra valley, and Pangong Tso at 4,350m. The acclimatisation is not padding; people are evacuated from this route every season for ignoring it.
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Meghalaya in 6 days: root bridges, Cherrapunji and the Dawki river
Six days in the Khasi hills — the double-decker living root bridge at Nongriat, which is 3,500 steps down and 3,500 back, Cherrapunji's waterfalls and caves, the glass-clear Umngot river at Dawki, and the village that calls itself the cleanest in Asia.
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Nainital and Corbett in 5 days: a lake town and India's oldest tiger reserve
Five days in the Kumaon foothills — Nainital's lake and ridge walks, the quieter lakes at Sattal and Bhimtal, then two days of safaris in Jim Corbett, which was India's first national park and where Project Tiger began.
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Rajasthan in 14 days: the complete circuit, tigers to the dunes
Two weeks is the full Rajasthan loop — Jaipur, tigers at Ranthambore, the overlooked blue town of Bundi, Pushkar, Jodhpur, two nights in the Jaisalmer dunes and a long finish on Udaipur's lakes. The additions over the ten-day route are Ranthambore, Bundi and the desert, and the desert is what most shortened itineraries sacrifice.
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Northeast India in 12 days: Kaziranga, Majuli and the Khasi hills
Twelve days across Assam and Meghalaya — two-thirds of the world's one-horned rhinos at Kaziranga, the Vaishnavite monasteries on Majuli river island, Assam's tea country, then up into the Khasi hills for living root bridges and the Dawki river.
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Rajasthan in 7 days: Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur
Seven days is Rajasthan's three headline cities at two nights apiece — Jaipur's forts, Jodhpur's blue old town under Mehrangarh, and Udaipur's lakes. Pushkar and Jaisalmer are left out on purpose; the overnight train between Jodhpur and Udaipur is the decision that makes it fit.
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Sikkim in 10 days: Gangtok, North Sikkim's high valleys and Pelling
Ten days covers the whole of Sikkim — Gangtok and Tsomgo, the long climb north to Lachen and Lachung for the Yumthang valley, then west to Pelling for Kanchenjunga and the old capital's monasteries. North Sikkim's permits are restrictive and several of its headline sights are closed to foreign passports.
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South India in 14 days: Tamil Nadu's temples and the Kerala coast
Two weeks across the bottom of India — the Pallava rock carvings, French Pondicherry, the Chola temple country, Madurai's Meenakshi, then over the Western Ghats into Kerala's spice hills and backwaters. One road, two states, and nothing repeated.
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Spiti Valley in 8 days: Shimla to Manali the hard way
Eight days through Spiti the right way round — up from Shimla through Kinnaur so the altitude comes gradually, the 996 AD murals at Tabo, Key Monastery above the river, the world's highest post office at Hikkim, and out over Kunzum La past Chandratal to Manali.
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Tamil Nadu in 7 days: Chennai, Mahabalipuram, Pondicherry and the temple towns
Seven days down the Coromandel coast and inland to the temple towns — Mahabalipuram's rock carvings, Pondicherry's French quarter, the Chola bronze country at Thanjavur, and Madurai's Meenakshi temple, which is the reason the whole route exists.
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Varanasi in 5 days: the ghats, Sarnath, Ayodhya and Prayagraj
Five days around the oldest living city on earth — two nights on Varanasi's ghats with a dawn boat and the evening aarti, the Buddha's first sermon at Sarnath, then Ayodhya and the confluence at Prayagraj. One region, four cities, and no flying between them.
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Andaman Islands in 7 days: Port Blair, Havelock and Neil
India's island secret — one of Asia's great beaches, first-scuba water clear as glass, a kayak through glowing plankton, and the ferry logistics that make or break the trip, solved.
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Goa in 7 days: both Goas, done honestly
Three nights north, three nights south — cliff forts and the Assagao food scene, Old Goa's basilicas and the Latin Quarter, then Palolem's crescent and a jungle waterfall — with the taxi, scooter and season truths most Goa guides skip.
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India's Golden Triangle in 7 days: Delhi, Agra and Jaipur
The classic first India trip done right — Old Delhi's chaos and Mughal tombs, the Taj at sunrise (not on a Friday), and Jaipur's pink forts — with the train, ticket and scam knowledge that separates a great week from a stressful one.
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Jaisalmer and the Thar: the golden fort and a night in the dunes
Deep desert Rajasthan — a living sandstone fort, carved havelis, an abandoned cursed village, a night under Thar stars, and a 1971 battlefield at the border — six days at the edge of India.
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Kerala in 9 days: Kochi, Munnar, the backwaters and the beach
The gentle India — colonial Fort Kochi, tea hills above the clouds, a night on a private houseboat through the backwaters, and a quiet palm-lined beach to end on. One arc, one driver, no rush.
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Rajasthan royal circuit: Jaipur, Pushkar, Jodhpur and Udaipur
Deeper into the desert kingdoms — a holy lake with a camel-dune sunset, the blue city under Mehrangarh's walls, a 1,444-pillar marble temple, and Udaipur's lakes — one southbound arc, one driver, no backtracking.
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Spiritual north India: Varanasi and Amritsar in 7 days
India's two great sacred cities in one week — dawn boats and fire ceremonies on the Ganges, then the Golden Temple's 24-hour calm, the world's largest free kitchen and the border theatre at Wagah.
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India and Nepal in 13 days: the Golden Triangle, Varanasi and the Himalaya
A marble tomb at sunrise, a pink city of forts, the ghats where the Ganges meets the business of dying — and then an hour in the air to a valley of pagoda temples with the Annapurnas on the skyline behind it.
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India and Sri Lanka in 12 days: the Golden Triangle, then the hill country
Six days of forts and marble in north India, then six of rock fortresses, tea trains and the southern coast. The flight that joins them, the two online permissions to do before you fly, and why the driver is the cheapest line in the budget and the one not to cut.
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Maldives honeymoon in 5 days: overwater villa, sandbank, reef
The honeymoon version of a Maldives week: an overwater villa chosen on lagoon and house reef rather than price, a private sandbank dinner, and the three excursions that justify getting out of the water. The seaplane window, the half-board arithmetic, and why the resort you pick matters more than anything you do.
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The Maldives in 5 days: a resort stay, day by day
Five days is the classic short Maldives trip, and the thing that decides it is the transfer. Seaplanes only fly in daylight, speedboats are a third of the price, and which you need depends entirely on which atoll you pick. Plus what to actually do once you are there.
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The Maldives on a budget in 4 days: Maafushi and the local islands
Guesthouses on inhabited islands have been legal since 2009 and cost a tenth of a resort. Maafushi is the easiest base: public ferry from Malé, the same reefs the resorts dive, and bikini beaches set aside because the rest of the island is a Muslim village. Here is how it actually works.
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Maldives in 7 days: the split-stay that beats the price myth
The Maldives on real money: three local-island days of whale sharks, sandbanks and $80 guesthouse nights — then three water-villa days with the glass floor and the floating breakfast. Free visa for every passport, the ++ resort-bill decoder, the transfer trap after 3pm, and the dress-and-alcohol rules nobody explains until you land.
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Kathmandu in 3 days: Durbar Square, Boudhanath and Bhaktapur
The Kathmandu valley holds seven UNESCO sites within an hour of each other. Which to see at dawn, what the 2015 earthquake took and what was rebuilt, and why Bhaktapur deserves a night rather than a morning.
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Nepal in 10 days: Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan
The Himalaya without the trekking boots: Kathmandu's living medieval squares and the Pashupatinath aarti, Annapurna filling the sky at Sarangkot sunrise, rhinos from an open jeep in Chitwan — and a one-hour flight past Everest's face to finish. Visa on arrival in fifteen minutes — or none at all on an Indian passport; SAARC rates halve the tickets; one rupee-note rule catches everyone.
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Nepal and Bhutan in 12 days: Kathmandu, Pokhara, Punakha and Tiger's Nest
One opened its doors in 1951 and has been absorbing the world since; the other charges you a daily fee to come in and spends it on forests and free healthcare. Stupas and trekking lodges on one side, dzongs and a monastery on a cliff on the other.
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Pakistan in 8 days: Hunza, the Karakoram and Lahore
A valley ringed by 7,000-metre peaks, a lake made by a landslide that drowned a village, the highest paved border crossing on earth at 4,693 metres, and a Mughal capital with a fort, a marble mosque and a border ceremony performed like theatre.
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Sri Lanka in July: Trincomalee, Pigeon Island and Arugam Bay
Sri Lanka has two monsoons on opposite schedules, which is why July is a perfectly good month to come — you just go to the other side. Blue whales off Trincomalee, snorkelling at Pigeon Island, and Arugam Bay's point break in the middle of its season.
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Sri Lanka on a budget in 7 days: local trains and guesthouses
The hill country and the south coast on trains that cost a few hundred rupees, homestays at a fraction of a hotel, and rice and curry that is both the cheapest and the best meal in the country. Plus the park and heritage fees for foreign visitors, which are the one line a budget cannot avoid.
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Sri Lanka with kids in 7 days: the hill train, elephants and a calm beach
The seven-day loop re-cut for small children: Colombo and Nuwara Eliya dropped, the Kandy–Ella train kept because it is the best three hours in the country, Udawalawe instead of Yala for the safari, and a south-coast beach chosen for its reef rather than its surf.
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Colombo in 2 days: the Fort, Galle Face and Mount Lavinia
Colombo is a transit point for most trips and deserves better than that. The Dutch Fort quarter, Pettah's market streets, the Red Mosque, and Galle Face Green at sunset — plus which beach to end on.
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Sri Lanka in 5 days: Colombo, Kandy and Ella
Five days is the hill country: Kandy's temple, tea estates at Nuwara Eliya, and the train to Ella that is the best rail journey in Asia. No coast, no Sigiriya, and an honest explanation of why adding either ruins the week.
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Sri Lanka in 7 days: Colombo, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Ella and Galle
A week does the hills and the coast: tea country, the Kandy to Ella train that is the best rail journey in Asia, and two nights inside Galle's Dutch fort. Sigiriya is the thing this route leaves out, and the ten-day route is where it belongs.
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Sri Lanka in 10 days: the classic island loop
One small island, absurdly overstocked: a 1,600-year-old palace on a rock, wild-elephant gatherings, the world's most beautiful train ride into tea country, leopards at dawn and blue whales by breakfast — a free ETA for most visitors, SAARC discounts at the gates, and a driver who becomes the trip's best decision.
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Sri Lanka and the Maldives in 12 days: Sigiriya, the hill country, Yala and an atoll
A rock fortress with a mirror wall, tea terraces reached by the best train ride in Asia, leopards in a dry-zone park, and then an hour's flight to an atoll where the only thing on the agenda is the reef — the two halves deliberately do not resemble each other.
Southeast Asia
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Borneo in 12 days: Sepilok, the Kinabatangan, Danum and Tanjung Puting
The third largest island on earth, split between three countries, holding a rainforest 140 million years old. Malaysian Sabah for the river and the primary forest, Indonesian Kalimantan for the klotok boat up a blackwater river to the orangutans.
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Brunei in 4 days: a water village, a rainforest canopy and the Sultan's capital
Thirteen thousand people living on stilts over a river, a canopy walkway fifty metres up in untouched rainforest, two of the most extravagant mosques in Asia — and a set of local laws worth understanding properly before you book rather than discovering at customs.
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Cambodia in 7 days: Siem Reap and Phnom Penh
The greatest temple complex ever built, at sunrise, for $62: Angkor's three-day pass paced properly, a stilt village on Asia's beating-heart lake, a circus that will out-emotion the temples — then Phnom Penh's palaces and its hardest history, handled with the respect it demands.
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Indochina in 16 days: Bangkok, Angkor, Hoi An and Ha Long Bay
The grand tour of mainland Southeast Asia: Bangkok's temples and traffic, a thousand square kilometres of Khmer ruins at Angkor, the Mekong delta, a lantern-lit trading port, and a bay of two thousand limestone islands at the end. Four internal flights, three currencies, one of the great trips.
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Bali honeymoon in 7 days: an Ubud villa and an Uluwatu cliff
The honeymoon version of Bali: three nights in a jungle villa with a private pool above the Ayung, three on the Bukit cliffs, and the island's worst feature — its traffic — designed out by moving once. Nusa Penida and Seminyak come out; a temple at dawn and a cliff dinner go in.
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Bali with kids in 7 days: a villa with a pool and a Sanur beach
Ubud lite and a calm-water beach: three nights in a family villa above the rice fields, three at Sanur inside the reef, and one transfer in the middle. Why Kuta, Seminyak and Uluwatu are the wrong beaches with small children, and which Bali days are worth the drive.
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Bali on a budget in 7 days: homestays, a scooter and warung food
Homestays at a fraction of a villa, warung meals for the price of a coffee, and a scooter instead of a driver — with a straight account of why that last one is where budget trips to Bali go wrong. Plus the levy, the temple entries and what genuinely costs nothing.
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Bali in 5 days: Ubud and the south
Five days in Bali works only if you stop moving: two nights inland at Ubud, three in the south. Nusa Penida does not fit and this guide says why. The traffic that ruins short Bali trips, the temple sarong rule, and what to book before you land.
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Bali in 7 days: Ubud, Uluwatu and Nusa Penida
A week in Bali works when you stop moving: three nights inland at Ubud, three on the southern cliffs, and one long day out to Nusa Penida. The traffic that ruins most Bali itineraries, the temple sarong rule, and why the Kelingking photograph costs you a whole day.
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Indonesia in 14 days: Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Mount Bromo and Bali
Most people fly straight to Bali and never see Java, which has the largest Buddhist temple on earth and two of the most extraordinary volcanoes in Asia. Two weeks does Borobudur, a sunrise over Bromo, the blue fire at Ijen, and still leaves five nights in Bali.
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Bali in 10 days: Ubud, Uluwatu and the islands
The island that launched a million reels, done with eyes open: Ubud's jungle temples and rice-terrace mornings, a cliff temple with a fire dance at sunset, Nusa Penida's dinosaur coastline — plus the e-VoA, the tourist levy QR, the Nyepi airport-closure trap and the methanol warning most guides are too polite to print.
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Laos in 8 days: Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng and Vientiane
The quiet one, and the last in the region to stay that way: saffron-robed alms at dawn in a UNESCO river town, turquoise waterfalls, limestone karsts over a lazy river, and a fast new railway that turned a nine-hour bus into two hours — Southeast Asia at half the pace and most of the price.
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Malaysia with kids in 6 days: Kuala Lumpur and Legoland Johor
Three nights in Kuala Lumpur and two in Johor for Legoland, joined by a fast train. The Cameron Highlands and Penang come out — both are long drives — and the city days are built around indoor attractions, because the afternoon rain is reliable.
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Kuala Lumpur in 2 days: the towers, Batu Caves and old KL
Batu Caves before the heat, the skybridge booked ahead, and a second day on foot through colonial KL and Chinatown. Plus why the Islamic Arts Museum is the best thing in the city and almost nobody goes.
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Malaysia in 14 days: the peninsula and Borneo
Two weeks is the first length that reaches Borneo. Nine days on the peninsula for the cities, the tea hills and an island, then a flight east to Sabah for Sepilok's orangutans and a river full of proboscis monkeys. One internal flight that changes the trip completely.
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Malaysia in 5 days: Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi
Five days is two nights in Kuala Lumpur and three on Langkawi — a duty-free island with a cable car up a mountain and mangroves full of eagles. Short, simple, and the version that works when you do not have time for the peninsula.
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Malaysia in 7 days: Kuala Lumpur, the Cameron Highlands and Penang
A week on the peninsula: Kuala Lumpur, two nights in the tea hills at the Cameron Highlands, and three in George Town, which is the best eating city in Southeast Asia. No island, deliberately — and this guide explains why that is the better week.
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Malaysia in 10 days: Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Langkawi
The gentlest great trip in Asia: twin towers and rainbow cave-steps in KL, George Town — street-food capital of the continent — by heritage train-and-ferry, then Langkawi's cable-car cliffs and duty-free beaches. Visa-free for most passports, halal by default, and priced like a rumour.
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Myanmar in 9 days: Bagan, Inle Lake and Shwedagon — and why not to go
Thousands of brick temples on a bend of the Irrawaddy, a gilded stupa that has stood for a millennium, and a lake where fishermen row with one leg — in a country under military rule, in civil war, where tourism money reaches the junta.
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The Visayas in 10 days: Cebu, Bohol and Siargao
The sardine run you snorkel to from the beach, canyoneering at Kawasan, the Chocolate Hills and tarsiers on Bohol, then Siargao's lagoons and surf. The whale-shark question answered honestly, and which months the typhoons actually fall in.
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Philippines in 8 days: El Nido and Coron
The lagoon country, and visa-free for most of the world: limestone cathedrals rising from gin-clear water in El Nido, a mountain lake and WWII wrecks in Coron, and an island-hopping culture that turns every day into a boat day — with the fees, ferries and typhoon calendar decoded.
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Singapore with kids in 5 days: the zoo, the Gardens and Sentosa
Five short days instead of six long ones: one big thing each morning, the afternoon indoors or in the pool, and the hawker centres as the cheap, high-chair-friendly answer to dinner. The zoo done at opening, Sentosa split in two, and why the heat matters more than the distances.
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Singapore in 3 days: Marina Bay, Sentosa and the hawker centres
Marina Bay on the first evening, the three historic quarters on foot on the second, Sentosa on the third — and hawker centres throughout, because that is the real reason to eat here.
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Singapore in a 24-hour layover: Marina Bay, the Gardens and a hawker stop
Changi is 20 minutes from the centre and visa-free for most, which makes 24 hours a real day. The free city tour, the MRT loop that fits, and the hawker centre worth planning around.
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Singapore in 6 days: Marina Bay, hawker trails and Sentosa
The city of the future, eaten one hawker stall at a time: Supertrees and cloud forests, a Michelin meal for S$6, three cultures in three MRT stops, night-time safaris and the world's best airport saved for last — plus the visa quirk worth checking before you book, and the rules that keep the fine city fine.
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Singapore and Bali in 10 days: three days of city, seven of island
Singapore for three days because that is exactly how long it rewards, then a week in Bali split between the Ubud gorge and the Bukit cliffs. The short flight that makes the pairing work, the levy and arrival card nobody mentions, and why Bali gets two bases rather than four.
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Singapore and Malaysia in 10 days: two countries, one easy border
The gentlest introduction to Asia there is, and it happens to span two countries: Singapore's hawker stalls and Supertrees, a Dutch-red colonial port, Kuala Lumpur's towers, and Penang's street-food streets — two currencies, one land border you can cross before lunch, and almost no paperwork for most passports.
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Thailand on a budget in 7 days: what it really costs, line by line
The same Bangkok, Ayutthaya and Krabi week as the standard route, costed for guesthouses, street food and an overnight bus instead of a flight. An exact daily table, the things worth paying full price for, and the two savings that are false economy.
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Songkran in 5 days: Bangkok and Chiang Mai, and how to survive it
Songkran runs 13 to 15 April nationwide and longer in Chiang Mai, where it is at its most serious. What actually happens, which streets to be on and which to avoid, how to protect a phone and a passport, and the road-safety statistic nobody mentions in the brochure.
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Thailand with kids in 7 days: Bangkok, a beach base and the elephants
Two nights in Bangkok and four on a beach, with the temple circuit cut to one morning and Ayutthaya dropped. How to tell an ethical elephant sanctuary from a bad one, which beaches are safe for small children, and why the transfer time matters more than the resort.
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Bangkok in 3 days: the river, the old city and Ayutthaya
Bangkok's traffic is the tax on a short visit, so this plans along the Chao Phraya and the BTS. The palace at opening, Chinatown after seven, and the day trip that beats the floating markets.
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Chiang Mai in 3 days: the old city, the elephants and Doi Suthep
Chiang Mai in three days, with the elephant sanctuary question answered properly — no riding, no bathing shows, and what a genuine place looks like. Plus monk chat, the Sunday walking street, and burning season.
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Phuket in 4 days: the beaches, Phi Phi and the old town
Which beach to stay on and why not Patong, the Phi Phi trip done by longtail rather than speedboat, and the Sino-Portuguese old town almost nobody visits. Plus the monsoon rule that drowns people every year.
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Thailand in 14 days: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and the Andaman coast
Two weeks is the length that holds both Thailands: the temples and hill country of the north, and the Andaman limestone in the south. Two internal flights, five nights on beaches, and the elephant-sanctuary question answered honestly.
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Thailand in 5 days: Bangkok, Ayutthaya and Amphawa
Five days is not enough for Bangkok and a beach, so this one does not try. Three days in the city, a day among the ruins of the old capital at Ayutthaya, and an evening at the floating market that is not staged for tourists.
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Thailand in 7 days: Bangkok, Ayutthaya and Krabi
A week is enough for Bangkok properly, a day among the ruins of the old capital at Ayutthaya, and three nights on the Andaman coast — provided you pick one beach and stay on it. The flight that makes it work, the Grand Palace dress code, and why Krabi beats Phuket on this timeline.
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Thailand island hopping in 8 days: Phuket, Phi Phi, Krabi and Koh Lanta
Eight days of Andaman islands, moving one way by ferry: Phuket for the flight, Phi Phi for the limestone, Krabi for Railay, and Koh Lanta to stop. Which island to skip if you dislike crowds, and the monsoon months when the boats do not run.
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Thailand in 10 days: Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket
The kingdom's classic triangle: golden Bangkok and its street-food galaxy, Chiang Mai's temple town with a day among rescued elephants (the ethical way), then Phuket's turquoise island-hopping — plus the September 2026 visa change worth knowing before you book, and the scam-proofing that keeps the trip charmed.
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Thailand and Cambodia in 12 days: Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Angkor and Phnom Penh
Bangkok and the ruins at Ayutthaya, then four days at Angkor and two in Phnom Penh. The land border everyone warns about and when to use it anyway, why Angkor needs three days rather than one, and the hardest afternoon on this site.
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Thailand and Laos in 11 days: Bangkok, Chiang Mai and the Mekong slow boat to Luang Prabang
Thailand's north and then the river out of it: temple mornings in Chiang Mai, a hill-country drive to the Golden Triangle, and two slow days down the Mekong into Laos, finishing in a town of French shutters and saffron robes that nobody wants to leave.
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Thailand and Malaysia in 12 days: Bangkok, the Andaman islands, Penang and KL
Two days in Bangkok, three on the Andaman coast, then an international ferry from Koh Lipe to Langkawi and down the Malaysian peninsula. The boat only runs half the year, which decides when you go — and George Town is the reason to keep two days free.
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Thailand and Vietnam in 14 days: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hanoi, Ha Long and Hoi An
Thailand for six days and Vietnam for eight, joined by a two-hour flight. The temples and the night markets, then a limestone bay slept on and a tailoring town with lanterns — plus why this pairing beats the Thailand–Cambodia run, and the one month it does not work.
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Timor-Leste in 7 days: Atauro's reefs, Dili and the Ramelau highlands
An island whose surrounding water was found to hold the highest average reef fish diversity on record, a three-thousand-metre peak climbed in the dark for sunrise, and a country that restored its independence in 2002 — reached by a road network where a hundred kilometres is most of a day.
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Vietnam on a budget in 10 days: sleeper buses and the whole country
Vietnam is the best-value country in Southeast Asia and this is the arithmetic. Sleeper buses and trains instead of flights, a Ha Long day boat instead of an overnight cruise, street food throughout, and an honest note on which of those three savings you will regret.
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Vietnam honeymoon in 8 days: Ha Long, Hoi An and Phu Quoc
Eight days that end on a beach: a night in a Ha Long cruise suite, three in Hoi An with a tailor and a cooking class, and two on Phu Quoc. Ninh Binh and the museums come out — this is the version built around three places and a lot of nothing in between.
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Vietnam with kids in 8 days: a Ha Long cabin and a Hoi An base
Weighted towards Hoi An rather than spread across the country: two nights in Hanoi, one in a family cabin on Ha Long Bay, and four in Hoi An with bicycles, a beach and a tailor. Ninh Binh and the Mekong come out, and the road-crossing problem gets a straight answer.
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Hanoi in 2 days: the Old Quarter, the lake and Ninh Binh
Two days in the Old Quarter and the lake at six in the morning, plus the day-trip decision that matters: Ninh Binh beats Ha Long on a short trip, and this explains why.
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Ho Chi Minh City in 2 days: the war museums and Cu Chi
The War Remnants Museum is one-sided, says so, and is still the most important hour in the city. Plus the Reunification Palace frozen in 1975, the Cu Chi tunnels done at the quieter entrance, and where Saigon actually eats.
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Vietnam in 14 days: Hanoi, Sapa, Ha Long, Hue, Hoi An and the Mekong
Fourteen days is the length that does Vietnam end to end: the northern mountains at Sapa, the bay, the imperial city at Hue, Hoi An's lanterns, and the Mekong Delta below Saigon. Two internal flights, one night train, and the weather problem that shapes when you go.
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Vietnam in 5 days: Hanoi, Ninh Binh and Ha Long Bay
Five days means the north and nothing else — Hanoi, the inland karsts at Ninh Binh, and an overnight on the bay. No internal flights, no overnight buses, and the one decision that changes the whole trip: which bay you cruise.
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Vietnam in 7 days: Hanoi, Ninh Binh, Ha Long and Hoi An
A week is enough for Hanoi, the inland karsts at Ninh Binh, a night on the water in Ha Long and two days in Hoi An — but only if you skip Ho Chi Minh City. One internal flight, no overnight buses, and the bay that is worth paying more to avoid the crowds.
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Southern Vietnam in 6 days: Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong Delta and Phu Quoc
Six days in southern Vietnam: the war museums and tunnels around Saigon, two days in the Mekong Delta, and two on Phu Quoc. No internal flight north, no overnight bus, and the delta base that is worth the extra hour.
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Vietnam in 10 days: Hanoi, Ha Long Bay and Hoi An
The north-and-centre masterpiece: Hanoi's thousand-year-old street-food theatre, a night asleep among Ha Long's limestone towers, Ninh Binh's river through the rice paddies, then Hoi An — the lantern town with a golden bridge in the clouds and a tailor who'll suit you in 24 hours. E-visa in five minutes; road-crossing course included.
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Vietnam and Cambodia in 12 days: Hanoi, Ha Long, Hoi An, Saigon and Angkor
Vietnam top to bottom and then the temples: a limestone bay slept on, a lantern-lit tailoring town, a war museum that pulls no punches, and Angkor at sunrise — two countries, one open border, and a route the airlines have made easy.
East Asia
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China in 10 days: Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai
The golden route at 350 km/h: the Great Wall with a toboggan exit, the Forbidden City's 7-day ticket sprint, an 8,000-man terracotta army, and Shanghai's sci-fi skyline — plus the two make-or-break setups (Alipay and your eSIM) that decide whether China is effortless or impossible.
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China's nature epic: Zhangjiajie and the Li River in 10 days
The scenery China of every reel, done properly: two days among the Avatar pillars, the glass bridge over a 300-metre gorge, Heaven's Gate through the clouds — then south to the Li River's ink-painting karsts, bamboo rafts, rice terraces and the ¥20-note view. Second in our China series; the first guide's app-and-visa setup applies here doubly.
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China and Mongolia in 14 days: Beijing, the Trans-Mongolian and the Gobi
The Forbidden City and a wall built to keep the steppe out, then the train that crosses it — thirty hours through the Gobi to a country of three million people and seventy million livestock, where you sleep in a felt tent.
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Hong Kong in 3 days: the Peak, Kowloon and Lantau
The Star Ferry, the Peak tram, and the mid-levels escalator — the cheapest transport in the city is also the sightseeing. Plus which side of the harbour to watch the light show from, and the Lantau day that needs booking.
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Hong Kong in 6 days: the classic, plus Macau
The most vertical city on Earth, entered on a free online form: the Peak at golden hour, a bronze Buddha above the clouds, dim sum economics, one Disney day and a day trip to Macau over the world's longest sea bridge — with the PAR registration, Octopus card and typhoon calendar decoded.
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Japan autumn leaves in 7 days: Nikko's koyo and Kyoto in November
Koyo runs for weeks rather than days, which makes autumn the easier season to plan than sakura. Nikko in late October while it is still high and cold, Kyoto through November as the colour comes down the hills, and the night illuminations that are the best thing in the Japanese calendar.
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Japan cherry blossom in 7 days: routed around the bloom forecast
Sakura moves by a week or more each year and the forecast only firms up in March, which is the whole planning problem. How the bloom travels north, which Tokyo and Kyoto spots are worth the crowd, the night illuminations, and how to build a route that still works if you guess the week wrong.
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Japan for vegetarians in 7 days: the dashi problem, solved
The hard part of vegetarian Japan is not finding salad — it is dashi, the bonito stock in almost every broth, dressing and simmered dish that looks meat-free. What to ask, what to avoid, where shojin ryori is worth a detour, and the chains that will feed you anywhere.
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Japan with kids in 10 days: Ghibli, trains and a slower Kyoto
The same four stops as the standard route, re-planned for small legs: Ghibli and teamLab instead of a third museum, one temple a day in Kyoto rather than six, luggage forwarded so nobody carries bags, and the shinkansen treated as an event rather than a transfer.
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Japan on a budget in 7 days: the rail-pass maths and konbini meals
Japan stopped being expensive and nobody updated the advice. Business hotels for the price of a European hostel, konbini and gyudon meals that are genuinely good, and the rail-pass arithmetic that now usually says no — with the numbers to check it yourself.
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Kyoto in 2 days: Fushimi Inari, Gion and Arashiyama
Kyoto's famous sights are famous, so this plans around the hours they are empty — Fushimi Inari before seven, the bamboo grove before nine. Plus the geiko photography rules that now carry fines.
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Osaka in 2 days: Dotonbori, the castle and Nara
Two days in the city Japan comes to eat in — Dotonbori after dark, the castle in the morning, and a second day that is either Nara's Great Buddha or Universal Studios. Plus the kushikatsu rule that is taken seriously.
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Tokyo in 5 days: the city, plus Kamakura and Nikko
The same geography-first plan as three days, with room to go deeper — plus Kamakura's Great Buddha and Nikko's Toshogu, which are the two day trips that actually earn a day. Which to pick if you only want one.
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Tokyo in 3 days: Shibuya, Asakusa and the waterfront
Tokyo is too big to wander — this plans it by geography, west on day one, east on day two, bay on day three. Which rail pass is a waste, what sells out weeks ahead, and the free observation deck that beats the paid ones.
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Japan in 14 days: Tokyo, the Alps, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Miyajima
Two weeks is where Japan stops being a highlights reel. This adds Nikko's shrines, Kanazawa's samurai and geisha districts, Hiroshima and the floating torii at Miyajima to the Tokyo–Kyoto spine — and it is the one duration where the rail pass genuinely pays.
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Japan in 21 days: the Golden Route, the Alps, Hiroshima and Kyushu
Three weeks is enough to add the Japan Alps and the whole of Kyushu — hot-spring towns, an active volcano across the bay from a city of 600,000, and the oldest onsen in the country. The 21-day rail pass, the Alps bus route that closes in winter, and where to break the journey south.
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Japan in 5 days: Tokyo, Kamakura and Hakone
Five days is a Tokyo trip with two day trips, not a Tokyo-and-Kyoto trip. Kamakura for the Great Buddha an hour south, Hakone for Fuji and an onsen, and no Shinkansen at all — which is exactly why it works.
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Japan in 7 days: Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto and Osaka
One week is enough for Tokyo, a night in the mountains at Hakone, the temples of Kyoto and a last evening eating in Osaka — if you accept that it is a four-stop trip and stop trying to add Hiroshima. The rail pass maths, the Hakone loop in the right direction, and what to book before you fly.
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Japan in 10 days: Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto and Osaka
The Golden Route done properly — Tokyo's neon and shrines, an onsen night under Mt Fuji, Kyoto's temples, Nara's deer and Osaka's food — with the 2026 ticket, rail-pass and tax changes most guides haven't caught up with.
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Japan beyond the Golden Route: Kanazawa, Shirakawa-go and the Alps
The Japan most visitors miss — samurai Kanazawa, the thatched village of Shirakawa-go, Takayama's old town and morning markets, and Japan's finest original castle at Matsumoto — in one clean loop from Tokyo.
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Hokkaido in winter: snow festivals, penguins and powder
February in Japan's snow country — the Sapporo Snow Festival, Otaru's candlelit canal, marching penguins in Asahikawa, a beginner-friendly powder day in Furano, and a steaming hell-valley onsen night.
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Japan and South Korea in 14 days: Tokyo, Kyoto, Busan and Seoul
Shinkansen to Kyoto's temples and Osaka's food streets, a ferry or a short hop across the strait, and then Korea's own answer to all of it — a Silla capital with tombs in the middle of town, and a capital that rebuilt itself twice in a century.
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Japan and Taiwan in 12 days: Tokyo, Kyoto, Taipei and Taroko
Six days in Japan and six in Taiwan, joined by a short flight. Why the Japan Rail Pass is probably no longer worth buying for this route, what to check about Taroko Gorge before you plan a day around it, and the one month to avoid in both countries.
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Mongolia in 10 days: the Gobi, Orkhon Valley and ger camps
The emptiest country on earth, and it feels it: singing sand dunes, cliffs where the first dinosaur eggs were found, a valley that was once the centre of the largest land empire in history, and nights in a felt ger with a family — with the driving reality, the short season and why there are almost no roads.
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North Korea in 7 days: Pyongyang, the DMZ and what a guided tour actually shows you
A country you can only see on a state-run tour, accompanied at all times, where every dollar reaches the government and what you are shown is chosen for you — described with the practical and ethical questions stated rather than skirted.
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Seoul in 4 days: palaces, Bukchon, Gangnam and the DMZ
The palace at opening in hanbok, Bukchon's residents who have had enough, the DMZ tour that must be booked weeks ahead — and a jjimjilbang, which is the most Korean thing you can do.
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South Korea in 10 days: Seoul and Busan
The K-everything trip done properly: palaces entered free in a rented hanbok, a stare into North Korea from the DMZ, midnight food alleys, then the KTX south to Busan's rainbow village and a sky capsule over the sea — plus the one app truth (Google Maps doesn't work here), the visa file that passes, and where halal Seoul actually lives.
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Taiwan in 6 days: Taipei and the north
Asia's most underrated city break, unlocked by a free web form: night markets that redefine street food, a bamboo-green tower above misty hills, hot springs at the end of a metro line and a lantern rising with your wish — for anyone holding a US, UK, Japanese or Schengen visa, Taiwan is ten minutes online.
