Best of Thailand & Vietnam: Self-Launched

Land at Suvarnabhumi or Don Mueang and take the Airport Rail Link (45 THB / ~£1) to Phaya Thai, then the BTS Skytrain to National Stadium — avoid airport taxis at peak traffic. Check into a guesthouse in Banglamphu/Rambuttri near Khao San Road. In the evening wander Khao San and the riverside for street food: pad thai, mango sticky rice and a beer will set you back about £4–5.

🚌Airport Rail Link + BTS, ~£1.50

🛏Guesthouse double/single in Banglamphu (approx. £14–20/night)

• →Airport Rail Link into town
• →Khao San Road evening
• →Riverside street food

Do the same temple loop the tour does, on foot and by ferry. Start early at the Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha (500 THB / ~£11, open 8:30am — dress code: covered shoulders and knees). Walk 10 minutes to Wat Pho for the 46m Reclining Buddha (300 THB / ~£7), then take the 4 THB cross-river ferry to Wat Arun (200 THB / ~£4.50). Finish with a Chao Phraya Express Boat ride (15–40 THB) or a shared longtail klong tour (negotiate ~800–1,000 THB per boat) for the canal experience.

🚌Walking, cross-river ferry and Chao Phraya Express Boat, ~£3

🛏Guesthouse in Banglamphu (approx. £14–20/night)

• →Grand Palace & Emerald Buddha
• →Wat Pho Reclining Buddha
• →Wat Arun
• →Chao Phraya / klong boat ride

Book a GetYourGuide small-group or private day trip from Bangkok covering the War Cemetery, Thailand–Burma Railway Centre, a longtail boat on the River Kwai, the Bridge over the River Kwai and Hellfire Pass (roughly £45–60 per person including entry fees), or DIY it: 3rd-class train from Thonburi to Kanchanaburi (~100 THB / £2.20, 3 hrs) then songthaews locally. A DIY version needs a night in Kanchanaburi, so the day tour is the better value if you're time-limited. Overnight back in Bangkok or, better, continue to Ayutthaya by minivan from Kanchanaburi (~250 THB / £5.50).

🚌GetYourGuide day tour minivan or Thonburi–Kanchanaburi train + minivan, ~£50 tour or ~£8 DIY

🛏Guesthouse in Ayutthaya near the ruins (approx. £12–18/night)

• →Kanchanaburi War Cemetery
• →Thailand–Burma Railway Centre
• →River Kwai boat trip
• →Bridge over the River Kwai
• →Hellfire Pass

Rent a bicycle from your guesthouse (50–80 THB / ~£1.50) and ride the ruins loop — far better than a coach. Hit Wat Mahathat (the Buddha head in the tree roots), Wat Phra Sri Sanphet, Wat Yai Chai Mongkol and Wat Chaiwatthanaram at sunset. Combined ticket 220 THB (~£5). In the late afternoon take a minivan or 3rd-class train to Phitsanulok (minivan ~250 THB / £5.50, ~3.5 hrs) or push straight on to Sukhothai-New Town (bus ~4 hrs).

🚌Bicycle hire + minivan to Phitsanulok, ~£8

🛏Budget hotel in Phitsanulok or Sukhothai New Town (approx. £12–18/night)

• →Bicycle hire
• →Wat Mahathat
• →Wat Phra Sri Sanphet
• →Wat Yai Chai Mongkol
• →Wat Chaiwatthanaram sunset

If you slept in Phitsanulok, grab the local bus to Sukhothai (~1 hr, 40 THB). Rent a bike at the Historical Park (entry 100 THB + 10 THB bike) and ride between Wat Sri Chum, Wat Mahathat and the Khmer-style Wat Si Sawai — allow 4 hours. If you want the monk alms-giving experience, ask your guesthouse to arrange it for dawn the next morning rather than paying a tour. Then take the overnight bus or VIP coach to Chiang Rai (about 8–9 hrs, 700–900 THB / ~£17) — a sleeper bus saves both a hotel night and daylight.

🚌Local bus Phitsanulok–Sukhothai + overnight VIP bus to Chiang Rai, ~£20

🛏Overnight VIP bus, or guesthouse in Chiang Rai (approx. £10–16/night)

• →Sukhothai Historical Park cycling
• →Wat Sri Chum Buddha
• →Wat Si Sawai
• →Overnight bus to Chiang Rai

Book a half-day tuk-tuk or private car loop to Wat Rong Khun (White Temple, 100 THB / £2.20), Wat Rong Suea Ten (Blue Temple, free/donation) and the Baan Dam Black House (80 THB). A full-day private car with driver runs about 1,500–2,000 THB (~£35–45) split between 1–3 people, or hop the local Chiang Rai bus to the White Temple for 20 THB each way. Skip the Akha 'long-neck' village that the commercial tour visits — it's widely criticised as exploitative; if you want a hilltribe encounter, book an ethical community-based trek with a Chiang Rai operator instead.

🚌Private car/tuk-tuk day hire split, ~£15–20 per person

🛏Guesthouse in Chiang Rai (approx. £10–16/night)

• →Wat Rong Khun (White Temple)
• →Wat Rong Suea Ten (Blue Temple)
• →Baan Dam Black House
• →Night Bazaar

Morning bus from Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai (Green Bus, ~3 hrs, 200–300 THB / £5). Check into a guesthouse inside the Old City moat. Afternoon: explore the moat-side temples on foot (Wat Chedi Luang, Wat Phra Singh, both 50–100 THB) and the Sunday Walking Street if it's a Sunday. Evening at the Night Bazaar or Ploen Ruedee night market for khao soi and northern sausage (~£4).

🚌Green Bus Chiang Rai–Chiang Mai, ~£6

🛏Old City guesthouse in Chiang Mai (approx. £14–22/night)

• →Wat Chedi Luang
• →Wat Phra Singh
• →Chiang Mai Night Bazaar
• →Khao soi dinner

Book a no-riding, observation-and-feeding half-day at Elephant Nature Park or a similar ethical sanctuary (about 2,500–3,500 THB / £55–78 including pickup, lunch and park entry) — book direct on the sanctuary's own site a few days ahead, they sell out. In the late afternoon take a red songthaew up to Wat Doi Suthep (50 THB each way + 30 THB entry) for the 306-step naga staircase and city views.

🚌Sanctuary pickup included + songthaew to Doi Suthep, ~£2 extra

🛏Old City guesthouse in Chiang Mai (approx. £14–22/night)

• →Ethical elephant sanctuary half-day
• →Wat Doi Suthep
• →Naga staircase & viewpoint

Fly Chiang Mai to Hanoi — AirAsia and VietJet run direct or via Bangkok from roughly £55–100 one way; book 2–4 weeks ahead. The original tour moves everyone this way too, so it's the one place where you won't save much on transport. Arrive, take the VietJet/AirAsia airport bus 86 (45,000 VND / ~£1.50) or a Grab (~£5) to the Old Quarter. Evening: Hoan Kiem Lake walk, bia hoi corner beer for 10,000 VND and a bowl of bun cha.

🚌Flight Chiang Mai–Hanoi ~£70 + airport bus, ~£1.50

🛏Old Quarter budget hotel with private room (approx. £15–22/night)

• →Flight to Hanoi
• →Hoan Kiem Lake evening walk
• →Bia hoi corner
• →Bun cha dinner

Do the same sights as the guided city tour independently and for a fraction of the cost. Start at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex (free, closed Mon & Fri, mornings only) with the One Pillar Pagoda and stilt house, then the Temple of Literature (30,000 VND / £1). Afternoon loop around Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple (30,000 VND). Evening: a Hanoi street food walking tour on Klook/GetYourGuide is about £20–25 if you want the guided version the tour sells at USD 28.

🚌Walking; occasional Grab, ~£2

🛏Old Quarter budget hotel (approx. £15–22/night)

• →Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum & stilt house
• →One Pillar Pagoda
• →Temple of Literature
• →Ngoc Son Temple
• →Optional street food tour

Book a 1-night/2-day Halong or Bai Tu Long Bay cruise direct or via Klook — budget junk boats start around £85–120 per person for a shared cabin including bus transfer from Hanoi, all meals, cave visit and kayaking. Cheaper still: bus Hanoi–Halong (~£8) and a day boat. Do your homework on the boat — cheap junks vary a lot. Kayaking at the limestone karsts is worth the small extra fee.

🚌Shuttle bus from Hanoi included in the cruise price

🛏En-suite cabin on a mid-range junk boat (included in tour price, approx. £90–120 pp)

• →Halong Bay junk cruise
• →Kayaking among karsts
• →Sung Sot / Thien Cung cave
• →Sunset on the top deck

Early tai chi and brunch on the boat, then the shuttle back to Hanoi. From Hanoi fly to Da Nang with VietJet or Vietnam Airlines (roughly £35–60 one way, 1h20) and take a Grab or shared airport shuttle the 45 minutes to Hoi An (~£8 Grab, ~£3 shared). Alternative if you're not flying: the Reunification Express sleeper from Hanoi to Da Nang is about £30–40 in a soft sleeper and takes 16 hrs. Evening: lantern-lit Hoi An Ancient Town, no entry fee after 9pm, or 120,000 VND for the Old Town ticket.

🚌Cruise shuttle + domestic flight ~£50 + Grab to Hoi An ~£8

🛏Riverside guesthouse/hotel in Hoi An (approx. £14–22/night)

• →Morning on the bay
• →Flight to Da Nang
• →Hoi An Ancient Town by lantern light

Buy the Old Town ticket (120,000 VND / ~£4) which covers the Japanese Covered Bridge, a historic merchant's house, the Chinese Assembly Hall and the ceramics museum. Afternoon: cycle to An Bang Beach (free bike hire from most guesthouses) or take a £12–18 Vietnamese cooking class — the classic Hoi An experience and better value than the tour's add-ons. If you want the Golden Hand Bridge (Ba Na Hills), a Grab there plus cable car entry is about 900,000 VND (~£30) and far cheaper than the tour's USD 78 add-on.

🚌Bicycle hire + occasional Grab, ~£4

🛏Riverside guesthouse/hotel in Hoi An (approx. £14–22/night)

• →Japanese Covered Bridge
• →Tan Ky merchant house
• →Chinese Assembly Hall
• →An Bang Beach
• →Optional cooking class

Morning: Grab to Marble Mountains (40,000 VND entry + 15,000 VND lift, ~£3 total) and the Cham Museum in Da Nang (60,000 VND). Then do the Hai Van Pass the fun way — hire an Easy Rider motorbike guide for the Da Nang–Hue run (~£25–35, includes stops at the pass summit, Lang Co lagoon and Elephant Springs) — or take the local train Da Nang–Hue (about 100,000 VND / £3.50, 2.5 hrs) for one of the best coastal rail views in Asia. Evening in Hue: bun bo Hue and a walk along the Perfume River.

🚌Grab + Easy Rider or train to Hue, ~£20–35

🛏Budget hotel in Hue (approx. £12–18/night)

• →Marble Mountains
• →Cham Museum
• →Hai Van Pass
• →Lang Co lagoon
• →Bun bo Hue dinner

Morning: the Citadel and Imperial Enclosure (150,000 VND / £5), the Flag Tower, then a river boat or Grab to Thien Mu Pagoda (free) and the Royal Tomb of Khai Dinh (150,000 VND). Dong Ba Market for lunch and cao lau. If you're finishing here, fly Hue to Ho Chi Minh City with VietJet (~£30–45, 1h35) and spend the evening in District 1 — Ben Thanh Market and a rooftop beer. If you'd rather go overland, the Reunification Express Hue–Saigon sleeper is ~£35–45 and takes about 20 hrs, arriving the next day.

🚌Local Grab in Hue + flight to Saigon ~£40

🛏Last night: budget hotel District 1, Saigon, or fly home (approx. £15–22)

• →Imperial City & Flag Tower
• →Thien Mu Pagoda
• →Tomb of Khai Dinh
• →Dong Ba Market
• →Ben Thanh Market