Best of Cambodia & Northern Thailand — Self-Launched

Land at Tan Son Nhat Airport and make your own way to District 1 by Grab or the 109 airport bus (~£2). Check into a backpacker hostel or budget hotel around Pham Ngu Lao or Bui Vien. Spend the evening getting oriented: dinner of pho or banh mi from a streetside stall (~£1.50-2.50), then a beer on Bui Vien walking street.

🚌Public bus 109 or Grab from airport, ~£2-4

🛏Backpacker hostel / budget hotel, District 1 (~£10-14)

• →Airport bus 109 or Grab to District 1
• →Pham Ngu Lao orientation walk
• →Street food dinner (pho, banh mi)
• →Bui Vien evening stroll

Book a small-group day trip yourself via GetYourGuide or Klook — the full-day Mekong Delta tour (~£22-30) or the Cu Chi Tunnels half-day (~£15-20). Cu Chi can also be done independently by public bus 13 to Cu Chi town then a local motorbike taxi. Back in the city, visit the War Remnants Museum (~£2) and Ben Thanh Market in the late afternoon.

🚌Included minibus on day tour or local bus 13

🛏Backpacker hostel / budget hotel, District 1 (~£10-14)

• →Mekong Delta day trip (book via GetYourGuide/Klook)
• →Cu Chi Tunnels half-day alternative
• →War Remnants Museum
• →Ben Thanh Market

Take a morning bus from HCMC to Phnom Penh with Mekong Express, Giant Ibis or Kumho Samco (~£12-16, 6-7 hours including the Moc Bai/Bavet border crossing). Most companies handle the border formalities for you — have your Cambodia e-visa ready (~£25, apply ahead). Arrive early evening, check in near the riverside, then take a short cyclo ride along Sisowath Quay (~£3) and eat on Street 240 or Street 13.

🚌Cross-border bus HCMC-Phnom Penh, ~£12-16

🛏Riverside guesthouse / hostel, Daun Penh (~£8-14)

• →Mekong Express / Giant Ibis bus to Phnom Penh
• →Land border crossing at Moc Bai
• →Riverside cyclo ride
• →Dinner near Sisowath Quay

Book a shared tuk-tuk for the day (~£12-15 split between 2-4 people) to Choeung Ek Killing Fields (~£3 entry, £1.50 audio guide) and Tuol Sleng S-21 Prison (~£3). In the afternoon see the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda (~£4), the National Museum (~£4), Wat Phnom (~£0.50) and Russian Market for cheap eats and souvenirs. A sombre but essential day.

🚌Shared tuk-tuk for the day, ~£5-8 per person

🛏Riverside guesthouse / hostel, Daun Penh (~£8-14)

• →Choeung Ek Killing Fields (audio guide)
• →Tuol Sleng S-21 Prison
• →Royal Palace & Silver Pagoda
• →National Museum
• →Russian Market
• →Wat Phnom

Take a morning bus to Siem Reap (Giant Ibis ~£12, 6-7 hours; the night bus is also an option if you want to save a night's accommodation). Arrive late afternoon and settle into a guesthouse near Pub Street or Wat Bo. Buy your Angkor pass for the next day (1-day £29, 3-day £50 - the 3-day pass is worth it if you want to spread the temples over two days). Catch the Phare Circus in the evening (~£12-18) if timing works.

🚌Giant Ibis bus, ~£12

🛏Guesthouse near Wat Bo / Pub Street (~£8-14)

• →Bus Phnom Penh - Siem Reap
• →Buy Angkor pass
• →Phare Circus (optional)
• →Pub Street evening

Hire a tuk-tuk driver for the day (~£15-18 total, split between 2-4) or rent a bicycle (~£2/day) for the classic small circuit: sunrise at Angkor Wat, then Angkor Thom, Bayon's giant stone faces, and the jungle-swallowed Ta Prohm. Take plenty of water. In the evening, book a Khmer cooking class or eat traditional Khmer food at a social enterprise restaurant supporting local training programmes (~£6-10).

🚌Hired tuk-tuk for the day, ~£5-9 per person

🛏Guesthouse near Wat Bo / Pub Street (~£8-14)

• →Angkor Wat sunrise
• →Angkor Thom & Bayon
• →Ta Prohm
• →Traditional Khmer meal
• →Khmer cooking class (optional)

Second day of temples with a tuk-tuk on the grand circuit — Preah Khan, Neak Pean, Ta Som, East Mebon and Pre Rup at sunset. Alternatively add an afternoon trip to the Tonle Sap floating villages at Kompong Khleang or Kompong Phluk (~£20-28 including boat, book direct with a tuk-tuk driver or via Klook). Visit the Angkor National Museum (~£9) if you want context for what you've seen.

🚌Hired tuk-tuk, ~£5-9 per person

🛏Guesthouse near Wat Bo / Pub Street (~£8-14)

• →Angkor Grand Circuit temples
• →Pre Rup sunset
• →Tonle Sap floating village
• →Angkor National Museum (optional)

Cheapest route is the bus from Siem Reap to Bangkok via Poipet (~£18-22, 8-9 hours including border) — book with Giant Ibis, Nattakan or Transport Co. Watch out for the Poipet border scam where touts sell overpriced 'visa on arrival' or forced shuttles; walk through to the official Thai immigration. Alternatively fly Siem Reap-Bangkok Don Mueang on AirAsia (~£50-70). Settle in around Khao San or Chinatown.

🚌Bus via Poipet, ~£18-22 (or flight ~£50-70)

🛏Hostel / budget hotel, Khao San or Chinatown (~£10-16)

• →Cross-border bus Siem Reap - Bangkok
• →Poipet border crossing
• →Khao San Road evening

Do the classic temple run independently: Grand Palace (~£14, dress code enforced) and Wat Pho (~£6) with its Reclining Buddha. Get around by Chao Phraya Express boat (~£0.40-0.60 per hop) and the MRT. Climb Wat Arun (~£3) at sunset and cross by ferry. Evening in Chinatown (Yaowarat) for a street food crawl — grilled seafood, oyster omelette, mango sticky rice, all for a few pounds.

🚌Chao Phraya boat, MRT and metro, ~£3-5 total

🛏Hostel / budget hotel, Khao San or Chinatown (~£10-16)

• →Grand Palace & Wat Pho
• →Wat Arun sunset
• →Chao Phraya Express boat ride
• →Yaowarat (Chinatown) street food crawl

Take a local bus or minivan from Mo Chit or Sai Tai Mai to Kanchanaburi (~£3-5, 2-3 hours). Book a floating raft house on the River Kwai (~£12-20) or a riverside guesthouse. Afternoon longtail boat trip on the Khwae Yai (~£10-15 shared) and a visit to Wat Tham Suea (Tiger Cave Temple) for the viewpoint. Dinner at one of the floating restaurants on the river.

🚌Local bus / minivan, ~£3-5

🛏River Kwai raft house or riverside guesthouse (~£12-20)

• →Bus Bangkok - Kanchanaburi
• →Overnight floating raft house
• →Longtail boat river trip
• →Wat Tham Suea viewpoint

Hire a songthaew or shared minivan for the day (~£10-15 per person) to Erawan National Park. Entry ~£8 plus ~£1.50 to the top tiers — seven emerald pools and waterfalls, swim in as many as you like. On the way back, stop at the Bridge on the River Kwai and the Thailand-Burma Railway. Don't miss the last bus back from Erawan (around 4pm).

🚌Shared songthaew / van for the day, ~£10-15

🛏Riverside guesthouse, Kanchanaburi (~£12-20)

• →Erawan National Park & seven-tier falls
• →Bridge on the River Kwai
• →Swimming in the falls

Morning bus or train from Kanchanaburi to Bangkok then onward to Ayutthaya (or a direct minivan ~£5-8, 3 hours). Rent a bicycle (~£1.50) or hire a tuk-tuk (~£8) to tour the temple ruins — Wat Mahathat with the Buddha head in tree roots, Wat Chaiwatthanaram, Wat Phra Si Sanphet. Also visit the Thai-Burma Railway Centre (~£3) if you didn't get to it earlier. Then catch the overnight train from Ayutthaya to Chiang Mai — sleeper berths from ~£18-25, book on Thai Railways' D-Ticket site or at the station a few days ahead.

🚌Minivan to Ayutthaya ~£5-8; sleeper train ~£18-25

🛏Overnight sleeper train, 2nd class berth

• →Ayutthaya Historical Park by bicycle
• →Wat Mahathat Buddha head
• →Wat Chaiwatthanaram
• →Overnight sleeper train to Chiang Mai

Arrive early morning and check into a guesthouse inside or just outside the moat (~£10-16). Do the old town orientation walk yourself — Wat Chedi Luang, Wat Phra Singh, the Three Kings Monument. In the afternoon take a red songthaew to Doi Suthep (~£2-3 each way) for the mountain temple and view over the city (~£1 entry). Book a Northern Thai cooking class for tomorrow via Klook or directly with a cooking school (half-day ~£22-32).

🚌Songthaew around town, ~£2-4 total

🛏Guesthouse near Chiang Mai Gate (~£10-16)

• →Chiang Mai Old Town temple walk
• →Wat Chedi Luang & Wat Phra Singh
• →Doi Suthep Temple
• →Book cooking class

Morning half-day Northern Thai cooking class (~£22-32) — market visit, khao soi, green curry, larb, pad thai. In the evening do a self-launched street food crawl: start at the Sunday Walking Street Market (or Chang Phuak Gate night market), try khao soi at Khao Soi Khun Yai, sai ua sausages, mango sticky rice and roti. Also worth a look: Nimmanhaemin for craft beer and cafés.

🚌Songthaew / walk, ~£2-3

🛏Guesthouse near Chiang Mai Gate (~£10-16)

• →Half-day Northern Thai cooking class
• →Sunday Walking Street Market
• →Chang Phuak Gate night market
• →Khao soi tasting

Last morning: coffee at one of Nimmanhaemin's specialty roasters, a final temple or market wander, and last-minute souvenir shopping at Warorot Market. If you have a late flight, a hilltribe trek or Golden Triangle day trip can be added (~£30-45). Songthaew to Chiang Mai International Airport (~£2-3) or onward travel to Pai, Chiang Rai or Laos by bus. Trip ends.

🚌Songthaew to airport ~£2-3

🛏Not included (day 15 departure)

• →Nimmanhaemin coffee
• →Warorot Market souvenir shopping
• →Optional hilltribe trek or Golden Triangle day trip
• →Transfer to airport or onward travel