Three Weeks in Southeast Asia: Our Itinerary

view from low tide

One of my earliest trips was a three week vacation with a best friend in Southeast Asia. We packed so much into 23 days, exploring Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and Kuala Lumpur and having the time of our lives on a shoestring budget.

This will give you a basic idea of how to replicate a similar route for three weeks in Southeast Asia and suggestions on the best things to see, do, and try. This itinerary is for 23 days but does not include the day/time spent flying. Depending on where you’re coming from, of course, you might find you lose a whole day in flight due to time changes.

Please do yourself a favor and spend some time in this part of the world!

Sarah and Marie on a hong kong sunset cruise

It starts in Singapore and basically works in a clockwise circle to Kuala Lumpur, north through Thailand, east to Hong Kong, and back south to Singapore. You could start in any city you want or go in any direction, or book open-jaw tickets so you can start and end your trip in different cities.

SINGAPORE: SINGAPORE (3 Days)

Language: 4 official languages; English is common language while Tamil, Malay, and Mandarin are the other official languages

Currency: the Singaporean Dollar (SGD)

$1 SGD = ~$1.39 USD

$1 USD = ~$0.71 SGD

Day 1: Arrive in Singapore in morning.                  

  • Gardens by the Bay
  • Marina Bay
  • Dinner on the water                                           

Day 2: Singapore              

  • National Gallery Art Museum
  • Sentosa Island, Aquarium
  • Platform 1094                                                                  

Day 3: Singapore          

  • Chinatown
  • Chinese Heritage Center
  • Gardens by the Bay (at night)                                                                                   

RELATED: Four Days in Singapore An Eco-Friendly Itinerary

KUALA LUMPUR: MALAYSIA (3 Days)

Language: Malay

Currency: the Malaysian Ringgit (MYR)

1 MYR – ~$0.24 USD

$1 USD – ~4.14 MYR

Day 6: Leave for Kuala Lumpur in morning.                                

Flight around 1 hour. $44.50 each for flight from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur.

  • Heli Lounge Rooftop Bar

Day 7: Kuala Lumpur  

  • KL Butterfly Park
  • Islamic Arts Museum
  • National Mosque

Day 8: Kuala Lumpur    

  • Batu Caves

RELATED: 3 Days in Kuala Lmpur

KRABI, BANGKOK, & CHIANG MAI, THAILAND (10 Days)

Language: Thai

Currency: the Thai baht (THB)

฿1 THB – ~$0.032 USD

$1 USD – ~฿31.21 THB

Note that Thailand is one hour behind Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

A beautiful pink and purple sunset off the bungalows in Krabi.

Day 9: Leave for Krabi in afternoon.                               

Flight about 1 hour. $22.13 each for flight from Kuala Lumpur to Krabi.

Day 10: Krabi, Thailand.           

  • Lounging, beach walking, swimming, kayaking, bike riding – at your leisure!

RELATED: 5 Days in Krabi                                      

Day 11: Overnight trip to Koh Phi Phi.      

  • Bob’s Booze Cruise                             
  • Evening Beach Party            

Day 12: Krabi, Thailand

  • Repeat activities from previous day in any order.     

Day 13: Krabi, Thailand          

  • One last day to completely unwind.

Day 14 : Leave for Bangkok in morning.                                    

Flight about 1.5 hours. $31 each for flight from Krabi to Bangkok.

  • Evening market
  • floating market

Day 15: Bangkok            

  • Grand Palace
  • Bike tour                                                                                    

Day 16: Bangkok leave for Chiang Mai.  

Flight about 1.5 hours.                                        

Day 17: Bus to Chiang Rai in afternoon.

Bus about 2 hours.

Day 18: Chiang Rai              

  • White Temple
  • Thai Cooking Class

Day 19: Chiang Rai            

  • Visit an elephant encounter – do your research to make sure it’s ethical, or skip it all together.              
  • Get a Thai Tattoo                                                                     

RELATED: Check out Encountering Elephants, Ethically to see where we met some of the planet’s largest living creatures.

HONG KONG (3 days)

Language: Chinese (Cantonese), English

Currency: the Hong Kong Dollar (HKD)

$1 HKD – ~$0.12 USD

$1 USD – ~$7.76 HKD

the streets of Hong Kong

Day 20: Leave for Hong Kong in morning.                                                   

Flight about 5 hours. $70 each for flight from Chiang Rai to Hong Kong.

Day 21: Hong Kong        

  • Hong Kong Museum of History
  • Explore Shopping   
  • Rooftop bar drinks                                                                              

Day 22: Hong Kong                

  • Victorias Peak
  • Evening Dinner Cruise

SINGAPORE, PART 2 (1 day)

Day 23: Hong Kong. Leave for Singapore in afternoon.                                        

Flight about 4 hours. $124.86 each paid for flight from Hong Kong to Singapore.

  • Rooftop Bar for drinks

Day 24: Leave from Singapore in evening.

  • Little India

BEST PLACES TO STAY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

Bananas Bungalows is one of my favorite places to stay in the world, in Krabi, Thailand! I wrote about it along with some other faves in Asia if you want something different. Otherwise, below are the places where we stayed and enjoyed, as well as other popular options for luxury and eco-friendly travel.

RELATED: 10 Incredible Hotels Around The World: Where to Stay in 2020

SINGAPORE ACCOMMODATIONS

Little Red Dot Hostel (budget hostel; where we stayed)

Paid $80 for four nights, 2 beds

MALAYSIA ACCOMMODATIONS

Back Home Kuala Lumpur Hostel

$41.50 – 364 MYR total for 1 room, 3 nights

KRABI ACCOMMODATIONS

Banana Bungalows

$32.50 deposit each, 2480.54 BAHT total | Balance paid after end of stay for whatever food & drinks were ordered.

BANGKOK ACCOMMODATIONS

NapPark Hostel

$36.50 each – 2640 BAHT total for 2 nights

CHIANG MAI ACCOMMODATIONS

Haus Hostel

Paid $65.00 for three nights

CHIANG RAI ACCOMMODATIONS

Koon Cha Learn Backpackers

HONG KONG ACCOMMODATIONS

Urban Pack Hostel

Paid $120 for 3 nights, 2 dorm beds


Thanks for reading! Planning a trip to Southeast Asia soon?

Join the Suitcase Six mailing list and you’ll get access to 3 freebies to help you plan your next adventure!

After you sign up, you’ll start receiving the following freebies: 50 Practical Travel Tips from Solo Lady Backpackers (a 6-page PDF), 20 Tips for Sustainable Travel (a checklist), and 30 Jobs to See the World.

Want to read more on this region? Head to our Asia archives for the full library.

mailing list sign up photo