At the risk of stating the obvious: Indonesia is huge.
But did you know it’s actually bigger than Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, and the Philippines combined?
Or that it’s wider than the entire United States?
When I see Indonesia covered as just another chapter in a region guide for Southeast Asia, it always seems funny to me, since Indonesia could easily justify a whole guide on its own.
Each major island of Indonesia is very different and will appeal to different travellers, so choosing the right island(s) is key!
To help you out, I’ve put together some high-level recommendations here.
While I haven’t yet been everywhere in Indonesia (few people have), I’ve covered all the popular islands plus a few less-visited ones across 3 months of travelling around the archipelago. I’ll share some personal and honest thoughts so that you can get a feel for what each island is like.
What I love so much about Indonesia is that the religions, cultures, cuisines, and landscapes vary greatly around the archipelago. You can almost think of it as a country with a collection of countries within it; in fact, Indonesia didn’t truly unify until 1950, so a lot of local identities remain quite distinct.
This means there is always something new to discover in this expansive and diverse nation. Based on some different travel goals, here are a few places to look into…
Java
cultural city/adventure trip
I think Java makes for an excellent introduction — perfect for explorers and cultural travellers. It’s densely populated and highly urbanized, so you’ll be thrown right into the heart of Indonesia. Outside of the cities, there are lots of amazing sights, including epic volcanoes and incredible ancient temples. Transport is very easy. See my detailed Java itinerary for more inspiration. 
Bali & Lombok
Resort holiday vibes
Bali is still the one place to recommend for a holiday feeling. Despite some severe overtourism, it’s the place to go to find a beautiful villa or resort. Beware that it’s the most overcommercialized area of Indonesia. For unspoiled beaches, consider a side-trip to Lombok. Check my alternative itinerary to Bali and guide to Lombok. 
Flores, Sulawesi, Sumatra & Maluku
Off the beaten path travel
With Bali hoovering up nearly all the attention, it leaves the rest of Indonesia relatively unexplored. Shhhh, don’t tell anyone, but some of the best authentic travel experiences (if you ask me!) are actually in islands like Flores or Sulawesi.
Go here to escape the crowds and get in touch with the ‘real’ Indonesia (an odd term, but you know what I mean). While I haven’t yet been, I would put Sumatra and the Maluku islands in this category, too.
Raja Ampat
Remote diving holidays
I want to give a separate mention to Raja Ampat, remote islands close to Papua New Guinea. The reefs are world-famous among scuba divers, but since everything has to be imported here (including basic goods like rice), prices in Raja Ampat are much higher than elsewhere in Indonesia. That puts it in a bit of a separate category from other islands.
In the next sections, I’ll talk about each major island, starting with the most popular and then moving to the less-visited.
1. Bali
Let me begin here with the most famous (or some might say notorious) island.
Indonesia is unusual because its tourism is massively concentrated in just a single area. Bali makes up just 0.03% of the surface area of Indonesia, but gets over 50% of its tourists.
That statistic just blows my mind every time I think about it!
Of course, there are many countries where tourism is focused on one or several star attractions, but I can’t think of many where such a small area (at least relatively speaking) takes up somuch of the spotlight.
The sheer focus on Bali can make it a love-it-or-hate-it place. Honestly, Bali can totally be worth it if you know what you’re in for, though overdevelopment and overtourism have been degrading the island for years.
When I first visited Bali over ten years ago, I was already of two minds about it. I had just been backpacking the Philippines and visiting many remote islands and pristine beaches there.
Arriving in the hyper-developed Kuta (the city in southern Bali), my heart just sank. Kuta is this huge conglomeration of hostels, hotels, spas, tacky souvenir shops, scooter rentals, Western brand stores, McDonald’s, Starbucks, a Hard Rock Cafe, and a whole lot more.
It’s also filled with drunk Australian weekend tourists and can often feel like one big traffic jam. It couldn’t have been a bigger clash with the peaceful and stunning islands I had been to just days earlier. I felt like I’d made a huge mistake in coming here.
Luckily, there’s also the quieter and more peaceful side of Bali that I came to know, especially on the north and west sides of the island. I warmed up to Bali over time. However, the overdevelopment of the south really made an impression on me, and sadly, it has come to represent more and more of Bali ever since.
Authentic Ubud (depositphotos.com/ajkramer)
Overtourism has honestly become a massive problem. That’s not just my opinion, but it’s what the local authorities are saying, who are currently debating a 2-year (and possibly 10-year) moratorium on new hotel construction. The road network was never designed for high volumes, and so there are horrible traffic jams all the time. Bali is increasingly becoming a kind of tourism amusement park, with authenticity becoming harder and harder to find.
I just want to warn that the overidealized images of Bali on social media or in advertisements may not quite match reality.
Originally, Bali became famous because of its traditional art, surfer beaches, beautiful nature, and Hindu culture (its higher acceptance of alcohol compared to Indonesia’s Muslim areas probably also helped). That’s all still there, but commercialism and overtourism have in some areas truly taken over.
Bali’s roads weren’t ready for the influencer era – but here we are! (depositphotos.com/Ocetimo)
Tegenungan waterfall – not quite the Instagram version (depositphotos.com/Eduardo1304)
If you just want to have a fun holiday, it’s definitely possible in Bali — and there’s a reason it’s still the number one destination. But if you’re easily bothered by crowds or commercialism, it might not be your best choice.
I know lots of people still rave about Bali, and my opinions are clearly subjective, but perhaps they can be a useful counterweight to some of the overly glamorous TikToks and Instagrams out there. If nothing else, it could help to temper expectations a bit so that they may be met when you do go to Bali.
Anyway, I think you basically have three options:
- Visit Bali and enjoy it as a holiday island. In terms of sheer accommodation and restaurant options, there still isn’t anything to rival Bali. There are simply more resorts, beach clubs, villas, and more services geared towards holidaymakers than anywhere in Indonesia, so it’s especially easy to have a good time here even without any real planning. Expect the tourist sights (like the temples) to be very overcrowded, but you can choose to go light on sightseeing and keep more time for relaxation. Maybe book a bougie villa with an infinity pool, go party in Canggu, take some surfing lessons, and enjoy an unpretentious island vacation.
- Visit Bali and seek out the quieter areas. Yes, you still can go “off the beaten path” in Bali (but you’ll have to make an effort!). Remarkably, almost all of the overdevelopment is still in the south. Rent a scooter and go zig-zagging around the northern coast areas, and you can still see a Bali that is lush, full of splendour, and not so blighted by traffic. Hit the road early and go visit waterfalls before the tour groups arrive. You’ll see a side of Bali most tourists will completely miss. You can follow my tongue-in-cheek titled non-influencer’s Bali itinerary for some ideas.
- Skip Bali. Gaaaaaasp! How dare I even say this? Actually, despite its international name recognition, if you don’t think Bali will appeal to your tastes, I think it’s fine to skip it. The travel police won’t come knocking down your door — it’s not an obligatory stop! If you’re into authenticity, culture, exploration, and discovery, then dozens of other places in Indonesia will tick those boxes as well. (Scroll along to learn about a few of them.)
Bali might be optional, but it all depends on what you’re looking for. I just think a lot of guides won’t say this out loud because they have a vested interest in promoting Bali and Bali only.
Having said all this, Bali can be quite different depending on which area you visit. If you want to go a bit deeper in your research, I have some suggestions.
Different areas and vibes in Bali
There are several key hubs with different scenes in Bali that you should know about so you can align them with the atmosphere you seek.
- Canggu – A trendy area popular with digital nomads in particular. More boutique and bohemian, and still with a ‘village’ feeling despite the traffic. More international food (salad bowls, third-wave coffee) than Balinese.
- Kuta/Seminyak/Denpasar – Busy city areas north of the airport. Very dense with restaurants, shopping malls, hotels, and beach clubs.
- Ubud inland attracts a gentler crowd than the beaches. Yoga and batik art classes are big here. While known to be a little overcrowded, there are beautiful temples, tourist shops sell genuinely nice handicrafts and local art, and the surrounding hills are wonderful for an afternoon hike. Great for culture-seekers.
- Sanur – A hotel area mainly popular with seniors and families. It’s honestly too dull for me, but I will say that it’s quiet and organized.
- Sidemen/Talumben/Amed (East Bali) – Several villages away from all the overdevelopment. A little sleepy maybe, but authentic and beautiful. Talumben is amazing for scuba diving. The beaches are black sand here so not as favored by the masses, but I love this part of Bali.
- Munduk/Kintamani (North Bali) – Less visited areas. Cool air, volcanic peaks, waterfalls, and green jungle.
2. Java
Java is Indonesia’s main island and home of its capital city, Jakarta. Everything in Java just seems to be big: big volcanoes, big temple complexes, big cities.
While it has some of the most frenetic and traffic-choked cities, a trip through Java will likely also take you on many side excursions to wonderful places in nature, including epic waterfalls and impressive volcanic peaks.
I highly recommend Java if you’re a cultural traveller or seeking adventure. It’s less about the beach chairs and cocktails of Bali and more about travelling through a dynamic and highly populated part of Java.
Above: population density in Indonesia (source: WorldPop, licensed under CC). You can tell that Java can be much busier, while other parts of Indonesia are more thinly populated.
One thing that makes Java easy to recommend is that you have loads of ways of travelling through it, making the logistics quite beginner-friendly. Java has a fantastic train network, letting you enjoy wonderful views of paddy fields and villages while you comfortably reach your next city. I love travelling by train, so this is definitely something I appreciate about travelling here.
Another option is to use local multi-day tours. These can be very convenient for efficiently seeing a lot of the key sights that are far away from the cities. You can take 2 or 3-day tours starting in Yogjakarta or Malang that even end at the ferry to Bali.
I’ve travelled through Java twice using different transport methods. Because the locations are quite remote and difficult to reach independently, on my first trip, I opted for a 4-day tour starting in Yogyakarta that included Bromo and Ijen.
Borobudur, Mount Bromo & Ijen 4-Day Tour 
The capital, Jakarta, is a bit of a beast, and I’ve met many travellers who really bounced off it and didn’t enjoy it. The chaotic and congested city can be difficult to love, but I do make an argument here for why it’s worth including. If you want to skip past it, you can start a trip in the much more relaxed Yogyakarta in East Java.
Most famously, Yogyakarta is home to Borobodur, the largest Buddhist temple in the world. The city itself is a great cultural hub and a good base from which to plan excursions.
As you go further east on Java you’ll find some incredible volcanoes. The still-active Mt. Bromo is a spectacular sight, especially at sunrise. Then there’s the blue-flame spewing Ijen volcano, where you can goright into its sulphur-spewing crater.
The epic Sewu Waterfall has been getting on the radar a bit more in recent years and despite being a bit out of the way it makes for a great addition to your itinerary. It’s two hours outside of Malang, and it takes a little hike to get there, but it’s absolutely stunning.
At the very eastern tip of Java you’ll find the oft-overlooked Banyuwangi region, which is home to mangroves, savannahs, and a mysterious hairy forest at De Djawatan. Consider visiting Banyuwangi for a few days if you want to add a dash of off-the-beaten-path experience to the usual Java travel trail.
One thing I haven’t focused on much in Java is beaches. Local Indonesians have often commented on my blogs or videos that there are beaches near Jakarta that I’ve missed. But I’ve always assumed that, being so close to major population centres, these beaches might be more easily crowded or polluted.
I don’t know if that’s true, but my instinct was just to focus my Java trips on the cities, culture, and nature sights while keeping my beach time for more remote or less populated islands in Indonesia.
If you’re interested in Java, I highly recommend reading my complete guide to travelling for 1 or 2 weeks in Java. It’s super in-depth, so you can use this as an A-to-Z guide to planning your whole trip.
3. Lombok
Lombok is right next door to Bali, just a 2.5-hour boat ride away. It might not have the Hindu shrines or trendy vibes that you find so much on Bali, but what it does have is unspoiled beaches and amazing nature without the crowds.
To me, Lombok is a perfect add-on to your Indonesia itinerary. While Bali is much livelier and more vibey (but also overdeveloped!), Lombok has more unspoiled beaches and some very cool things to do.
The main attraction is Mount Rinjani, a volcano that you can hike up to as part of many multi-day trekking tours. The various waterfalls, villages, etc., around the island are also well worth exploring. Kuta on Lombok (not to be confused with Kuta on Bali) is a small and low-key surfer town that’s fun to visit as well.
Book your Mount Rinjani hike 
But perhaps the biggest magnet for visitors to Lombok is the Gili Islands, a group of three islands that have long been a backpacker favorite.
The biggest island, Gili Trawangan, is also the busiest. Trawangan sees an odd mix of tourists, ranging from backpackers to couples on holiday.
Since only foot traffic and horse-drawn carriages are allowed on the island, it is fairly calm despite being busy with people. It can be really fun to stay on Gili T for a while, especially if you’re younger and would enjoy the bar scene.
Gili Trawangan is sometimes referred to as a “party island”, but I think that creates the wrong image, as there are really no clubs or specific nightlife areas at all. It’s maybe better to say that it’s “an island where you can party”. Several bars take turns hosting parties throughout the week, but you can also stay on Gili T without joining the fray.
Gili Trawangan (depositphotos/vasilevkirill)
For a much more relaxing time, head to neighbouring Gili Meno or Gili Air. There aren’t as many people here, and the slow pace will feel like a breath of fresh air. Anything you can do on Trawangan (scuba diving, snorkelling, yoga, bike rental, etc.), you can also do on Gili Air, just don’t look for a big night out.
Besides these places, there are so many hidden gems to be uncovered in Lombok. It is overall a bit less explored, but it’s also a more authentic place to go. You can read more about the sights and things to do on Lombok. If your trip is mainly to Bali, but you still want to experience Lombok, consider this tour taking you to tribe villages, waterfalls, and more.
4. Flores
The island of Flores, part of Nusa Tenggara, is where we start to get a little more off-path. If you want to explore authentic, rural, and low-key Indonesia, but also wish for an easy tourist-friendly entry point, then Flores is an ideal island to consider.
Flores achieved some early popularity mainly thanks to the Komodo National Park. Two of the islands inside it are home to the giant Komodo dragon, which is the biggest lizard on Earth.
Now, I should say that meeting these ferocious crocodile-sized creatures in the wild isn’t quite as heart-pounding as you might imagine — they are usually just sunbathing and barely move — but it’s still a very interesting nature experience. Besides seeing the dragons, on an island tour you’ll also pass by some amazing snorkelling spots and stunning viewpoints.
Beyond the Komodo islands, you can scuba dive or snorkel some of the world’s most beautiful reefs filled with fascinating creatures. I did some of my best-ever dives here.
Komodo dragon, the biggest lizard on Earth
This Viator tour starts early, reaching Padar Island just as overnight boats leave, meaning fewer crowds at the famous viewpoint and a much more peaceful experience.
The tour includes many scenic and snorkeling stops: Padar Island → Pink Beach → Komodo Island (with a short trek and lunch) → Taka Makassar → Manta Point → Kanawa Island, before returning to Labuan Bajo. (Swimming with manta rays is often considered the highlight.)
The launching pad for Komodo and Flores as a whole is the seaside town of Labuan Bajo (also referred to simply as Bajo). You can reach it either by boat from Lombok (which is a fun 3-day adventure) or by plane from Bali and other places.
Labuan Bajo is an easy place to be with lots of tourist-friendly restaurants and a wide range of accommodations, from backpacker digs to a few luxury resorts, but without it feeling overdeveloped.
Flores gets increasingly remote as you go east. I loved exploring Flores by motorbike, as all the kids from the villages would be excited to see a foreigner and come out to high-five you, and rice farmers would be waving at you all along the way. If this is the kind of vibe you like, you’ll have such a great time in Flores.
Lombok to Komodo boat 
Making friends along the way
I visited Flores after spending several weeks in Muslim-majority Lombok, so it was quite a change to see churches everywhere in the mainly protestant Flores. Instead of waking up to the call to morning prayer, I woke up to the singing of nuns — at least the one time that I stayed the night in a convent in Ruteng! It’s a great example of the wonderful contrasts between religions and cultures in Indonesia.
There are some villages with traditional houses with cone-shaped thatched roofs that you can visit on Flores. While Protestant is the dominant religion, the local culture has also kept many animist and tribal beliefs, which are very interesting to learn about. The multi-colored volcano lakes of Kelimutu are highly worth a look as well.
Volcano Lake of Kelimutu
There are some key tourist sights, but Flores is mostly about going somewhere relatively low-key and just enjoying the journey. It’s among my personal favorite bits of Indonesia.
The travel distances are not as unforgiving as on other larger islands like Sulawesi, travelling is reasonably easy, and you get a nice mix of some marquee sights around Bajo and more small-scale charms as you head into the interior to Ruteng and elsewhere.
You can read much more about what to expect in my Flores travel guide.
5. Sulawesi
This huge, multi-tentacled island at the heart of Indonesia is not on the typical backpacker trail and is generally much less visited than other areas. It has a somewhat higher difficulty level, but it’s also a region of Indonesia that I’m super fond of.
Key sights are very spread apart, and the distances and logistics are more difficult at times. I recommend Sulawesi for those with at least a bit of travel experience or willing to take the initiative; not everything in Sulawesi is just a tap in an app away from getting booked. Tourism is a bit more old school here, and you often have to find local guides or go to the local bus station in person to figure out how to get somewhere. That, of course, is also part of the charm.
Now you’re officially off the grid — this is what real travel feels like 
Togean Islands in Central Sulawesi is the ultimate remote escape 
Sulawesi is part of the “Ring of Fire”, so there are volcanic giants everywhere… some of them active
If you don’t mind a bit of adventure, Sulawesi will greatly reward you. It’s a brilliant place and my favorite in Indonesia so far.
There is just enough of a trickle of travellers weaving through it that the travel logistics are still manageable, but it’s off-path enough to make you feel like you’re on your own adventure.
Sulawesi is especially known among scuba divers, in particular north Sulawesi around Manado, for the reefs at Bunaken Island and in the Lembeh Strait. However, you don’t need to be a scuba diver to enjoy the wonderful nature and unspoiled beaches everywhere.
Something I find fascinating about Sulawesi is the cultural diversity, as different areas have different religions and ethnicities. Some parts are Muslim, others Christian. Unique cultures such as the Mihanasa tribes in the north or Torajans in the south, known for their elaborate week-long funeral rites, add specific cultural interest beyond just the physical sites like the waterfalls and mountain peaks.
Rammang Rammang, South Sulawesi 
Tana Toraja, South Sulawesi
Sulawesi is for the travel freaks willing to go the extra mile to unearth its hidden gems. Sure, you have to sit through some 12+ hour bus rides, or catch an overnight ferry where you’re sleeping in bunks with 40 other people in one room. But this is pure travel, the way it is meant to be.
Foreign travelers are rare in some parts of Sulawesi, so you are sometimes treated to a lot of friendly curiosity and positive local interactions, which adds a lot to the moment-to-moment fun of exploring the towns and cities here.
For some visual impressions of Sulawesi, don’t miss my YouTube channel, where I did a series of videos from this region. I recommend starting with this video from North Sulawesi for a good intro on what you can expect.
For a more bite-sized Sulawesi experience, I recommend hitting up the north around Manado, where driving distances are more manageable and a compact itinerary is easier to construct.
I have a super in-depth, A-to-Z guide on planning a trip through Sulawesi that will tell you everything you need to know.
6. Sumatra
The huge island of Sumatra in the west of Indonesia, I think, will tick a lot of the same boxes as Sulawesi. Note that this particular section is research-based, but I still include it here as I think it can be helpful.
I had actually planned a month-long trip through Sumatra in great detail. However, this was in 2020, and I sadly had to cancel the trip due to the covid-19 outbreak. I still haven’t done the trip I was originally meant to do, but let me share what I know about Sumatra here.
First, a bit of ‘travel history’:
I’ve heard a few Gen X-age backpackers reminisce fondly about the days when Sumatra was one of the top backpacker destinations.
Decades ago, it was still a key part of the Banana Pancake Trail as overland travelers made their way down from Singapore through Sumatra, Java, and finally Bali. In particular Lake Toba was a popular waypoint along this route. When visa allowances were shortened and budget airlines took off, backpackers began flying over Sumatra and skipping straight to Bali.
These days, you’ll see only a trickle of Western tourists in Sumatra, but there is still a somewhat easily identifiable travel trail. Most will visit the region of North Sumatra, though a few make their way to West Sumatra as well.
Sumatra is absolutely filled with primal rainforests, epic waterfalls, and volcanic peaks. The main city, Medan, is also just a 1,5 hour flight from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, two major international hubs. This means that even though Sumatra is a bit off the beaten path, you can still easily get to your starting point.
You’ll likely start in Medan and then head to Bukit Lawang, an ecotourism hub where jungle treks give you a chance to see Orangutans in the wild. You can make an optional stop in Berastagi and then go to Lake Toba, the world’s largest volcanic caldera lake — and a chill place where many travelers seem to stick around for a while.
The orangutans at the Bukit Lawang area are actually only semi-wild, and I’d read some mixed reviews of the experience, so I had started to look at alternatives such as Ketambe on the western side of Gunung Leuser National Park.
Popular spots in West Sumatra include Bukittinggi, Harau Valley, Padang, Mt. Kerinci, and the remote Mentawai Islands.
Padang is an interesting place for foodies as it’s the birthplace of masakan Padang (literally “Padang food”), one of the popular cuisines in Indonesia. It typically involves being served numerous different things from small bowls. Sumatran food in general has more Indian and Middle Eastern influences, with curry and coconut milk playing a bigger role.
One challenge I encountered when planning my trip was the distances between major places. The road quality in Sumatra is known to be poor and the transport connections are often lacking. Some key points along your itinerary may seem close on the map, but may in fact be 15+ hours apart.
I understand this is why many people just do a limited trip centered on Lake Toba in the north, but since I wanted to hit up several different regions, I had to get a bit creative to make everything fit.
One way I’d planned to skip ahead a bit was by booking one or two flights with Susi Air, which operates propeller planes on various routes in Sumatra. (Unlike certain other domestic airlines, they are actually known for their strong safety record.) They serve areas like Mentawai Islands, Kutacane, and Kerinci, which are not typically accessible by other larger airlines. I looked forward to the adventure of flying in a small Cessna plane and skipping some epic bus journeys along with it.
An unfortunate aspect of Sumatra that several people had told me about is that a lot of the lowland areas are totally taken over by monoculture palm tree plantations. Deforestation is a huge issue; however, there are still many wild areas, particularly in the more mountainous regions.
I recommend checking out Wild Sumatra, a responsible tour operator based in Kerinci and Bengkulu in western Sumatra that does a wide variety of ecotourism and cultural immersion trips.
In brief, let me mention a few more parts of Indonesia….
7. Raja Ampat
These remote islands in West Papua (on Indonesia’s eastern periphery) are renowned for their incredible scuba diving sites.
I haven’t met a diver who hasn’t had an instant glint in their eye when remembering the sheer biodiversity and bioabundance here. The small karst islands dotted around the waters are also a poster-perfect sight — think Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, except with clear skies and pristine coral reefs.
One thing to know is that Raja Ampat (and West Papua in general) has very little local production of anything. Gasoline, rice, and other basic goods have to be imported from accross the archipelago, making the prices for everything much higher than anywhere else in Indonesia.
This makes it more suited for a high-budget diving holiday than for a backpacker looking for a budget trip in Indonesia.
8. Kalimantan (Borneo)
Borneo is home to vast stretches of untouched rainforest, although much of it is also disappearing because of palm oil production. Unlike what you might expect, there actually isn’t that much tourism on the Indonesian side of Borneo (compared to the Malaysian side), and if you do go, you are likely to be quite alone. Infrastructure is less developed, and this makes it less accessible for tourists.
If you want to add Borneo to your itinerary but with a lower difficulty level, consider visiting the more easily accessible Malaysian side in the north (this is also what I did). The regions of Sabah and Sarawak have a ton to offer and the logistics of travelling around them are quite easy.
Perhaps Borneo will become more prominent as Indonesia’s new administrative capital, Nusantara, is being constructed here. This could lead to improved accessibility and infrastructure in the future.
Okay, that wraps it up! I plan to update this post in the future when I explore other regions. Lately, Sumba is getting some early buzz an emerging destination, gaining recognition for its unspoiled beaches and authenticity, which has piqued my interest. One day I’d also love to visit Maluku Islands, in particular the Banda Islands, for an off-the-beaten-path adventure.
You can truly spend a lifetime travelling in Indonesia and not see it all. But wherever you ultimately decide to go, you can’t truly go wrong, as you’ll find captivating landscapes and interesting cultures virtually everywhere in Indonesia!
Travelling Southeast Asia: the EVERYTHING video (tips after 14 months)
Feeling ambitious for your Indonesia trip? Could you benefit from some hard-won travel advice that will better prepare you for what’s to come? And are you maybe thinking of hitting up the wider region?
Then this video packs everything you need to know into one guide. If you’re planning a Southeast Asia trip, simply start here: