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The time has come to discover whether you’re being a rash Moaning Myrtle with regards to these cheap Asia tour experiences.
Our experience eggheads have been touring the hell out of Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam over the past few years in search of the best and cheapest Asia tours for backpackers. We’ve sieved through the fraudulent and “all frills attached” Asia tours. The result is this list of the 5 cheap Asia tours you can’t miss out on.
The Top 5 Cheap Asia Tours
These are all a godsend for any independent travelers and backpackers traveling on a budget.…
You know what that means…
The beer fund can get another injection of extra cash!
Next stop, travel euphoria.
Coming to you live from Bangkok in Thailand, here are the top 5 cheap Asia tours:
Cheap Asia Tours #1: Full Moon Experience
13-Day Thailand Adventure Backpacker Tour – TRU TRAVELS
For anyone backpacking through Thailand…
It would be a massively foolish maneuver to miss out on Koh Phangan’s full moon party anyway.
It’s plain and simple…
TruTravels’ 13-day Full Moon Experience is the perfect cocktail of partying, culture, and relaxation. This is one of the best travel decisions you’ll ever make.
Imagine this…
A squad of 20 fresh and fun-loving backpackers taking on Thailand for two weeks, all culminating with an epic full moon party. Paradise has been found!
The best thing…
Not only do you get to have an unforgettable experience at the full moon party, but this tour itinerary gives you the opportunity to freely explore other areas of Thailand in the week leading up to Koh Phangan.
Cheap Asia Tours #1: Full Moon Experience Itinerary
Tru Travels will guide through the timeline of Thailand’s history and culture. On the first few days you’ll turn Bangkok inside out; private boat partying on the Chao Phraya River, hopping around the most famous temples, and even relaxing with a traditional Thai massage.
From Bangkok you’ll be guided towards the untouched backpacking gem of Khao Sok National Park.
The accommodation here is nuts. Spend a dreamy night in a floating bungalow before getting the adrenaline pumping throughout this Jurassic Park-esq wonderland the next day (some crazy cliff-jumping included!).
Then comes the best part of the tour…
The legendary Koh Phangan.
The headline act…
The full moon party itself. Prepare yourself to be coated head to toe in UV paint and be swimming in a heavy artillery of alcohol fueled buckets.
Epic scenes!
Hidden Gem of the Backpacker Tour: The afternoon spent at Koh Phangan’s secret Total Wipeout Course.
RESERVE A SPOT THE FULL MOON EXPERIENCE TODAY!
Cheap Asia Tours #2: Kampot Kamikaze Run
4-Day Cambodia Adventure Backpacker Tour – MAD MONKEY
Words can only go some way towards describing this legend, but because we know it inside out, we’ll sling you some excellent words…
This is a great way to squeeze all the best bits out of your stay in Kampot, while contributing to the local community.
The proof is always in the pudding…
10% of your Kampot Kamikaze Run booking fee goes directly towards providing clean water filters for rural Cambodian families that need access to clean water. So fresh and so clean.
Onto the the tour itself…
Across the 4-days, you’ll be through the most amazing backpacker experiences Kampot has to offer.
CHECK OUT AVAILABILITY FOR THE KAMPOT KAMIKAZE
Cheap Asia Tours #2: Kampot Kamikaze Run Itinerary
Day 1 is certainly kicking off on the right foot…
A cheeky road trip over to the chilled beachside town of Kep. Endless road beers are supplied throughout the course of the day, plus you’ll enjoy a little sampling session of the best seafood (calamari!!!) at Kep’s famous Crab Market.
The fun-filled cultural backpacker festivities of course spill over into Day 2…
You’ll be riding wolf-pack style through the countryside to check out the world’s greatest pepper farms. Next comes a cruise on the scooters over to the Vietnamese border to explore the mysterious caves and secret lakes.
George of the Jungle-ing around on Day 3…
As a backpacker family, you’ll be leaving humanity behind and engulfing yourselves in the jungle of Bokor National Park. Trek through 6km thick shrubbery and up rock faces, before taking a soothing dip in the pools below the waterfall.
Don’t even get us started on Day 4…
If a mountaintop ghost town doesn’t get your backpacker juices flowing, we don’t know what will.
Hidden Gem of the Backpacker Tour: Sneaking around the 100-year-old abandoned mountaintop casino.
Cheap Asia Tours #3: Buffalo Run
16-Day Vietnam Adventure Backpacker Tour – VIETNAM BACKPACKERS
The ultimate Vietnamese road trip.
CHECK OUT AVAILABILITY FOR THE BUFFALO RUN
Cheap Asia Tours #3: Buffalo Run Itinerary
After savoring Hanoi, your backpacker group will head south into the wilderness of Cuc Phuong National Park.
You may well find yourself face-to-face with some of the world’s rarest Gibbons and Langurs. You’ll undergo a cagey after-dark jungle hike. You’ll even traverse the tree-laden landscape on a canoe journey to a 10th century temple.
Next up, the longest dry cave in the world…
Phong Nha. The cave is fairy tale-like, with beautifully illuminated glowing arches.
If that isn’t quite enough for you culture vultures yet…
Following the cave, we then got to visit Vinh Moc Tunnel, which was a crucial landmark for the Vietnamese during the Second Indochina War against the Americans.
The middle 5 days of this backpacker tour are idyllically spent exploring and chilling out in both coastal towns and backpacker hotspots, Hue and Hoi An.
From Hoi An, the Buffalo Run backpacker tour will then hit the road all the way down to Ho Chi Minh.
Hidden Gem of the Backpacker Tour: Exploring the depths and delights of Phong Nha cave – the longest cave in the world!
If your short on time or have visited these destinations before…
Vietnam Backpackers also do shorter tours from just Hanoi to Hoi An and Hoi An to Ho Chi-Minh. Show them some love.
RESERVE A SPOT THE BUFFALO RUN TODAY!
Cheap Asia Tours #4: Monkey Ladder
12-Day Cambodia Adventure Backpacker Tour – TRU TRAVELS
Across this 12-day backpacker tour, you’ll be getting to visit 5 of our favourite Cambodian destinations.
Sidenote…
It still amazes us how seamlessly everyone integrates and befriends each other on these backpacker tours. Extremely tightly knitted crews throughout.
CHECK OUT AVAILABILITY FOR THE MONKEY LADDER
Back to the Monkey Ladder…
Cheap Asia Tours #4: Monkey Ladder Itinerary
You’ll be coached across the country from Bangkok to meet all the new arrivals on Day 1 in Phnom Penh.
From there we cruised on down to Sihanoukville in a bus for two days chilling around the beaches and partying till sunrise.
Then came the dreamiest part of of this 12-day backpacker tour…
The Monkey Ladder will take you over to our tropical island of Koh Rong Samloem. The stuff that only dreams are made of we can assure you; late night skinny dipping, beach bbq’s, and fire shows!
Two days and nights on this tropical paradise is never enough – it’s the closest thing a backpacker accommodation has come to creating a natural Leonardo Di’Caprio’s ‘The Beach’ vibe.
From the island, you’ll be weaving your way across to Kampot for two days of frolicking in the riverside backpacker haven.
Kampot – check! Next stop – Phnom Penh…
You’ll be hitting the ground running in Phnom Penh. TruTravels will be taking you on a raucous charity pub crawl around the city, touching down in some awesome bars I’d never visited before.
During the days in Phnom Penh you’ll also get the opportunity to stuff some culture in as well…
The Killing Fields and S21 are a must. Cap the day off at Dine in the Dark. All funds put towards this dining experience go towards helping the visually disabled Khmer population.
After circumnavigating Phnom Penh, it’s Siem Reap time…
The city of the temples!
This was the perfect way to end the trip.
Hidden Gem of the Backpacker Tour: Without a DOUBT. Koh Rong Samloem. Heaven.
RESERVE YOUR SPOT FOR THE FULL MOON EXPERIENCE TODAY!
Cheap Asia Tours #5: Castaways Island Experience
3-Day Vietnam Adventure Backpacker Tour – VIETNAM BACKPACKERS
If you’re on a backpacking adventure through Vietnam, you have to go to Hanoi. Once you’re in Hanoi, you must go and visit Halong Bay. Now we’re agreed that you’re traveling to Halong Bay, there’s only one way to experience this backpacker wonderland…
Vietnam Backpackers Castaway Islands Experience!
It’s only a 3-day backpacker tour, and it runs very regularly, so it is oh so easy to slip it in to your travel itinerary.
So, why go with Vietnam Backpackers…?
These hostel wizards were the first to start running the Castaway Islands Experience in 2004. Many other hostels and tour operators have tried to mimic this backpacker tour, but deliver a poor experience.
No one knows how to conjure the true magic of Halong Bay like Vietnam Backpackers.
You’ll feel completely shut off from the world outside. Blessed with a travel galaxy of sand, sea, sunshine, and glorious floating mountains, all just for us.
Cheap Asia Tours #5: Castaways Island Experience Itinerary
During the days there’s no shortage of awesome adventures – morning booze cruises, kayaking tours of untouched ancient caves and lagoons, coming face to face with the endangered Langur monkey, and an extra special activity we’ll talk you through in a sec.
The nights then took the backpacker tour festivities to the next level…
As the sun sets and the bonfires are lit, music starts pumping and the heavy drinking commences. No neighbours to piss off with the noise and endless supply of drinks available.
Undoubtedly bang for your buck…
All transportation, entrance fees, meals, accommodation, crusies, kayaking and that one extra special backpacking adrenaline activity are all included in this backpacker tour price.
Sooooo, which one extra special activity will you choose for your tour…
There are three options to choose from:
- TUBING. Partner up with 3 other backpackers and get hauled around the bay on an inflatable tube at ridiculous speeds on a motor boat. Last one standing on the tube wins!
- WAKEBOARDING. If snowboarding and water-skiing had sex, they would give birth to the beautiful sport of wakeboarding. Get dragged through the bay of speeds of up to 40km/h. Yup.
- ROCK CLIMBING. This activity takes place on the other side of the island and you’ll be hooked up with a professional tour guide who will take up the cliff face to gaze down upon the beautiful Halong Bay scenery.
Win-win-win.
Hidden Gem of the Backpacker Tour: Kayaking through the ancient caves and lagoons of Ha Long (and getting very wavey on the booze cruise before hand of course!).
RESERVE YOUR SPOT FOR CASTAWAYS ISLAND TODAY!
Cheap Asia Tours: Why Were These Tours Chosen?
When it came to choosing the best backpacker tours, we took 3 key factors into consideration:
FAIR PRICING
Of course, value for money is a crucial factor when choosing a tour. There are a number of tour companies that try to play off a traveler’s naivety when pricing up their experiences.
All of the tour companies recommended commit to fair pricing, and bundle up their experiences in a way that can enable travelers to save money as opposed to doing all the experiences individually by themselves.
SOCIAL EXPERIENCE
We travel not only to explore new cultures, but also to meet new people. The tours must have a very family oriented vibe where everyone is welcome and feels part of a backpacker family.
Not only that, but all of the tour providers that we recommend make an extra effort to be socially responsible throughout the tour experience and do all they can to benefit the local community.
FREEDOM
The tour must have the perfect balance of pre-planned group activities and free time. This means the itinerary is incredibly relaxed and it doesn’t feel like you are tied to strict schedule and have someone breathing down your neck.
Also the tour company will take a lot of the everyday stresses and strains out of your hands. They will have sorted awesome accommodation, the most efficient means of transport and chuck in a load of free meals and booze as well.
There we have the magical formula – Cost x Social Responsibility x Social Experience x Freedom.
More Articles On Cheap Asia Tours
If this piece has got your experiential juices flowing, check out these other articles on the other best & cheap Asia tours! We only recommend bloggers we read often and love:
- Best South East Asia Trip Itineraries by Wanderlust
- Backpacking Adventurers In South East Asia by Tru Travels
- 5 Backpacker Within Easy Reachby South East Asia Backpacker
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