Holidays for active explorers

If you’re anything like us, you feel like a kid in a sweetshop when it comes to choosing active Asia travel packages.

Take Vietnam. We’re sure you’ve heard of its famous bays dotted with stunning karst scenery, but did you know you can explore vast caverns filled with underground lakes and towering rock formations? Over in Laos, a day trip from the sweeping golden roofs and colonial shophouses of Luang Prabang and you can swim in ice-blue, multi-level waterfalls in the jungle. From cycling the laid-back, low-lying villages of Cambodia to snorkelling Malaysia’s coral reefs, the hardest part is narrowing Asia’s wanderlust-inducing options.

But in the end, active exploration is about getting closer to the culture and landscape of a destination. So, whether you choose to travel by foot, wheels or water, rest assured we’ve handpicked each place and experience because it does just that: it gets you away from the tourist masses and connected to your surroundings.

Here are some of our favourite active Asia travel packages, destinations and places. But let’s narrow it down together; we’d love to hear what you're looking for in an active holiday.

Cambodia

Siem Reap

The laid-back, low-rise town of Siem Reap is the gateway to one of the most spectacular man-made sights on the planet: the sprawling, root-strangled ruins of Angkor.

Borneo

Kinabalu Park

Rising 4,095 metres over Borneo and surrounded by rainforest, Mount Kinabalu is the tallest mountain between the Himalayas and New Guinea, and the national park that surrounds it is among the most biodiverse regions on the planet.

Laos

Vang Vieng

Vang Vieng has shaken off its old party vibes and reinvented itself as Laos’s premier destination for outdoor adventuring – perfect for those who want to cave, climb and kayak in some of the world's most spectacular karst scenery.

Cambodia

Kampot

World-famous for its tongue-tingling pepper, sleepy Kampot is the jumping-off point for adventures in Bokor National Park, and a wonderfully chilled-out place to relax for a few days.

Borneo

Kuching

A wide variety of indigenous and immigrant cultures combine to form Kuching’s unmistakable cultural mélange, expressed not only in its historic architecture and ethnic diversity, but in its legendary laksa, multicoloured cakes and freshly blended gourmet coffee.

Laos

Nong Khiaw

Hooked in a bend of the Nam Ou River, with steep, forested slopes rising vertiginously all around it, the low-rise, red-roofed village of Nong Khiaw is a wonderful base from which to explore some of Laos’s most seductive scenery.

Vietnam

Phong Nha

Covering nearly 3,000 square kilometres of jungle-covered mountains, beautiful and unspoilt Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park conceals some of the most spectacular caves in the world.

Thailand

Krabi

Krabi’s coastline is the stuff travel dreams are made of. Emerald vegetation clings to dramatic, gravity-defying cliffs, towering limestone pinnacles teeter precariously over the sea, and hundreds of little islands lie waiting to be explored.

Interior of Son Doong Cave in Vietnam with towering limestone walls, scattered rocks, mist, and sunlight streaming through the cave entrance onto green vegetation.

Phong Nha • Vietnam

Phong Nha caving

If you think caving has to mean crawling on your hands and knees through damp, dark passageways – think again.

Kinabalu Park • Borneo

Mount Kinabalu climb

Watching sunrise from the top of the highest mountain in Southeast Asia is an unforgettable experience.

Malacca • Malaysia

Cycling in rural Malacca

This tour shows there’s plenty more to Malacca than colonial architecture. Covering a 20 km loop of easy cycling, it follows flat, shady paths through paddy fields, kampung villages and rubber plantations.

Cycling along the banks of the Thu Bon River near Hoi An

Hoi An • Vietnam

Cycling along the Thu Bon River

Usually we don’t like telling people what to do, but we’ll make an exception here: you can’t visit Hoi An without exploring its rural outskirts – and this is one of our absolute favourite ways to do it.

Kayaks on the beach at Ang Thong Marine Park

Ko Samui • Thailand

Kayaking and snorkelling in Ang Thong Marine Park

Encompassing 42 jewel-like islands in the Gulf of Thailand, Ang Thong National Marine Park is a wonderland of dense jungle, hidden waterfalls and sandy beaches so brilliant they almost hurt the eyes.

Chiang Mai • Thailand

Tour the Chiang Mai countryside by vintage Vespa

Hop on the back of a scooter, leave the crowds behind, and and discover Chiang Mai’s mountain scenery in style — on the back of a vintage Vespa!

Battambang • Cambodia

Soksabike tour of Battambang

Soksabike is one of our absolute favourite partners in Cambodia. A local company with a wholehearted commitment to forging real connections between travellers and local people.

Nong Khiaw • Laos

Soft Adventure in Nong Khiaw

Imagine kayaking to remote villages of silk-weaving workshops, picnicking by the river on the fringes of the jungle, swimming in pools created by thundering waterfalls, and then returning to your guesthouse to watch the sun set over some of the most otherworldly scenery Asia has to offer.

Champasak • Laos

Treetop explorer

Not for the faint-hearted, this two-day guided jungle adventure will take you deep into the mountains of Doung Hua Sao National Park.

Siem Reap • Cambodia

Angkor zipline

Take a monkey’s-eye view of the jungle as you fly, climb and swing though the treetops on a mixture of ziplines, hanging bridges and platforms.

Kota Kinabalu • Borneo

Whitewater rafting

Whitewater rafting is one of the most exhilarating ways to see the Bornean jungle, whether you want heart-pounding drops and tricky manoeuvres, or a more relaxed ride through the forest.

Kuching • Borneo

Rainforest kayaking

On this tour, your guide will take you out of Kuching, through rice fields, rubber plantations and pepper farms, to the ancestral heartland of the Bidayuh: the second-largest minority group in Borneo.