Kian Rackley from our supplier, Insider Journeys, shares his opinion on the best time to visit Indochina: “The best time to visit Indochina is between October and March; it’s cool and the weather is dry. The rainy season kicks off in April across the region, but it is fickle from country to country, so it’s safer to say that it lasts through from March until September, but can still be a great time to visit. In central Vietnam where most of the beaches are, from April through to July is a very warm and dry spell. Laos becomes very dry and very hot during that period, especially inland, and in the south it becomes unbearably hot, and in Cambodia it’s rainy, but the showers are short and sharp and happen predictably in the morning and in the afternoon, so it’s perfectly manageable. Visiting during this period is well worth it because tourist arrivals plummet, so you really escape the crowds, and it’s when the rice harvests starts, so the brown rice fields are replaced by a fluorescent green.”

Songkran
A real benefit to visiting Southeast Asia on the cusp of the dry season is Songkran, the New Year celebrations that happen across Indochina in April. It’s a huge, week-long party in the street celebrating the end of the dry season and the start of the rainy season. Everyone has a water gun, so there’s no hiding behind anyone to escape from getting wet; they’ll definitely have a water gun and will soak you through while belly laughing. A 90-year-old granny in the street? Don’t trust her.