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Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

Solid food items (not liquids or gels) can be transported in either your carry-on or checked bags within the continental United States. Liquid or gel food items larger than 3.4 oz are not allowed in carry-on bags and should be placed in your checked bags if possible.

Passengers flying from Hawaii, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands to the U.S. mainland cannot take most fresh fruits and vegetables due to the risk of spreading invasive plant pests.

The Journey Lover

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How to pack bananas for travel: Top 10 amazing tips

How to Pack bananas for travel? Bananas are a great source of potassium, vitamin C, and fiber. However, they can be challenging to pack for a trip because they bruise easily.

Once bananas have been bruised, the flesh underneath becomes brown and mushy, making it inedible.

A simple solution is to wrap each banana in plastic wrap, which keeps them fresh until you are ready to eat them again.

When you get to the destination, simply remove the plastic wrap from the bananas and place them into your fruit bowl or onto your countertop, where they will ripen at their own pace!

How to pack bananas for travel?

Most people don’t want to buy bananas at the airport or train station, but they’d prefer to eat them during their trip.

As bananas are healthy and delicious snacks, fresh ones do make perfect travel food!

But sometimes you’ll find yourself in need of traveling with bananas as you’ve bought too many at the supermarket or you’ve received them as a gift.

Bananas are sensitive so they won’t survive for too long without any special efforts too warm and humid conditions will spoil them very quickly.

But even dry air can lead to banana peels getting brown fast. Let’s see how to pack bananas correctly!

What about fresh bananas?

There are options on how to pack bananas for travel that involve fresh ones. Don’t wrap them in anything as it will keep the ethylene gas close to the fruit, speeding up their ripening.

Bananas produce this gas by themselves anyway, but covering them with plastic or foil will speed up things even more.

Instead of wasting food, you might consider eating bananas during your trip and buying new ones when you arrive.

Remember not to buy any if they’re sold by the piece, as the price per kilo might be too high for us.

To make sure your bananas arrive in perfect condition and ready to eat, follow these simple steps:

1. Peel the banana (optional).

2. Cut your banana into pieces (optional).

3. Place the cut bananas into a container with an airtight lid.

4. Store it in the fridge, if possible? We recommend you keep them there as long as possible before taking them out.

5. When ready to use, take the container out of the fridge and give.

6. Wrap each banana individually in plastic wrap or wax paper

7. depending on the size of a banana and how many you packed away

8. Place wrapped bananas into an airtight container such as Tupperware or Ziploc baggies and store them in the refrigerator until needed (they will stay fresh for up to 5 days)

9. When ready to eat, remove the plastic wrap or wax paper

10. Serve immediately or return to the refrigerator until needed!

Bananas are susceptible, so there’s no way to pack bananas for travel that will keep them fresh for long.

You can like it: Why place a crayon in your wallet when you travel: Top 6 Advantage of crayon in your wallet

You can also take the following steps according to the vehicle of travel

Carry-on, bananas can be carried without any modifications – they’re small and easy to pack in your bag.

Wrap them in some paper towels.

How to pack bananas for travel by plane?

If you’re travelling by plane, we suggest you freeze your bananas before the trip and then take them out of the freezer at check-in.

If your flight is long, they’ll be ready to eat by the time you’re boarding, and they won’t dry out either.

Are freezing bananas before travel is beneficial if you want to take them on board in your carry-on luggage (if they are confiscated at check-in, they should get lost there than at the security checkpoint).

How to pack bananas for travel by car or bus?

If you’re travelling by car or bus, you might want to put bananas in the back seat (if you can’t fit them anywhere else), preferably on top of the luggage.

That way, they’ll still contact moist air and won’t dry out too quickly.

If your car is hot during summer, make sure not to put your bananas above the engine or in the trunk as heat there will shorten their lifespan.

How to pack bananas for travel by train?

If you’re travelling by car, always put your bananas on top of the luggage if possible. If it’s impossible, make sure that the fruit is in contact with moist air.

Cover them with a wet cloth or keep them in an airtight box. Don’t forget to store them away from the engine or trunk!

How to pack bananas for travel by bike?

If you’re travelling by bike, put your bananas in a cloth bag and hang them on the frame.

As other travellers have also suggested, placing them in panniers is another good idea – make sure that they’re not in direct contact with anything metal while travelling.

How to pack bananas for travel by boat?

If you’re travelling by boat, place bananas into a cloth bag and tie it somewhere where they won’t get wet – this will keep them fresh during your trip. Store them in a dry place!

3 packs Banana Saver / Container Storage Case 

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What about bananas in carry-on luggage?

Bananas are considered soft fruit, so we urgently recommend you avoid packing them in your checked luggage. If something happens with your suitcase, it’ll be ruined!

If you want to bring some along, put them inside a ventilated bag and ensure that the luggage is intact.

Bananas are susceptible, so there’s no way to pack bananas for travel that will keep them fresh for a long.

We recommend you buy them on arrival or eat them during your trip – if you’re going to leave them in a checked bag, make sure they’re put in a ventilated container, and the luggage is closed properly!

The benefits of carrying bananas while travelling

1. Bananas contain vitamin C, which is very beneficial for the body . It can prevent infections and boost the immune system.

Another important reason you should eat bananas is that their potassium content can soothe muscle cramps, alleviate nausea, and lessen high blood pressure.

2. When buying bananas, pay attention to these signs – if they’re yellowish at the stem end, it means that they are ripe enough to be eaten.

Otherwise, they can still ripen while on your trip if you’ll keep them at room temperature and away from sunlight.

3. Bananas (unlike some other fruits) are cheap and easy to find in Europe. And if you’re not really into eating them solo, there’s always the option of making banana pancakes! You can also add some pieces to your fresh salads and healthy breakfast bowls.

4. Bananas will surely help you stay on top of your game during your trip! Don’t forget that bananas are one of the healthiest foods in the world and they can offer many benefits for both adults and kids.

Even though some people can’t stand eating them at all! We recommend constantly peeling them before eating or packing for traveling, so you’ll never get the awful taste of banana skin.

PEREGRINE Banana Saver, Yellow, Small

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Is there a way to carry bananas in a backpack without getting them bruised?

Yes, you can pack bananas in a backpack! But there’s a trick to it – remove the stem and cut them into pieces before placing them inside a bag.

Make sure your fruits are wrapped in plastic wrap or wax paper to avoid getting dirty or bruised during your trip.

Bananas can be stored in a fridge/cool place – this will ensure they won’t ripen too fast.

Remember to peel them before eating them or pack them for traveling!

LovesTown Banana Case,3 Pack Different Colors Banana Holder Outdoor Travel

What’s the best way to store bananas?

Place your bananas in a cool, dry place where they won’t be exposed to direct sunlight.

The fridge is not recommended for storage as the skin will become dark and mushy.

If you want to store them for a short period of time, we recommend you take them out of the fridge about 30 minutes before eating – this way; they will taste as if they’ve been freshly picked!

The best thing to do is to peel them before packing your bananas for travelling. This way, they won’t get dirty or bruised.

Bananas go bad faster than other fruits because of the higher quantity of water inside them, so make sure to check them daily and eat up all your traveling bananas as soon as possible!

Is it safe to carry bananas in the checked-in luggage?   

Yes, it is safe to carry bananas in your checked-in luggage. Just remember to keep them away from direct sunlight and check whether there’s any mold or fungi on their skin – these signs indicate that your fruit is starting to spoil.

The best way to pack bananas for travel is by wrapping them in newspaper, aluminum foil, or plastic. If you plug them into a suitcase, make sure they don’t touch anything else because the fruit will spoil faster.

You can also put some of your clothes on top to keep their smell from rubbing off other items.

After arriving at your destination, remove the banana from its wrapper and place it back into another one before refrigerating until needed again.

We hope this has been helpful for you and answered your question about how to pack bananas.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment below or reach out to us on Facebook.

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28 Banana Facts: Weird & Tasty Guide to Fruit, Plant, Nutrition, and History

Bananas are a fruit loved by people around the world. In this post, you’ll learn a ton of banana facts about history, health / beauty benefits, nutritional benefits, and 6 ways to cook a banana.

28 Weird (and Delicious) Banana Facts

1. why is a banana called a banana.

The healthy breakfast fruit, banana, is called such because it derives from the word, “banan” which is an Arabic word meaning “finger.” Somewhat resembling the shape of a human digit, a single banana is called a finger and is attached to a group of other bananas called a “hand.”

2. Largest bunch of bananas

Have you ever wondered what the world record is for the largest bunch of bananas? According to the Guinness World Records , this title was won in 2001 by a humongous bunch grown in the Canary Islands, weighing 287 pounds (130 kg) and containing 473 single bananas.

Pictured is a huge (but not the largest) stem of bananas.

3. How many bananas grow in a stem?

The average stem can produce up to 240 bananas. 

Every stem produce 9 to 12 hands (rows of bananas). And every hand grows from 14 to 20 fingers (or individual bananas).

4. How many bananas in a bunch? 

There are often 6 to 20 bananas in a bunch . This number will vary depending on the variety and where they are being sold.

Roadside markets next to banana plantations will often sell huge bunches (of 10 to 20 bananas) – and often who banana stems with hundreds of bananas. A few years ago, we bought a stem of red bananas at a fruit stand in southern Ecuador for USD$8.00. There must have been 100+ bananas on the stem. We tied it to the roof of our truck and took it to a large beach picnic.

But if you are shopping in a northern hemisphere supermarket, you’ll be hard pressed to find a bunch with more than 8 bananas. The average size across supermarkets is 6 bananas to a bunch.

5. What country eats the most bananas?

Declared the “Banana Republic of Africa,” Uganda consumes more bananas per capita (600 pounds) per year than any other country.

By comparison, Americans, who add bananas to everything from bread, cereal, and pudding to cakes and pies, eat 27 pounds of bananas per capita each year.

Learn more about traditional food in Uganda .

6. Why don’t bananas have seeds?

While all bananas have seeds, commercially produced bananas have been selectively bred to produce tiny, edible seeds. In fact, they are so small that they are almost unnoticeable.

If you plucked a wild banana from its plant, you would probably see large seeds in it. Commercially grown bananas, like the ones you buy in the grocery store, have been cultivated so that the tiny black specks you see in them are downsized to immature seeds that won’t grow any bigger.

7. Banana eating record: Most eaten in 1 minute

In 2012, a man from Illinois, USA, peeled and gobbled down eight bananas in 60 seconds. He broke the world record for peeling and eating the most number of bananas in one minutes.

8. What animals eat bananas in the rainforest?

Many different animals and birds in the rain forest eat bananas. Some of these include fruit bats, monkeys, gorillas , elephants, tapirs, and frugivore birds such as toucans and parrots .

Learn more about food from Haiti – where bananas are used in main dishes and desserts.

Banana Plant Facts

9. is banana a fruit.

Yes, bananas are a fruit. Why? Bananas are a fruit because they naturally contain the seeds of its plant.

However, the banana plant itself is considered an herb because its stem is succulent instead of woody. In fact, the banana plant is the world’s largest flowering herb plant.

10. Is banana a berry?

Yes. One of the banana facts that many people may not know is that a banana is classified as a berry while a strawberry is not. The reason for this is that berries contain their seeds inside and not outside like strawberries.

11. What are mini bananas called?

Mini bananas are smaller, shorter and more thin-skinned than the more common varieties. These sweet-tasting bananas range from about three to five inches in length and are called by various names such as:

• Baby bananas
• Lady Finger bananas
• Date bananas
• Sugar bananas
• Fig bananas

12. How many species of bananas are there?

All the seedless bananas we eat today are derived from two wild species: Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana . However, there may be more than 1,000 varieties of bananas.

Some of the most popular include:

• Blue Java (also known as ice cream banana)
• Plantain (learn the differences between plantain and banana )

Learn more about Plantain Nutritional Information and Calories

13. What is the most common banana?

Cavendish is the most common variety of banana – you see most often in grocery stores and farmers markets.

This mildly sweet banana with a creamy texture features ripening stages that go from green to yellow to yellow with dark brown/black spots.

Banana Nutritional Facts

14. what are bananas made out of.

About 75% of a banana is water. Bananas also contains fiber, sugar, potassium, calcium, iron, vitamin C and vitamin B6.

15. Why don’t bananas have seeds?

The bananas you find in supermarkets and farmers markets are commercially grown so that the seeds inside have been diminished to black immature specks.

These commercial plants grow offshoots at their base, called pups, which are removed and replanted for reproduction.

16. 6 health benefits of eating bananas

Here are six health benefits of bananas:

• Helps maintain blood pressure and reduces the risks of stroke and heart attack because bananas are high in potassium.
• Soluble fiber in bananas helps combat heartburn, constipation and stomach ulcers.
• Aids your brain in producing serotonin , a hormone that can help you sleep better, balance your moods, and alleviate stress and depression.
• Bananas are good for your skin by helping your body produce collagen .
• If you’re bitten by an insect, rubbing the inside of a banana peeling on the bite area can relieve inflammation and itching .
• Bananas can aid in weight loss because they make you feel full and help regulate blood sugar levels.

17. What is the best way to cook a banana? 

As with many popular foods, there are lots of great ways to cook a banana.

Here are 6 banana recipes you might want to try:

• Pan-Fried Honey Bananas (Fifteen Spatulas)
• Baked Bananas with toppings (Healthy Little Foodies)
• Banana Muffins Recipe (Natasha’s Kitchen)
• Banana Oatmeal Pancakes (Taste of Home)
• Frozen Chocolate Bananas (Epicurious)
• Chocolate Chip Banana Cookies (Mom on Timeout)

18. How can you make green bananas ripen faster?

If your bananas are too green for your taste, you can speed up the ripening process by placing them in a paper bag with another fruit (like a tomato, apple, pear, peach or melon) overnight. These fruits release the chemical, ethylene, which promotes the ripening process.

Banana History Facts

19. where did the banana originate.

While bananas were illustrated in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, archaeological evidence shows that bananas may have originated as far back as 8,000 BC in the jungles of Southeast Asia and the South Pacific.

20. How to describe a banana

A banana is a tropical fruit that grows between 3 and 7 inches long in a curved, finger-like shape. When ripe, it has a thick, yellow skin and soft, sweet-tasting pulp.

Other Fun Banana Facts

21. can bananas help people with depression.

Bananas contain tryptophan, an amino acid that the human body uses to produce serotonin, which is a hormone that alleviates anxiety and depression.

Doctors recommend eating bananas if your body doesn’t produce enough serotonin.

22. What are banana parts called?

There are five main parts of a banana. They include:

• Bunch: a hanging cluster of banana hands
• Hand: a group of bananas up to 20, all connected to the same stem
• Finger: a single banana
• Epidermis: outer banana peel
• Pulp: fleshy inside of the banana that you eat

23. Are bananas radioactive?

Yes. bananas are slightly radioactive. The potassium in bananas release radioactive electrons as the banana decays.

Is this dangerous? No, you would need to eat almost 300 bananas every day for several years to ever be worried about it being harmful to you.

24. 8 Banana beauty treatments

Beside all the benefits you’ll get from eating a banana, they can also be used as part of a regular beauty routine .

• You can use banana peelings to naturally whiten your teeth in two weeks by rubbing the inside of the peeling against your teeth for two minutes each day.
• A mixture of mashed banana, a tablespoon of honey, and a tablespoon of heavy cream makes a good hair conditioner .
• Moisturize skin
• Treat dry skin on your feet
• Improve sleep
• Reduce puffy eyes
• Relieve itchy bug bites

25. Banana hacks for your house and garden

Make the leaves of your houseplants shine by rubbing them with the inside of a banana peeling. Some people even report doing this to polish their shoes – but this sounds gross and messy to me.

Fertilize your flowers and garden with bananas and their peelings by either composting them , slicing them in small pieces, or burying them whole in the soil.

26. Are bananas native to South America?

It’s easy to think that bananas are native to South America since countries from this continent are some of the world’s leading banana exporters. The truth is, bananas weren’t introduced to the Americas until the 16th century when Portuguese sailors transported them from West Africa.

27. See the world’s largest collection of banana items.

Located in Mecca, California, is the International Banana Museum , a fun venue where you can ogle more than 25,000 items that are all associated with the yellow tropical fruit. You can also buy banana-related merchandise and enjoy banana-themed food treats here.

28. Do banana spiders really hide in bunches of bananas?

Yes, many banana spider species will hide in bananas. While most of the banana spiders are actually quite harmless, the Brazilian wandering spider  ( Phoneutria ) is dangerous and possibly fatal to humans.

As the name suggestions, many of the 5 types of banana spider species favor banana plantations. And sometimes these will travel with the bananas to other countries.

What did you think of these banana facts? Did any of them surprise you? Did you learn anything new about the banana? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Hi, I'm Bryan Haines . And I'm a co-founder of Storyteller.Travel . I'm a traveler and photographer.

I also blog about photography on Storyteller Tech .

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If you live where bananas grow, you will find yourself shunning the cavendish variety shipped to grocery stores. Though they may not ship well, varieties eaten in the tropics are far superior in flavor and texture.

I love banana, I plant a lot banana tree on my backyard.

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Can You Bring a Banana on a Plane?

Are you stuck in the paradox of toting a banana on your upcoming flight? 

We’re here to provide the clarity you need and sweep away those worries.

The short answer is a triumphant yes – you can bring bananas on a plane, but there are some intricacies that you need to keep in mind to ensure a smooth journey.

The all-powerful Transportation Security Administration (TSA) permits solid food items like bananas to hitch a ride in your carry-on or cosily stashed within your checked bags across the vast expanse of the continental United States.

Breathe easy, knowing that your favored potassium-filled snack will be there to soothe your in-flight hunger pangs.

However, if your journey is charting international skies, your banana may be denied entry off the plane once you touch down at your destination.

Related: Can You Bring Oranges on a Plane? 

A baffling, yet crucial point to note. To avoid any unwelcome surprises, it’s always a good idea to do a quick check with your airline or delve into the destination country’s customs regulations.

We wouldn’t want you on the wrong side of fruit law, would we?

Understanding Airline Policies

When it comes to bringing food on a plane, it’s important to understand the policies of the airlines you’ll be flying with.

Related: Can you take Honey on a plane?

This can vary depending on the airline and even the specific flight you’re on. In this section, we’ll cover some general rules to keep in mind as well as specific policies from some popular airlines.

General Rules

While each airline has its own specific policies, there are some general rules that apply to all flights. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• All food items must go through security screening. This includes any fruits or vegetables you plan to bring on board.
• Any liquids, including sauces or dressings, must be in containers that are 3.4 ounces or less and placed in a clear, quart-sized bag.
• If you’re traveling internationally, be sure to check the customs regulations of your destination country. Some countries have strict rules about what food items can be brought in.
• If you have any doubts about whether an item is allowed, it’s always best to check with your airline before your flight.

Specific Airlines Policies

Here are some specific policies from popular airlines:

• Delta Airlines: Fresh fruits and vegetables are allowed on board as long as they are whole, washed, and not cut. However, if you’re traveling from Hawaii, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands to the U.S. mainland, you cannot bring most fresh fruits and vegetables due to the risk of spreading invasive plant pests.
• American Airlines: Fresh fruits and vegetables are allowed on board, but they must be whole and not cut. Additionally, any items that are considered liquid, such as yogurt or applesauce, must be in containers that are 3.4 ounces or less and placed in a clear, quart-sized bag.
• United Airlines: Fresh fruits and vegetables are allowed on board, but they must be whole and not cut. Additionally, any items that are considered liquid, such as yogurt or applesauce, must be in containers that are 3.4 ounces or less and placed in a clear, quart-sized bag.

Remember, these are just a few examples of specific policies. Be sure to check with your airline before your flight to ensure that you’re following all of their rules and regulations.

Can you bring bananas on an international flight back into the U.S.A.?

Wondering if you can carry your bunch of bananas back into the good ol’ U.S. of A. after an international jaunt?

In most instances, that would be a big “nope.”

The U.S. is pretty strict about the import of fresh fruits and veggies, thanks to the potential risks they pose to domestic crops – think pests and diseases that could do some serious agricultural damage.

Keep in mind that you absolutely must declare all fruits and veggies that you’re bringing into the U.S., regardless of whether they’re allowed or not.

This includes your bananas. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) need to give ’em a once-over.

Yes, it might take a bit of time, but it’s just part of the process. Plus, failing to declare your food could land you in some hot water with steep penalties.

And don’t think you can sneak anything past those vigilant CBP officers – they’re pros at this.

And you see those adorable beagles hanging around airports?

Contrary to popular belief, they aren’t just there to sniff out drugs – they’re also on the hunt for any illicit food items!

You might think you’ve got your banana packing down pat, but these furry officers have noses that could give bloodhounds a run for their money.

They’ll find that banana, no matter how artfully you’ve hidden it in your luggage.

So remember, honesty is the best policy here. Play it safe and declare your fruits and veggies – bananas included!

Why do some countries guard their borders against the seemingly innocent banana? 

You see, bananas, as delightful and nourishing as they are, can sometimes harbor hidden threats – diseases that have the potential to wreak havoc on entire species.

An unseen hitchhiker can result in the decimation of vast plantations, potentially erasing a species from the annals of agricultural history.

Hard to believe, right?

But such is the cautionary tale of the Panama disease.

This disease had a devastating love affair with the once ubiquitous Gros Michel banana variety.

Owing to the cloned nature of banana plants, the disease, much like a viral tweet, spread with terrifying speed. Not just limited to its namesake Panama, it traversed borders, infiltrating neighboring countries like Guatemala and Costa Rica to the north, and even extending its grasp to Ecuador and Colombia in the south.

The obliteration was not immediate, it took its time, almost like a slow burn horror movie.

Yet, the end result was nothing short of catastrophic. Within a span of a few decades, plantations that once thrived were reduced to mere memories.

The death knell rang out loud and clear for the Gros Michel variety by 1960, declaring it officially extinct.

Nutritional Benefits

Bananas are a great source of nutrition, and they are packed with vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

They are a good source of vitamin C, vitamin B6, and potassium.

They are also low in calories and fat, making them a healthy snack option.

Bananas are also a good source of energy, which is why they are a popular snack for athletes and travelers.

Travel-Friendly Aspect

Bananas are a great travel snack because they are easy to carry and do not require any preparation.

You can simply peel and eat them on the go.

They are also a great alternative to unhealthy snacks like chips and candy.

Bananas are also a good option for people with dietary restrictions, as they are vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free.

When packing bananas for travel, it is important to choose ripe but firm bananas.

Overripe bananas can get mushy and messy, making them difficult to eat.

You can also pack bananas in a plastic bag or container to prevent them from getting squished in your luggage.

In summary, bananas are a great travel snack that you can bring on a plane. They are nutritious, easy to carry, and delicious.

Potential Issues with Bringing Bananas on a Plane

Spoilage and waste.

If you’re planning to bring bananas on a plane, you need to be aware of the potential for spoilage and waste.

Bananas are a perishable fruit that can quickly become overripe and mushy, especially if they’re not stored properly.

This can lead to a mess in your carry-on bag, or worse, a bad odor that can bother other passengers.

To avoid spoilage and waste, it’s best to pack your bananas in a sturdy container that will protect them during transport.

You can also wrap them in plastic wrap or aluminum foil to keep them fresh and prevent bruising.

If you’re concerned about the weight of your carry-on bag, consider buying bananas at a store near your destination instead of packing them from home.

Allergies Concerns

Another potential issue with bringing bananas on a plane is allergies.

Bananas are a common allergen that can cause serious reactions in some people.

If you’re traveling with someone who has a banana allergy, it’s important to be mindful of their condition and avoid bringing bananas on the plane.

Even if you don’t have a banana allergy, it’s possible that other passengers on the plane might.

To be considerate, it’s a good idea to avoid eating bananas or other allergenic foods in close quarters, like on a plane.

You can also choose to pack a different type of fruit that’s less likely to cause allergies, like apples or oranges.

Overall, while bananas are a healthy and convenient snack, there are some potential issues to consider when bringing them on a plane.

By being mindful of spoilage and waste, as well as allergies concerns, you can make sure your travel experience is as smooth and enjoyable as possible.

Alternatives to Bringing Bananas on a Plane

If you’re traveling by plane and wondering whether you can bring bananas with you, the answer is yes, but it depends on your destination.

However, if you’re concerned about the hassle or restrictions of bringing fresh bananas with you, there are several alternatives to consider.

Pre-Packaged Banana Snacks

One option to consider is pre-packaged banana snacks. These snacks come in various forms, such as dried banana chips or banana-flavored granola bars.

They are easy to pack and can be a great alternative to fresh bananas.

Additionally, pre-packaged banana snacks are available at most grocery stores, making them easy to find and purchase before your flight.

Airport Food Options

Another alternative is to purchase food at the airport.

Most airports have a variety of food options available, including fresh fruit. If you’re looking for a healthy snack option, consider purchasing a fruit cup or a smoothie.

This option is especially convenient if you’re traveling domestically, as you won’t have to worry about any restrictions on fresh fruit.

If you’re traveling internationally, be sure to check the customs regulations of your destination country.

Some countries have strict restrictions on fresh fruit and vegetables, and you may not be able to bring them into the country. In this case, pre-packaged banana snacks or purchasing food at the airport may be your best option.

Overall, while bringing fresh bananas on a plane is possible, there are several alternatives to consider.

Pre-packaged banana snacks and airport food options are both convenient and healthy alternatives to fresh bananas.

In conclusion, bringing a banana on a plane is allowed, but there are some things to keep in mind. It’s best to store cut-up or partially consumed fruit in some sort of packaging.

When going through airport security, it’s best to avoid eating anything heavy like a banana or other fruit.

However, once you’re on the plane, you’re allowed to munch on as many bananas or other fruits as you like, so long as you don’t make other people uncomfortable.

If you’re traveling with bananas, it’s important to remember that they should be packed securely in your checked luggage.

You can bring as many bananas as you’d like in your allowable checked luggage, but there are some exceptions for Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

It’s always a good idea to check with your airline before you travel to make sure you’re following their specific rules and regulations.

Overall, bringing a banana on a plane is a great way to stay healthy and energized while you travel.

Bananas are a great source of potassium and other essential vitamins and minerals, and they’re a convenient and easy snack to pack in your carry-on or checked luggage.

Just remember to follow the rules and regulations set forth by the TSA and your airline, and you’ll be able to enjoy your bananas without any issues.

Frequently Asked Questions

What fruits are allowed to be brought on a plane.

Most fresh fruits are allowed to be brought on a plane, but there are some restrictions. For example, passengers flying from Hawaii, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands to the U.S. mainland cannot take most fresh fruits and vegetables due to the risk of spreading invasive plant pests.

Can I bring bananas and apples on a domestic flight?

Want to tote along some bananas and apples on your next domestic flight?

You’re in luck! Yes, indeed, you can bring those bananas and apples onboard.

But, just like your carry-on and that last-minute airport purchase, these fruits must pass through an x-ray screening.

It’s all part of the process to ensure a safe and smooth flight for everyone. So go ahead, pack that healthy snack for your journey.

Are vegetables allowed to be carried on a domestic flight?

Yes, vegetables are allowed to be carried on a domestic flight. However, if they are fresh and have soil on them, they may be subject to inspection by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Is it okay to bring lemons on a plane?

Yes, you can bring lemons on a plane. They are not on the TSA’s list of prohibited items.

Do bananas count as liquids in airport security checks?

No, bananas do not count as liquids in airport security checks.

However, if you are carrying a large number of bananas, they may be subject to additional screening.

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• Travel Tips

How to Store Bananas so They Don't Turn Black, According to an Expert

Make sure you can savor every last bite.

As far as travel-friendly healthy snacks go, few outweigh the banana. The fruit, which comes packed with vitamins and minerals , is a great way to fuel adventures, and, as a bonus, has its own to-go packaging, thanks to Mother Nature. There is, however, one downside to the mighty banana, and that's just how fast it can go from perfectly ripe to downright rotten.

But if you want to keep your bananas fresh for longer — whether you're taking them with you on a long car ride or flight, or leaving them behind in your home kitchen during a long weekend getaway — there are ways to do that. According to Molly Siegler, the senior program manager for culinary development at Whole Foods Market , that begins by picking the right bananas in the first place.

"Remember, you can always select one or two bananas from any bunch — choose the ones at the best stage of ripening for you," Siegler shares with Travel + Leisure . "I always recommend choosing a variety of ripeness — a couple quite green for the end of the week, several bright yellow with green ends, and one uniformly creamy yellow for eating that day."

As for storing bananas to keep them fresh for longer, Siegler says, "The most important thing is selection at the store, and when you're home, keep the bananas away from other fruit, especially apples, which also release ethylene gas and can hasten the ripening process."

Consider buying an adorable banana hanger , which not only keeps your bananas away from other fruits that ripen them faster, but can also reduce the odds of bruising.

Bananas aren't the only thing you may want to keep fresh. Food waste is a massive issue in the U.S. As the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) explains, food waste is estimated to be between 30 and 40% of the food supply, which in 2010, corresponded to approximately 133 billion pounds and $161 billion worth of food.

"Again, this is about food storage, but also purchasing thoughtfully when you're shopping," Siegler says about reducing all food waste, including bananas. "Especially with items such as bananas, avocados, and stone fruit, select products at different stages of ripeness so that you have more time to enjoy them."

And if your bananas do start to ripen faster than you'd like, you can also pop them in the fridge. The colder temperatures slow down the chemical process that ripens bananas, which could help you enjoy them for a few extra days. If you really need to extend the life of a banana, put it in the freezer. A frozen banana can be used for up to six months .

Another pro tip? "Don't wash produce until you're ready to eat or cook it, as washing too soon can lead to molding," Siegler adds. "Most items do best with more air circulation, so consider that as you store fruits and vegetables."

And don't toss them just because they're brown, either. The browning is just a sign that the banana has ripened to a point where the starch has converted to sugar, meaning it may be ultra-sweet. That makes it perfect for frozen ice cream, banana bread, or just about any sugary banana treat. Give it a try before you throw it out to save on food waste and a few bucks on your next grocery store visit.

Banana Pancake Trail: The Ultimate Guide 2024

Are you interested in backpacking the Banana Pancake Trail?

You’ve come to the right article, as I’m going to tell you everything you could ever need to know about the Banana Pancake Trail.

Southeast Asia is one of the most fascinating parts of the world. Every country offers something slightly different and unique.

But as amazing as those differences are, it can make it hard to plan a trip. The Banana Pancake Route is on every backpacker’s bucket list , and it was on mine too.

After spending lots of time in the beautiful region of our planet that is SE Asia, I’ve created this ultimate guide with everything you need to know before setting off on the trip for yourself.

So without further ado, let’s get straight into it.

What is the Banana Pancake Trail?

Before getting into the nitty-gritty of the backpacking route, it’s important to clarify what the Banana Pancake Trail actually is.

Lots of people have heard its name, but fewer people know what it actually is. After all, the name has nothing to do with geographical location.

The Banana Pancake Trail is an extremely popular – but not very specific – backpacking route throughout South-East Asia.

The name comes from the Westernised breakfast served at hostels and guesthouses across the region, you guessed it, banana pancakes! And so came the name “Banana Pancake Trail”.

The route became popular in the 1950s and 60s as Western backpackers sought to explore Asia, picking out an easy-to-follow (although a million more times much easier in 2024!) route throughout the southeast part of the continent.

It’s now one of the most popular backpacking routes thanks to the 50s and 60s.

This period of time is, in essence, why backpacking is commonly associated with hippie culture . Because most backpackers in those days were peace-loving, smoking, hippies.

Hippies still make up a decently sized part of the backpacking community, and if you love to live the hippie lifestyle, you’ll love the Banana Route. But equally, not every backpacker is a hippie in 2024.

The route has had many drafts and changes with lots of stops being removed but also added over the decades. That being said, a universally agreed route remains to exist , making the Banana Pancake trail all the more interesting and exciting to explore!

Because one of the best parts about travelling is making it unique to yourself- picking and choosing the stops which appeal to you rather than visiting places just because you feel like you “have to”.

Where is the Banana Pancake Trail?

The Banana Pancake Trail is a route which takes you all throughout South-East Asia , usually taking you through at least 4, but up to 9 beautiful countries.

The most basic and simple version of the Banana Route takes you through Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.

These countries are widely agreed to be the core foundation of the trail , and it would be impossible to exclude them from a true BPT, instead, you would just be backpacking Southeast Asia.

On top of these countries, many backpackers choose to extend their trip to Myanmar (Burma), Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and The Philippines, bringing the country total up to 9.

Each country is unique and has its own paths to explore! If you have the time, I would recommend doing as many countries as possible, however, doing the 4 countries that are definitely included in the Banana Pancake Trail, is a must!

They’re the fundamentals of the route, and it’s impossible to visit this part of the world without paying each of them a visit.

Why choose the Banana Pancake Trail?

Similarly to the Gringo Trail in Central and South America, the number one reason most people choose the Banana Pancake Trail is because it’s affordable.

It is so cheap to travel compared to other parts of the world. If you are on a budget, South-East Asia is definitely the option for you.

As you’ll see later, it’s oftentimes cheaper to backpack than live at home and pay bills.

That being said, if budget is not a factor for you, the Banana Trail should 100% still be considered. The culture in South-East Asia is like no other.

If you have not experienced Asia in your life before, it is a must-do. You will be met with the happiest of smiles , the kindest of conversations and the tastiest of foods!

Another big reason to consider the Banana Trail is because there are also no language problems for most people.

English is very commonly spoken all across SE Asia and you will always be able to find somebody who speaks it.

However, I always suggest learning a few phrases in the local language (hello, please, thank you etc.). Not only does this improve your language skills, but it is also a lovely gesture and the locals will appreciate your efforts.

It’s one of my favourite things about travelling, immersing myself in the local way of life, and learning some basic phrases is a big part of that. Sure, the shopkeeper will understand “Thank you”, but saying “Cảm ơn” in Vietnamese for example, means a lot more.

Cảm ơn is one of my favourite phrases to have learnt…it’s pretty much just pronounced as “come on”.

Another reason to visit is the beautiful nature and scenery on offer on this beautiful part of our planet.

Along with the thousands of beautiful temples , the trail takes you through some of the most stunning sights you will see, and give you experiences and memories like no other.

For example, if you are an animal lover, take advantage of the opportunity to swim and bathe with rescued Asian Elephants. It is a memory that will stick with you forever and trust me, the Banana Pancake Trail offers a lot of opportunities for lifelong memories.

There are endless reasons to choose Southeast Asia as your next destination for a backpacking trip, and it would be impossible to list them all. But by reading the remainder of this article, you should pick up many more of the reasons.

Is the Banana Pancake Trail safe?

This is one of the biggest questions people have before booking their trip to Southeast Asia. Unfortunately, there are many stereotypes that his part of the world isn’t safe.

In reality, this isn’t true. Backpacking the Banana Pancake Trail is commonly viewed as one of the safest routes to travel in the world . People are kind and welcoming with very low crime rates, particularly against tourists.

Of course, I can’t personally guarantee your safety, and you should always take personal safety seriously, following all the important backpacking tips , but speaking generally, Southeast Asia is very safe to visit.

As I said, the Banana Pancake Trail is one of the safest backpacking route out there, particularly for solo travellers.

Due to the route’s popularity, hostels will be filled with hundreds of people doing the same route as you- even when solo travelling, you are very rarely alone .

I can’t speak from personal experience, but for women, many women consider Southeast Asia to be one of the safest places to travel too.

It is extremely safe to travel to South-East Asia and it is very unlikely you will encounter any trouble.

How much does the Banana Pancake Trail Cost?

South-East Asia is notorious for its cheap prices whilst travelling.

For this reason, the Banana Pancake Trail will “only” set you back around $1500 USD a month .

If you compare this to bills and other expenses when living at home, it could actually be more affordable for most people to travel full-time! Living in a house working 9-5 or travelling Southeast Asia? It’s a no brainer if you ask me.

Obviously, your budget is dependent on how you like to travel . Everyone is different.

You may like to travel ultra-hardcore backpacker style and spend only $1000 a month, or you may prefer to travel with a bit more luxury – “ flashpacking ” as they call it – and spend $2000 a month.

Your budget will also depend on the country you are in. Naturally, some countries in the Banana Pancake Route are more expensive than others.

A rough guideline for a daily budget in each country would be:

When travelling as a backpacker anywhere in the world including along the Banana Pancake Trail, you will have 4 types of expenses: Food, Accommodation, Travel and Activities.

In Southeast Asia, food can be as cheap as $1-2 a meal if you look in the right places. Street food is particularly good value for money and gives a good authentic taste of the local food.

And no, you aren’t guaranteed to get food poisoning like most people assume for some reason.

Accommodation can also be found for less than $5-10 a night if you are happy to stay in a dorm bed in a hostel room. It adds to the experience and is one of the best ways to meet like-minded people. And yes, hostels are safe .

As you might have figured out, your biggest expenses will be travelling and activities. Shock!

Although travelling and activities are cheap compared to the West, they can quickly add up . I’ll go further in-depth about travelling along the Banana Pancake Trail in a moment.

But activities are a big setback- they won’t be as expensive as at home, but they will definitely cost more than your day-to-day needs.

For example, getting to Ha Long Bay will cost you around 150,000 VND (equivalent to roughly $7).

It’s not much, but if you do multiple things a day, do something more expensive like taking an island-hopping tour, or if you do things for multiple days in a row, it can quickly take a hit on your budget.

That’s why many backpackers seek out cheap and even free things to do. For example, I always take a free walking tour everywhere in the world I go. It’s always the first thing I do.

All in all, the Banana Pancake Trail should be relatively cheap to travel compared to other trails around the world. But just be careful not to get carried away .

When to do the Banana Pancake Trail

Another really common question people always ask about anywhere in the world is “When is the best time to visit?”

And my answer is always the same: Everywhere has something unique to offer at different points of the year. There’s no bad time to visit and there’s no right time to visit.

But there is a most popular time which most people consider the “best”.

The Banana Pancake Trail takes you through countries which experience a monsoon season (when it is rainy and floods are regular). Finding a gap in these seasons can be tricky.

Here’s a table showing when each of the 9 countries along the Banana Route experience their monsoon season.

As you can see, each country experiences their monsoon at a slightly different time. So it can be hard to make a plan, but it is possible.

You can plan a route to take you to each country in its dry season, although prepare for high temperatures and scorching sun!

I would recommend starting the Banana Pancake Trail in November or December , and starting in Thailand, then working your way through each country one at a time.

For example, Thailand then Laos then Vietnam then Cambodia. Something like that.

I have a checklist of places I recommend visiting, you can use it to plan your route.

How long does the Banana Pancake Trail take?

The age-old question with an old folks’ answer. How long is a piece of string?

It is impossible to give an exact answer to this question as each traveller prefers to go at a different speed.

Some people will spend months and months in one country, some people will choose to only spend one week in each.

However, I would recommend a minimum of 3 months to travel to the 4 base countries in the Banana Pancake Trail of Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.

Just under one month in each country is a good amount of time to explore all of the nooks and crannies that each has to offer.

I would not suggest completing the Banana Pancake Trail in less than 3 months. It is logistically doable, however, you will miss a lot of the things the route has to offer and will be very tired.

If you’re short on time, I would instead recommend picking one or two countries from the route and focusing on seeing those properly. Remember, you can always come back and do the trail another time!

If you wish to visit more of the countries in Southeast Asia, I would add roughly 1 month per country (except Singapore- which only needs a few days). You could easily spend more time in each country too! Make sure you have the right visas to avoid any trouble.

So if you want to visit all 9 countries, I would recommend about 8 months or so . It’s a pretty long trip, but I promise you it’s amazing.

How to get to Southeast Asia

Travelling to Southeast Asia isn’t as straightforward as just booking a direct flight to Bangkok, or at least this is the case for most countries.

From Europe, there are only a few destinations which fly directly to Bangkok at reasonable prices. Instead, I recommend taking a flight with a layover .

This makes it much much more affordable. For example, I got return flights to Bangkok with a layover in Dubai for around £600 GBP. Whereas direct flight return was nearly £1500.

If you’re travelling on a budget , spending a night in an airport is worth the £900 you save.

Bangkok is the best airport to fly into as it’s the most popular starting point for the Banana Pancake Trail. It’s also one of the cheapest airports to fly into after a layover.

On average, return flights from Europe with one layover are around $800 .

From Australia or New Zealand direction, you can get direct flights for much cheaper, for a few hundred dollars and obviously the flights are much shorter too.

If you’re flying in from North or South America, your best bet is to take a flight to Europe, spend a day or two exploring the city you fly into, and then make the same journey I recommended above.

How to travel whilst in South-East Asia

Making it to Southeast Asia is obviously the most expensive part of any trip, and you’ll be thankful to know it’s much cheaper when you’re out there.

Getting from place to place is also extremely easy . There are so many options for every journey you plan to take.

The main options for transport are flights, busses, trains, boats/ferries, taxis and tuk-tuks. Each method of travel has its own advantages and disadvantages. Here’s a quick overview:

Most of your travelling between stops along the Banana Pancake Trail will involve buses . There are always lots of affordable bus options that can take you all throughout the route.

For example, you can get from Bangkok to Chiang Mai which is a 10-hour journey for under $20. It’s crazily cheap, which is part of the reason backpacking this part of the world is so great.

Bus journeys can get pretty long , and the bus conditions aren’t amazing , but backpacking isn’t glitz and glam like you see on Instagram. Everyone has bad days when travelling, it’s normal.

I always suggest reminding yourself to think of the bigger picture. Spending 8 hours on a bus might sound awful but think of all the amazing things you’ll get to do in that destination once you reach it.

In terms of getting around a city or town, tuk-tuks are a great way to get around for low prices. Just make sure to negotiate your price in advance and make it clear you’re not an unknowing tourist willing to pay 3x the going rate.

I would also recommend using apps like Grab , which is South-East Asia’s version of Uber. Thailand doesn’t have Uber and nor do any of the other countries in the region, they all use Grab. It is a lot safer than a normal taxi and also guarantees you won’t be paying a ridiculous fare.

What to bring to South-East Asia

Starting out on a long backpacking trip can be intimidating, and overwhelming.

It’s really easy to forget what to pack, but it’s even easier to pack too much . One of the worst things you can do to yourself is to overpack.

I was told this before my first trip and I still overpacked. And I regretted it every single time I moved from place to place. Be strict on yourself and don’t allow yourself to overpack.

That being said, make sure you bring the essentials for any backpacking trip . And there are also a few items that may come in particularly handy for the Banana Pancake Trail. Here are my recommendations for Southeast Asia:

• Universal Travel Charger Adapter – South-East Asia is unique and will use a mixture of ‘American’ and ‘European’ sockets, so having both is ideal!
• Bug repellent/ bite cream – although not as big of an issue as you may think, bug bites can happen, and you will want to be prepared
• Travel-friendly Credit Card – withdrawing cash in Southeast Asia can come with large processing fees, so a card like Revolut helps to save you money when withdrawing
• Padlock – needed for locking your locker in hostels, most hostels don’t provide them
• Microfibre towel – it’s small and dries quickly, and most hostels charge to rent towels
• Day bag – unless you want to carry your whole belongings all day every day, this is a must!
• Sunglasses and sunscreen – it gets warm!
• Longer tops and trousers – make sure you have appropriate clothes to visit the temples, or else you will not be allowed in.

Banana Pancake Trail Checklist

As mentioned throughout this article, the Banana Pancake Trail does not have a 100% clear, universally agreed route. Everyone’s backpacking route will be ever so slightly different. But that’s what makes it so special.

I don’t like giving full itineraries because how I like to travel is different to how you like to travel, and that’s different from the next person and the next.

But I have created a list of what I consider to be some incredible places to visit along the Banana Pancake Trail.

Pick and choose where you want to visit , some stops will stand out to you as amazing, and some won’t appeal to you at all. And that’s perfectly fine.

I’d also recommend to try and visit some more off-the-beaten-track places. They always leave the best memories from my experience.

But to help you start your planning, here are some stops I recommend:

Thailand 🇹🇭

• Ko Pha Ngan

• Luang Prabang
• Bolaven Plateau
• Si Phan Don
• Savannakhet

• Ha Long Bay (or Lan Ha Bay)
• Ho Chi Minh City
• Ha Giang Loop

Cambodia 🇰🇭

• Siem Reap to visit…
• Phnomh Penh
• Sihanoukville

Myanmar 🇲🇲  

• Pyin Oo Lwin

Note: due to the current political situation in Myanmar, I would not recommend you visit it in the current climate. Hopefully the country can be brought to peace soon 🙁

Malaysia 🇲🇾

• Kuala Lumpur
• Tioman Island
• Malacca City
• Malaysian Borneo
• Johor Bahru
• Cameron Highlands

Singapore 🇸🇬

• Little India
• Arab Street

Indonesia 🇮🇩

• Gili Islands

The Philippines 🇵🇭

• Secret Lagoon & El Nido
• Puerto Princesa

Remember: these are only rough guidelines of places to stop! Feel free to add or remove places as you wish. Choose places that YOU want to visit!

Things to do along the Banana Pancake Trail

Along the Banana Pancake Trail, there are hundreds of opportunities of things to do. I have narrowed it down to 5 MUST-DOs along the banana pancake trail. Make sure you take advantage of everything each country has to offer, as there are so many more things to do along the Banana Pancake Trail.

Swim and Bathe with rescued elephants

Asian Elephants are the national animal of Thailand, and what better way to start your Banana Pancake Trail journey than by swimming and bathing with these beautiful creatures? I only recommend the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary. You can visit them in Chiang Mai, Phuket, Pattaya or Samui.

I have found other places sadly exploit the elephants and do not look after them. However, if you choose to go elsewhere, please remember, do not ride the elephants. If you are not already aware of this, please research the negative effects it has on their bodies.

Get your scubadiving PADI

PADI. Professional Association of Diving Instructors. It is a must-do whilst travelling the Banana Pancake Route. It is MUCH cheaper than anywhere else in the world, and there are so many beautiful places to do it! At home, it will typically cost between $500-700. In South-East Asia, more like $300 or less. I did mine with Roctopus in Koh Tao .

Koh Tao in Thailand is popular. As is Dauin in the Philippines, and Amed in Indonesia. The best bit is: once you have your certificate, there are 1000s of beautiful dive spots across the Banana Pancake Trail. It’s common to swim alongside a whale shark, which is such a cool experience!

Visit Temple after Temple after Temple

Sounds tiring, right? It’s not! Each temple has something unique to offer, something slightly different from the last. There are so many beautiful temples along the Banana Pancake Trail. Each country’s temples also differ slightly from each other. It’s a truly unique experience and an absolute must if you visiting South-East Asia.

If you want to visit temples in quick succession, Angkor Wat in Cambodia is the largest site in the world. Words simply cannot describe it.

Hike and Trek like never before

There are endless opportunities for hiking and trekking across the Banana Pancake Trail. It’s called a trail after all! Every country along the way has beautiful national parks and jungles to explore- make sure to do some jungle trekking, it is such a good way to see beautiful wildlife and natural landscapes.

The Khao Sok national park in southern Thailand is a must! There are treks for all abilities, and all are just as beautiful. Just look at this sunset!

Eat street food

You may be hesitant, most people are, but I encourage you to overcome it! It is some of the nicest food you will ever have, and at some of the cheapest prices! You can watch the food be cooked right in front of your eyes, so you can know it is definitely okay to eat. It is an absolute must if you travel the Banana Pancake Trail.

Banana Pancake Trail: FAQ

Below are some questions related to the Banana Pancake Trail along with my answers.

Most people choose to start backpacking the Banana Pancake Trail in Bangkok. It’s one of the easiest places to get to in Southeast Asia, and flights are often cheaper than flying to other destinations. Bangkok also acts as a good hub to adjust to life in the region and plan where you are going to go next.

The Banana Pancake Trail is a popular backpacking route in Southeast Asia which takes you through Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, often even more countries. The name originates from the common breakfast served in hostels: banana pancakes. It’s a nice attempt from Southeast Asian hostels to accommodate Western travellers, which led to the nickname for the backpacking trail.

Thailand itself is not called the Banana Pancake Trail, the Banana Pancake Trail is a popular backpacking route which includes Thailand. It also includes Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Sometimes it extends to other countries in Southeast Asia like Indonesia or Singapore.

For 3 months of travelling Southeast Asia, you should budget $1200-1500 per person per month. So for 3 months, that’s between $3600-4500. In many cases, this works out cheaper than paying the bills at home. Southeast Asia is one of the best regions in the world for travelling cheaply.

Banana Pancake Trail: The Wrap Up

Well, there you have it! A complete guide to the Banana Pancake Trail.

It’s one of the best backpacking trails in the world and I absolutely loved my time in Southeast Asia.

There are so many amazing things to do and it’s so affordable too.

Now that you have everything you need to know about the Banana Pancake Route itself, your next job is to learn some local lingo such as hello in Thai or goodbye in Vietnamese .

Josh Band is the founder of A Backpacker's World. He is a full-time traveller currently on a mission to visit every country in the world. As a full-time traveller, Josh knows exactly how to make the most of any trip and shares these tips with his readers. Josh mostly travels as a backpacker on a budget, so he is also an expert when it comes to getting the most of your money while travelling.

MLB parks, a third team — and a cruise! What's coming for the 2024 Savannah Bananas World Tour

The Savannah Bananas 2024 schedule is out now — along with other big changes.

Banana Ball is headed to six Major League Baseball ballparks — including in Houston, Boston, Washington D.C., Cleveland, Philadelphia and Miami — and, perhaps most noteworthy, the Bananas will be headed to sea.

Additionally, capacity at Grayson Stadium, the home field of the Bananas, will be increased by 1,000 seats.

To see the full schedule, with cities and dates, go to TheSavannahBananas.com  

Combining all games and experiences, the Bananas are expected to play in front of 1 million people next season, according to team owner Jesse Cole.

Mark your calendar! Here's when the Savannah Bananas play at home in 2024

Savannah Bananas 2024 World Tour schedule

Tampa Bay, FL - February 8-10, 2024

Peoria, AZ - February 15-17, 2024

Savannah, Ga. - February 23-25, 2024

Jacksonville, FL -  March 1-3, 2024

Houston, TX - March 9, 2024

Baton Rouge, LA - March 14-16, 2024

Gwinnett County, GA - March 22-24, 2024

Savannah, Ga. - March 28-29, 2024

Savannah, Ga. - April 4-6, 2024

Durham, NC- April 12-14, 2024

Albuquerque, NM - April 20-21, 2024

Mesa, AZ - April 25-27, 2024

Fresno, CA - May 3-5, 2024

Sacramento, CA - May 9-11, 2024

Oklahoma City, OK - May 16-18, 2024

Columbus, OH - May 24-26, 2024

Savannah, Ga. - May 30-31, 2024

Savannah, Ga. - June 1, 2024

Boston, MA - June 8, 2024

Nashville, TN - June 13-15, 2024

Indianapolis, IN - June 27-29, 2024

Buffalo, NY - July 5-7, 2024

Washington, D.C - July 13, 2024

Savannah, Ga. - July 18-20, 2024

Louisville, KY - August 1-3, 2024

Cleveland, OH - August 10, 2024

Norfolk, VA - August 16-18, 2024

Savannah, Ga. - August 22-24, 2024

Salt Lake City, UT - August 30-31, 2024

Des Moines, IA - September 6-8, 2024

Savannah, Ga. - September 13-15, 2024

Philadelphia, PA - September 21, 2024

Savannah, Ga. - September 26-28, 2024

Miami, FL - October 12, 2024

Bananaland at Sea - Oct. 14-18

When is the Savannah Bananas Cruise?

The Savannah Bananas are partnering with Norwegian Cruise Line to offer a Caribbean cruise dubbed "Bananaland at Sea" as the season finale. 

The cast and crew will be on board, offering entertainment and more.

The Bananas will play at the Miami Marlins ballpark before setting sail to the Bahamas from Oct. 14-18, 2024.

When are the Bananas playing in Savannah, Ga.?

The Savannah Bananas will play at Grayson Stadium on the following dates:

• February 23-25, 2024
• March 28-29, 2024
• April 4-6, 2024
• May 30-31, 2024
• June 1, 2024
• July 18-20, 2024
• August 22-24, 2024
• September 13-15, 2024
• September 26-28, 2024

Who are The Firefighters?

As part of Thursday's announcement, a third team, in addition to the Bananas and the Party Animals, was introduced. The Firefighters will play 19 games, including against the Bananas at the Washington Nationals stadium. 

How to get tickets for the Savannah Bananas 2024 games, cruise

The Bananas ticket lottery opened up on the team's website after the schedule was announced. The lottery list will close on Dec. 1, and those who do not sign up will not be eligible.

The lottery doesn't guarantee an opportunity to buy tickets, the website notes. A random drawing two months prior to the event will notify those who are selected and will have the option to purchase tickets.

Tickets start at $35.

What is 'Banana Ball'?

‘Banana ball’ is baseball but with  nine rule changes , all aimed at speeding up play. The game is scored unconventionally, with teams tallying points for innings won rather than runs scored. There is also a two-hour time limit - no inning can start after the 1 hour, 50 minute mark.

Other “banana ball” rules include prohibiting mound visits, bunting and stepping out of the batter’s box between pitches. A fan favorite involves ruling a batter out if a ball he fouls off into the stands is caught by a spectator.

Aside from the rules, “banana ball” features a litany of  hijinks , from dancing base coaches and umpires to pitchers on stilts to hitters wielding flaming bats.

Team owner Jesse Cole introduced “banana ball” in 2018 with secret test games against college teams Lander and Wofford in Greenwood, South Carolina, a three-hour drive from Savannah. The debut game finished in 99 minutes.

The first public trial came the next year in Savannah. Cole took the game on the road for the first time in 2021, playing a series in Mobile, Alabama. In 2022, the Bananas played “banana ball” games in nine cities, including Savannah. Then in 2023, the Bananas moved to full-time "banana ball," dropping the collegiate summer league team.

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InTrans | News

InTrans / Jan 28, 2015

The journey of bananas: From land to your hand

Go magazine.

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between a banana and a plantain? Well, the main difference is that a banana is usually eaten raw while a plantain is cooked. Together, they are the fourth largest food crop in the world. In the past 30 years, the demand for bananas alone has grown by 175 percent, which means that the United States population now eats over 6.4 billion pounds of bananas annually.

Bananas and plantains are grown in Central America, Asia, and Africa, where the climate is tropical. But how do those bananas travel from the farm to our local stores in the United States?

As it turns out, this is a pretty complex process. Looking specifically at Costa Rica and one company, Del Monte, in this article, I explore the journey the banana takes from farm to shipping port.

About bananas

Bananas are actually perennial plants, not trees, which means that each banana plant can be cut and replanted, or grown directly from the rhizome, into another banana plant! So neat!

Bananas can’t grow everywhere. They require temperatures around 80 degree Fahrenheit and need between 78 to 98 inches of rainfall to survive. That is why they are readily grown in regions like Costa Rica, Columbia, Peru, and several other countries with tropical climates.

You may be wondering, “Why do they cut bananas when they’re green?” Well, in order to get them to their final destination (us) without rotting, they must be picked early as to not rot during the trip. In order to be “just ripe enough,” the banana only has approximately two weeks from when it’s cut to then be sold at the store.

From the banana plantation to the shipping port

Typically, bananas are grown on large plantations. Plantations include not only a large farm to grow the fruit, but also a building to package, process, and transport to the shipping port.

At the first stage, you have the banana seed that must be planted, and then someone must hand pick the bananas and transport them into the nearby packing shed. From there, workers cut, sort, wash, dry and label the bananas for packing.

Once the bananas are packed, they are put onto a conveyor belt and transported by truck to the nearest container terminal (there are two in Costa Rica). The banana shipment must be kept at a cool temperature at all times to ensure the bananas don’t ripen and then rot. The container terminal can take the banana shipment straight from the truck to the boat. During this time, the bananas are hooked up to electricity to get cool air moving throughout the container bed.

Who helps get the bananas from the farm to “us”?

Bananas travel many miles to get to the US. From Costa Rica to Miami, Florida, a banana travels 1120 miles! It takes a reefer ship about 48 hours to travel that distance.

One of the many people at Del Monte that help get the bananas from the farm to the consumer is a supply chain manager.

Recently, Del Monte has put all of the details about their supply chain into the Cloud***. This way Del Monte can monitor one single system to see the entire network, from producer to local retail. This Cloud allows providers to control the supply and demand of the network (think of when you order something on Amazon and you press “Track Package”). Del Monte’s Cloud network also lets people order, track packages, and—from the provider’s point of view—understand the level of demand (your purchase). A supply chain manager is in charge of this type of work.

If you are interested in this type of dynamic work, you can pursue a bachelor’s degree in supply chain management. This major includes understanding different supply chain management activities (from demand planning to information technology). The average annual salary earnings for a supply chain manager is about $97,125.

It’s not all bananas

Since bananas require tropical conditions, the planting of bananas has often contributed to rainforest deforestation (cutting down trees). In addition, banana planting can lead to heavy pesticide use to keep the pests away from the fruit, which can be harmful to the plantation workers and the environment. Also, a banana plantation takes away a lot of the diversity that was once present in the rainforest, leading to nutrient loss in the soil, among other affects. At the same time, banana production is important to the economic development of developing countries. So the big question is, “How do we balance economic growth with environmental sustainability?”

Did you know?

• Perennial plants are plants that live for two or more years without being replanted. A banana plant is often mistaken as a tree, because, for example, banana plants often grow to more than 25 feet tall. A banana is a perennial because once the plant dies, it is directly replaced by another plant from the same rhizome. A banana plant will mature for about 10-15 months before growing bananas.
• The rhizome is a horizontal stem that comes from the original plant root. It is the underground stem that allows for new banana plants to grow from the original. A banana rhizome can live for hundreds of years!
• The Cloud is a way of using the internet to access important information such as stored files, emails, etc. If you have ever used “Google Drive,” that is a part of the Cloud.

Related links

http://www.bananalink.org.uk/how-bananas-are-grown

http://www.freshdelmonte.com/our-company/business-divisions/operations-and-sales/

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/bananas-perennial-58553.html

By Jackie Nester, Go! Staff Writer

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Transporting Bananas | Farm To Plate Banana Transport System

• Matthew Baron

Bananas were not a plantation or export crop during the colonial era in the Caribbean and Central America, mainly because of the difficulty of transporting them to distant markets. Although bananas found a ready market in schooner days, they remained a luxury item until the introduction of steamships, the extension of the railroad throughout the United States, and the availability of refrigeration. These innovations made it possible to cut the transit time and keep the fruit at a constant temperature to slow the ripening process.

Bananas entered North American markets and became important in the culture and diet of the United States partly due to the transportation revolution that began in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Beginning with the railroads quickly followed by steamships, trucking, and eventually an interstate road system, Americans spread out across an immense continent while remaining connected with the cities and ports on the East and West coasts. Mail-order catalogs and a growing wholesale and retail network meant that the goods enjoyed in one area of the country were soon available to all.

The first official banana importation was recorded in the United States in 1804 when the schooner Reynard brought thirty stalks of red bananas to New York from Cuba.’ Banana importing was a risky business for sailing vessels. Contrary winds or calm seas might extend the voyage length, and the fruit would ripen and rot before reaching East Coast ports such as Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. Ship captains and crews sometimes brought a few stalks on board for themselves, and if any of the remaining bananas reached port in salable condition, they might make a nice profit. Usually, they did not.

Sporadic Banana Importing

Sporadic attempts at banana importing during the mid-nineteenth century by American entrepreneurs brought small quantities of produce from independent growers in the Caribbean and Central America. In 1830, Capt. John Pearsall included fifteen hundred stalks of bananas in the cargo of the Harriet Smith.” Pearsall is credited with being the first to risk bringing a full cargo of bananas to the port of New York. These may be the bananas that James Fenimore Cooper referred to when he reported that “bananas” could be found in the New York market.

It was not until 1843 that official port records first listed bananas. That year, a commission merchant imported three hundred bunches of Cuban reds and sold the lot at twenty-five cents a finger, over two dollars apiece in today’s money. Some years later, the merchant was forced to declare bankruptcy when a shipment of three thousand bunches reached the port too ripe to sell.

By 1850, cargoes of Cuban bananas were being delivered to New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Pushcart peddlers, waiting at the dock, bought a few bunches at a time, first come, first served. But besides these occasional small shipments to East Coast ports, bananas were virtually unknown in the United States before the Civil War.

As the banana trade increased, fruit import companies were formed to purchase bananas by the shipload. In the Caribbean islands, company representatives sent messengers to interior farms telling growers that a ship would reach a certain coastal site on a given day prepared to select and purchase bananas. The bananas were transported to the coast from the interior by river, canals, rail-road, or, when these were not available, on the heads of women. The product was left to accumulate until the steamer arrived.

Development Of Habors For Transporting Bananas

At first, there were few harbors in the banana-growing areas. Ships were anchored offshore, and the fruit was loaded onto small boats by men, women, and children who waded out to them carrying each stem of bananas overhead to avoid the salt water. The full boats were poled beyond the breakers to the anchored ship, and rope nets took up the bananas. Because of the perishability of the fruit, the growers were always in a hurry to sell, and the American merchants were able to keep prices low. The merchants, in turn, faced risks of heavy losses and fierce competition during the voyage to North American ports.

United Fruit was the first to achieve a constant, year-round flow of bananas to North American cities. The company created a refrigerated distribution network comparable to meatpackers and produced a truly national market. A 1904 United Fruit Company booklet noted that “the secret of success lies in having the fruit properly grown, cut at the right time, handled without bruising, bringing it into the Northern markets before the green fruit begins to color, and then distributing it immediately to consumers with every item of expense kept at the lowest point.”

United Fruits Success

United Fruit was so successful that it was accused of monopolistic practices by the American Banana Company . An investigation was launched by the Committee on Interstate Commerce of the United States Senate in 1908. In its defense, the United Fruit Company hinged on its only advantage, which is their equipment and organization. The defense is that their systems are imperfect and competitors can come around with a better system.  They have substantial advantages, but they claim not to be a monopoly. Another corporation can own its plantations and adopt improved planting, cultivation, and handling methods.

The report to the Committee on Interstate Commerce concluded that:

“The operations of the United Fruit Company have so increased the market for bananas at all points, and have so organized the trade, that anyone introducing bananas at the seaboard finds a large independent market not at all bound to the United Fruit Company, and which is open to anyone who can deliver proper bananas at competitive prices.”

The committee accepted this argument. At most, The United Fruit Company owned 80% of the banana market. The company was not broken up due to monopolistic practices. Serious charges of monopolistic practices were again faced in the 1950s.

Banana Transportation At The Ports

Initially, workers unloaded banana ships by carrying each 100- to 150-pound fruit stems out of the holds. A cargo of 35,000 stems took 400 laborers seven to eight hours to move from the ship to waiting railroad freight cars. The men stood in a long line extending from the ship’s interior to the waiting freight cars on the dock, and each stalk would be handed from man to man until it reached the appropriate car.

In 1903, the first unloading machine was introduced in Mobile, Alabama, and then in New Orleans. A circular chain dipped canvas buckets into the hold, where longshoremen placed one stem in each bucket to be lifted to the deck. The buckets could move 2,500 stems an hour, far faster than any number of men could carry the fruit, with big savings for the fruit companies. An electrically driven conveyor system was put into operation in Galveston, Texas. These are the electrically operated fruit conveyors. This was a time before containers became the normal sight at ports. The wharf would appear in the early 1900’s to be swarming with moving bunches of bananas set on boats.

One of the problems with this new machine of a steam crane was that it was too fast for human workers and could only be run for forty minutes every hour. By 1920, the conveyors were extended to a dockside monorail trolley system to reach the waiting freight cars, and the fruit was transferred almost without human handling. The new system saved three hours per ship and displaced at least 400 jobs at a cost savings of 2.5 cents a stalk. The total annual savings were estimated not to miss the million mark greatly.

Handling Winter Weather

During winter weather, operators warmed up the fruit several degrees in the ship’s hold before unloading. They also sheltered the unloading machines with canvas canopies to protect the fruit from the cold. On the dock, automatic tally machines counted each stem. Workers load the bananas onto railroad cars and trucks. Local sales at reduced prices include damaged fruit. They also included too ripe of fruit.

Most fruit companies chartered or leased ships built in Europe from Norwegian or British owners specifically for the banana trade. In 1900, United Fruit out of Boston had thirty-six steamers built in these countries. Twenty ships worked out of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore ports. The “Southern Fleet,” so called because it carried fruit to New Orleans and Mobile. Another 21 ships operated along the Pacific coast. By 1915, United Fruit was operating a fleet of ninety-five ships. The ships had 5,000-ton capacities, carrying 40,000 bunches of bananas each trip. The invention of dried sweetened banana chips allowed for a more hardy product in winter weather.

The First Refrigerated Produce Boat

The S.S. Venus, the first refrigerated produce boat, was launched in 1903. That year, United Fruit Company imported 1¼ billion pounds of bananas from its Caribbean holdings. By 1905, banana imports reached 33 million bunches, over 3½ billion pieces of fruit, an average of 40 bananas a year for each person in the United States.

Ships Carrying Bananas And People

By 1920, United Fruit had become one of the largest enterprises in the United States, with a vertically integrated network of plantations, refrigerated steamships, and railroad cars to produce, transport, distribute, and market bananas. Besides bananas, the Great White Fleet carried passengers, mail, and other merchandise between Caribbean and North American ports. A second fleet, painted gray, operated between the Caribbean and Europe. Banana ships carried freight and mail on return trips to the Caribbean using otherwise empty cargo space. Many of these ships were equipped with comfortable passenger cabins, and the service rivaled that of the transcontinental railroads.

In 1902, over 5,500 people chose to travel on the banana boats. A 1904 publication described United Fruit’s steamship passenger service. One vessel called the “Admiral” was a steamship operated by this United Fruit and praised for being American-built. Adapted to tropical travel. They have roomy promenade decks, cool and airy, and well-ventilated staterooms on the main deck.

The dining saloon is on the main deck, opposite the engine room. Bathrooms are supplied with fresh or sea water and are at the disposal of passengers at all times. The table is set with every delicacy of the northern and tropical markets. The ships are furnished throughout with a perfect system of electric lighting and steam heating. Finally, The stewards and waiters are unremitting in their duties. Everything is done for the comfort and convenience of the passengers.

United Fruit Opens Hotels For Business And Pleasure

The company also built hotels in Jamaica and other popular destinations. United Fruit promoted tourism and established a separate passenger department featuring special tropical cruises. They published travel guides such as “A Happy Month in Jamaica” (c. 1915), in which potential tourists or armchair travelers could look at lots of black-and-white photographs and read descriptions of what to see and where to stay. Concerns about foreign travel were soothed with assurances that disembarkation at the wharf of a modern American hotel was conducted in the best American method. On landing in the Carribean, greedy native porters do not snatch our baggage and quarrel about the fees. The fare from Boston, New York, or Philadelphia to Port Antonio (including meals and berth in stateroom) was $40 one way and $75 round trip. Fares were $35 and $70 from Baltimore.

The Great White Fleets Origin For Transporting Bananas

In 1918, noters provided businessmen assurances that the accommodations and cuisine on the ships of the Great White Fleet would match the standards of their favorite club or hotel. The promoters promised businessmen that they could enjoy the freedom of the salt air, sunshine, and relaxation of a sea voyage without the petty annoyances caused by inferior quarters or service.

These assurances aimed to provide a comfortable and enjoyable experience for the businessmen traveling on the Great White Fleet. A travelogue for a “Great White Fleet Caribbean Cruise” published in 1922 gave a highly romantic account of the various ports of call including Cuba, Jamaica, Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Guatemalan. Potential customers were assured that the steamships are all specially designed for cruising in the Caribbean Sea, and while some are a little larger than others, the same high standard of service is aimed at all. They are the most expensively constructed vessels of their kind in the world. All cruise staterooms are outside and are first class only.

Not how large, but how fine, best expresses the thought dominating the construction of the ships of the Great White Fleet , a steamship service designed to meet the most exacting requirements of the traveler.

The History Of The Great White Fleet

In 1928, at the height of its success, the Great White Fleet numbered a hundred vessels and carried 70,000 passengers, 250,000 bags of mail, and 56 million stems of bananas.

Standard Fruit entered the tourist business in 1926, serving New Orleans to the Caribbean. In the early 1930s, Standard Fruit competed with United Fruit for the banana trade in Central America and the tourist trade in North America. Standard offered twelve-day cruise service to Nassau and Kingston from New York and package tours to Cuba, Mexico, and Honduras.

At the height of the Depression, United Fruit Company advertised its 30th Successful Season. Guest cruises to the West Indies and Caribbean with outdoor swimming pools and other modern shipboard facilities.Advertising cruises with superb cooking that helped make these ships famous and with adept staff.

The cost began at $125 from New York or $97.50 from New Orleans. Traveling from New York to California for $200 and $300 for the round trip was possible. Tourism dropped during the Depression years of the 1930s and came to a halt during World War II. At the end of the war, United Fruit moved the basis of its operations from the Caribbean to the Pacific coast of Central America. They expected the company to contiue to accomodate passengers. This is despite the Great White Fleets unofficial motto. He said, “Every banana a guest, every passenger a pest.”

Advances In Technology In Transporting Bananas

Beginning in the 188os, technical advances in steamships, railroads, and refrigeration made it possible to transport perishable tropical merchandise such as bananas to all parts of North America. North America developed a nationwide network of railroads after the Civil War. This railroad network empowered farmers to transport their crops to seaboard cities and foreign markets. This network also facilitated the distribution of foreign products, including bananas, throughout the country. The railroads played a crucial role in connecting various regions and fostering economic growth. In 1885, a weekly cookery journal noted that the American people of this generation lived better than their fathers did.

The journal pointed to the steady and rapid growth of the trade in tropical fruits as one of the best pieces of evidence supporting this observation. Not many years ago, the great majority of people scarcely knew what a banana was. They considered oranges and lemons as luxuries. They thought to only buy them in sickness or on great occasions. Now people eat these tropical fruits as generally and freely as apples. The consumption of melons, peaches, pears, plums, and berries is on the same universal and extensive scale. This change tends to gratify the taste and promote health, which is the foundation of human happiness and is advantageous to everybody. Such are the facilities for rapid and safe communication from distant points that the world lays her tribute of sweet and sound fruits at the door of the enlightened nations.

Selling Billions Of Pounds Of Bananas

To sell billions of pounds of bananas to the people of the United States, the fruit companies had to establish wholesale and retail networks to move the fruit to the consumer. Profits lay in inefficient distribution, sales, and the total volume of fruit sold.

Farmers carefully harvest bananas. They wait for full development in the bananas. This is to withstand a journey of five to eighteen days before ripening to a yellow color with brownish flecks. Skilled individuals assess each banana’s condition during harvesting, ensuring that it meets the criteria for successful transportation.

In the initial stages of banana transportation, workers hung the stems in tiers, installs, or boxes constructed of slats in the between-decks of steamers. They provided the optimal environment for air circulation. Later steamships with refrigerated holds kept the cargo at a temperature of 57°F to prevent the fruit from ripening too quickly on the voyage.

New Orleans As A Major Port In Banana Transportation

New Orleans was a logical port for the banana trade. It was the closest major American port to the Caribbean and the hub of an expanding railroad network that ran up the Mississippi River. A large market developed in the growing Midwestern cities and towns at the turn of the century. By 1905, New Orleans was the largest fruit-importing port in the world, distributing more than nine million stems of bananas by rail to the cities in the interior of the United States.

The first ventilated railroad car for transporting fruit resembled a large cage with iron bars, on the theory that the more ventilation, the better the fruit would “carry.” The Armour meatpacking company designed an improved slat-sided freight car. They made it quickly gained adoption for banana transport. In 1910, they dispatched over 60,000 freight cars, each containing 500 bunches, throughout the United States.

 The Fruit Dispatch Company claimed it was the first to ship bananas under ice successfully. Responding to the refusal of storekeepers in certain sections of the country to handle bananas during the summer months, researchers undertook an experiment. The goal was to address the risk in transit and the storekeepers’ inability to sell the fruit without significant losses. The results of the experiment provided valuable insights into improving banana transportation and storage. By 1920, all companies had adopted ice to cool banana freight cars, and in the warm months of 1923, the southern division of the Fruit Dispatch Company alone used 29,731 tons of ice.

Freight In The Banana Business

One of the beauties of the banana business was that the freight moved inland from the port cities in the opposite direction to the bulk of other railroad traffic, making economical use of freight cars.

Banana trains comprised twenty to one hundred cars and maintained fast schedules. 49 In 1927, it took 55 hours for bananas to travel from New Orleans to Chicago, 88 hours to Minneapolis, 184 hours to Seattle, and 208 hours (nearly nine days) to Vancouver. They shipped the fruit to Cleveland, Detroit, and Toronto in about 36 hours. They shipped fruit from New York and Philadelphia ports.

The main line from New Orleans ran along the Mississippi River to Fulton, Kentucky, where five railroad lines met. Fulton became known as the Banana Capital of the World. At first, the Fruit Dispatch Company and other import companies sent “messengers,” often Italian, with each train to look after the perishable freight. Their job was to inspect cars and test the temperature of sample fruit by sticking thermometers into random bananas.

Weather Influence On Trade

According to the weather and condition, operators could ice the cars, heat them, or adjust the ventilation slats. By 1923, the company stationed resident messengers at strategic divisional and junction points. This was along the route, such as Fulton, Dubuque, Iowa, and Mounds, Illinois. They dispatched boxcars north, east, and west. Messengers and the men stationed at strategic checkpoints also reported. They reported to each other on existing and predicted weather conditions along the route.

Ice companies in New Orleans and at stops along the way supplied large blocks of ice. They inserted them into compartments at either end of the railroad cars during hot weather. The ice racks were elevated to prevent over-refrigeration of the bottom layers of fruit. Standard Fruit managed to buy up most of the ice plants in New Or-leans after 1915. Its President Joseph Vaccaro became known as the “Ice King.”

During cold months, workers papered the boxcars at the bulkheads and doorways, while also using straw to protect the fruit. To add an extra layer of precaution, one could use kerosene, oil, or charcoal heaters to warm the cars. In the northern ports, workers heated banana boxcars before loading them. In particularly cold weather, workers heated them again after loading the banana boxcars before sending them on their way. There were several large heating plants, one located at Rouses Point, New York, for shipments to Canada, one at Mounds, Illinois, and another at Dubuque, Iowa. The facilities in Illinois and Iowa were for shipments from southern ports heading north and northwest.

The Largest Freight Cars Built

The plant at Mounds was the largest and could handle seventy-two freight cars at one time. A large cooling and heating plant in Springfield, Missouri, built by the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad Company, consisted of four tracks inside a shed. Each track could hold ten freight cars. Large air ducts crossed the roof of the shed, and canvas tubes carried warm or cool air into one end of the freight car and took it out at the other after passing through the fruit. Another peril of the shipping business was constantly changing regulations concerning disease in southern U.S. cities.

During a 1905 yellow fever epidemic that swept the ports of the Gulf Coast, the population faced significant challenges. New Orleans lost 452 lives. The widespread impact of the tragedy affected communities beyond New Orleans. Authorities imposed quarantines against ships from the tropics, often without notice, requiring a fifteen-day fumigation period. Dumping spoiled perishable produce, such as bananas, into the Mississippi River was particularly challenging during this time.

The public blamed epidemics on the fruit industry with its ties to the tropics. Specifically the Italians working on the ships and on the railroads in the United States. In the 1905 epidemic, the port of New Orleans refused to allow bananas to enter or leave the city.

Montgomery, Alabama, prohibited the entry of all bananas until frost. The town of Mounds, Illinois, asked the state board of health to prohibit the passage of banana trains.  They feared that the messengers would infect them with yellow fever. Once the epidemic ended, the banana trade returned to normal.

Banana Supply Makes A Change In Transporting Bananas

During the 1920s and 1930s, shipping companies supplied the banana market in the western United States. They accomplished this by navigating ships through the Panama Canal and sailing to ports along the West Coast. This cut transportation time significantly from the six- to nine-day train trip to the West Coast from the port of New Orleans. Standard Fruit plantations in Mexico served the southwest by railway until labor unrest forced the company out of the country. Direct shipments to Canadian ports in the 1930s also cut some of the banana traffic in the United States. In the summer months, bananas spread beyond the Arctic Circle.

After World War I, Americans began to demand better roads for the ever-increasing number of automobiles and trucks. Trucks had proven their worth during the war in Europe but needed an extensive system of paved roads. In 1921, Congress passed the Federal Highway Act, providing federal aid for state roads. In 1923, the Bureau of Public Roads began to plan a national highway system. By 1930, efficient truck services to small towns had first supplemented. This was ultimately supplanted the railway system in the United States.

The Origin Of Trucking For Bananas

Trucking began to affect a wide range of American life. It affected manufacturing plant locations to eating habits. More transport firms appeared to deliver goods to the expanding consumer-oriented society motivated by advertising. Truck routes could efficiently serve towns unserved by railroads. Bananas found their way into shops and stores even in small villages nationwide.

During the 1920s, authorities slowly expanded the road system. They haulted construction during the Depression until the authorization of the Works Progress Administration in 1935. Between 1935 and 1943, the WA was responsible for building over 650,000 miles of highways, streets, and roads. With the expansion of the road system, trucks began to compete with the railroads in regional and national markets. They changed distribution patterns, upset established markets, and opened new venues. Trucking, estimated to have brought the final 10 percent of the population with the national economy. This played a crucial role during this period. The extensive reach of trucking networks now connects these individuals. Major railroad arteries had previously isolated them.

Trucking Overtakes Rail For Banana Transportation

Refrigerated trucks began to compete with railroads for the banana business in the 1940s. Initially, grass and sawdust insulated trucks while barrels of water and ice cooled them. The refrigeration technology improved with the adoption of dry ice and later mechanical devices. One entrepreneur, Everett Lawrence, built up a fleet of thirty-four trucks to haul bananas. He hauled them to Midwestern markets previously supplied by rail. Trucking the fruit cost about half as much as by rail in the early 1950s. With this, the railroad banana freight business began to decline.

The Highway Act of 1956 dealt a severe blow to the railroads. The law resulted in constructing a 41,000-mile interstate highway system to assist commerce. This network connected all the country’s major cities and important industrial areas. It was fed by county, state, and national highways and provided a much more complete system than the railroads. Dried banana chips make shipping even easier.

Another advantage of truck transportation was that truckers charged flat rates. This was with no extra charges for loading, unloading, or refrigerating cargo. Railroads offered these services and arranged to cart small shipments to retail stores but charged extra for these services. Not all trucking was cheaper than rail transportation. The savings in time and the reduction in handling perishable goods often offset higher rates.

By the 1970s, fruit companies had largely abandoned freight trains. This is in favor of refrigerated tractor-trailer trucks to transport bananas to every hamlet and corner store in America.

Blog assisted by rzwilliams.com

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Probably not, says a new study that shows most hitchhiking arachnids are harmless.

Fruit shipped from afar sometimes arrives with an unwelcome bonus: a large, scary-looking spider.

The arachnids, which hide among bunches of bananas and other fruit shipped from South America to the United States and the United Kingdom, can frighten the daylights out of unsuspecting humans.

Reactions can be extreme: Schools have closed . Homes have been evacuated ( again and again ). Grocery stores have pulled whole shipments of produce , as occurred in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 2013.

This is because people can be quick to assume the stowaways are Brazilian wandering spiders, dangerous South American arachnids with a reputation for being fast, aggressive, and highly toxic (the name of their genus, Phoneutria , means murderess in Greek). (See " 7 Bug and Spider Myths Squashed .")

Sometimes, that might be true. But often, the hitchhiking spiders are harmless—victims of a case of mistaken identity, says arachnologist Rick Vetter , now retired from the University of California, Riverside.

Suspecting that wandering spiders rarely go to North America in a fruit basket, Vetter set out in 2006 to determine which spiders are really bumming rides across the Equator.

He searched the scientific literature and asked a fruit importer to report any incidences of spiders turning up in shipments. Then he spent the next eight years identifying who the international stowaways actually were, results that will appear soon in the Journal of Medical Entomology .

In total, Vetter tallied 135 spider hitchhikers, only seven of which were Phoneutria.

National Geographic spoke with Vetter about the most common banana-riding spiders and why it's important to clear up these misconceptions.

Which spiders do you tend to see most commonly in fruit shipments coming to North America?

The main ones are the pantropical huntsman spiders ( Heteropoda venatoria )—big, leggy beasts, very attractive—they're the ones with the white moustache. They're found all over the world in tropical areas. Ecuador is where they're coming from in bananas a lot. And the red-faced banana spider ( Cupiennius chiapanensis ).

How frequently will you find a spider falling out of your bananas?

We really didn't get that many. The most I got was 15 spiders in a year. And this is from somebody who's bringing international cargo into North America. But I only got about half the spiders that people contacted the fruit importer about. (Also see " Ask Your Weird Animal Questions: What Happens If You Swallow a Spider? ")

The pantropical huntsman spider, Heteropoda venatoria, is found in many tropical regions and sometimes hitchhikes on food shipments.

What are the economic impacts of misidentifying spider species?

This has caused, and can cause, some severe economic situations. [Say] you've got $26,000 worth of bananas sitting on a ship because somebody has identified this thing as a deadly wandering spider. Or you have 20 truckloads of wicker furniture from Mexico that they are going to fumigate and then develop a personal-protection program for their employees.

So what my paper is doing is giving information to the entomologists and arachnologists so they can properly identify the spiders—and there's also information about how toxic these things are, and it should stop some of the insanity that goes on when people find a large spider in their fruits.

In terms of the spiders being found in fruit and the hyperbolic response to those discoveries, who do you think is most to blame for that? The people who are finding the spiders? The people who are misidentifying them?

It's a combination. Part of the problem is that these spiders are misidentified online. They'll have a picture that they say is a wandering spider, but it's a photo of the red-faced spider, which is harmless. ( See a video of the world's biggest spider .)

And then there's the psychology: If there are two ways you can go with something—something that's harmless, or something that's potentially dangerous—people always go down the dangerous route. Which may be a survival instinct. Maybe it's better to take something as dangerous, even if it's harmless, than to figure it's harmless when it's dangerous.

Why do you think people choose the thing that is scary versus the thing that is not?

It's much more exciting to say, "I found a deadly, toxic spider!" than to say, "I found something that's harmless."

I was giving a talk and said to the audience, "If you get a bacterial infection, do you tell anyone about it? No. But if you think you have a brown recluse bite , you tell everybody! You put it in your Christmas letter." (See " Why Did Thousands of Venomous Spiders Swarm a House? ")

After the talk, I was in the lobby, and a guy comes up and he says, "We thought my wife was bitten by a brown recluse ... and you're right, we did put it in our Christmas letter."

Follow Nadia Drake on Twitter .

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A Perfect Southeast Asia Itinerary – 3 Months on the Banana Pancake Trail

The perfect Southeast Asia itinerary for 3 months of backpacking and travel is a tough trip to plan as the “perfect” route highly dependent on you, your tastes, and what you enjoy most in your travel experiences. 

With so many countries, so many options for proceeding through them, and so many sites and experiences that you absolutely must experience, it can be a pain crafting your perfect trip . Trust me; I know what you’re feeling.  During my first trip through Southeast Asia, I pretty much just wandered with no timeline, experiencing each place as it came and deciding the next city of my trip just a couple days before departure.  Though this is a wonderful way to travel, not everyone has an unlimited amount of time to wander the way I did.    Of course, we all still want to experience Asia’s best, even with limited timelines .

Lucky for you, I discovered all of the highlights of Southeast Asia not to be missed.  With this perected Southeast Asia Itinerary 3 Months will be more than enough to discover the best of Southeast Asia. These highlights add up to a list of unique experiences suited to specific “types” of travelers (street food, surfing, trekking, partying, safaris, motorbiking, etc.) and patched them together into a “create your own adventure” itinerary.

Don’t fret about creating that perfect SEA backpacking trip.  In this post, we’ll share the perfect core itinerary for backpacking Southeast Asia for three months. We’ll then share how to adapt the perfect Southeast itinerary to your specific tastes by recommending a couple of extra countries focused on specific adventures and experiences.  The result – the perfect Southeast Asia travel itinerary for you .

MY EXPERIENCE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA ON THE BANANA PANCAKE TRAIL

Three years ago, I quit my job, packed my things, and set out to treat myself to a year of discovery wandering the world.  Though I had already been to the Middle East, South America, and Europe, a close friend still recommended Southeast Asia and, what he called, the “Banana Pancake Trail” as the best starter for travel around the world.

He was absolutely right.

At his recommendation, I booked a one-way flight to Thailand and a rough plan to travel to the Thai islands and find a deserted beach with a beach hut to gather myself for the trip to come.  However, the beauty of experiencing Southeast Asia is that the “Banana Pancake Trail” already has a plan for you.

By the end of my first night in Bangkok (where I first arrived), my plan for Southeast Asia had been scrapped, I found a travel buddy, and the adventures were in full swing.

The following day, we decided to go to the north’s Chiang Mai hill country, exploring and wandering as our crew grew from 2 members to 10.  The adventures that followed over the next four months were more than I could have planned, asked for, or dreamed.

The Banana Pancake trail’s momentum took us tasting, exploring, and partying with like-minded travelers in Thailand.  We continued to experience history, culture, and adventure in Vietnam.  Surprisingly, Vietnam turned out to be one of the richest destinations of all my travels, suitable for any age.  We continued by cruising the Ho Chi Minh trail by motorbike “moto-packing” on 125cc Vietnam and made motorcycles up to China and down through Laos, ultimately experiencing places that hadn’t seen people like us in decades.  Through Cambodia, we continued exploring ancient kingdoms and Asian castles that are rightly called “wonders of the world.” 

Then, we all parted ways, but my adventure continued.

I trekked to floating cities and wandered through lost kingdoms and thousands of Pagodas in Myanmar.  I trekked alone to the highest mountain in the world, Everest, in the peaceful quiet of Nepal.  I shared bananas with a wild elephant alone in Sri Lanka. I tackled fears and surfed waves taller than me in Bali. And I swam with giants, diving breathlessly below whale sharks in the Philippines.

All of this happened with no plan, with ease, and on a budget.

My experience was genuine but far from uncommon for backpackers on the Banana Pancake Trail.

I highly recommend the experience.

After al of this firsthand experience bouncing around the best of Asia, how long is the perfect Southeast Asia Itinerary? 3 Months.  Yup.  You guessed it.

Now that we have your interest let’s explore how you, too, can experience the Banana Pancake Trail with this Southeast Asia Itinerary for three months of mind-blowing travel and experiences.

THE “ADVENTURE FIRST” SOUTHEAST ASIA ITINERARY FOR 3 MONTHS

To maximize your enojoyment and experience, here is a Southeast itinerary for 3 months that will help you see more than you ever thought possible.  This itinerary helps you start with adventures and end with countries specific to your favorite travel experiences.

• Weeks 1 to 3: Vietnam
• Weeks 4 to 5: Laos 
• Week 6: Cambodia
• Weeks 7 to 9: Thailand
• Weeks 10 and 11: Additional Country #1
• Weeks 12 and 13: Additional Country #2
• Additional Countries Recommended: Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bali (Indonesia), The Philippines, Nepal

WHAT IS THE “ADVENTURE FIRST” ITINERARY, AND WHY SHOULD YOU DO IT?

The first itinerary starts you off in Vietnam, arguably the new hotspot for backpacking (dethroning Thailand). Thailand’s long north to south stretch of traveler trail is filled with likeminded backpackers and travelers that are bussing and “moto-packing” between cities to hike, climb, party, and explore in a very adventurous way.

Followed up Vietnam with even more rural and adventurous Laos for jungle trekking and outdoor adventures, and your trip will be front-loaded with adventurous memories.

Then, proceeded through the more relaxed and slower-paced Cambodia sites on to the beaches, rice fields, and street food experiences of Thailand before moving on to the “name your own adventure” portion of your itinerary.

THE “PLEASURE FIRST” SOUTHEAST ASIA ITINERARY FOR 3 MONTHS

For those that need to start their travels with a chance to recharge and refresh, this itinerary for three months in Southeast Asia takes you through the peaceful pleasures of the Banana Pancake Trail before introducing its adventures.

• Weeks 1 to 3: Thailand
• Weeks 6 to 8: Vietnam
• Week 9: Cambodia

WHAT IS THE “PLEASURE FIRST” ITINERARY, AND WHY SHOULD YOU DO IT?

Thailand is renowned for its beaches, street food, traditional Thai massages, and how easily new travelers can experience the country.  If you’re escaping the world and need to “decompress” to get yourself into the travel mood, “the Thailand first itinerary” is the one you want to roll with.

Thailand is the original backpacker paradise offering a slower-paced experience (if you want it to be) with all of its highlights catering to the senses and enjoyment.  In Bangkok, street food and traditional Thai massage rejuvenate you and awaken the senses.  In the northern portion of the itinerary, in Chiang Mai and Pai, temples, rice fields, and pleasant company pull you into a state of peace.

In the southern portion of the Thailand itinerary, the beautiful beaches and countless islands keep you in that state of pleasure and relaxation with the option of all-night parties with fellow travelers.

If the idea of a cottage on the beach or serene rice field is exactly what you need right now, start with Thailand first, continue through Laos, on to the adventures of Vietnam and the ruins and history of Cambodia.  Finally, end your itinerary with one or two of the “additional countries” listed below that speaks to your unique travel tastes.

THE “OTHER COUNTRIES” I RECOMMEND IN SOUTH ASIA

The four core countries on the “Banana Pancake Trail,” Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos , are all amazing experiences that nearly any traveler can appreciate.  However, there is beauty, pleasure, and adventure strewn across Southeast Asia to experience far beyond just these four countries.

Of the seven “optional countries” in South Asia, I recommend adding on at least one or two to the end of your trip.  Each of these extra countries has an irreplaceable theme or experience that perfectly fits a certain type of travel urge.

The five additional countries to consider adding to your Southeast Asia backpacking trip are:

• Myanmar : Remnants of an ancient empire with thousands of temples and lake treks in the backdrop of a recently opened country
• Sri Lanka : The Garden of Eden, wild animals, ruins of ancient kingdoms, hiking, and surfing for all levels
• Bali, Indonesia : A true paradise with rice fields, beaches, hipster backpacker havens and a spiritual backdrop
• The Philippines : A true water world of those of islands and the most pristine water and beaches I’ve ever seen – perfect for divers, free divers, snorkelers, and water children
• Nepal : A mecca for trekking, rural mountain cultures (Sherpa) and home to the tallest mountain in the world

SOUTHEAST ASIA HIGHLIGHTS NOT TO BE MISSED

As you adapt this itinerary for your travel preferences, spend more time in places that offer what you love and don’t be scared to skip places that don’t offer anything that interests you.  Your time and money is precious, treat it as such.

Lucky for us, and planning, each country in Southeast Asia naturally has a specific theme, experience, or adventure that it offers better than any other destination in the world.  Use the list of SE Asia highlights

SOUTHEAST ASIA HIGHLIGHT EXPERIENCES + WHERE TO FIND THEM

• Street Food: Thailand, Vietnam
• Ancient Cities and Ancient Ruins: Angkor Wat (Cambodia), Pagan (Myanmar), Polonnaruwa (Sri Lanka)
• Animal Experiences: Sri Lanka
• Diving Adventures: Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand
• Surf Adventures: Bali, Sri Lanka
• Trekking: Nepal, Myanmar, Indonesia
• Wild Motorbiking Adventures: Vietnam, Laos – mini-adventures in Thailand and Bali
• Wild Outdoor and Rural Experiences: Laos

WHY IS THE BANANA PANCAKE TRAIL A PERFECT TRAVEL ADVENTURE?

This route through southeast asia offers every sight, taste, and experience you want from a good travel adventure, all for cheap and easily navigated..

There are many other backpacking routes through the world:

• The Gringo Trail **
• The Balkan Walk **
• The Arabian Trail **
• and more…

However, the Banana Pancake Trail through Southeast Asia is one of the best, cheapest, and easiest, making it perfect for first-time travelers.

THE BANANA PANCAKE TRAIL IN SOUTHEAST ASIA IS THE BEST FOR NEW AND BUDGET TRAVELERS.  HERE’S WHY…

Wherever you travel to in Southeast Asia you’ll always find these amazing benefits:

• Cheap Cost of Travel
• Great Travel Infrastructure
• Variety in the Adventures
• Several exotic cultures in an easily navigated experience
• Fantastic Food Experiences
• Boundless pleasures suitable for all types of travelers

Cheap Cost of Travel: $15 to $35 per day, with cheap intercity/intercountry buses and budget airlines

Great Travel Infrastructure: From the cheap yet extremely comfortable hostels to the easily and cheaply booked buses, rail, and trains, navigating Southeast Asia on a budget is very easy and convenient

Variety in the Adventures: Day trips by boat, motorbiking around an entire country, swimming in empty bays with glowing plankton, trekking, food adventures, diving, surfing, and so much more.  Few other regions of the world offer such a variety of adventures in such a small area for such a low price.

Several exotic cultures in an easily navigated experience: Though westerners may think of Southeast Asian countries as all the same, each country on “the trail” has its own very unique culture and highlight experience.   This variety accents the overall travel experience and opens the mind, all presented in a way that isn’t too shocking for even newbie travelers.

Food Experiences: Southeast Asia – specifically Thailand – has one of the most robust food scenes globally.  The street food scene of Thailand boasts food carts with Michelin stars, and Bali is the peak of “hipster fusion,” creating an adventure within an adventure for foodies on the road.

Pleasures: From traditional massages to the most beautiful beaches in the world with sunsets on beanbags with coconuts, in Southeast Asia, there is always a new (or old reliable) pleasure around the corner to soothe the senses

THE PERFECT SOUTHEAST ASIA ITINERARY FOR 3 MONTHS

The beauty of the Banana Pancake trail, for old and new travelers alike, is how well the tourism and travel infrastructure is built out and well defined the “highlights” are for each location.

Thanks to this well defined and supported travel route, choosing the right cities to visit – that deliver experiences worth your precious time and energy – traveling between them are easy.

The following itinerary of countries and cities hits the irreplaceable highlights of the region. It flows in such a way that you will be able to cheaply and easily travel to your next stop while bumping into familiar friends along the way.

Note: This itinerary is the “Adventure First” itinerary.  To prioritize relaxation and pleasure, make the same city stops, but placing Thailand first

OVERVIEW OF THE PERFECT BANANA PANCAKE TRAIL ITINERARY

1.     vietnam (3 weeks).

• Ho Chi Minh City (2 Days): A big, bustling city with 3 centuries-old – Essential Ho Chi Minh City Experiences –   Ben Thanh Market , touring the Cu Chi Tunnels from the Vietnam War, city tour by motorbike** , free walking tour**, countryside bike tour
• Dalat (2 Days): Vietnam’s city of eternal spring with amazing architecture and a mountain backdrop – Essential Dalat Experiences – Canyoning tour, a coffee experience with a trip to a plantation and several cafes, “chase clouds” in Trai Mat, visit Truc Lam Buddhist Temple, visit Elephant Waterfall, visit Maze Bar Dalat (100 roofs café).
• Da Nang (1-2 Days): Another big city offering typical tourist delights – Essential Experiences – Visit Ba Na Hill & Golden bridge, ride the dragon bridge by motorbike, explore the nightlife, and plenty of great restaurants
• Motorbike the Hai Van Pass from Da Nang to Hoi An (2-hour ride): A straight of coastal mountain highway with beautiful, peaceful ocean views for the entire stretch, perfect for two-wheeled adventures and open-air Jeeps
• Hoi An (2 Days): A beautiful UNESCO World Heritage City and one of the most well-preserved Southeast Asia trading ports dating back to the 1400s. Hanoi artfully blends local and foreign influences into architecture, food, and experience – Essential Experiences – Hoi An Central Market, wander Hoi An Old Town, plenty of food adventures, walking across “Japanese Bridge,” get some tailor-made suits or clothes for fun, take a cooking class, grab a beer by the Thu Bon River on itty bitty plastic chairs, motorbike to the Marble Mountains, Hoi An Night Market
• Hanoi (3 Days): Charming and heavily influenced by French architecture and food.  Wonderful for relaxing while being a gateway to the more beautiful north of Vietnam – Essential Experiences – Hanoi Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem Lake + Legend, St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Hanoi Hilton tour (Hoa Lo Prison) Pho, Egg coffee at Café Pho Co overlooking the legendary Hoan Kiem lake, street food tour, shop for potentially counterfeit outdoor and adventure gear/clothing (“Made In Vietnam” store), Phung Hung Mural Street, Dong Xuan Market
• Essential Side Trips from Hanoi: Ha Long Bay (2 Days), Sapa (2 days), Ha Giang Loop (4 Days),  Ba Be (2 Days), Ninh Binh

TIP: From here on the Vietnam itinerary, continue on to northern Vietnam as the often skipped north has what I would argue to be the most beautiful landscapes and experiences in Vietnam

2.      LAOS (2 WEEKS)

• Luang Prabang (3 Days): Kuang Si Waterfalls, countless Buddhist temples, 
• Vang Vieng (3 Days): Tubing or kayaking the Nan Song River (with booze and friends), dense jungle day hikes – both of these are only possible outside of monsoon season
• Vientiane (3 Days): Sunset by the river with the evening market and experiencing Laos local life, visit the COPE Center (Vietnam War in Laos history)
• Optional: “Don Det” 4000 Islands in Si Phan Don (if traveling by motorbike to Cambodia): to float, wander, and relax
• Optional: Motorbike Thakek Loop en route to 4000 Islands
• Optional: Gibbon Experience** ziplining through the jungle canopy in Nam Kan National park

3.      CAMBODIA (1 WEEK)

• Phnom Penh (1 Day): S-21 Genocide Museum, shoot big guns, temples (Wat Phnom), a river cruise on the Mekong
• Siem Reap/Angkor Wat (2 Days): Angkor Wat by tuk tuk at sunrise, night market experiences of The Lane + Pub Street
• Optional (2-3 Days): Sihanoukville to Koh Rong and Koh Ron Samleon island for beautiful beaches and phosphorescent plankton
• Optional – Kampot: A low key town where backpackers enjoy riverside cocktails and food, rent scooters to cruise the hills nearby

4.      THAILAND (3 WEEKS)

• Chiang Mai (3 Days):   Walking tour of Old Town Chiang Mai, Temples, Old Town and Nimman Street Food Night Markets, Thai Massags, a Thai cooking class,
• Pai (2-3 Days): Cruise the hills of Pai by motorbike, and hike a beautiful Pai Canyon hike by sunset. cave tours. By Street food at the Pai Night Market by night
• Bangkok (3 to 5 Days): Party on Khao San Road, street food, Bangkok floating market, Chao Praya River area and ancient royal district, the Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Wat Pho temple
• Krabi / Railay (3 Days): Railay Beach, the towering Tiger Cave Temple (+1,237 steps), Soi RCA, Ao Nang Night Market & street food, Emerald Pool and hot spring  waterfalls, jungle trek through Khao Sak National Park, cave swingat Hollow Mountain
• Ko Phi Phi (2-3 Days): Maya bay day trip, boat tour between the islands, lots of beach time, or consider Ko Lanta for a more peaceful experience as Ko Phi Phi tends to be a party island
• Koh Tao (2-3 Days): Motorbike, cruise, and snorkel between beaches, SCUBA dive certification, Ko Tao pub crawl, sunset at Mango Bay, Love Koh Tao Viewpoint Café for coffee.
• Ko Pha Ngan (2-3 Days): Full Moon Party ( Full Moon Party calendar here for 2020 + 2021 ), half-moon beach party, wander between beaches andwaterfalls,

5. ADDITIONAL COUNTRY OF YOUR CHOOSING #1 (2 WEEKS)

Choose an additional country specializing in something you love, based on our list of additional recommended countries .  Choose two shorter ones, or just one country if a 3+ weeks itinerary is required.

6. ADDITIONAL COUNTRY OF YOUR CHOOSING #2 (2 WEEKS)

Choose a second additional country that specializes in something you love, based on our list of additional recommended countries

A Tip on itineraries: Prioritize the sites and adventures that are “musts” for you, and from there, don’t stick to a strict itinerary abiding by the days recommended.  Stay in each city as long as you’re vibing with that particular city. Don’t feel pressured to book accommodations, transport, or excursions far in advance as there will likely always be a suitable option available.  Leaving that room for flexibility in your adventures is invaluable.

A Note on “Days per Destination” in this itinerary: Each destination has a 2 to 3-day buffer, allowing you to stay longer if you are enjoying a place more than normal.  On the other hand, if you arrive in a place and you’ve either 1) quickly completed all of the experiences or 2) simply don’t like it, I highly recommend proceeding onward to create extra time for your favorite places that pop up in the itinerary.

THE PERFECT SOUTHEAST ASIA ITINERARY FOR 3 MONTHS IN-DEPTH

• Vietnam (3 Weeks)
• Laos (2 Weeks )
• Cambodia (1 Week)
• Thailand (3 Weeks)
• Additional Countries 1 and 2 (We offer our favorite suggestions below)

VIETNAM ITINERARY FOR 3 WEEKS

Vietnam is a cheap, beautiful, and adventure packed country that is arguably the best place in Southeast Asia for backpackers – old and new. 

Whereas Thailand was once the “go-to” Southeast Asia travel destination, Vietnam is now single easiest, most entertaining, and most economical destination in SEA. 

THE TOP 5 REASONS WHY VIETNAM IS AN EXCELLENT DESTINATION:

• A deep, unadulterated cultural experience: food, experiencing Vietnamese daily life, and finding tourist-free locales
• Amazing adventure opportunities : Motorbiking the entire country, canyoning, trekking
• Amazing beauty and landscapes: “Floating islands”, Patagonia-esque mountains, beautiful beaches, jungles, canyons, rice fields and more
• Making new backpacker friends on the backpacker trail is insanely easy
• Great transportation infrastructure makes getting around easy and cheap and tons of cheap yet comfortable lodging in every city (~$5 to ~$25 USD per night) keep travel cheap

VIETNAM HIGHLIGHTS

• Motorbiking the length of the country, the Ha Giang Loop, and the Ho Chi Minh Trail
• The Hanoi experience: Heavy French influence in Asia
• Beautiful Northern hill country: rice fields, amazing views, and a great cultural experience (Sapa & North)
• Ha Long Bay and the “Castaway” experience
• Plenty of friendly backpackers and travelers to befriend

 OVERALL RATING FOR VIETNAM

• Tourist Rating: 8/10 – Something for everyone and travel options to fit all tastes
• Adventure Rating: 9/10 – Motorbiking, trekking, and adventure sports to fit all types
• Backpacker Travel Rating: 9/10 – Cheap, fun, social, and easy to travel. The new “it’” destination

 THE VIETNAM ITINERARY: 3 WEEKS

With this near perfect Vietnam itinerary, 3 weeks will be enough to experience the best and most unique of Vietnam while experiencing the food, culture, amazing landscapes, and adventures you’ll find few other places in the world

• Ho Chi Minh City (2 Days)
• Dalat (2 Days)
• Da Nang (1-2 Days)
• Motorbike the Hai Van Pass from Da Nang to Hoi An (2 Hours)
• Hoi An (2 Days)
• Hanoi (3 Days)
• Ha Long Bay (2 Days) or Ha Long Bay Castaway Experience (2 Days)
• Sapa tour and ricefields trek (2 Days)
• Ha Giang Loop – solo by motorbike or via tour (4 Days)
• Ba Be National Park (2 Days)

HO CHI MINH CITY (2 DAYS )

The capital of Vietnam is big and bustling but proceed quickly to other, better adventures throughout Vietnam

TOP EXPERIENCES IN HO CHI MINH CITY

• 3 centuries-old Ben Thanh Market
• touring the Cu Chi Tunnels from the Vietnam War
• City tour by motorbike: Bookable through most hostels
• One of the many free walking tours in Ho Chi Minh City
• countryside bike tour

WHERE TO STAY IN HO CHI MINH CITY

• Hideout Hostel
• Airbnb for a more private yet economical option

DALAT (2 DAYS)

Vietnam’s city of eternal spring with amazing architecture and a mountain backdrop

TOP EXPERIENCES IN DALAT

• Canyoning tour
• coffee experience with a trip to a plantation and several cafes
• “chase clouds” in Trai Mat
• visit Truc Lam Buddhist Temple
• visit Elephant Waterfall
• visit Maze Bar Dalat (100 roofs café)

WHERE TO STAY IN DALAT

• Pretty Backpacker House
• Tigon Dalat Hostel

DA NANG (1-2 DAYS)

Another big city on the Vietnam adventure trails that offers typical tourist delights

TOP EXPERIENCES DA NANG

• Visit Ba Na Hill & Golden bridge
• Ride the dragon bridge by motorbike
• Explore the nightlife
• Plenty of great restaurants.

MOTORBIKE THE HAI VAN PASS FROM DA NANG TO HOI AN (2-HOUR RIDE):

The “Hai-Van Pass” is an epically beautiful stretch of coastal mountain highway between Hoi An and Da Nang. The entire stretch of peaceful ocean views is perfect for motorbiking adventures and open-air Jeep tours from Hoi .

How to ride the Hai Van Pass: Arrange rental of a motorbike to cruise at your own pace from Hoi An to Da Nang and arrange transport of your bags to be taken separately by car.  The scooter/motorbike rental will be for a one way trip and the provider should be able to arrange delivery of your bags. Ask your hostel/hotel staff for motorbike rental recommendations – they will be the best source of information for the adventure.

HOI AN (2 DAYS)

A beautiful UNESCO World Heritage City recognized as being one of the most well-preserved Southeast Asia trading ports dating back to the 1400s, artfully blending local and foreign influences into architecture, food, and experience

TOP EXPERIENCES HOI AN

• Hoi An Central Market
• Hoi An Old Town
• Plenty of food adventures,
• Japanese Bridge
• Getting a tailor-made suits or clothes for fun with wacky prints
• Vietnamese cooking class for Hoi-An specific cusisine
• Grabbing a beer by the Thu Bon River on itty bitty plastic chairs
• Motorbiking to the Marble Mountains
• Hoi An Night Market

WHAT TO EAT AND WHERE

• Grab Bánh mì at Banh Mi Phuong, recommended by Anthony Bourdain
• Pork buns, Bahn Xeo

WHERE TO STAY

• Vietnam Backpackers Hoi An : A resort-like hostel tucked into an artistically remodeled historic building

HANOI (3 DAYS)

A charming city despite its size, heavily influenced by French architecture and food.  Wonderful for relaxing exploration while being a gateway to the more beautiful north of Vietnam

TOP EXPERIENCES HANOI

• Hanoi Old Quarter
• Hoan Kiem Lake + Legend
• St. Joseph’s Cathedral
• Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
• Hanoi Hilton tour (Hoa Lo Prison) Pho
• Egg coffee at Café Pho Co overlooking the legendary Hoan Kiem lake
• A street food tour
• shop for potentially counterfeit outdoor and adventure gear/clothing at one of the “Made In Vietnam” store)
• Phung Hung Mural Street
• Dong Xuan Market
• Vietnam Backpackers Central: 100% party and instant social life (book directly via the hostel’s site)
• Republik Backpackers hostel : Peace, quiet, and comfort

WHAT TO EAT

• Bun Cha, Pho

ESSENTIAL SIDE TRIPS FROM HANOI AND IN NORTHERN VIETNAM 

Recommended tours from hanoi.

• Ha Long Bay (2 Days) or Ha Long Bay Castaway Experience (recommended via Vietnam Backpackers)
• (Optional)Cat Ba Island
• (Optional) Ninh Binh

HA LONG BAY (2 DAYS)

This bay of 1,600 floating islands inspired the dreamscapes of the movie Avatar and are the best experience for a fun boat tour, allowing you to swim and kayak along the way. Consider leveling up the experience with a party heavy two-day castaway leaving you stranded on an island for an excitingly irreplaceable experience.

SAPA (2 DAYS)

This romantic mountain town is nestled in the cool north.  Experience the relaxing ambiance with a day trek (guided by locals) through the hills and rice fields, sharing history and culture along the way.

HA GIANG LOOP (4 DAYS)

Rent a motorbike and ride this four-day loop of northern Vietnam through rice fields, mountains, and to the border of China for arguably the most beautiful and authentic adventure in Vietnam.  Grab your motorbike for the trip from Style Motorbikes in Hanoi.

BA BE NATIONAL PARK (2 DAYS)

4.5 hours from Hanoi lies a peaceful escape, a national park of only bays, caves, and flooded rice paddies.  Stay at a guesthouse on the cheap and take a guided tour of the park (by boat) for an experience you can’t have anywhere else.

(**Ba Be National Park video**)

(OPTIONAL) NINH BINH

If you have extra time consider adding the beauty of Ha Long Bay’s floating islands experienced on land.

OTHER GREAT EXPERIENCES FOR ANYWHERE IN VIETNAM

• Vietnamese Coffee making class: Best in Dalat
• Vietnamese cooking class: Best in Hanoi, Hoi An, or Ho Chi Minh city
• Riding all of Vietnam by Motorbike: Buy a motorbike from a fellow backpacker for $200-$500 USD, and ride!
• Vietnam Backpacker’s “Bull Run”
• Vietnam Backpacker’s Castaway in Ha Long Bay
• Ninhvana Backpacker’s Resort in Ninh Van
• Riding the Hai Van Pass

VIETNAM IN PICTURES

BUDGETING AND COSTS IN VIETNAM

• Nice Hostel Bed per Night: $7/Night
• Hotel Room Per Night: $25/night
• Average Meal: $3
• Daily Backpacker Budget: $25/day + additional $30-$50 for each big trip

ESSENTIAL FOOD AND DRINK IN VIETNAM

• Bun Cha (Best in Hanoi)
• Egg Coffee (Best in Hanoi)
• Vietnamese Coffee
• Local beer: Made from rice, and served draught streetside at the bars with countless tiny chairs
• Banh Mi (Best everywhere, style varies by city
• Cao Lao (Best in Hoi An)
• Cha Ca (Best in Hanoi)
• Guoi Cuon (Spring Rolls)
• Bun Bo Hue (Best in Central Vietnam)

HOW TO GET AROUND VIETNAM

• From Airports: Grab Rideshare app (to avoid being ripped off by taxis)
• Between Cities: 12go.Asia or Rome2Rio for planning buses or booking shuttles through your hostel, hotel, or local travel agent kiosk
• In-Town: Byfoot is the best option for explorers, booking tour buses for adventures outside of town.  Moto taxis are great for getting around town and best booked in the Grab rideshare app or with a price agreed upon in advance
• Adventure Option – Motorbike Vietnam: Join the Vietnam Backpackers FB groups and purchase a used motorbike from a fellow backpacker for $200-$400, “moto-pack” the length of Vietnam, and resell before leaving.

VIETNAM VISA STRATEGY

Available for 1, 3, and 6 months, authorization required before arrival

• Vietnam Visa Fees: Agent fee (varies) paid in advance and stamp fee on arrival (varies)
• All visas require a visa approval letter attained prior to your arrival from a visa agent and printed to present at the airport on arrival – you won’t have the chance to print on arrival and will be turned away if you don’t have it
• Different visas are required if you fly internationally into Vietnam or cross a land border (via Cambodia, Laos, or China).  Request the correct type of Visa accordingly.
• Average Visa Agent Fees (paid in advance to private visa agent): 1 month single: $6 / person; 1 month multiple: $6 / person 3 months single entry: $15 / person ; 3 months multiple entry: $20 / person – these are in addition to stamp fees paid on arrival
• Visa Stamp Fees (paid on arrival to Vietnamese government): Bring cash (in USD or VND) as you will have to  pay for visa stamp fee (paid by yourself upon arrival at the airport: 25$ for 1 month and 3 month single entry, 50$ for 1 month multiple entry and 3 month multiple entry, 95$ for 6 months multiple entry, 135$ for 1-year multiple entry
• My Visa Agent: I used http://vietnamvisapro.com/ several times with no issues

TRAVEL INSURANCE IN VIETNAM

I highly recommend having travel insurance in Vietnam, as the motorbiking, canyoning, and off the beaten path adventures.  I recommend the following two options

• World Nomads : Higher cost, but great support and few issues filing claims
• SafetyWing : Lower cost, but sufficient to cover most all adventures in Vietnam

ESSENTIAL HEALTH TIPS FOR VIETNAM

  Consider getting a rabies booster in advance.  Carry the medications you need for most situations for a minimum of 3 days, including stomach meds as you adjust to Asia (Pepto, Immodium, etc.) and pain relievers.

WHEN TO VISIT VIETNAM

December to March during high season, when the weather is dry.

LAOS 2 WEEK ITINERARY

Laos is a rugged and often overlooked backpacking destination in Southeast Asia, but the hidden beauty, preserved culture, and numerous outdoor adventures – trekking, rafting, motorbiking, and more – make Laos a fulfilling locale for budget travelers and backpackers that love the outdoors.

HERE ARE THE TOP 5 REASONS TO TRAVEL TO LAOS

• Rural, off the beaten track feel: No matter where you go in Laos, it feels like you’re traveling back in time experiencing Asia before the Banana Pancake Trail set in
• Plenty of Outdoor Adventures: Jungle treks, floating down the river on inner tubes, and exploring limestone caves/bunkers are a few of the many adventures that we miss in urban destinations
• Laos is cheap: For travelers on a budget, Laos will be the cheapest destination on your itinerary while still providing plenty of easy travel and transport infrastructure
• Hidden history: From unexploded ordance to the history of the “Secret War”, Laos will shock you with history you likely have never heard about
• Amazing Landscapes: Top to bottom, Laos is filled with towering mountains, green jungles, and rolling hills that most westerners will only witness in pictures

OVERALL RATING FOR LAOS

• Tourist Rating: 6/10 – Not as glitzy as other SEA destinations as Laos lacks urban flare
• Adventure Rating: 9/10 – Perfect for lovers of the outdoors and adventure sports
• Backpacker Travel Rating: 9/10 – Cheap, easy to travel, and rugged enough to be charming

2 WEEK LAOS ITINERARY

If you’re backpacking SEA and want the best of everything, this 2 week Laos itinerary helps you maximize your time by hitting the quintessential experiences that you can only experience in Laos.

• Luang Prabang (3 Days)
• Vang Vieng (3 Days)
• Vientiane (3 Days)
• Optional: “Don Det” 4000 Islands in Si Phan Don (if traveling by motorbike to Cambodia)

LUANG PRABANG (3 DAYS)

Luang Prabang is an absolute highlight of adventuring through Laos.  A former French colonial town, this UNESCO world heritage site boasts an amazingly rough and southeast backdrop, monasteries and temples to explore, and countless wild adventures outside of the city

TOP EXPERIENCES IN LUANG PRABANG

• Kuang Si Waterfalls, countless Buddhist temples

VANG VIENG (3 DAYS)

A haven for wild backpackers and backpackers that love the wild outdoors, Vang Vieng is a jungle town with adventure and relaxation in equal parts.  Cheap, cozy, comfortable, and perfect for a genuine travel experience.

TOP EXPERIENCES IN VANG VIENG

• Tubing or kayaking the Nan Song River (with booze and friends), dense jungle day hikes – both of these are only possible outside of monsoon season

VIENTIANE (3 DAYS)

A big colonial French city, Vientiane is more of a “transit and resupply” location with much less charm and adventure than Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang.  Plan in this stop as simply a transit point, and use the days to wander Laos’ biggest city, eating the local (and French inspired) food, observing the architectural influence, and ending sunset on the local river walk next to the market.

TOP EXPERIENCES IN VIENTIANE

• Sunset by the river with the evening market and experiencing Laos local life, visit the COPE Center (Vietnam War in Laos history)

OPTIONAL ADVENTURES LAOS

• “Don Det” 4000 Islands in Si Phan Don (if traveling by motorbike to Cambodia) to float, wander, and relax
• Optional: Gibbon Experience** ziplining through the jungle canopy in Nam Kan National Park

LAOS IN PICTURES

BUDGETING AND COSTS IN LAOS

• Nice Hostel Bed per Night: $5
• Hotel Room Per Night: $20 – $40
• Daily Backpacker Budget: $20
• Daily Tourist Budget: $60

ESSENTIAL FOOD AND DRINK

• Larb/Laap – A meat salad served with sticky rice
• Khao Jee – Baguette Sandwich
• Khao Poon – Spicy Soup with Vermicelli Noodles and Pounded Meat
• Sai Gok – Laotian sausage, season pork served with sticky rice
• BeerLao – A local beer brewed with rice (vice grains)
• Laos Pho – Similar to Vietnamese Pho but served with flat noodles (or thin rice noodles on request) and may have beef innards (heart, liver, etc.)
• Or Lam – A Lao stew originating in Luang Prabang made with dried buffalo meat
• Sien Savanh – Laotian beef jerky
• Tam Mak Hoong – Lao papaya salad

GETTING TO LAOS

• From Vietnam by Air, fly from Hanoi into Luang Prabang, making for a smooth, one-way tour south (~$100).  Most flights from Ho Chi Minh city connect through Hanoi, making Hanoi the best departure point
• Consider leaving Hanoi to Luang Prabang from Vietnam by bus, but plan on a 25-hour bus ride.
• From Thailand, consider taking the relaxingly adventurous slow boat from Huay Xai to Pak Beng to Luang Prabang.  Travel by bus from Chiang Rai, Thailand, to the border
• BEST OPTION: Buy a motorbike in Vietnam , ride into Laos**, ride to the northern border (China), ride west into Laos, and ride south toward Vang Vieng à Luang Prabang à Vientiane.  Be sure to by a bike with the “blue card” to ensure you can make it across Laos – Vietnam border

GETTING AROUND LAOS

• Plan for roughly a day of travel (4 to 12 hours) between cities
• Minibusses between Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, and Vientiane arranged through your hostel, hotel, or local travel agency – Online bookings and route times available at 12goAsia
• Consider buying a motorbike in Laos, easiest in Vientiane for ~$150, and explore the country

VISA STRATEGY

• 30-day visa on arrival available for most nationalities at 27 entry points/border crossing. Extendable twice up to 90 days total. ($30 to $42 depending on nationality, plus passport photo) (Link: http://www.immigration.gov.la/visas.html )
• 60-day e-visa available to nationalities ineligible for the Visa on arrival and can be used to enter at the Thai-Laos friendship bridge, Wattay International Airport (Vientiane), and Luang Prabang International airport ($50) (Link: https://laoevisa.gov.la/)

PACKING ESSENTIALS

• A good backpack – roller luggage or duffel bag would make travel miserable
• A good compressible daypack as most of the adventures are less than a day’s length
• Good boots for hiking, to make the most of the exploration opportunities
• Adventure and trekking ready sandals like the Xero Trails or Chacos
• A 10L to 20L waterproof bag to keep the essentials dry in wet weather and on river floats
• Ziploc bags large and small, to keep things dry and un-muddied on the adventures
• Bug spray to start the adventures as jungles are filled with buggies

TRAVEL INSURANCE IN LAOS

Laos is an adventurous destination.  With the river floating, jungle trekking, and motorbiking experiences, travel insurance is an absolute must .  I wouldn’t consider visiting without it.  I highly recommend either World Nomads or SafetyWing as they have both been reliable on adventures and the cost is reasonable

WHEN TO VISIT LAOS

January to March in Laos is best as temperatures are manageable and the weather is drier. The Laotian monsoon season is May until October, and the dry season is from November to April.

MOVING ON FROM LAOS: GO TO CAMBODIA OR VIETNAM

Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia are all very accessible from Laos.  Plan on flying out of Vientiane to your next destination, or consider motorbiking through Laos and on through Cambodia

CAMBODIA 1 WEEK ITINERARY

OVERALL RATING FOR CAMBODIA

• Tourist Rating: 9/10 for Angkor Wat, 6/10 elsewhere
• Adventure Rating: 6/10
• Backpacker Travel Rating: 9/10 for Angkor Wat, 6/10 elsewhere
• Phnom Penh (1 Day): S-21 Genocide Museum, shoot big guns and things that go “boom,” markets (Russian Market + food stalls), temples (Wat Phnom), a river cruise on the Mekong
• Siem Reap/Angkor Wat (2 Days): Angkor Wat by tuk tuk ($25 for Tuk Tuk + $37 entry ticket) tour starting at sunrise, night market experiences of The Lane + Pub Street
• Optional (2-3 Days): Sihanoukville to Koh Rong and Koh Ron Samleon island for white sands, clear waters, and phosphorescent plankton
• Optional – Kampot: A low key town best for backpackers, enjoy riverside cocktails and food, rent a scooter for a fun half-day ride through the hills nearby

CAMBODIA IN PICTURES

BUDGETING AND COSTS IN CAMBODIA

• Hotel Room Per Night: $35
• Average Meal: $6
• Daily Budget: $25 to $70 + fees for major attractions
• Note: Siem Reap will be much more expensive than Phnom Penh, Kampot, and Koh Rong

GETTING AROUND CAMBODIA

• Plan to travel between cities by bus booked through your hostel or hotel, or at a local travel kiosk.  Aim to only travel between cities during the day due to safety risks (bandits, robberies targeting foreigners on roads between cities at night).

CAMBODIA VISA STRATEGY

e-Visa valid for 30-day stay costing $36 USD available at the Kingdom of Cambodia visa pagehttps://www.evisa.gov.kh/

PACKING ESSENTIALS FOR CAMBODIA

Fanny pack/bum bag or other means of tightly securing valuables from “run-by” bag thieves

TRAVEL INSURANCE IN CAMBODIA

Absolutely necessary! Confirm coverage includes medical evacuation

Most reputable travel insurance options will do because there are few “high risk” activities to do in Cambodia.  I highly recommend SafetyWing for budget travelers and World Nomads for travelers with larger budgets.  Due to the risk of getting sick (stomach bugs) and relatively poor medical facilities, having medical evacuation coverage with your travel insurance is highly recommended.

WHEN TO VISIT CAMBODIA

Visit during the dry season between November and May, with November to February being the coolest months. Visiting during the dry season ensures the weather will be suitable for the Angkor Wat experience. 

Cambodia’s wet season is from June to September.  Expect extreme heat (highs of ~35 Celsius, 95 Fahrenheit) between March and June

ESSENTIAL BOOKS AND MOVIES ABOUT CAMBODIA

The Killing Fields (movie)

GETTING TO CAMBODIA

Arriving in Cambodia from Vietnam, a 6-hour bus ride from Ho Chi Minh city to Phnom Penh is the best entry plan.  When arriving from anywhere else to Cambodia , an international flight into Phnom Penh or Siem Reap is the best, cheapest, most efficient option.

MOVING ON FROM CAMBODIA

Fly on to Chiang Mai or Bangkok in Thailand or to Ho Chi Minh city or Hanoi in Vietnam to continue the Banana Pancake Trail.

THAILAND 3 WEEK ITINERARY

The original “backpacker” paradise: Street food, beautiful islands, and peaceful hill country

HIGHLIGHT EXPERIENCES IN THAILAND 

• Excellent starter destination
• Street food (Bangkok and Chiang Mai Old Town)
• Bangkok backpacker experience
• Khao Sak National Park
• Hill Country and Monastaries (Chiang Mai and Pai)

LOWLIGHTS OF TRAVELING IN THAILAND

• Fading “backpacker” vibe, as prices rise and heavy tourism takes over

OVERALL RATING FOR THAILAND

• Tourist Rating: 9/10
• Adventure Rating: 9/10
• Backpacker Travel Rating: 9/10

CHIANG MAI (3 DAYS)

Walking tour of Old Town Chiang Mai + visit the Temples around Old Town Chiang Mai ( Wat Rajamontean , Wat Lok Molee , Wat Suan Dok ), visit Wat Doi Suthep in the hill country + Doi Suthep hike, visit the many Old Town and Nimman Street Food Night Markets, Thai Traditional Massage Experience, take a Thai cooking class, visit the mega mall and a hipster café in Nimman.  Also, check out the many Chiang Mai cafes and coworking spaces to plan the rest of your trip.

Getting to Chiang Mai: Take the train from Bangkok (booked at the train station), then take a red collective taxi (the pickup trucks) for 35 Baht to your destination

PAI (2-3 DAYS)

Rent a motorbike (from the main road) to cruise and explore the hills of Pai, then ride and hike to the following adventure spots: Mae Yen waterfall, the World War II Memorial Bridge (Japanese Bridge), the short yet beautiful Pai Canyon hike by sunset. Take a cave tour (Tham Lod is a good choice). By night, enjoy street food at the Pai Night Market ( here ) on the main road.

Getting to Pai: Book a shared van through your hostel/hotel or 12go.Asia to Pai. You’ll take the same van back to Chiang Mai when moving on

My Personal Notes on Pai: Pai is a backpacker haven where solo travelers will make tons of friends.  Stay at a good hostel close to the main strip, be social, and make the most of the time.  Rent a motorbike (~150 Baht per day on the main street of Pai) for ultimate freedom.

BANGKOK (3 TO 5 DAYS)

Party on Khao San Road, explore the street food scenes near Khao San Road and in China town, eat a whole suckling pig (like Anthony Bourdain) at Tang Jai Yoo restaurant, visit the airplane graveyard and the flooded mall, visit the Bangkok floating market, explore around the Chao Praya River and ancient royal district, visit the Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha, visit Wat Pho temple to see the golden reclining Buddha and get an amazing traditional Thai massage, visit Siam or Chatuchak Weekend Market.  Also, consider the Damnoen Saduak Floating Markets & Bridge on River Kwai day trips from Bangkok.

KRABI / RAILAY (3 DAYS)

Enjoy Railay Beach, rent a motorbike and ride to the Tiger Cave Temple (+1,237 steps), party at Soi RCA, street food at Ao Nang Night Market, dip in the Emerald Pool and hot spring-fed waterfalls, jungle trek through Khao Sak National Park, swing under the huge cave at Hollow Mountain, hike to the Hang Nak Mountain for a towering viewpoint, raft the Songprak River.

KO PHI PHI (2-3 DAYS)

Maya bay day trip, boat tour between the islands, lots of beach time, or consider Ko Lanta for a more peaceful experience as Ko Phi Phi tends to be a party island

KOH TAO (2-3 DAYS)

Rent a motorbike and snorkel and cruise between beaches to sun and snorkel, consider taking a course for SCUBA dive certification, join the Ko Tao pub crawl that happens nightly for new friends and some interesting experiences, sunset at Mango Bay, Love Koh Tao Viewpoint Café for coffee.

KO PHA NGAN (2-3 DAYS)

Full Moon Party ( Full Moon Party calendar here for 2020 + 2021 ), half-moon beach party, wander between and soak up the sun on countless beaches, hop between waterfalls, Thong Sala Night Market for street food, explore the forbidden on at “Eden,” smoke some “stuff” at Amsterdam Bar.

THAILAND IN PICTURES

TRAVEL BUDGET AND COSTS IN THAILAND

• Nice Hostel Bed per Night: ~$10
• Private Hostel Room or Hotel Room Per Night: $20-$30
• Average Meal: ~$3
• Daily Budget: $30
• Pad Thai – Thai Stir-Fried Noodles
• Khao Pad/Khao Pad Kai – Fried Rice/Chicken Fried Rice
• Pad Krapao – Fried Basil and Chicken/Pork
• Panang – Thai Curry
• Guay Teow – “Noodle Soup”
• Tom Yum Goong – Spicy Shrimp Soup
• Tom Kha Gai – Chicken in Coconut Soup
• Som Tam – Papaya Salad
• Laab Moo/Ka – Spicy Pork/Chicken Salad
• Pad See Eiw – Stir-Fried Thick Noodles
• Pak Boong – Morning Glory
• Salted, grilled fish (street food)
• A “bucket” of alcohol – on Khao San Road, or in the Thai Islands

GETTING AROUND THAILAND

• Between Bangkok and Chiang Mai, traveling by train is your best option, bookable at 12Go.Asia or directly at the train station.  Still, use 12Go to find timetables.
• For any other travel in mainland Thailand (Chiang Mai to Pai, Chiang Rai, Krabi), aim for vans and buses, best booked at one of the many small travel agent kiosks throughout Bangkok, or 12Go.Asia
• Traveling by ferry is the obvious option for travel between islands .  It is best to book in advance at your port of departure or at one of the small travel agent kiosks you will see around.

VISA STRATEGY THAILAND

Thailand’s Visa Exemption is free and allows most nationalities to stay up to 30 days, but beware; you are only allowed two visas exemptions per year. Note that you must have a confirmed departure ticket (from Thailand) within 30 days from arrival.  You may be required to show proof that you have at least 10,000 Thai Baht (in any currency), but this part is rarely enforced

If you plan on expat’ ing or traveling Asia extensively, it is best to get a 60-day Tourist Visa in advance (at most Thai embassies and consulates) and save the Visa Exemptions.  Thailand is a great fall back location if something goes wrong anywhere else. Bangkok is a great hub for getting anywhere else – keeping at least one visa exemption creates a great backup plan when travels elsewhere in Asia go sour.

Thailand is an extremely developed destination, and you will likely be able to find anything you need on the road in Bangkok. 

You will absolutely be adventuring heavily through wet and dry climates, so a good pair of adventure-ready sandals are crucial as well as a pair of adventure-ready shoes or boots .

Leave the roller luggage at home and bring a good travel backpack and daypack, ideally carry on size.

Bring a rain jacket or waterproof shell as Thailand does have those surprise Asia rains year-round – or go cheap and buy a poncho on arrival

TRAVEL INSURANCE IN THAILAND

Though traveling Thailand can be exciting and slightly risky, hiking canyons, SCUBA diving, and cliff jumping, most reputable travel insurance companies will do for the adventure – so stick with travel insurance you know and trust, but check to ensure they cover any of your “crazier” activities (like SCUBA diving or freediving )

If you’re searching for travel insurance suitable for Thailand, I highly recommend Safetywing as a budget option and World Nomads if you have the extra cash to spare.  Both have served me very well during my travels.

WHEN TO VISIT THAILAND

November to early April is the best time to enter Thailand, during the cool, dry season, but this applies mostly to mainland Thailand.  For coastal Thailand, on the Gulf of Thailand in the east and the Andaman Sea in the west, the dry and wet season aligns with summer and winter.  Because of this, Thailand always has an island to runaway to for great relaxing and diving.

ESSENTIAL BOOKS AND MOVIES FOR TRAVELING TO THAILAND

The Beach is a classic and arguably the quintessential “backpacking” movie.

GETTING THERE TO THAILAND

Flying into Bangkok is your best, and cheapest bet as Bangkok connects to most major international destinations

MOVING ON FROM THAILAND

If you are just starting the “Banana Pancake Trail” backpacking tour through Southeast Asia, continue east to Luang Prabang, Laos.  The journey (via bus then boat) is best started from Chiang Mai.

If you’ve already completed the basic Banana Pancake Trail (Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam), consider continuing through Southeast Asia to create a more “tailored” experience.  Add one or two of the following “additional” countries in Southeast to your itinerary to build in specific adventures and specific experiences that are especially meaningful to you.

THE BEST “ADDITIONAL COUNTRIES” TO CONSIDER ADDING TO YOUR SOUTHEAST ASIA ITINERARY

The core itinerary of Southeast Asia – Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos – is perfect for any traveler and easy to do enjoyably within two months.  For those travelers with three months to spare, this extra month leaves a fantastic chance to experience a few more of South Asia’s gems of travel.

Each of the countries listed below is just as easily traveled as the other core SEA countries but offers something special, making it one of the world’s best places to experience that.

Cap off the adventure of your dreams by adding one or two of these countries to the end of your itinerary based on what you love about travel.

ITINERARIES FOR THE BEST “ADDITIONAL COUNTRIES”

MYANMAR (1 TO 2 WEEKS)

• Mandalay (2 Days): U Pein Bridge by sunrise, a bike tour of Mandalay, Mandalay Hill by sunset, Jade market
• Bagan (Day 2): Take an “e-bike” mounted tour past thousands of temples (~$4), sit atop a temple for sunrise and sunset overlooking the Bagan Archeological Zone
• Inle Lake trek from Kalaw to Inle Lake (2 to 4 Days): ~$30 USD for a two-day trek
• Inle Lake Experience  (2 Days): Tour Inle Lake by boat, Mingala Market, Pindaya Caves, cooking class
• Optional: Yangon (Rangoon) (2 Days):  Bagyoke Market, Shwedagon Pagoda, Yangon Circular Train experience

Highlight Experiences: 1000’s of ancient temples in Bagan, trekking through the rural country, witnessing a floating city on Inle Lake, Mount Popa, and the monastery (on the way from Bagan to Kalaw)

SRI LANKA (3 WEEKS)

Note: The best Sri Lanka itinerary in the south is heavily dependent on the monsoon season.  Plan accordingly with the timelines below to avoid being caught in a storm

DECEMBER TO APRIL SRI LANKA ITINERARY

(Start on the Southwest Coast for Beaches)

• Colombo/Negombo (2 Days): Consider renting a tuk tuk to drive yourself around Sri Lanka
• Hikkaduwa (1 Day): A small beach town an hour outside of Negombo with great surfing and cheap hotels (and beach bars) ~20ft from the beach
• Galle (1 Day): Visit the beautiful Dutch Galle Fort, walking on the fort’s wall’s by sunset
• Weligama (2 Days): Enjoy relaxing surfing in the sandy-bottomed and calm Weligama Bay
• Tangalle (1 to 2 Days): Spend a day on beautiful, desolate beaches
• Tissamaharama & Yala National Park:
• à Proceed onto the northern circuit to Ella and cultural triangle

APRIL TO DECEMBER SRI LANKA ITINERARY

(Focus on the Southeast Coast for Beaches)

• Colombo/Negombo (2 Days): Considering renting a tuk tuk to drive yourself around Sri Lanka
• Tangalle (1 Day optional and weather dependent on the season): Spend a day on beautiful, desolate beaches
• Yala National Park Safari via Tissamaharama (1 Day): Take a jeep tour through Yala National Park ($35 to $90) to see leopards, elephants, crocs, peacocks, and more, follow up with a   self-guided tour of Yala by Tuk Tuk ending at the Sithulpawa Monastery, sleep in Yala National Park
• Arugam Bay (3 Days): Soak up sun and vibes in this cozy surf town with varied, mellow waves suitable for new and advanced surfers alike
• Proceed onto the northern circuit and cultural triangle

CONTINUE ONTO THE NORTHERN CIRCUIT AND CULTURAL TRIANGLE ITINERARY

• Ella (3 Days): A beautiful mountain town in the cool, high country filled with trekking and surrounded by tea plantations.  This town is built around backpackers and tourism and is arguably the comfiest city in Sri Lanka (tying with Arugam Bay)
• Ella/Nuwar Eliya to Kandy Train Ride (1 Full Day): The most beautiful train ride in the world, stretching a 2 to 9-hour ride through Sri Lanka’s green high country
• Nuwara Eliya (2 Days): A once English settlement that maintains its British roots and is a perfect base for the epic Adam’s Peak hike
• Kandy (1 Day): A big city and gateway to Sri Lanka’s cultural heart
• Dambulla/Sigiriya (1 Day): A tour of ancient caves turned into monasteries at Dambulla and the epic Lion’s Rock of Sigiriya, both with insane backstories reminiscent of Game of Thrones
• Anuradhapura (1 Day): Spend a day wandering the 1000+-year-old temples, castles, and ruins that make the entire city an archeological site comparable to Angkor Wat and Bagan

Highlight Experiences: Driving a tuk tuk around a country, surfing, wild animal safaris, ruins,

BALI, INDONESIA (2 WEEKS)

• Canggu (3 Days): Learn to surf and soak up the sun in Bali’s hipster center and favorite surf village on the beach filled with trendy bars, cafés, yoga studios, and endless nightlife (+ Seminyak and Kuta)
• Ubud (3 Days): Visit the spiritual heart of Bali tucked in the mountains and hills of rice field laden high country for trekking, jungle excursions, monkey forests, and cultural experiences
• The “Gili’s” (2 Days): Disappear to the islands free of cars and motorbikes for parties and peace & quiet with white sand beaches and plenty of turtles in between.  Great for SCUBA diving and snorkeling
• Nusa Lembongan (2 Days): Head to an even smaller island for amazing surfing and diving all in one spot
• Uluwatu & the Bukit (3 Days) : Crystal clear turquoise waters and some of the best surfing and most beautiful beaches in Bali along with cultural experiences like seafood markets, temples, and Kecak dances
• Optional: Amed (snorkeling and diving), Medewi (longboard surfing), Candidasa (peaceful and quiet)

Highlight Experiences: Beautiful beaches, spiritual experiences, SCUBA and freediving, surfing, hipster traveler/backpacker partying

THE PHILIPPINES (3 TO 4 WEEKS)

• Manilla (2 days): Explore mega malls, museums, and plenty of food
• Cebu City (1 day): Move quickly on to Oslob
• Oslob, Cebu (2 days): Dive with whale sharks
• Dumaguete (2 days): Snorkel and SCUBA dive with turtles and beautiful coral on “Turtle Island” aka Apo Island
• Bohol (2 days): Motorbike rides to the chocolate hills and nightlife on the beach
• El Nido (3 days): Consider a liveaboard cruise (like Tao Philippines), rock climb, sun on the beach, cruise a motorbike around the many beautiful beaches
• Coron (3 days): Take a boat tour each day to the most beautiful and recently discovered destinations for mainstream travelers
• Siargao (Optional): Surf and sun in this hip new destination made famous by Red Bull surfing

Highlights: Day trip boat cruises, pristine beaches, and waters, amazing diving, liveaboard cruises, swimming with whale sharks

When to Visit: November to April is the dry season & peak tourist season.  April is best for whale shark sightings

Optional Additions: Volcano country, eco-friendly whale shark diving in Donsol

NEPAL (2 TO 3 WEEKS)

• Kathmandu (2 Days): Acclimatize and pick up the gear you’ll need for your trek of choice
• One Trekking Route: Everest Base Camp (12-14 days) or Annapurna Circuit (20 days)

Highlights: Trekking in the Himalayas

OTHER GREAT ARTICLES ABOUT BACKPACKING THE WORLD

• The 9 Best South America Backpacking Routes for 2 Weeks to 6 Months of Travel
• 5 Essential Routes for Backpacking the World and Visiting Every Continent
• The Balkan Walk: The Perfect Backpacking Itinerary for the Balkans
• 3 Months in Southeast Asia: A Perfect Plan for the the “Banana Pancake Trail”
• The Mini Backpacking Trails: 15 Itineraries Aroudn the World for 2 Weeks or Less

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carlos is a nomad, slow traveler, and writer dedicated to helping others live abroad and travel better by using his 7+ years of experience living abroad and background as a management consultant and financial advisor to help other nomad and expats plot better paths for an international lifestyle. Click here to learn more about Carlos's story.

Banana Pancake Trail – The Southeast Asia Backpacking Route

Home / Plan Your Adventure / Banana Pancake Trail – The Southeast Asia Backpacking Route

When the final bell rang at the end of my primary education I wasn’t thinking of college, frat parties, scholarships, or my future career. My mind was occupied with dreams of something else. Maybe it was the years of flipping through National Geographic magazines or being dragged around the world by my globetrotting parents. Whatever the reason, I knew that I wanted to do something different. I wanted to travel. As an 18-year-old thirsty for an adventure, I wondered where I should start my once in a lifetime journey. The Banana Pancake Trail was the perfect place to begin.

What is the Banana Pancake Trail?

When I set out to travel independently for the first time, I found myself (like many before me) with an open-ended ticket to Bangkok, Thailand. Unbeknownst to me at the time, Bangkok lies at the heart of the major Southeast Asia backpacking route often referred to as the Banana Pancake Trail.

Yummmm…. I’m sure you’re feeling hungry/excited already!

Anyways…

The name found its way into the traveler’s lexicon as a way of describing the backpacking superhighway and the network of guesthouses/hostels/restaurants serving up fried banana pancakes and other westernized treats to the throngs of foreigners exploring the heavily backpacked parts of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam (the exact boundaries are open to interpretation/debate and frequently add Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Myanmar).

The stops along the Pancake Trail include a series of backpacker haunts including Siem Reap (jumping off point to Angkor Wat ), Ko Pha-ngan (full-moon party haven), Khao San Road (Bangkok’s backpacker mecca), Vang Vieng (former centre of wild tubing) and many more. These famous spots provide backpackers with many of the novelties of travel combined with all the comforts of home and unprecedented opportunities for socializing with fellow travellers (you can always try asking what countries the BP trail includes, if you need a conversation opener). You’ll be sampling snake blood or eating bugs one minute, before settling your stomach down with a burger and fries the next. If this juxtaposition doesn’t tickle your fancy, fear not!  Many of these backpacker haunts are often only a bus stop/tuk-tuk (3-wheel taxi)/moto ride away from a more authentic travel experience, allowing you to take a sip of a bit of whatever you fancy.

P.S. After reading this post, use the discount code PANCAKETRAIL to get 20% OFF all   Banana Backpacks travel gear.

Why travel this backpacking route through Southeast Asia?

Why the banana pancake trail is perfect for first time travellers.

If you’re looking to travel for the first time, you couldn’t choose a better route. My 4-month journey along this Southeast Asia backpacking route afforded me a wealth of incredible life experiences (many that I’m proud of and a few I’m not (drink Thai whiskey with caution…) and kicked off my ceaseless travel addiction. Here are a few of the reasons it’s one of the best backpacking routes you could choose for your first trip:

No language problems

Scared of arriving in a foreign country with no knowledge of the language? No problem, English is commonly spoken by locals in many areas along the Trail, making communication a breeze. That said, I always recommend learning at least a few basics (think hello, goodbye, thank you). You’ll be surprised at how many doors a little effort will open for you. If you can pick up saying thank you (cảm ơn bạn) in Vietnamese without invoking hysterical laughter, please reach out to me – your tutoring skills may be required…

It’s incredibly easy to get around

Air-conditioned buses roll out every minute and travel agents slap together itineraries including multiple bus rides, speedboats, and pickups in minutes. Sure, you’ll have to be careful of being overcharged, but logistical coordination is a breeze. Simply check a couple of neighbouring travel agents and, voila, you can find the best possible prices with hardly any effort! Not to mention Grab (and formerly Uber) have made negotiating a moto-taxi fare easier than ever (don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of other chances to hone these skills).

It’s (relatively) safe

Sure you’ll hear about the occasional bag-snatch or stolen passport/wallet, but incidents of violent crime against tourists are few and far between.

Is it safe for female travellers?

T o avoid any risk of mansplaining  here, I’ve had my sister, Anika, weigh in.  She’s spent extensive time traveling solo on the Banana Pancake Trail and lived in Cambodia. Here’s what she said about safety for female travellers on the Banana Pancake Trail: 

“ Compared to Europe or South America, you can rest easy knowing you won’t be cat-called, questioned for traveling as a single female, or afraid of walking alone at night in most places. Like anywhere, incidents can still happen (more often with other tourists than locals), so make smart decisions. Generally speaking, this is one of the safer places to get acquainted with travelling.”

DON'T FORGET THIS

On the Banana Pancake Trail you’ll be riding on motorbikes, taking tuk-tuks, and trying adventure activities like scuba diving.  Don’t forget  travel insurance ! I went years without making a claim on my travel insurance until a suffered a broken collarbone and racked up medical bills in excess of $15, 000. Fortunately, I had the entire bill paid through insurance and got the care I needed. That one incident made years of paying for travel insurance a drop in the bucket! Don’t forget this. 

Check out  World Nomads * for a quote.  Coverage includes options for medical, luggage & gear (including theft!) and trip cancellation.  Hopefully you never need to make a claim, but if you do you’ll be beyond happy you were prepared!

It’s easy to meet people

All of the guest houses, hostels, partying, and inexpensive activities make meeting new friends along the Pancake Trail a breeze. The one key tip  – take a moment away from tik-tok and always mind your surroundings, as there may be a new friend in your midst.

You can step off the beaten path (if you want)

Sure the abundance of fellow travellers, comforts of home, and good wifi connections may make you feel relaxed, but personal growth comes from discomfort. While the Trail is a major backpacking artery, it’s easy to step off the beaten path and every country on the trail offers ample opportunities to find the non-Westernized areas.  

Are Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam good for experienced travellers?

Okay, so maybe you’re not new to travelling. Don’t rule out a trip through Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Use the main backpacker haunts as jumping off points for off-the-beaten-path-exploration. The minute you step outside of these heavily visited places, you’ll soon realize just how easy it is to get off the beaten path. All it takes is the willingness to look. Don’t rule out Siem Reap because Angkor Wat is packed, just dig a little deeper and you may find  hidden temples  you have virtually to yourself. Sure, Sapa can be touristed, so if that’s not your thing, rent a bike and take the trip up to Ha Giang where children chase you down, fascinated to see a foreigner exploring their hometowns surrounded by plunging gorges and jaw-dropping mountains.

Should you bring a backpack or a suitcase?

A travel backpack is the best choice for the Banana Pancake Trail. A suitcase just doesn’t work when you’re riding on the back of motorbikes or walking long distances on uneven terrain in search of your hostel. Pick a backpack that’s weatherproof, easy to keep organized (not top-loading), and extremely durable. The Khmer Explorer Travel Set is the best backpack for this trip and was designed  specifically  for traveling on the Banana Pancake Trail!

How much does the Banana Pancake Trail cost?

When I set out on my Banana Trail adventure it cost me $4000 CAD for ~4 months of travel. I spared limited expense. I did skimp on accommodation from time to time and would go for week long stints eating a strictly street food diet. That said, I also took a full week’s worth of diving classes on Koh Tao, ate at many nice restaurants, and enjoyed the occasional private room with A/C. Sure, times have changed in the decade since I completed my first solo adventure, but as I’ve experienced in recent visits, this Southeast Asian backpacking route is still dirt cheap. Here’s a 2018 budget to give you an idea:  

Frugal traveller budget

$20-50 per day.

You’re happy to have found a way to travel, or maybe you’re trying to maximize your travel time by minimizing money spent per day. Whatever your reason, if you’re watching your dollars, this is the budget for you.

$1-2 dollars. Lots of pho in Vietnam and tons of pad thai in Thailand. Expect to eat a lot of street food and enjoy convenience store beer or bia hoi (Vietnam’s answer to the micro brew ;)). You’ll be able to venture for more premium meals out on occasion, but it doesn’t take long for $10 dollar meals to blow the daily budget.

Cheap Rooms

$5-10. You welcome bunkmates in dorms and may find the occasional fan cooled private room. For an example of what you can expect, here’s a fantastic hostel  that fits this budget bill, that I’ve been treated to in recent years in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

You’ll be able to splurge on activities like a one day pass ($37 USD) to the Angkor Archeological Park, and the occasional budget cooking class and tour, but you’ll have to watch that you’re not doing too many of these activities in a given week. You’ll also have to watch that you don’t have too many excessive party nights (cocktails can be pricey).

Buses, motos, occasional cheap local flight.

Flashpacker budget

$50-100 a day.

You appreciate the finer things in life, but aren’t ready to tuck yourself into a 5-star hotel just yet and still consider yourself a backpacker. You want to make the most of your trip. Maybe you’ll learn to scuba dive, drink premium cocktails, or go on a few private tours. If this is your style this is the budget for you.  

Accomodation

$20-60 depending on the city/country place/time/luxury level. You’ll usually get yourself a private room with A/C for this price (a notable exception is southern Thailand which can easily go higher). Here’s an example  of a $35/night for a private room with A/C at Lub’d in Siem Reap.

The flashpacker budget allows you to enjoy occasional big splurge activities like taking a scuba diving course in Ko Tao or trying canyoning or rock climbing.

Transportation

More frequent flights $40-100, premium buses, 1st class train coaches.  

How long should you travel for in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia & Vietnam?

To accomplish a multiple country journey along the Banana Pancake Trail I strongly encourage a minimum of 6 weeks. This minimum will allow you to be flexible with your time, linger in the places you love, and not fret the ones you don’t. Don’t have 6 weeks? Less is more. Pick 1 or 2 countries and do them properly. If you have 2 weeks and are planning on hitting Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, maybe cut your trip down based on what is most important to you. If you’re dying to see the temples of Angkor or hit a Full Moon party, do it! Just don’t waste your limited time on border crossings and bus rides (or the sometimes awful combination of the two). Just start planning your second trip.

Banana Pancake Trail itinerary example

These cover the majority of key stops along the Banana Pancake Trail in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia.  Stay as long or as short as you want in each and don’t be afraid to get off the well-trodden path.

Bangkok → Enter the heart of the Banana Pancake Trail, Khao San Road.

Koh Tao → Learn how to scuba dive by getting PADI certified with every other Banana Pancake Traveller.

Ko Pha-Ngan → The epicenter of the world famous Full Moon Party.

Krabi→ Climbing and beautiful beach chillin’.

Ko Phi Phi →  The world famous “Beach” at Maya Bay (temporarily closed due to overtourism so check before you go… and carefully consider your choice as a responsible traveller).

Siem Reap → The mystical temples of Angkor.

Phnom Penh → Get acquainted with Cambodia ’s dark and recent past and witness its promising future.

Sihanoukville to access Koh Rong → Restart your beach and party engine.

Ho Chi Minh City → Wander the chaos of Ben Thanh Market and glimpse the horrors of war at the War Remnants Museum.

Da Lat → Not as “pancakey” as the other spots. Enjoy Vietnam’s coffee at its finest and experience an easy rider motorbike trip

Nha Trang → Pit stop at Vietnam’s largest beach resort.

Hoi An → Beautiful and incredibly touristed. Home to all forms of custom textiles/tailoring.

Hanoi → Experience the wonder of the capital, sit and sip Bia Hoi along a street corner and pay homage to the embalmed Ho Chi Minh himself.

Ha Long Bay → Take the iconic boat ride through thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various shapes and sizes.

Sapa → Train north from Hanoi to the mountains of Sapa to experience trekking and the coldest temperature you’ve felt in months.

Luang Prabang → Experience the ancient capital with its many Buddhist temples.

Vang Vieng→ The infamous tubing (re-opened after cleaning up its act).

Vientiane → Experience Laos’s most important religious monument, the large golden Stupa.

Chiang Mai → Cultural mecca and swarms of digitally nomadic people.

Pai → Mountain/valley exploration.

Should you book things in advance or just wing it?

In my opinion, the best way to travel the Banana Pancake Trail is a bit of both.  Book accommodation for the first couple nights you arrive from abroad. You’ll be tired from travelling, and the last thing you want is to be stumbling hostel-to-hostel in a jet lagged stupor! If you’re flying into Bangkok, book for 2-3 nights at one of the following spots:

• If you came to Bangkok for a party  Mad Monkey   is your place. That’s all I need to say.
• Quiet, clean, friendly Baan Kachitpan is a new and charming place that takes the cake for quality in the budget category. It’s also walking distance to Khao San Road and the Grand Palace area.
• If you’d prefer to stay away from Khao San Road in the more upmarket Siam Square area, Lub d Bangkok is your spot. It’s a modern, renovated hostel with all the fixings.

After getting settled and meeting a few people, you’ll develop an idea of where you want to go next. From there, you can make a booking a couple days before heading out or just show up and wing it.  Historically, I’ve  had far worse experiences being stuck in a place I pre-booked and hated, than I have trying to find a place without without a booking.

You should be able to roll with this methodology throughout your trip. In the pre-Covid world, it was also a good idea to book accommodation well in advance for things like Ko Pha-Ngan Full Moon party, but with Thailand tourist statistics still well below their historical numbers this too is probably not required at the moment.

What do you need to bring and prepare for the Banana Pancake Trail?

Here are a few pointers/must packs for your Southeast Asia trip:  

Travel Insurance

.Hopefully you never need to make a claim, but if you do the decision you made to remember to buy travel insurance is likely to be one you thank yourself for making for the rest of your days. Check out  World Nomads  for a quote .  

Shots & medication

Determine  if you require any vaccines before traveling to your destination. If you haven’t traveled to an equatorial region before, it’s highly likely you’ll need at least a few.

Vaccination can be a comprehensive process, so it’s a good idea to look into this a few months before departure.

Get an International Drivers Permit

If you’re planning on renting or driving a motorbike in Southeast Asia, you need to get your International Driving Permit.  Not every country will recognize your home country’s drivers license as valid. While most rentals will not ask for an international permit, the police check for it frequently in many countries and a foreigner on a scooters is often low-hanging fruit. If you’re thinking about renting a scooter or motorbike at anytime g et your International Drivers Permit before your trip, just in case.

Use a VPN to stay safe online

On the Banana Pancake Trail your smartphone is often your map, translator, camera, and travel guide. It is only natural that you’ll find yourself connecting to the nearest public WIFI network to check something quickly when you’re on the road.   Stay safe on public wifi networks with a VPN (Virtual Private Network). A VPN hides your identity online and prevents whoever runs the WiFi network from seeing what websites you’re checking out.  I use NordVPN constantly when I’m travelling and highly recommend you download and install it now before you forget! It typically doesn’t cost more that a couple dollars a month and a s an added bonus, you can use it to mask your location and watch your favourite Netflix show on your long bus ride that might not otherwise be available in Thailand. 🙂   Check out this discount on NordVPN .

A quality travel backpack

Variable terrain and lots of walking make a travel backpack the perfect luggage choice. Leave the roller suitcase at home (you’ll thank me later). Check our our post on the best backpack for Thailand for more insight on what to look for.  

A everyday backpack or bag

For adventurous trips a great everyday backpack is essential. It’s your airplane carry-on, your laptop bag, hiking pack and beach bag. The customizable Kiri collection was built to be the ultimate day pack for trips like banana pancake trail. 

Unlock your cell phone

Call your network provider to ensure your phone is unlocked. This way you’re all set up to grab a new SIM card upon landing and avoid the pains of massive roaming charges and the sometimes questionable wi-fi (data is often way better and crazy cheap). All the countries along the Banana Pancake Trail tend to have dirt cheap SIMs readily available (although they often do not work when moving from one country to the next (ie. Vietnam SIMs won’t work in Cambodia).

Notify your bank

Many banks no longer require you to directly notify them of international travel to prevent an unwanted account freeze, that said, best to check the policy to be sure. Thousands of miles from home with no access to money is not a fun way to start.

Bring a bit of cash

A first stop after disembarking the plane is usually the cash machine. That said, the last thing you want to deal with when you land is a broken ATM and no money (been there). So take $100 USD in cash (small denomination is usually best). In a pinch you usually find a money exchange at the airport with poor rates (a necessary evil at times).

Bring a water bottle with water purification tabs or a Steripen

It’s hot. You’ll sweat. A lot. I wouldn’t recommend drinking the tap water in many places. Thinking of buying bottled? Please don’t. Traveller water bottle garbage is a HUGE problem for plastic pollution in the ocean. Bring your own bottle   and use a Steripen (check price at Amazon / REI  /  MEC  ) or purification tablets (view at  REI  /  MEC ) to purify the water if you can’t find any that is safe to drink (many hostels have water coolers you can fill up from).

Pack a portable power bank

Comes in handy when you need to charge your phone/tablet in a bind. I love t his one by Zendure , it’s tiny and I get over 2 full charges on my Iphone 13 out of it. 

Choose clothes you feel comfortable in

I’m not going to tell you to bring 2 t-shirts, 1x, and 1y, because everyone is different. Some of you may view it worthwhile to pack a pair of jeans for a fancy night out in Bangkok or HCMC, others may find that proposition crazy. Some of you may want to bring your favourite tapered sweatpants, that’s fine too I guess… Before I hit the Banana Pancake Trail, I loaded up on breathable gear for a hot climate (thanks Dad…). I ended up wearing none of it, giving away a lot of it, and carrying the rest around for the duration of my trip…

The weather in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand is tropical and hot. There are generally two distinct seasons: rainy (several hours of intense rain) and dry.  Higher elevations (such as parts of Northern Vietnam) may be chilly at night. So pack items you’re comfortable in based on this. No need to redo your wardrobe…

One clothing item I wish I packed

One item that I wish I had brought, was an ultra-light sun hoodie! I learnt about these things from thru-hikers doing the PCT trail and they are an absolute game-changer for travel!  They let you get away without having to put sunscreen on/reapply on city days and help keep you protected on any post-burn days which inevitably happen after getting a little too tan-happy (been there!). They’re also surprisingly breathable and cool.  The Sahara Sun Hoodie (check price at REI  men’s / women’s ) has served me well and you can’t beat the price. 

A sheet sleeping bag liner

I helped a good pal of mine pack for his first big trip and I told him to get a sheet sleeping bag liner. He wondered why he was lugging this little thing around until one night he was forced to crash in a place with questionable cleanliness. Suddenly, he wasn’t wondering why I insisted he brought this. Check out this one from Sea to Summit (check price Amazon / REI) that was built specifically for travel. 

Final Thoughts

The Banana Pancake Trail has developed fame (and notoriety) as the definitive Southeast Asia backpacking route. It’s a great place to start out traveling for the first time or to use a as a jumping off point for more off-the-beaten-path adventures. Over a decade after my first journey here came to an end, I continue to feel immense gratitude for the life experience my first adventure through Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand brought me (I’m tearing up here!). I, the man speaking to you from behind the computer, highly recommends this experience to new and experienced travellers alike whether you’re into banana pancakes or not! 🙂

Happy travels friends!

Have you tasted a banana pancake? What did you think? Maybe you have questions about the Banana Pancake Trail or personal experiences? Maybe you’re a grumpy travel troll who would like to lambaste me for writing on this subject. Any of these categories are welcome in the comments below, although I’m not enthralled with the last option.

P.S. Don’t forget to use the discount code PANCAKETRAIL to get an incredible secret discount on   Banana Backpacks travel gear.

Disclaimer:

*Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links. If you click one of the links and make a purchase we’ll earn a small commission at no cost to you. We’re very particular about any products or services we suggest and we test and use them ourselves before making any recommendations or endorsements. *

Banana Backpacks Inc. is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

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28 replies to “banana pancake trail – the southeast asia backpacking route”.

Hi, I’m looking to backpack for 4 months in SE Asia. Looking for guidance on suitable footwear as that can use up a lot of space, what do you recommend ? Many thanks

Hey Jon! Sounds like an exciting trip you have planned! Choosing the right footwear is always a tricky decision between functionality and space constraints. For SE Asia, I often bring a combo a good basic runner/trainer that is neutral looking enough that you can dress it up if you ever want/need to, but functional enough for adventures like hikes, big walking days in cities or motorbike rides. Also, take a basic, but comfortable, flip flop style sandal as your daily companion. If you’re in a pinch for luggage space/looking to travel light you can wear your runners/trainers on the plane and throw the flip flops in your bag as they take up next to no space. Hope this helps and have a blast in SE Asia! -Mike

Hey, we’re taking a year out and travelling Asia this September. This trial seems like the perfect one for us reading your blog. A few things that are on my mind is do I need to plan every bus / pick up truck before we set off or just wing it and jump on them when we please. We are looking to spend 1 month in each country

Hey Jasmine!

Sounds like you have an awesome trip in mind. 100% just wing the transport when you’re down there. You’ll find it incredibly easy to arrange transport when you’re there.

Happy future adventuring,

Hi, Ideally, I’d like to do a trip like this next January. Do you think that would be possible with Covid? Countries in Southeast Asia are mostly closed as of right now.

Great question. At this point, it’s really tough to tell whether your adventure will be possible or not given Covid-19. Ideally, wait as long as possible to book anything, get proper travel insurance, and look into cancellation policies for anything you do book. Hopefully, some form of your adventure will be possible by then!

Happy Adventuring!

Did you book it independently or through a travel agent? if so which one

Hi Gabriella.

Everything should be pretty easy to book independently.

Best of Luck,

Hi there! Great article!

I am looking to quit work and do this trail for 4 months from the end of March next year 2022, is this an sensible time to do this, given the weather at this time of year? Or is there a better route that would allow me to follow the better climates?

Also, what are you thought’s on covid from April 2022 over there?

Hey Jake. Glad you found the article helpful! March + 4 months is typically a great time to travel in many of these countries. The first time I travelled in SE I started in late Feb and finished towards the end of June. You’ll find optimal weather in many of these countries during this time.

Your biggest challenge is going to be the strange world in which we now live as many of these countries have different rules/regulations regarding testing/quarantine and overland country-to-country travel is not nearly as simple as it once was. IMO I see this inconvenience not going away in the immediate future anyways. Due to this hassle I might suggest looking into picking one country and exploring it more extensively than you might of in early years when moving between countries was more fluid and less cumbersome.

Hope this helps and best of luck with your future adventures!

Hi Michael, Enjoyed your blog very much! I am exploring the possibility of doing it this summer (July 1 to August 30). Do you have any recent info regarding COVID?

Thanks Tom M

Sorry I missed your comment here! We had some issues with the comments on our blog. Hope you had a great adventure!

Hi, I was wondering what the situation with visas was in these countries. If you fly into Thailand for example do you not need a return/outgoing flight booked? If I was to travel by bus through Thailand and the surrounding countries would that work with the visa situations in the different countries?

Hi Saffron,

Great question.Many countries have once again opened their borders for travel! It’s best to review the immigration website for each country you’re looking to visit close before your desired entry date. These things seem to remain somewhat influx and overland travel is still a little more complicated than it once was.

Best of luck,

Hey Michael,

Great post mate. Really enjoyed reading about your adventure. And some great travelling tips for newbies like myself.

I’m planning my first ever solo trip around SE Asia. I’m going to take a 90 day work break and head to Bangkok.

I would really love to hire/buy a small motorbike in Bangkok and head North exploring North Thailand then, crossing Laos, then down through Vietnam, and onto Cambodia and finally back to Thailand to end my trip down south.

I have a few questions which you maybe able to help me with. I’m getting mixed report when trying to research.

Q1). Is it possible to take a Thai bike to these 3 countries ( Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia)?

Q2). If I get a 1 month visa for Thailand, Can I use it in 2 halves? Like first 2 weeks travelling the North, then then about 8 weeks in a different country travelling . And then after travelling use the remaining 2 weeks to travel the south of Thailand?

If I can’t split Thailand visa. Would you know how other people complete the loop?

Thanks in advance

Hey Vinnie,

Sorry for the slow reply here. Seem to have missed your comment. Sounds like an epic trip you have planned! 1). Many people cross the borders between the 3 countries frequently, so I don’t know that the addition of a bike would really change that much. Make sure you have an international drivers license though. 2). Depending on your home country Thailand’s getting a visa for Thailand is often pretty easy. So if you spent the 8 weeks outside you would just get a new tourist visa on re-entering Thailand. Many foreigners in Thailand would frequently do border runs to Malaysia for the day and get a fresh new Visa on return.

Make sure you look into any COVID regulations for entry/exit that the countries have as that is the only thing I could potentially see complicating things for you.

Hope this helps and happy travels!

Hello, I like to edit videos and would love to bring my laptop while travelling SE Asia so I can do this. I plan on staying in group dorms in hostels. Would you recommend it? I keep hearing about people stealing your stuff.

Hey Rachel,

Great question! The vast majority of Hostels have lockers you can store your valuables (like your laptop) in when you’re not using it! I’ve travelled multiple times in these countries with my laptop with no issues. I always recommend getting good travel insurance like World Nomads as their plans will protect you against theft as well. A friend of mine was mugged on a peach in Peru and they picked up the tab on a brand new phone for him and helped him get back on his feet.

Hope this helps and have an awesome adventure!

Hi Michael,

I’ve been researching this a lot and am still nervous to book my trip based on the mixed things I have heard. I’m interested in hearing your thoughts and suggestions! I am looking to travel the banana pancake trail for two months anytime from the beginning of June to the end of September. Is this a poor time to travel this trail?

Thanks, Stevie

Hey Stevie,

Thanks for the question. I think your timing will be fine. In certain areas you may encounter some more rain during this time (Southern Thailand) that is the only potential downside. It’s fair to feel nervous before a big trip like this. An easy way of doing it IMO is book an open ended ticket that you can change for a limited fee if you decide you want to stay longer or shorter, depending on how you’re liking it. Additionally, tell friends and family that you’re not sure how long you’re planning to travel for and you’re going to play it by ear . When I travelled the Banana Pancake Trail I told people that I’d be gone anywhere from a couple weeks to a couple months (it ended up being 4!). At least this way you can go with the flow and have the trip/adventure that YOU want.

Good luck and happy adventuring!

Hi Michael, thanks for your article, there are a lot of interesting pieces of information ☺️ Which part of the year would you recommend for traveling Vietnam/Thailand/Cambodia (around 6 months) ? Thanks!

Hi Charlotte!

Glad the post was helpful! Travelling between December and May can be a good window as it helps you avoid the crushing humidity and occasional downpours of the monsoon season. That said, I’ve spent time in Vietnam in late June and it typically only meant several hours of intense rain with manageable weather the rest of the time. December is typically the most expensive time to travel, due to peak tourist volumes! The tropics tend to be hot and humid most of the year!

Great post Michael! I have around 2.5 months to travel the banana pancake trail. Do you suggest picking a few countries or can I travel to all four countries? If I am going alone, is that safe and is it easy to meet other like-minded travelers at hostels? And how difficult is it to get a visa for each of the countries and how do you recommend getting one?

Hey Max, Sounds like a fun trip! You could visit all 4 in 2.5 months, but it really depends on how you like to travel? In your shoes, I’d probably do 3 weeks in Thailand, 3 weeks in Vietnam and then 1.5 weeks in both Cambodia and Laos. It’s definitely safe to travel in these countries and is easy to meet people at hostels. The biggest thing is being open to the experience. Sign-up for city tours and events at hostels and most importantly try not to get sucked in by your phone in hostel common areas. Visas.tend to be pretty easy to obtain for many nationalities (not sure where you’re from), with Vietnam typically being the hardest (the others are usually just visas on arrival). I put together a post on how to Get a Vietnam Visa on Arrival Quickly & Easily back in 2019 which may be helpful.

Hope this helps and happy adventuring!

Great article! I am looking to start my SE Asia journey in mid-March but I’m nervous about the burning season in Northern Thailand since I plan to start in Bangkok and do the typical Banana Pancake trail. I’ve read it’s pretty bad in March/April, which is when I’d be going. Is it worth it to do the trail backwards or should I skip that area and then come back? I’m also debating delaying my trip for a couple months to avoid it. Any thoughts on the matter would help!

Hey Maggie,

Great question! The burning season is definitely something to be aware of with air quality issues having the largest impact on Northern Thailand and Laos in March/April. That said, there is a significant amount of unpredictability to it and a chance the areas you visit could be ok when you’re there! Don’t worry too much about the direction in which you follow the Banana Pancake Trail! I’d consider going south in Thailand first if you’re worried about the burning season. I first did the Banana Pancake trail at this time of year. I went south in Thailand, then through Cambodia and Vietnam before eventually making my way to Laos and Northern Thailand. Personally, I don’t think you need to delay your trip, just be open to some flexibility which is always key on the Banana Pancake Trail anyways! 🙂

If you were going for only 7 days, what would you recommend doing I have been to Phenom Penh, and now looking to do the other countries, but I only have 7 days and then I will be headed to Indonesia.

It really depends what you’re interested in and how much time you want to spend travelling during your week. Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Bangkok are incredible cities to spend time exploring. You could easily spend a couple days or more in any one of them and tack on an island or hill escape from there. If you’re looking for a beach experience, I’d spend a few days in Bangkok then hop a flight south to Surat Thani to visit an island for a few days before flying from Surat Thani to KL to get to Indonesia. Hope this help!

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