We are an active 60 year old couple planning a trip to SEAsia for 5-6 weeks in January/ February.
We thought a combination of independent travel and private guided travel might be best here but unsure. We would like to see the highlights of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. We would also like to have a little time in Thailand( at least 4 days on the beach). We thought a biking trip in Vietnam might be fun and kayaking a little in Thailand.
Can you sugggest what the best way to see these areas would be? We are concerned that because the languages are so foreign to us that we will find it hard to find our way if we rent a car.
We definitely are not keen on group tours unless they are very small.

You really don't need to rent a car, as you can get a car and driver for the price you would pay elsewhere to rent a self-drive car. For most/all of this trip, you will not need a guide. Depending on how you want to visit the temples of Angkor, you may want a guide there. To prepare for your visit to the temples, pick up a copy of Dawn Rooney's book, Angkor: A Guide to Cambodia's Wondrous Temples.

You will need to spend some time deciding what are the highlights of these countries for you, then draw up your itinerary. You will want to fly between countries.

For Thailand, you'll want to choose a beach on the Andaman Sea side (Phuket, Krabi, Ko Last, Khao Lan, etc). You might want to look into John Gray's Sea Canoes for a day trip on the water.

Happy Planning!

Those are not countries where you want to drive! Train travel is fine in Vietnam. You should look into flights.

Don't worry about the language, all three are quite easy to travel in.

Driving is only really an option in Thailand where it is easy enough. But as that is where your beach time is planned, it's not really worth the effort. In all the other countries it is likely illegal and, in any case, inadvisable.

Cycling is great in Vietnam and I would recommend taking a guided tour otherwise you would likely miss the best bits! We spent a few days cycling around Ninh Binh and The Mai Chau valley, both in the north and really enjoyed it. The Mekong Delta was also pretty good for cycling and very flat!

For longer trips I find it useful to sit down with a guidebook or something like Travelfish.org and list which places interest you, create a short list to determine how much time you want to spend in each country.

Flying is quick and easy but by doing so you can miss out a lot. It is relatively straightforward, at least in most parts to travel a route from Hanoi south to Saigon by train , overland through the Mekong Delta to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap and then into Laos and then fly out to Thailand say from Luang Prabang. Alternatively you can speed this up by flying certain sections.

The reverse way is also possible but I would go north to South for all sorts of reasons.

Enjoy your planning..

You'll need to consider the weather when planning your itinerary. The following is an excellent month by month guide to the whole SE Asia region...

https://www.selectiveasia.com/asia-h...eather/january

We were in North Vietnam in February this year, and it did get cold and damp at times.

Thanks so much. We will take that into consideration.

Thank you to you all for your feedback. I am struggling to thank you individually.