Hi there,

I’m planning a trip to Indonesia between June and August 2025. I’ll be traveling solo with my two daughters, ages 9 and 13, for 7 weeks, and then solo without them for another 3 weeks.

This trip has a special meaning for me—I’ve got a break between my soon-to-be former job and launching my business. It’s my first big solo trip outside Europe with just my girls, and I’m heading to Indonesia because I’ve dreamed of discovering Bali since I was 12 (though I’m *terrified* of mass tourism!). Also, five years ago, I decided to limit myself to one flight every 10 years—this is my "big 40" trip, and it’s really important to me. I’ll probably never return to Indonesia after this.

Beyond that, I’d love to immerse myself in Balinese culture. For the rest of the trip, I’m especially drawn to nature and its grandeur. Basically, outside of Bali, I’d love to see breathtaking natural landscapes that are totally different from what I can find in Europe. I’d also love to spot some endemic wildlife (which my girls would find exciting too!). And if I can squeeze in a few "chill" days to just relax or go snorkeling in a nice, quiet spot, I’m all for it.

I’d love your advice, especially since I’d like to start in Bali (we’re arriving around June 20th—I’m hoping to avoid the peak tourist crowds from the Northern Hemisphere summer break).

Thanks!

Hi there,

I’m planning my first trip to Asia next summer with my partner and our daughter, who’ll be 3 and a half at the time, for 4 weeks (maybe 5).

I’ve heard that the timing is better for visiting Indonesia, but I’m hesitant because Thailand seems more accessible, and I’m worried that traveling to Indonesia during high season might be less enjoyable and a lot more expensive due to the number of tourists. We love cultural sites as much as natural ones, and we’re big foodies. We’re not necessarily looking for luxury and tend to take our time, travel by public transport, and look for accommodations with a good value for money—though we do occasionally splurge on a high-end restaurant.

I’m also wondering when and where to buy flight tickets and how comfortable the journey will be (especially for our daughter) if we fly with Thai Airways or Garuda.

Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts and tips!

Damien

Hi everyone,

After letting our backpacks gather dust for several years, we’ve decided to set off on another adventure—this time as a family, with our 10- and 12-year-old kids! We’re planning a trip from mid-June to the end of July, with two stops: Cambodia (2 weeks) and Indonesia (4 weeks). But before diving into the details, we’ve got quite a few questions and doubts.

About Cambodia: We know this period is the rainy season. Is it really a good idea to go then? And if so, is it better to start with Cambodia and then move on to Indonesia, or does the order not matter from a climate perspective? Here are the activities and sites we’ve shortlisted: · The Mekong and Irrawaddy dolphins: do we actually have a chance of seeing them? · The Mondulkiri Project (elephant sanctuary): is this an ethical project? We want to avoid any form of animal exploitation. · The temples of Angkor: are 2 or 3 days enough to fully enjoy them? · Floating villages: where should we go for an authentic experience? Is it possible to spend the night there? · Hikes with waterfalls, lakes, etc.: are there any must-do treks? · And most importantly, what activities or sites would appeal to kids?

For Indonesia: We were there 15 years ago and loved our itinerary: Yogyakarta / Borobudur → Bromo → Kawah Ijen → Bali → Gili Trawangan. This time, we’re torn: · Retracing part of that route to share it with our kids (even if revisiting the same places isn’t super appealing), · Or exploring new regions. What’s almost certain is that we’d like to spend about two weeks in Raja Ampat. For the other two weeks, we’re undecided. We’re looking for kid-friendly ideas for places and activities, while avoiding too many connections for budget and environmental reasons. Since we’ll already see temples in Cambodia, we’d like to mix things up.

And finally… On our last trip to the region, we traveled without kids and went super free-spirited: only the round-trip tickets were booked, and we improvised the rest day by day without any major issues finding accommodation, food, or accessing the activities we’d spotted. Do you think this style of travel is still doable with two kids? Or has it become too risky or stressful? Are there regions where the "backpacker" approach is still possible, and others where it’s better to book in advance? And for certain activities or sites, is it recommended to hire guides?

Thanks in advance for your tips and experiences!

Hello,

A few months ago, I posted a message in the Southern Africa section about a family trip in July/August. In the end, since I had too much trouble deciding on the destination and procrastinated too much with the planning 😎, I changed my mind and we’re going for a completely different trip—to Madagascar, a country we already know a bit since we’ve traveled there several times for 4 to 6 months each time, though our last visit was back in 2012!

The tickets are booked: 19 days on the ground (excluding arrival and departure days in Tana), spanning July and August.

We’re not looking to rack up landscapes (and kilometers). The kids really want to see lots of animals, while we mostly want to show them what daily life is like in Malagasy villages. So ideally, we’d like a trip split into two parts: - For 8/10 days, a hiking portion. The idea isn’t to do a tough trek in very remote areas but rather to walk from one village to another. Let’s say 3-4 hours a day. And when we arrive in each village, we’d have time to explore a bit, chat with the locals, let our kids play with the village children, etc. Stay with locals when possible. Move to a new village every day or every 2-3 days. - A few days visiting 1 or 2 national parks (with lemurs if possible to keep everyone happy!) - With the inevitable travel days, we’ll quickly hit 19 days.

Does this kind of trip sound doable (and fun) to you? Do you know of any villages that would fit our hiking plans?

I don’t have a preferred region yet, except that very dry landscapes appeal to me less. My real love from past trips was the highlands and their bright green rice paddies against red earth, but I’m a bit worried about the cold at this time of year.

After my initial research (thanks to this forum), I get the impression that the Ambalavao/Ambohimahamasina area might meet our criteria. I saw there are "accueil paysan" (farm stays) in that area, which could match what we’re looking for and would let us visit Andringitra National Park and Ranomafana on the way there or back.

But I’m open to all your more original ideas!

For logistical questions (transport, guides, accommodations, etc.), I’ll tackle those later—it’ll depend on the area we choose.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions

Hello, We’re heading to Laos in December 2025, and we want to do a multi-day trek—maybe even a week—to really take our time and make stops in villages since we’ll have our 3-year-old daughter with us.

We’re torn between the Luang Namtha region or Phongsaly for our big trek. We’re looking for the least touristy spot possible, we love mountains, so we’d like an area with varied landscapes, including rice paddies, and a chance to really connect with local ethnic groups. We’re after authenticity and only want to stay with locals. Which of the two should we prioritize? Any advice would be welcome to help us decide—it’s tough when you don’t know the area! Maybe there are other spots in the north worth considering for a beautiful week-long trek.

Thanks, fellow travelers

I’m heading to Nepal at the end of April 2026 with my brother, the two kids, and my mom. My mom is 75, in good shape, she walks but isn’t a big sports enthusiast. My daughter is 16, she’s not really into hiking but with the right vibe, she’ll step up. I’m looking for a 5-6 day trek that’s not too difficult—around 4-5 hours of walking and 500-600m of elevation gain per day. What’s our goal? Well, like everyone, we’d love something not too crowded. We want to experience Nepali village life away from the main routes—terraced fields, all that. Some encounters, authenticity, sharing... And if we can catch a glimpse of some high peaks, even better. Any suggestions?

Hi everyone, We're heading to Colombia soon for two weeks as a family with our two 10-year-old boys. I'm a bit behind on planning our itinerary and could really use your advice! We arrive in Cartagena, where we'll spend 3 nights. Next, we're heading to the Tayrona area for 3 nights. Could you recommend a nice hotel with a pool, ideally family-friendly? Unfortunately, Senda Watapuy and Senda Koguiwa are already fully booked for our dates. After that, we were thinking of spending a few days in Minca. Is that a good idea in late July/early August? How many nights would you recommend? Finally, we're looking for a last stop before returning to France. We've heard about Mompox, but we're hesitant because it seems like a big detour. We love nature, animals, beautiful landscapes, beaches, and authentic places. Do you think Mompox is worth the detour with two kids, or would you recommend another destination (Palomino, Barú, La Guajira...) instead? We don’t want to take any domestic flights. Thanks in advance for all your tips and experiences!

Hi everyone!

New to this forum, I’m planning a pretty big project for 2028. I’m heading to Nepal to do a trek from Kathmandu all the way to Everest Base Camp (a cool 5,300 m 😄). This trek is a bit special because even though I’ll be part of a group, I’m going solo (so far, no problem—I’m used to it). But it’s my first real trek, and it’s also a humanitarian one: once I reach base camp, I’ll stay an extra week to help clean up the waste left by tens of thousands of climbers! Since I’m originally from South America, from two countries that share the Andes, I have a deep respect for mountains—they fascinate me. So Everest… it’s kind of the trip of a lifetime!

So, a little question for those who’ve done treks to Everest before… any tips for good mental preparation (I’m already working on the physical side)?

Thanks in advance for your advice! 🙂

Hello,

We’re planning a 3-week trip to Laos, focusing solely on the north. Our main goal is to do two 4-day treks in two different areas of Northern Laos.

We land in Bangkok on December 12th and will head straight to Chiang Mai before crossing into northern Laos at Huay Xai. Our journey will start there, ending in Vientiane, with a stop in Luang Prabang and the surrounding area. We’ll then take a night train from Udon Thani on December 30th to catch our flight back in Bangkok.

Right now, we’re mainly looking for reliable contacts to organize our two treks. From what we’ve read so far, trekking options exist around Luang Namtha, Phongsali (if it’s not too cold during that period, since we’ll have our 3-year-old daughter with us), or near Muang Ngoi and Nong Khiaw, as we’ve seen there are possibilities in that area too.

If we can organize both treks with the same contact, that would be perfect.

We’d prefer to avoid big agencies with a high-street presence and instead work directly with a local who knows their stuff and can give us good advice. We want to combine stunning landscapes (we love hiking) with cultural encounters in local villages.

We’d love to hear your tips and experiences—maybe some areas are better than others, less crowded, or more challenging (though we’re keeping in mind our 3-year-old, who’s used to hiking but we don’t want to put her in any danger).

That’s the gist of our plans for now! Looking forward to hearing from you, fellow travelers

We spent a few days in Tajikistan with a Tajik guide, Remy Fayziddin, who speaks French and welcomed us into his home in his village of Voru. This village is very remote, located in the heart of the Fan Mountains, and reaching it in an old 4x4 is already a real expedition. We stayed with this guide in the purest Tajik tradition: it was a very enriching experience because the Tajiks are extremely welcoming. We were able to go on a trek on the Kulikalon Lakes plateau with the guide—it was truly stunning. Then we took another walk around this village of Voru, which is nestled in a valley at over 2,000 meters in altitude. This immersion in the village was very interesting and also very moving because we were able to discover a world so far removed from our own, yet where people truly live together and can all count on one another. Our guide is very involved in the development of his village and in welcoming travelers into his home, as well as sharing his knowledge of the region through organized treks—it’s a way to develop his village. We came back enchanted by this stay (even if the sanitary conditions weren’t always easy…). - But that’s just a detail compared to everything we discovered: breathtaking landscapes and incredibly endearing people! !

hi fellow travelers I really need your help to plan our trip. A little background: we’re a family of 2 adults and 2 kids aged 11 and 12. We’re used to traveling independently—no guide. We’re planning a 1-month trip this summer (August) to Indonesia, but we’re unsure which island would suit us best. We’ve already been to Bali and don’t want to go back. We land in Jakarta and plan to fly to one or two islands the next day. We especially love the sea and snorkeling. We’ve already visited plenty of temples, mountain hikes (I can’t do those anymore after a serious fracture), and seen orangutans. As you’ve probably guessed, our thing is the big blue and waterfalls. So, what to choose between Lombok, Sulawesi, Flores, and Sumatra for a month? Which island is the most beach and snorkeling-focused based on your experience? We can take flights, boats, and rent a car—no guide needed. Thank you a thousand times for your valuable tips!

Hi, has anyone been to the Api Himal region recently? Can you do the trek staying in lodges or tea houses in 2025? Thanks, Aichatou

Hi there!

I’ll be in Peru in mid-May and I’d really love to do the Huayhuash trek. Back in France, I’ve done a few treks independently with my own gear, but since I travel light and solo, I think it’d be more interesting—and safer—for me to do this trek with a guide who can also provide equipment.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a guide and/or trekking agency, as well as an idea of the price for a 10- or 12-day trek?

Thanks so much! :)!!

Hi there, I’m planning to do the full Cañón del Colca trek in 3 stages (Cabanaconde/Llahuar/Sagalle/San Juan/Cabanaconde), if the weather allows it, of course. Are trekking poles allowed in Peru? I don’t want to carry them unnecessarily. (I don’t have rubber tips since they’re trail-running poles.) Do you have any tips on accommodations? Should I book in advance, or is there always somewhere to stay? (I’ll be there at the end of October or in November.) All advice and tips are welcome! Thanks

hi, we’d like to do a trek in Nepal, and we’re thinking of the Annapurna Circuit—it’s cheaper than the Everest trek. Our plan is to do it without a guide or porter. We’re used to the mountains, not so much to high altitude, but if we acclimate well, there’s no reason it should go wrong ;)

No guide = handling permits, transport, and accommodation on our own...

So my question is: is it possible to book lodges in advance before departure? Or, even better, day by day?

I’ve read some older posts, so I’m asking again to get up-to-date info on what’s happening now. We’re planning to go mid-November 2026 or March 2027.

Thanks for your tips! :)

Hi, We’re planning to do the 4-day trek from Mestia to Ushguli without an agency. The descriptions mention that there are accommodations at each stop, but we can’t find any details about them. Has anyone got info or feedback on this route?

Thanks

Cat, Bruno.

Hi there! I’m heading out in August for a two-day trek in the Vale do Pati. Do I need proper hiking boots, or will trail-running shoes do the job? Thanks in advance for your feedback! 😊😃

Hi there, we’re planning to do the Valley of Roses trek without a guide. Which village should we start the trek from? Is the route easy to find? Will 3 to 4 days be enough? (We’re experienced hikers and good walkers.) Which stopover villages would you recommend?.....Thanks! FG

Hello! We’re spending a few days in Toraja country at the end of May. We’d love to do a day trek—taking our time—on a route that’s stunning in terms of scenery, but not a level 5 in difficulty! Any suggestions you can share, please? Thanks in advance

Hi there, my friend and I are heading to Sichuan and the Kham region in August and we’d love to do a 4- to 5-day trek around Tagong. I’ve got a few questions: 1/ Is it possible to find a guide on the spot in Kangding, Litang, or Tagong at the last minute? Or better yet, do you have the contact details for a guide you’d recommend? 2/ I’ve found Chinese guides online, but no Tibetan guides. It seems to me that a Tibetan guide would be a better fit. What do you think? 3/ The listed prices are really high, especially because of the porter services (tents, cooking gear, etc.) and the fact that, on top of the high-mountain guide, there’s also an English-speaking translator. We’re used to hiking independently in the high mountains, we carry our own backpacks, and we don’t need a cook. Is it possible to hire a guide without porter services or with limited porter support?

I’d love to hear about your experiences! Thanks in advance! 😊

hi there I live near Dole, so not too far away, and I sometimes go hiking (Camino de Santiago, Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, etc.), and I’d love it if someone could suggest a trek in the Vosges—I really don’t know the area well. (Yeah, I know, I’m a little embarrassed about that.) If you could recommend a nice route. Arrival by car or train, doesn’t matter. Thanks so much!

Hi there, I’m ready to set off on the Peaks of the Balkans trek from June 18 to July 3. I’m used to long distances, elevation gain, and self-sufficiency. The last thing holding me back is overcrowding. Have any of you done it recently? Could you give me some insight on that and any other tips that might be useful? I’ll be arriving in Tirana, and any advice on getting to Theth would be a huge help too. Thanks for your replies. Alain

Hi there,

I’ll be in Nepal in October. I’m planning to do the Annapurna trek and climb Mera Peak. From what I’ve heard, it’s one of the most accessible 6,000m peaks and doesn’t require a mandatory guide? The info I’ve found is pretty scattered—mostly just travel agency blogs. :-) Has anyone here already done this climb? I’ve heard you can find guides in Khare for just the final part of the ascent (which is way cheaper).

Thanks for your feedback!

Can’t wait to be there! :-)

Hi there, I’m planning to do the Zanskar crossing from Lamayuru to Darcha in August 2026. I know the route has changed quite a bit in recent years, and I’m struggling to find reliable info on whether it’s possible to do this trek independently with just two people—sleeping and eating with locals each day. I’m also open to hiring a muleteer or going through an agency, so I’d love any recent and trustworthy recommendations on that too. Thanks in advance, Jean-Marc

Hi there,

I’ve been wanting to do this for several years, and this year’s the one. Next September, I’ll be trekking in Tusheti (Georgia), from Omalo to Shatili. Of course, I won’t be renting a vehicle that’d just sit unused. No problem getting to Pshaveli, but from there to Omalo, it’s a dirt road (still the case?) There must be some form of public transport since there are so many guesthouses, and not all travelers come in a 4x4. If any of you have been to Omalo, could you confirm that these shared transports exist and how often they run?

Hi everyone. I’ve been dreaming of this trek since my first trip to Nepal: either joining an existing group (I’m 70, so the pace will be adjusted accordingly...), or organizing it myself with the same guide who accompanied me on the Annapurna Circuit and in Mustang (putting together a group of 2 or 3 people). Who’s interested??? Jules. Agnes

Hi, Could recent travelers let me know the price for the 2D/1N trek in the rice terraces when booking directly on-site upon arrival? Is it possible to join a group? Thanks for your replies, best regards

Hello,

I'm planning to travel from Matsumoto to Tsumago to hike to Magome. Is it reasonable to leave early in the morning from Matsumoto by train, stop in Narai for a stroll (knowing we'll have our big backpacks, I hope there's a luggage locker at the station), and then continue to Tsumago to do the hike to Magome?

Or is it better to stop and sleep halfway in Kiso-Fukushima? (I looked for accommodations in Narai but couldn't find any.)

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Hi there, I’m planning to hike in China in July/August, no specific regions in mind yet but probably in the southwest. Can anyone tell me if it’s generally easy to do multi-day independent hikes and if wild camping in a tent is allowed? Thanks

Hi there, I’d like to spend a week in the Dolomites (4 days of trekking and a few day hikes). Unfortunately, it’ll be in August (no choice). My questions are: - For a first time in the Dolomites, which 4-day trek should I pick? I’d love the most spectacular and varied landscapes possible. Around 1,000m elevation gain per day. - Is it busier the first or last week of August? - Will it still feel "quiet" while hiking? Not like a conga line in August...?

Thanks so much for your help! !