Isaan doesn’t have huge tourist infrastructure, it’s hard to get out of the big cities to the smaller attractions, and English isn’t as widely spoken, but those “challenges” actually make it much more exciting. Here are six things you should know before you travel Isaan:
1. You don’t need to pre-book – Since the region doesn’t see many tourists, just showing up to guesthouses and bus stops is fine. I didn’t pre-book anything on my trip and never had any issues. You aren’t fighting for space.
2. Try to have your own transportation – Isaan is one of those parts of the world (like Ireland, Southern France, or Iceland) that is best explored with your own transportation. To really get out and see everything the area has to offer, rent your own bike or car and drive around. My fondest memories were getting off the main roads on the back of my taxi driver’s bike and wishing I had my own ride.
3. Drivers can be hired and prices shared – Since I didn’t have my own transportation, I had to hire drivers a lot. That’s expensive, but it was the only way to get to the national parks and ruins I wanted to see as most of the parks and ruins are far outside the cities. However, the drivers all charge set prices, so you can share tuk-tuk or car hire costs with new friends!
4. There are a lot of expats who can help via Couchsurfing – Isaan is filled with English teachers (and old guys and their Thai wives), so if you want to break into the local scene, you can find a lot of hosts on Couchsurfing, as well as people who will show you around (foreigner or Thai!).
5. National parks are far from cities, and day tours are hard to organize – See points #2 and #3 for this.
6. English is not widely spoken – Since there are fewer tourists, there is going to be a bigger language barrier. You’ll be able to get around but expect to use more hand gestures, pointing, and language dictionaries!
