Thailand and Bali from Quebec: the Southeast Asia guide
Neither destination has a nonstop flight from Montreal: allow twenty to twenty-six hours door to door for Bangkok and twenty-four to thirty for Bali. That is precisely why people go for two or three weeks, and often do both in the same trip. The dry season runs from November to March for each of them.
Two formalities have to be settled before departure, and both changed recently: the Thai digital arrival card, compulsory since May 2025, and the Bali tourism contribution, which comes on top of the visa on arrival.
To place Southeast Asia among the other long-haul destinations, see the guide to world destinations from Quebec.
Thailand, Bali, or both?
Fourteen days: choose. Thailand for the variety and the food, Bali for the cultural depth and the rest. Twenty-one days or more: do both, because they complement each other remarkably well.
| Criterion | Thailand | Bali |
|---|---|---|
| Size | A whole country, several very different regions | An island of 5,780 square kilometres, compact |
| From Montreal | 20 to 26 h, one connection | 24 to 30 h, one or two connections |
| Ideal length | 14 to 21 days | 10 to 14 days |
| Culture | Theravada Buddhism, temples everywhere | Balinese Hinduism, unique in the world |
| Beaches | Two coasts, two seasons, an enormous choice | Very good in the south, with serious surf |
| Food | One of the great cuisines of the world | Excellent, though less varied |
| Wellbeing | Massage everywhere, at a rare standard | Ubud is a world capital of yoga |
| Who it suits | Food, variety, the islands | Quiet, nature, the sacred as daily life |
What should you see in Thailand?
| Destination | Length | Feel | What you go for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bangkok | 3 to 4 days | Chaotic and fascinating | The Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Wat Arun, Chinatown at night, the night markets, the rooftop terraces |
| Chiang Mai | 3 to 4 days | Cultural and peaceful | The old town and its moats, Doi Suthep, the Sunday market, cooking classes |
| Chiang Rai | 1 to 2 days | Strange and little visited | The white temple, the blue temple, the golden triangle |
| Ayutthaya | 1 day | Historic | The old capital, on the World Heritage list, an hour and a half by train from Bangkok |
| Ko Tao | 3 to 4 days | Diving | Among the best sites in Southeast Asia, and the most accessible place to get certified |
| Ko Pha Ngan | 3 to 4 days | Bohemian | The full moon party in the south, and perfectly quiet beaches in the north |
| Ko Samui | 4 to 5 days | Comfortable | Chaweng and Lamai, temples in the jungle, the Ang Thong marine park |
| Krabi and Ko Phi Phi | 3 to 4 days | Spectacular | Limestone cliffs, lagoons, kayaking through the caves |
| Phuket | 3 to 5 days | International | The Sino-Portuguese old town, Phang Nga bay, the most complete infrastructure in the south |
The detail that reshapes a plan: the two coasts do not share a season. The Gulf of Thailand, to the east, is at its best from November to May; the Andaman Sea, to the west, from November to April. When it is raining on one side, it is fine on the other. An adviser keeps you from booking straight into the monsoon.
The seasonal closures nobody mentions
Maya Bay, on Ko Phi Phi Leh, has been open again since 2022 after years of closure, but it shuts from 1 August to 30 September every year, swimming there is forbidden and visitor numbers are capped.
The Similan and Surin island national parks close from 15 May to 15 October. And landing on Ko Tachai has been permanently banned since 2016, whatever some brochures still promise.
On elephants, let us be direct, because this is a subject the industry lied about for a long time. No elephant riding: the training it requires is brutal and the animal’s spine is not built for it. A genuine sanctuary offers no rides, no shows and no bathing with visitors, uses no bullhook, and does not breed its animals in captivity. The word sanctuary is protected by no law there, so each one has to be checked individually, and your adviser can do that.
What should you see in Bali?
Bali is the only majority-Hindu island in the largest Muslim country on earth. That singularity produced a culture of rare coherence, where the sacred is not a compartment of life but life itself: every morning, offerings of flowers and rice are set down in doorways, in shops, at the foot of trees.
| Destination | Length | Feel | What you go for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubud | 3 to 4 days | Cultural and green | Terraced rice fields, the monkey forest, the market, cooking classes, the kecak dance |
| Seminyak and Canggu | 3 to 4 days | Cosmopolitan, surf | The surf beaches, the food scene, contemporary Bali |
| Uluwatu | 2 to 3 days | Cliffs and waves | The clifftop temple, kecak at sunset, Padang Padang and Bingin |
| Jimbaran and Nusa Dua | 2 to 3 days | Calm, family | Bays protected by reefs, still water, fish dinners on the sand |
| Sidemen and the east | 1 to 2 days | Rural | The Bali visitors do not see: rice fields, villages, Mount Agung |
| Amed and Tulamben | 2 to 3 days | Diving | The best snorkelling on the island, the Liberty wreck, a fishing village still at peace |
| Nusa Penida | 1 to 2 days | Wild | Kelingking cliff, Angel’s Billabong, the manta rays. Forty-five minutes by boat from Sanur. |
Is Bali too touristed? Some areas frankly are, Kuta, Seminyak and the Tegallalang rice terrace viewpoint at midday among them. But the island is large enough and varied enough that an hour of driving gets you out: Sidemen in the hills, Amed and Tulamben in the east, the north around Singaraja. And even in the busiest areas the ceremonies, the offerings and the temples are everywhere. Balinese culture does not let tourism erase it.
What does a twenty-one-day combination look like?
| Days | Stages | What you experience |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | Bangkok | The Grand Palace and Wat Pho early, Chinatown at night. The canals and a floating market. Ayutthaya as a day trip. |
| 5 to 8 | Chiang Mai | Overnight train from Bangkok. The old town temples, the Sunday market, Doi Suthep, a cooking class, a genuine elephant refuge. |
| 9 to 13 | The southern islands | Fly to Krabi or Ko Samui. Ko Phi Phi, Railay, kayaking and snorkelling. Five days that pass like two. |
| 14 to 17 | Ubud | Fly to Denpasar. Rice fields, the monkey forest, the kecak dance, a Balinese cooking class, the Tirta Empul temple. |
| 18 and 19 | Uluwatu | The clifftop temple and kecak at sunset. The surf beaches of the south. |
| 20 and 21 | Seminyak or Canggu | Food, market, a last sunset at Tanah Lot. Home via Kuala Lumpur or Singapore. |
For fourteen days in Thailand alone: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, then a week in the islands. For fourteen days in Bali alone: Ubud, Uluwatu, Canggu, Nusa Penida and Amed. Both destinations deserve time. These are the trips people most regret having rushed.
When should you go to Thailand and Bali?
November to March for both. It is the dry season there and winter here, which works out well. Rates run higher than in the monsoon, and the difference in experience justifies the gap easily.
| Period | Thailand | Bali | Our view |
|---|---|---|---|
| November to March | Dry season | Dry season | The right window for both. Book four to six months ahead. |
| April | Still excellent | First light rains | Excellent in Thailand. Songkran, 13 to 15 April, is worth the trip if you accept being soaked for three days. |
| May and June | Monsoon on the west coast | Rainy season | The Thai east coast stays good. Attractive rates. |
| July and August | Variable | Partial rain | Ko Samui and the Gulf remain workable. Bali gets showers rather than whole days. |
| September and October | Rain on the east coast | Frequent rain | The hardest period for both. Rates at their floor. |
What do you eat?
Thai cooking is built on the balance of five tastes, sweet, salty, sour, bitter and hot, and on fresh herbs rather than dry spices. It is probably the Asian cuisine most immediately likeable to a North American palate.
- Pad thai: the world reference for street food, and rarely as good as on a Bangkok street corner.
- Tom yum and tom kha: one hot and sour, the other with coconut milk. The country’s two great soups.
- The curries: green, red, massaman. Made from fresh chilli pastes, never from powder. Massaman is the mildest.
- Khao soi: the Chiang Mai speciality, egg noodles in a creamy curry. The most comforting dish in Southeast Asia.
- Som tum: the pounded green papaya salad. Explosive and perfectly refreshing.
- Mango sticky rice: from a market, never from a tourist restaurant.
Balinese cooking stands apart from the rest of Indonesia: Hindu, so no beef, but rich in pork, which is unique in the country. Babi guling, spit-roasted suckling pig with spices. Betutu, poultry marinated in a dozen spices and cooked for hours in banana leaf. Nasi campur, the everyday plate of many small portions, still the best way to taste everything. And jamu, the turmeric and ginger tonic sold at the market in the morning.
What does this trip cost?
This is the destination in the guide where the Canadian dollar goes furthest. The flight is almost the only heavy item; once there, everything becomes surprisingly accessible, including things that cost a fortune elsewhere.
- The flight: the main item, and the one that gains most from being booked six to nine months ahead.
- Eating: Thai street food is excellent and costs a fraction of a meal here. Stay with the busy stalls, because turnover is the best guarantee of freshness.
- Bodywork: a Thai or Balinese massage in a good establishment offers value with no equivalent anywhere else in the world.
- Lodging: this is where the budget flexes. A villa with a private pool in Ubud stays within reach, and city hotels in Thailand even more so.
An adviser builds a real estimate from your dates and your style. And for a long connection, it is often better to turn it into a stopover: three to five days in Dubai on the way cuts the journey in half. See our guide to Dubai from Montreal.
Formalities and local customs
Thailand
Canadians enter without a visa, but the permitted length is changing. Regulations published in late August 2026 cut the exemption from sixty to thirty days as of 15 September 2026, for around sixty countries including Canada. A single thirty-day extension remains available locally. If your stay runs past a month, settle it with your adviser before you buy the tickets.
Since May 2025, the Thai digital arrival card has been compulsory at every entry point, by air, land and sea. It is free and completed online before arrival. The passport must be valid six months on entry.
Bali
Visa on arrival for Canadians, valid thirty days and extendable once. It is paid in rupiah, or obtained online before departure, which gives access to the automated gates. On top of it comes the Love Bali tourism contribution, compulsory and separate from the visa, paid online before arrival. The passport must be valid six months on entry.
Health
See a travel clinic six to eight weeks before departure. What to settle: hepatitis A, typhoid, and the malaria question for the rural parts of your itinerary. Dengue circulates all year in both countries and repellent does most of the work, above all at dawn and dusk. Never drink the tap water.
The codes that matter
- In Thailand you never point your foot at a person or at an image of the Buddha, and you do not touch anyone’s head.
- In Bali the offerings set on the ground are part of the ritual: you step around them rather than on them. A sarong is provided at temple entrances.
- In both countries you never lose your temper in public. A disagreement is settled with a smile. Raising your voice makes everyone lose face, yourself included.
- Tattoos are no problem, except those depicting the Buddha or a deity, which can get you refused entry to a temple.
The greatest real risk in either destination is neither crime nor disease. It is the scooter. The roads of Bali are particularly unforgiving to anyone unaccustomed to them. If you do not ride a two-wheeler at home, do not start there.
Weighing this against North Asia? Compare with our guide to Japan from Quebec.
How to have this trip prepared
Tell us how much time you have and what you are after. Our advisers will tell you which Thai coast matches your dates, how to link the two destinations without losing three days to connections, and which elephant refuges genuinely keep their promise.
Talk to an AquaTerra adviser at 1 866 628-6241.
Voyages AquaTerra holds a Quebec travel agency licence. Booking through an agency licensed in Quebec gives access to the Fonds d’indemnisation des clients des agents de voyages (FICAV), which covers certain specific situations; the conditions are set out on opc.gouv.qc.ca. Entry formalities, park closures and health requirements mentioned here were verified in September 2026 and change regularly.
