Photo Courtesy of Journeys Within

By Maryann Hammers

Banyan trees and beautiful beaches, ancient temples and floating markets, rice fields and colonial buildings — Southeast Asia melds history and tradition with modern cities and nightlife. Journeys Within, a Southeast Asia tour company, specializes in personalized tours through Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos. Active duty military members and veterans get 10 percent off any tour.

“Our tours focus on really getting to know the local people and culture, combining amazing accommodations with experiences you don't often find with other tours or travel agents,” says tour consultant Courtney Ridgel. “We design custom tours for each traveler’s interests, budget, and needs. We often work with Vietnam War veterans who wish to travel back to where they were stationed during the war to create very personal, significant experiences.”

Tours may also include such activities as learning to meditate from a Buddhist monk in Northern Thailand, spending an evening trying Khmer delicacies, floating in a hot-air balloon at sunrise in Myanmar, taking a bamboo raft on the Mekong River and being met by elephants for a ride through the jungle in Thailand, and riding ATVs through the rice fields of rural Cambodia.

Learn more here. For information and pricing, call (877) 454-3672 and mention your military status.

For more bucket-list and exotic adventures with a military discount, see our previously published article on once-in-a-lifetime trips. For discounts on tours within the U.S., as well as to far-away lands, see our previously published “Take A Tour” article.