Set-Jetting in Asia: 17 Most Beautiful Film Location Tours You Can Actually Enjoy

You've seen it a dozen times on screen: a limestone spike rising from a green bay, a jungle temple wrapped in tree roots, a rooftop bar above a glittering harbor. Set-jetting in Asia lets you walk into those frames, then keep going into the real place beyond them.

This guide covers multiple film and series destinations in Asia, from Maya Bay in Thailand to West Lake in China. For each one, you'll find the scene, the real place, what to do there, and when to go.

 

 

What Is Set-Jetting? Why Asia's Film Locations Are Drawing Travelers

Set-jetting is travel planned around the places where a film or TV series was shot. It belongs to the broader category of film tourism, with one difference: set-jetters build the trip around the location rather than adding a studio tour to a city break.

Streaming has widened the audience. A drama can reach viewers around the world on the same night it airs in Asia, and a single episode can turn a quiet resort or village into a trending topic. The numbers show it:

• Hangzhou, China: international air arrivals rose 9% year on year between March and June 2026, according to Amadeus data, after Pursuit of Jade launched. Arrivals from Vietnam jumped 516%.
• Koh Samui, Phuket, and Bangkok, Thailand: HBO reports that season three of The White Lotus put US$36.9 million into local economies during production.
• Chaoshan, Guangdong, China: more than 1.7 million people visited sites linked to the film Dear You over the May Day holiday in 2026.

The best set-jetting trips go past the photo. They follow three steps: recognize the scene, learn what the place really is, and then spend real time in it. A morning in Phang Nga Bay is also a lesson in karst geology and a stop at a floating fishing village. Angkor is also the heart of the Khmer Empire.

 

17 Set-Jetting Destinations in Asia: Film Locations You Can Visit

Phang Nga Bay (Thailand)

 

 

• The film: The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
• Best months: November to April
• Getting there: boat tours leave from Phuket, Krabi, and Phang Nga piers

Villain Scaramanga's island hideout in the 1974 film is a needle of rock rising from the sea. It's Ko Tapu, a slender limestone spike beside Khao Phing Kan, inside Ao Phang Nga National Park, Phang Nga Province, southern Thailand. Most visitors photograph Ko Tapu from the neighboring island. A national park fee applies, and group tours usually bundle it, so ask when you book.

The same rock appears in Jurassic World: Rebirth, so Khao Ta Pu now spans two franchises. Pair the stop with a kayak through the bay's sea caves and a visit to the floating fishing village of Ko Panyi. Early departures reach the bay before the mid-morning tour boats.

→ Explore marverlous Phang Nga Bay 

Maya Bay (Thailand)

• The film: The Beach (2000)
• Best months: November to April, once the bay has reopened
• Getting there: about 1 to 1.5 hours by speedboat from Phuket or Krabi

Maya Bay, on Phi Phi Leh island, Krabi Province, is the lagoon where the film's backpackers find their secret paradise, ringed by limestone cliffs. After the film, mass tourism damaged the reef, and Thailand closed the bay in June 2018. It reopened in January 2022 under strict rules, and those rules shape your visit:

• Boats don't anchor in the bay. They land at Loh Samah Bay on the island's back side, and you walk a boardwalk in.
• Swimming in Maya Bay isn't permitted. Snorkel at nearby Pileh Lagoon instead.
• Visits run on timed slots of about an hour, with a national park fee of around 400 baht (roughly US$11) for foreign adults.
• The bay closes every year from August 1 to September 30 and reopens on October 1.

Local tip: Phi Phi day tours keep running during the closure, but swap Maya Bay for other stops, so check the itinerary before you pay. Operators also suggest sleeping a night on Phi Phi Don and taking an early longtail, which gets you in ahead of the speedboats from Phuket.

→ You might love: Interesting activities on Phi Phi, Khai Nok Islands & Maya Bay

Krabi, Phang Nga and Trang (Thailand)

 

 

• The film: Jurassic World - Rebirth (2025)
• Best months: November to April
• Getting there: fly into Krabi or Trang, then use boats for the islands

The film features a dinosaur-filled island jungle, dramatic waterfalls, and a hidden, untouched coast. Director Gareth Edwards, who previously shot The Creator in Thailand, returned to the country's southern region for this production. According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, key filming locations include Hat Chao Mai National Park in Trang Province, Khao Phanom Bencha National Park in Krabi Province, and Ao Phang Nga National Park in Phang Nga Province.

Studio work took place in Malta and the UK, so Thailand supplied the jungle and the coastline. The film opened in July 2025, so this is the freshest set-jetting circuit in the country. You can cover a jungle waterfall, an island beach, and a karst bay in one southern loop, with a cave passage that opens onto a hidden lagoon as the finale.

→ Enjoy relaxing time at Emerald Pool Krabi

Koh Samui and Phuket (Thailand)

• The series: The White Lotus Season 3 (2025)
• Best months: January to April
• Getting there: both islands have airports, so allow a full travel day between them

The main resort, villas, and breakfast scenes were filmed at Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui. The hotel bar scenes take place at the Singing Bird Lounge at Anantara Lawana Koh Samui, while the lobby and entrance scenes feature Anantara Bophut Koh Samui. Over on Phuket, the spa pavilion and the opening and closing scenes were shot at Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas, and dinner scenes were filmed at Ta Khai restaurant within Rosewood Phuket.

You don't need a suite at the Four Seasons to follow the show. The bar, the restaurant, and the spa belong to other properties, and each can be booked separately. The two islands also sit on opposite coasts: Koh Samui is in the Gulf of Thailand, and Phuket is on the Andaman Sea. Their dry seasons differ, so January to April is the window that suits both.

→ Do not miss: Finding the natural beauty of Koh Samui

Ta Prohm and Angkor (Cambodia)

 

 

• The film: Lara Croft - Tomb Raider (2001)
• Best months: November to February, when it's cooler and dry
• Getting there: fly into Siem Reap; the temples are a short tuk-tuk ride from town

In the film, Lara Croft walks into a temple swallowed by the jungle. The real one is Ta Prohm, inside the UNESCO-listed Angkor Archaeological Park, Siem Reap Province, northwest Cambodia. The temple has been left deliberately half-ruined, with silk-cotton and strangler fig roots gripping the stone. It's the most photographed example of how the forest can affect a temple in Cambodia.

• Best advice: The easiest route is the Small Circuit, a loop of about 17 km that links Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm, Banteay Kdei, and Bayon. 
• A good day looks like this: Start at sunrise at Angkor Wat to catch the early light. Afterward, visit Ta Prohm in the early morning before the tour buses arrive. In the late morning, explore Banteay Kdei and then admire the famous faces of Bayon. On day two, head to Banteay Srei and Beng Mealea, an overgrown temple that offers an experience similar to Ta Prohm without the heavy crowds.
• Note: You need an Angkor Pass, sold by the government operator Angkor Enterprise, US$62 for three days and US$72 for seven days. The three-day pass is the better value for most visitors, because it turns Angkor from a checklist into a place.

→ Discover more: Splendor Trip to Religious Angkor Wat

Halong Bay, Quang Ninh Province (Vietnam)

• The film: Kong - Skull Island (2017)
• The scene: A monster-haunted island is ringed by dramatic limestone towers.
• Best months: October to April for clearer, cooler weather
• Getting there: roughly 2.5 hours by road from Hanoi, depending on traffic

Skull Island was built from three Vietnamese landscapes. At the time of release, Vietnam's state media described it as the largest production ever shot in the country.

Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site located in northern Vietnam, where thousands of karst islets rise from emerald waters. The best way to experience it is on an overnight cruise in Halong bay, which lets you kayak into quiet lagoons after the day boats have left. The nearby Bai Tu Long Bay offers the same striking scenery with fewer crowds.

→ Do not miss: Stunning caves in Halong Bay

Ninh Binh Province (Vietnam)

 

 

• The film: Kong - Skull Island (2017)
• The scene: river channels and jungle-draped karsts, the island's wild interior.
• Best months: roughly March to May and September to November
• Getting there: 2 to 2.5 hours by train or road from Hanoi

The film features the Trang An Landscape Complex, Tam Coc, and Van Long Nature Reserve in Ninh Bình Province, located roughly 100 km south of Hanoi. Celebrated as "Halong Bay on land," Trang An is a UNESCO World Heritage site where sampan rowboats glide along waterways beneath towering limestone peaks and past quiet rice paddies. Nearby Van Long is home to the largest wetland reserve in the Red River Delta.

Quang Binh Province (Vietnam)

• The film: Kong - Skull Island (2017)
• The scene: the dark, cave-riddled heart of the island.
• Best months: roughly February to August; storms and flooding are likelier from September to November
• Getting there: about 1.5 hours by air from Hanoi to Đồng Hới, then about 30 minutes by road

Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, in central Vietnam, holds some of the largest caves on earth and is World Heritage-listed. The production shot at the entrance to the Tu Lan caves in Quang Binh, and the park's river-and-cave landscape is a natural match for Skull Island's mood. Book cave tours through a licensed operator in Phong Nha town, and allow two days.

→ See tour: Vietnam’s Astonishing Caves and Tranquil Scenery

Singapore

 

 

• The film: Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
• Best months: February to April tend to be drier, and the city works year-round
• Getting there: Changi Airport, a major regional hub

Crazy Rich Asians was the first major Hollywood studio film in 25 years with an all-Asian principal cast, and it gave two countries a shared shopfront. Singapore supplied the skyline. Malaysia supplied a surprising amount of the grandeur.

The film's Singapore scenes move across four sites:

1. Marina Bay and the Marina Bay Sands skyline, best seen at dusk from the waterfront
2. Gardens by the Bay, the Supertree gardens beside the bay
3. CHIJMES, a restored 19th-century convent complex that now houses restaurants
4. Newton Food Center, one of Singapore's best-known hawker centers

Spend a full day on it: start at Marina Bay, then add a skyline cocktail, a Chinatown heritage walk, and a hawker-center dinner. That sequence takes you from the film's glamour to the food culture it borrows from.

→ You might love: The distinct landmarks of Singapore in a city tour

Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Langkawi (Malaysia)

• The film: Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
• Best months: December to March for Penang and Langkawi
• Getting there: direct flights link Singapore with Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Langkawi

Much of the Young family's grandeur was shot in Malaysia, not Singapore. The family estate is Carcosa Seri Negara in Kuala Lumpur, which has been repurposed as a heritage venue, so check its visitor access before you plan around it. 

→ See tour: Beautiful Islands & City of Malaysia

Ubud and Bali (Indonesia)

 

 

• The film: Eat Pray Love (2010)
• The scene: Elizabeth Gilbert's search for balance, set among rice terraces, temples, and healers.
• Best months: April to October, the dry season
• Getting there: about 1 to 1.5 hours by road from Ngurah Rai Airport, Denpasar

Ubud, in the central highlands of Bali, Indonesia. The film's Bali chapter is rooted here, with side trips to the south coast, including Padang Padang Beach near Uluwatu. Beyond the screen, Ubud's rice terraces around Tegallalang are farmed with the 1,000-year-old subak irrigation system, recognized by UNESCO as a cultural landscape.

→ Customize your Bali Hidden Paradise trip

Mumbai (India)

• The film: Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
• Best months: November to February
• Getting there: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport

Slumdog Millionaire won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and most of its story plays out in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India's financial capital. Key sites include Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (the Victorian Gothic railway station that UNESCO lists as a World Heritage Site), Dhobi Ghat (the open-air laundry district), and Dharavi (the dense neighborhood at the film's heart).

A note on Dharavi: it's a working community of homes and small businesses, not a set. Choose a guided walk led by residents, and skip anything that treats the neighborhood as a spectacle. A good guide shows its recycling, pottery, and leather workshops, and asks before taking any photograph of a person.

→ See tour: Goa to Mumbai Honeymoon Beach Tour

Chaoshan, Guangdong (China)

 

 

• The film: Dear You (2026)
• Best months: October to December and March to April
• Getting there: fly into Jieyang Chaoshan or Shantou

Dear You (给阿嬷的情书, loosely "Love Letters to Grandma"), a Chaoshan-dialect film released on April 30, 2026. It was shot in the Chaoshan region of eastern Guangdong Province, in the cities of Shantou, Chaozhou, and Jieyang, and partly in Thailand.

Chaoshan is known for its ancestral halls, walled villages, and tea-and-seafood food culture. Shantou's tourism authorities ran their first guided tour of the film's locations on May 23. Sites include Longhu Ancient Village and Chaozhou's West Lake area.

Chaoshan has a food culture of its own, with beef hotpot, oyster omelets, and gongfu tea, and it rarely appears on first-time China itineraries.

Hengdian and Hangzhou, Zhejiang (China)

• The film: Pursuit of Jade (2026)
• Best months: March to May and September to November
• Getting there: fly or take the high-speed train to Hangzhou, then arrange a transfer to Hengdian

Pursuit of Jade (逐玉), a historical drama that premiered in March 2026 and reached Netflix's Global Top 10 for non-English titles.

The production's main base was Hengdian World Studios, a studio complex in Zhejiang Province, China. Know what you're getting: Hengdian is a purpose-built set town, not a natural landscape. For the beauty, pair it with the UNESCO-listed West Lake in Hangzhou, whose willow-lined shores and pagodas appear in the series.

Hangzhou recorded a 9% rise in international air arrivals from March to June 2026, so go outside on weekends and public holidays.

→ Explore more: Unforgettable China Tours

Kenting and Beyond (Taiwan)

• The film: Life of Pi (2012)
• The scene: a boy, a tiger, and a lifeboat on a luminous ocean.
• Best months: November to April for Kenting, before typhoon season
• Getting there: fly into Kaohsiung for Kenting; the Taipei Zoo is in the capital

Most of Ang Lee's film wasn't shot in India. Production ran for about five and a half months in Taiwan. The ocean sequences were filmed in a giant wave tank built at a former airport in Taichung, now a business park, so that stop isn't a sight. You can visit the surrounding landscape: Kenting National Park in southern Taiwan (including Houbi Lake and Baisha Bay), and the Taipei Zoo (the setting for scenes of Pi's family zoo).

The India sidebar: the film's Indian chapters were shot in Puducherry (Pondicherry), a former French colony on the Coromandel Coast, and in Munnar, in Kerala's tea hills. If you're building an itinerary for India, the two sit naturally in the south.

→ Do not miss: Private Taiwan Tours with Dynamic Culture and Scenic Wonders

Tokyo (Japan)

• The film: Lost in Translation (2003)
• The scene: two strangers, a hotel bar, and a city that never sleeps.
• Best months: March to May and October to November
• Getting there: Haneda or Narita airports

The movie was set at the Park Hyatt Tokyo in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. The hotel reopened on December 9, 2025, after a 19-month renovation, and its New York Grill & Bar has been restored. Around it, you can add:

• Shibuya Crossing, the scramble where the city's pace is most visible
• Shinjuku, the neon district below the hotel's tower
• Heian Shrine in Kyoto, where one of the film's quieter scenes takes place

→ See tour: The Essence of Japan

Seoul (South Korea) 

 

 

• The film: Parasite (2019)
• Best months: April to June and September to November
• Getting there: Incheon International Airport, about an hour from central Seoul by express train

Parasite, directed by Bong Joon-ho, was the first non-English-language film to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards, and its setting is Seoul, South Korea. The wealthy Park family's house was a purpose-built set, so you can't visit it. What you can do is walk the steep alleys of Ahyeon-dong in Seoul's Mapo district, which stand in for the family's descent through a flooding city.

Ahyeon-dong is a residential neighborhood. Keep voices low, avoid photographing doorways and windows, and don't linger on private stairs.

→ Discover numerous exciting experiences in Japan

 

Sustainable Movie Tourism: Visiting Famous Film Locations Responsibly

Many film locations are small, fragile, or lived in, so how you visit matters. Here are four habits that make a difference everywhere:

• Respect local communities. Places like Seoul's Ahyeon-dong, Mumbai's Dharavi, and Chaoshan's villages are homes. Ask before photographing people, keep noise to a minimum, and follow your guide's lead.
• Protect natural areas. Stay on boardwalks, don't touch coral or sit on temple walls, and don't take drones to protected sites unless a permit allows it.
• Follow visitor restrictions. Timed slots, seasonal closures, dress codes at temples, and no-swim rules exist for a reason. Treat them as part of the itinerary, not obstacles.
• Support local businesses. Eat in neighborhood restaurants, buy from local craftspeople, and choose small-group or private operators with local guides.

Create Your Own Cinematic Journey Across Asia

The best set-jetting trips start with a scene and end somewhere the film never showed you: a temple at dawn, a hawker stall at midnight, a village that remembers the crew. The locations in this guide are real, reachable, and, with the right timing, quieter than the screen suggests.

Follow the footsteps of your favorite movie characters while discovering Asia's hidden cultures, breathtaking landscapes, and unforgettable experiences. Ready to start planning your set-jetting adventure? We are always willing to help you crafting a customized itinerary based on your Asia favorite film locations!