Which Asian country should you visit first?

For most British travellers making a first trip to Asia, it comes down to Japan, Thailand or Sri Lanka — and the deciding factor is how much unfamiliarity you actually want.

Japan is extraordinary and, contrary to its reputation, one of the easiest countries in the world to travel in. Thailand is the gentlest introduction to Southeast Asia. Sri Lanka is compact, green and manageable. Vietnam, India and China all repay a visit enormously and ask more of you.

In short

• Japan — the most different, and the most orderly. Superb for first-timers who want to be amazed rather than challenged
• Thailand — the easiest travelling, beaches included
• Sri Lanka — small, varied and gentle: tea country, ancient cities, safari and coast in a fortnight
• Vietnam & Cambodia — a journey rather than a stay, and the strongest food
• India — the most rewarding and the most intense. Rarely the right first trip
• China — a continent, not a country-sized holiday. Best when you can give it three weeks

Every one of these countries is a long flight. What actually separates them for a first-time visitor is how much adjustment the place asks of you on arrival.

Least demanding: Japan and Thailand. Japan is unfamiliar in almost every respect and yet astonishingly easy — clean, punctual, safe, and organised to a degree that removes most friction. Thailand is warm, used to visitors, and gentle with them.

Middling: Sri Lanka and Vietnam. Both are straightforward with a guide; both are noisier and less predictable than the two above.

Most demanding: India and China. India is loud, crowded and brilliant, and first-time visitors are frequently overwhelmed around day two — which is normal, and is why a small group with a good guide changes the experience entirely. China is not overwhelming so much as vast, and the language barrier is real.

None of that is a ranking of quality. It is a ranking of how much you have to absorb before you start enjoying yourself.

Japan — 14 days, or 12 for a quieter route, or 20 for the full sweep. Temples, food, mountains, trains, and a culture that rewards attention. The best-run country on this list.

Thailand. Temples and hill country in the north, then beaches. The most complete holiday-shaped trip here.

Sri Lanka — 15 days. Remarkable range for a small island: the hill train and tea plantations, Sigiriya and the ancient cities, an elephant safari, and three days on the east coast at the end.

Vietnam & Cambodia — 14 days. Hanoi to Angkor: Ha Long Bay, imperial Hue, Hoi An, the Mekong Delta, and the temples of Angkor to finish.

Rajasthan, India — 13 days. Udaipur, Jodhpur, the Thar desert, Jaipur, a tiger reserve and the Taj Mahal at sunrise. Extraordinary, and hot.

China — 20 days. Beijing, the Great Wall, Xi'an, the Yangtze, Yunnan and the rice terraces. Needs the time it needs.

Heat. Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and India are hot and humid for most of the year. Japan has four proper seasons and China's are more European. If heat is difficult for you, Japan in spring or autumn is the comfortable answer.

Steps and terrain. Japan means station stairs and temple approaches; Sri Lanka means Sigiriya and temple steps; India means fort ascents. Thailand is the flattest of the group.

Trip length. Sri Lanka, Vietnam and India work in a fortnight. China really does not.

Food confidence. All six are superb. Japan and Thailand are the easiest if you are cautious; India and Vietnam reward the adventurous.

When you can travel. Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka suit our winter; Japan is spring and autumn; India is best in the cooler months; China spreads more evenly.

If you want to be amazed and still sleep well: Japan. It is the trip travellers most often describe as the best they have taken, and the practical fears about it — language, complexity, cost — turn out to be largely unfounded on a guided trip.

If you want a holiday as well as a journey: Thailand.

If you want variety in a small package: Sri Lanka.

If you have travelled in Asia before: Vietnam and Cambodia, or India.

If you have three weeks and a long-standing curiosity: China.

Every trip mentioned here is land-only, runs on guaranteed departures — going ahead regardless of how many others have booked — and carries between 10 and 14 travellers. They sit across our Asian brands, so a specialist can compare them for you without steering you towards one site.

Our comparison of Vietnam or Thailand goes deeper into that particular pair.