jc1229

My husband and I are planning our honeymoon for 2 weeks in early April and are coming down, after much research, to actually booking things and I have a question about flights:

Our international flight is in and out of BKK. Our itinerary will require us to have one way flights from BKK to HAN, from HAN to Siem Reep, from Siem Reep to Krabi (I'm guessing through BKK), and finally, from Krabi to BKK. What is the best (and most affordable) way to book these - we would prefer to do so in advance to avoid any stress while on the trip. We are working with a travel agency in Vietnam for hotels, tours etc. - should we go through them? Does anyone recommend other options?

Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom!
Jen

Kathie

I use Eddie at the American Express agency in Bangkok [email protected]

Tell him what you want (Business class or lowest economy fare, or one that is changeable and refundable, etc)

He always delivers my tickets to my hotel in Bangkok. They are waiting for me when I check in.

zeketheportie

Try Bangkok Airways website and see if a Discovery Pass will work for you. You have to purchase them outside of Thailand. We were able to call and pick ours up at an agent in Toronto.

jc1229

Thanks for the advice. The discovery pass looks like a fantastic deal! It doesn't fly to the places I need though, so won't work for this trip. But I highly recommend people check it out if planning a long trip with many stops in the region.

I checked out Air Asia's website - they seem to have really good rates. Does anyone know how reputable and reliable they are? Also, can anyone tell me how many hours I should leave between arriving in BKK from JFK and connecting to another airline to Hanoi?

JamesA

Bangkok Airways you can use for BKK-Seim Reap return, it's just 55 mins. Then also use that for BKK-Krabi return ( 1 hr 10-20 ).

Then, BKK-HAN return ( 1 hr 40-50 ), you can use Air Asia ( budget airline, 15 kg baggage allowance, don't complain if delayed or you miss connections, they don't interline, you need to leave lots of time between flights in case of any delays ), or, 3 x weekly with Air France, Eddie can arrange that for you though if Air asia you would need to book that online yourself. Air France would be more expensive BKK-Hanoi no where as cheap as Air Asia but you of course get a quality flight.
Air France including taxes is about USD 230 return.

Do note that it is Thai New Year mid April ( 13-17 ) and that is very busy time for travel and accommodation.

The expensive sector is Siem Reap, but you need to caculate using the Bangkok Airways pass for Siem reap and Krabi compared with using them for Siem Reap and then Air Asia for Krabi and Hanoi.

Others may know otherwise ( as flights change a lot ) but as far as I know from HAN to Siem Reap you would have to route via Ho Chi Minh City ( if you chose not to route thru BKK ) and that could work out pricey, but you need to get those fares on paper and sort the best/cost effecitive routing.

Air Asia are good for the fares but just note that you need lots of spare time between flights in case of any long delays.

cruisinred

Vietnam Airways does fly direct between Hanoi and Siem Reap, once or twice daily depending on the day. If you are working with a travel agent or tour operator in Vientam, they will be able to get you the best price on the ticket. Otherwise, I booked tickets for Vietnam Air on expedia with no problems.
The flights we had on VA were all on new planes; I had no worries about safety.

jc1229

I checked on the discovery pass again - their current flight map has Krabi listed as a "future route" - let me know if that has changed.

Thanks for the input on Air Asia - the legs we would use that airline for are not connecting legs with any other flights, so that should be ok. What happens if your bag is more than 15kg?

I had the travel agent we are using in Vietnam book our flight on Vietnam Air direct from HAN to REP - quite pricy though - $248 per person for one way.

Thanks again for all the input!