I thought I would share my recent experiences in planning our next Asia trip.
I have recently booked the following trip flying with Eva Air from London to Bangkok. 90% of the time I make my own arrangements online rather than use a tour operator, it is cheaper and a lot more fun. Until I asked a number of tour operators to price the same trip I really didn’t appreciate how much I was saving.
The trip:
1. Arrive BKK and fly to Chiang Rai – transfer to Anantara for three nights
2. Transfer to Chiang Khong, ferry to Houeixay and boat to Pakbeng, overnight at Pakbeng Lodge
3. Boat to Luang Prabang for trekking around LP with Tiger Trails – 2nights at Lao Spirit resort and 2 nights village homestay
4. 4 nights in LP at 3 Nagas (3 Nagas Suite)
5. Fly to BKK for 3 nights in Club room at Conrad (deal includes 2 way airport limo)
6. Back home
The saving by DIY averaged 50% of the packaged tour cost i.e. a 100% mark up!
As far as hotel bookings were concerned, I tried the mainstream online agencies Ebookers, Expedia, Travelocity etc. and invariably found them more expensive, sometime by a little, sometimes by a massive amount. I then tried the Asian based online agents such as asiarooms, sawatdee, huahin many of which I found on this board etc. and found that they too were more expensive, although not by as much. The only exception to this was the Anantara where I booked through www.slh.com where for slh members the rate was slightly cheaper and guaranteed and upgrade to the next highest room if available
On booking with the hotels it was sometimes harder work, particularly in Laos where the IT & telecoms infrastructure can, occasionally, prove a little problematic. But overall, it was more rewarding as I found it easier to arrange the extra touches e.g. particular rooms, special anniversary dinners etc. The ultimate test was that I found it less expensive, sometime much less, to book direct with the hotel.
On no occasion was I asked to pay a deposit, just credit card details and in all cases there was no penalty if cancelled more than 14 days before arrival.
As far as the flights were concerned, I found the international flights were cheapest through ebookers but the Thai & bangkok airways were cheaper on their respective websites.
I will check the online agencies again closer to our departure next March, but am I missing a trick somewhere with these agencies.
DIY –v- Tour operator/ Hotel booking direct –v- agencies
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For hotel accommodations it all depends when you are traveling. In low season you can get good rates directly from the hotel. In winter season it is a little harder to beat the the Asia online agents. It also depends what hotel you are staying at and what type of room. What rates did you get at the Anantara, 3 Nagas and Conrad so we can compare to agents rates.
Are you taking the Luang Say cruise from Houei Say or the inexpensive regular slow boat. Be warned that the toewn of Pakbeng is not that nice.
No one works for free. If you use the services of a tour operator, then that bumps your bills up.
Crellston, Thanks for your report. I agree that tour operators up prices a lot... your experience of doubling the price doesn't suprise me. But while I've been doing my own hotel booking for many years, I find I still can't reliably predict how to get the best price. In some cases, booking directly with the hotel works best, in others I find the local internet booking sites (like sawasdee.com for Thailand) is often less. Like you, I've found that Travelocity and Expedia are usually more expensive. It means I spend a fair amount of time doing research on the best hotel prices before each trip.
Scotters
The prices for the 3 hotels (late March/early April) were as follows:
3 Nagas (3 Nagas Suite) - $171 per night inc tax and breakfast
Anantara - $184 ++ plus a guaranteed upgrade subject to availability
Conrad $219 ++ Executive Floor inc. 2 way limo airport transfer.
Here in the UK we have an added advantage in that the $ continues to fall against the £ making anything priced in USD increasing attractive.
As far as the boat trip from Houei Say to LP is concerned, I did look at the Luang Say cruise but at $365 per person I thought this was very expensive. In the end I booked a private boat as part of the deal with Tiger Trails. I have taken the slow boat before but wanted a the flexibility of being able to stop off at villages along the way. Thanks for the warning re Pakbeng - I am thinking of this a just somewhere to stop for the night.
Kathie - like you I do spend a lot of time trying to source the best deal -all part of the fun of travelling! - I will try some of th asian sites again before we travel and we get into cancelation cahrgesjust to see whether their is any movement in prices closer to the adate of arrival.
Kaneda - I do, of course, apprceiate that no one works for free. My point is not with someone making a profit, but that a mark up of 100% I consider to be excessive.
What did you end up doing about transfers to/from Anantara? through hotel or someone else? Any ideas about guides?
i guess i missed this posting while on my trip....i'm glad to see it...
one advantage of booking way ahead is that it allows you a chance to recheck things and make adjustments before you leave...
i never find prices cheaper dealing with the hotel directly in asia, save this last time when the peninsula direct was cheaper...i also like it when the tax/service is included and i find that that usually equals the prices paid with other services or with the hotel direct...
at the absolute opposite is the case of my upcoming usa trip to the SW...in contacting the hotel directly, i have saved about 20% on each reservation..
i find travelocity and that ilk only good as pointers and milestones....i never find any buys there so rarely look anymore and with their small up charge fee, it is almost insulting...
thanks for this review...have a great trip and make sure we read about every nook and cranny of the trip
bob
so when are we going to have a london GTG???
Travelmom
We are arriving in Chiang Rai airport on a lateish flight from the UK via Bangkok so I have reluctantly booked a car from the Anantara at an outrageous $54 one way! They have also quoted the same price for the drive to Chiang Khong for the ferry but I think I will arrnge someting locally when I get there. I would imagine the cost of a taxi from the airport will be substantially less.
I did post a request for info on guides in the area but have not yet received a response but here is a thread (I hope!) which does have some suggestions http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=27&tid=34677338
Bob - re London GTG. As you seem to be the main draw for Fodors GTGs (wherever in the world they may be!), in order to ensure a good attendance let me know when you are next in town and we can organise something!!!
Clive