southeastern

Am planing on attending a conference in Bangkok and need some help please on the best time to purchase airline tickets. (conference in May 16-18) What kind of prices can we basically expect. We live in New Orleans and can flight cheap(southwest) to LA or Chicago if prices are better. We are on a university budget (small) and not sure how to approach the best time to ticket. Thanks for your help!

qwovadis

www.kayak.com/buzz

www.cheapoair.com

My 2 best sites for deals prices sales

usually cheapest LAX BKK

farecompare.com great tips for you on when to buy

rhkkmk

generally price from east coast to bkk range in the 1000-1600 frame..

i do not find one time better than another...

you might look at korean air from atlanta
finn air from nyc
delta, united, american
british air
luftansa


hotel prices are about the cheapest of the year in may... don't look for them until october

www.agoda.com
www.sawadee.com

serviced apartments are a good value: chatrium riverside, marriott sukhumvit park and marriott mayfair, ascott, centre point and many more...

it really depends on where you convention is as to where you stay...

LAX/Seattle/SFO/Portland will give you a lower price, but when you add on the price of flying there it might not save you much...

what international carriers from from NO?

southeastern

Great information. Thank you. They had not posted the location of the conference other than it is in Phucket. We wanted to fly in early and do some things in Bangkok before the conference. New Orleans is not a hub so you have to fly somewhere to leave the states. Southwest has inexpensive flights to Lax so thought we could connect there. We have checked the Kayak, etc. but thought prices might go down some as it gets closer. Haven't thought of Korean,or finn air. Will do. We're not "let out much" so we are newbe's at this. Do you have to fly to Phucket or is there a train available from Bangkok? Appreciate your help and experience.

MichaelBKK

There's no train to Phuket. You can get there by bus, but flying is much better. There are several budget airlines to choose from in Thailand, and they all fly to Phuket. Air Asia is probably the biggest, with the most flights, as they use Phuket as a secondary hub.

You might check SFO as well as Seattle for your US departure point. Sometimes one or the other is significantly cheaper than LAX.

dpkmd

Check out the package tours from www.asialuxeholidays.com. They have packages through Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific which are excellent bargains because they typically include 3-4 nights in your destination city and it winds up costing less than the regular airfare. We used them for a trip to Bali and Singapore last year and were very pleased with their advice and their prices. Their hotel choices were excellent. We are going to SE Asia in January and are using them to get to Bangkok at the beginning.
When you call Asia Luxe Holidays, ask for Darrell or Ricardo. They are both very helpful.

rhkkmk

a good thought....many or most of the airlines have tours to bkk that incl as few as 3 days of hotels....that way you get the cheapest airfare and stay in their hotel and then move on to another better hotel...

phuket is easy to get to by flying...air asia is very cheap but be careful of luggage restrictions... i just booked with thai air ($378 for 2) for about the same price as the discounters with all the frills added on...

hotels can be quite reasonable for lux hotels in thailand.. food is also cheap...

southeastern

Wow, you all are great! Never thought of a package tour so will definately check it out. That would really help us see things. They have not posted the conference venue yet (says it's coming soon) so will wait for it. They usually do a discount hotel rate for the conference. We are will have to use our money too but would like to save as much as possible( university budget cuts are killing us) Do you book your flights to Phuket before you go or at the airport? I warned you we were newbes. Many thanks!

Kathie

Book your intra-Thailand flights ahead. It's always more expensive at the last minute.

It is a good idea to look at airline packages. Sometimes they are a great deal, sometimes not, so you have to do your research.

rhkkmk

yes book in advance...