Asia itinerary --- is it too much?
 

Hi All,

Thank you in advance for all the help / comments! We are planning our first trip to Asia, with the intention to do as much as possible (without being crazy). What are your thoughts on the itinerary below -- is it too much? Is it doable? Are there any must sees in these cities?

Thanks!

Fly to Tokyo (3 days)
Train around Japan for few days (2 days)
Travel Day
Fly to Hong Kong / Macau (3 days)
Fly to one of Bangkok (4 days)
Travel Home

It is not doable because you can't "train around Japan" with 2 days.

This would be better, IMHO:
Fly to Tokyo (3 days)
Train around Japan for few days (9 days)
Travel Home

Otherwise, I recommend that you drop one destination.

i agree with the above..

an alternative might be: tokyo 3 days, HK 3 days and bkk 3 days plus 2 travel days

Do you actually want to do/see/experience anything in Asia? If so, choose ONE country for your less than two weeks.

I can see the merits of the OP's plan outline, especially for a first trip to Asia. Spending 4 days each in Japan, Hong Kong, and Thailand obviously does not afford any in-depth experience, but it can surely give just enough of a taste of each place to make informed decisions on future trips. Especially because Japan, Hong Kong, and Thailand each have very, very different characters and features.

After arriving and overnighting in Tokyo, I could see spending 3-4 days in Kyoto, then flying to Hong Kong. After 3 days there, spending maybe 5 full days in Thailand, perhaps split between Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Sure, this itinerary is not for everyone, but it could easily be an intro that gets someone planning their next trips before they even get home.

Like the others, I'd personally never book a trip like that in a million years. Too much time wasted in travelling (don't forget all the waiting around ahead of flights and trains, the time it takes to go through security, the time it takes travelling to and from the airports and hotels...) and not enough time to properly see much of anything.

I'm not really one for that idea of getting a taster for places and then going back, not at the expense of reducing the quality of the holiday with so much travelling.

If you MUST do more than one place in the limited time you have, I'd recommend two. Which two depends on which ones you're most drawn too.

But really, I'd say pick one and enjoy it properly and do the others another time.

The problem with such a "tasting menu" is that too often

a) people don't get enough of a taste, so don't like it - like spending a day in Bangkok and thinking the traffic is so terrible they would never want to visit again - instead of having enough time to see what some of the charms might be (and how to avoid the traffic).

or

b) people see/do/experience one thing and think they have seen it all. As in the case of the guy who spent a day at Inle Lake and said there wasn't any reason for him to go back because he'd seen it all.

"..........seen it all...."

That is up to the individual and what he or she wants to see.

Of course, Carol. But there is a difference between choosing one or two things to see out of many one is aware of, and thinking one has seen it all because they don't know what else is there.

The OP's last question "Are there any must sees in these cities?" leads me to believe thy have done no research, so they might well think that whatever they saw was all that was there.

You might find it very useful to spend a bit of time with some good guidebooks - I think they'll provide a lot of information that will help you decide what you want to sample on this trip.

Well as per you plan you dont wana discover much :) like the same chinese culture your looking for in my opinion you should try nepal,India or Atleast Sri Lanka make it a little different. i afraid you guys might get fed up with just the food they have to offer :( like for few days its good but no spices for 12 days that feels quite boring just by thinking of it.

Thank you all for the insightful responses! It might be helpful if I add some more details, to help with your suggestions...

First, you're right: we have not done nearly enough research yet. We know that. Our goal is to book our inbound and outbound flights, and then do some research to figure out how to spend our time in the middle.

To that end, we think we are going to depart the states on 5/22 (head to Bangkok), and return to the states on 6/8 (from Tokyo). Beyond that, we have not determined anything.

We are hoping to do as much as possible, while still enjoying our time over there (we realize we will not see everything, nor "see it all"). We did this in Europe, very successfully, spending 2 days (plus or minus) in each major city. I realize it's much different in Europe, since travel is so easy by train. We are not hoping, nor expecting, to see all of Japan in 6 or 7 days, or all that Bangkok has to offer in 3 days. We would like to explore Tokyo, and maybe one or two other cities (I was told Kyoto, Osaka, and Mt. Fujij are all quick and accessible from Tokyo).

Also our rationale: we wanted to see a bit of Japan and a bit of SE asia, and since Hong Kong is along the way, and a connection with most flights anyway, we thought we might as well spend a day or two of our 17 days there.

When we asked for must sees -- I am just hoping for some local or inside knowledge from well-seasoned travelers. For example, when we did a similar trip in Europe, a few friends suggested we had to see Cinque Terre in Italy, despite it not showing up in much of our initial research. It turned out to be one of the best places our month long trip.

We know that we will not, and cannot do it all -- but since we are young, and probably won't get back to Asia too soon, we wanted to experience the high points of as many places as possible. Looking through that vein, do you think our revised itinerary (below) is attainable? Also, if this was your itinerary, would there be any sights / tours / restaurants / street vendors / etc. that you would absolutely be sure to hit?

This allows for 2 travel days (not accounted for)

Fly to Bangkok, plus any day trips from Bangkok (5 days)
Fly to Hong Kong (2-3 days)
Fly to Tokyo (4 days)
Train around Japan- Kyoto, Osaka, Mr. Fuji - (3 days)

Fly Home

Thank you all! I really value the advice.

Given your understanding of the pros and cons, I would say that the new itinerary looks good for your purposes.

It looks like the new itinerary is 2 days longer than the original.

By "2 days" in Hong Kong do you mean 3 nights and 2 full days? Or is it 2 nights or 1 night?

For Tokyo, 4 days sounds right... is that 4 full days excluding travel in and out or 4 nights but only 3 full days?

For the other 3 days in Japan, I'd strongly suggest JUST Kyoto. Kyoto is an INCREDIBLE city, so very much to see and do, and easy to spend several days there let alone just 2 or 3.

Personally, I'd drop Osaka.

Your call on Mt Fuji really.

Mrwunrfl --- our time in Hong Kong can be flexible (do you have a suggestion), since we are only booking our "book-end" flights this week. We can book the intermediate flights after I do some more research...

Kavey, yes, similar response. We are flexible -- do you suggest 4 full days in Tokyo?

It depends on your preferences.

For me, I'd balance it 3 days in Tokyo and 4 in Kyoto, but that's down to my personal interests and just which one appeals more.

You could EASILY fill 5+ days in each, so it's going to be a case of cherry picking what you in each place anyway.

Would recommend japan-guide to get a feel for attractions (and don't forget things like food markets if that interests you as much as it does me) and then you can work out which one to prioritise of the two.

From Tokyo, you could do a day trip to Nikko or elsewhere, if you are happy to give up time in Tokyo itself.

From Kyoto you could do likewise for Nara, or even Osaka. Or much nearer in, half a day in Arashiyama...

this is very workable for sure.. i like your day allotments with a change to japan.. fly into KIX (osaka) and spend most of your time in kyoto (based on what everyone has said about it and then train to tokyo for a couple of days.. 2 full days min. for HK..

sights:

bkk-- grand palace, wat arun, wat pho, jim thompson house, klong (canal) tour in thornburi, SD floating market (outside town--hire guide/driver like Tong), shopping...

HK-- peak, boat to stanley, walk around kowloon

this is a start for you

Thank you rhkkmk an Kavey! I really appreciate it.

3 days is not enough for Tokyo. You can have a "taste" of Tokyo but you will miss a lot. It would be better to spend all your travel days in Japan. However, if you really want to stick with your itinerary, it's doable but not quality, in my own opinion.

travelnovice7, please answer the question that Kavey and I both asked: what do you mean by a day? We understand that you are flexible.

When is this trip?

I will assume you are leaving from USA/Canada. Maybe I am dense but I don't exactly understand your 17-day plan, so I will lay it out like as I understand it:

Day 1 leave home and lose one day enroute
Day 2 arrive Bangkok at night
Days 3-6 Bangkok (total 5 nights in Bangkok)
Day 7 fly to Hong Kong
Days 8-9 Hong Kong (3 nights HK)
Day 10 Fly to Tokyo
Days 11-13 Tokyo (4 nights Tokyo)
Days 14 leave Tokyo
Days 15-16 Japan (3 nights Japan, not Tokyo)
Day 17 leave Japan and arrive home same day

Sorry for the confusion... Your itinerary looks consistent with our thinking.

We are planning to leave NYC on May 22nd, and arrive in Bangkok on the evening of the 23rd. We are then scheduled to leave from Tokyo on June 8th, and arrive back in NYC on the same day.

To answer the question about what we were thinking in terms of "days", I will lay out our schedule. Our thinking is:

Day 1 (May 22nd): Leave NYC
Day 2 (May 23rd): Arrive Bangkok late evening
Day 3 (May 24th): Bangkok
Day 4 (May 25th): Bangkok
Day 5 (May 26th): (Bangkok or other SE Asia destination)
Day 6 (May 27th): (Bangkok or other SE Asia destination)
Day 7 (May 28th): Fly to Hong Kong
Day 8 (May 29th): Hong Kong
Day 9 (May 30th): Hong Kong (and maybe evening in Maccau)
Day 10 (May 31st): Fly to Tokyo, train to other part of Japan (Kyoto, Osaka, etc.)
Day 11 (June 1st): Japan
Day 12 (June 2nd): Japan
Day 13 (June 3rd): Japan
Day 14 (June 4th): Japan
Day 15 (June 5th): Tokyo
Day 16 (June 6th): Tokyo
Day 17 (June 7th): Tokyo
Day 18 (June 8th): Tokyo Fly home in late afternoon


Something like that? Do you recommend any changes? Any key items we should include at these destinations?

As always, thank you so much for taking the time to help out! We sincerely appreciate it.

On Day 10, when you fly from Hong Kong, it seems to me to make much more sense to fly directly to Kansai Airport (KIX), which is near Kyoto and Osaka, rather than to Tokyo -- there are several non-stops every day, on the same airlines that fly from HKG to Tokyo.

I'd take a day from Bangkok and add it to Hong Kong. In my opinion, there is more to do and see in Hong Kong...some will disagree...but to each their own. If you want to go to Macau, you would definitely need to add a day. Going to Macau for an evening is not as quick as you think if the day falls on a weekend night. Remember you need to immigrate out of HK and in to Macau and the same on the way back.

I also agree fly directly to KIX if you decide to go to Kyoto. Direct flights on CX will be pricey but you can fly Peach, a budget airline from HK to KIX. The flight is a 'red eye' leaving HK around 1am or so, so while you'll be tired, it will maximize your sightseeing time.

Ok, thanks. Here are a couple of edits:

Delete the "or other SE Asia destination" on May 26-27 and maybe on May 26, consider "day trip from Bangkok".

scratch the evening in Macau. If you want to visit Macau then do it as a day trip, but that would mean removing a day from Thailand or Japan, which I don't recommend. The 3 nights in HK is just right (considering your busy itin), staying in HK. But that trip to Macau on a 3-night stay is something you can decide on later, even after you arrive in HK.

May 31 - you have multiple options of Japan destinations

I assume you are purchasing these tickets with money not miles. But, if you have FF miles to spend it could reduce the cost a lot.

I guess I'm the only one here who still thinks you are trying to cram in too much. Definitely forget "or other SE Asia destination" in your Bangkok time. And if you cut Hong Kong and you'll have a chance to explore a bit more of Japan. There are plenty of non-stop flights between Bangkok and Narita.

From Kathie: "I guess I'm the only one here who still thinks you are trying to cram in too much"

Kathie, you are not alone. But I've gotten the impression that the OP is committed to a "sampler" itinerary and am glad that experts are helping make it as do-able as possible.

Kathie, not alone, no. If I had that time, regardless of the energy of youth I had on my side, I'd rather see fewer places properly than rush around. But if that's what the OP is committed to do, I think everyone's made their preferences clear, at this point it's just trying to help as best possible, within those constraints.

I do know many people who go to Japan for business, and have just 2 or 3 days in a city to play with, but still enjoy it. So it's not a waste of time, just not how most of us would choose to do things where we had a choice to spend longer!

If I were booking for me, I'd book a single country (such as Japan) and visit multiple places within it. If I were booking for someone who wanted to see more, I'd agree to add in one other place, so either Bangkok or Hong Kong, not both and cetainly no other SE Asian destination alongside.

But it's horses for courses, so as long as OP is happy, it's all good.

:-)

Thanks, kja and kavey. Just checking. I agree that the OP will do what they want, and should. We are all different.

My rules for planning a great trip are:

1. Know yourself.
2. Know your destination.
3. Know the logistics.

I assume they know themselves, but they don't know the destinations or the logistics, that's why they posted here.

On our first foray into Asia we did something very similar to what the OP is intending on doing only with less days. It is worth doing although we now try to spend more time during our stays. I think I thought of the first trip as a sort of scouting mission,lol.

We had 7 nights in Bangkok followed by 4 nights in Hong Kong and only 3 nights in Tokyo. Well we have been back to Bangkok three times since and Hong Kong twice. We've been back to Tokyo......maybe once or twice ;)

Here is a link to that original trip report......seems such a long ago now. Simpsonc510 had only been to BKK 7 times and still stayed in hotels :))

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia/trip-report-73.cfm

Aloha!

What a treat to re-read your old report, HT!

Oops - I hit posts too soon. I think what made your trip work was that you chose three cities, and spent all of your time in those places. It became a good intro for some of your (now) favorite destinations!

I would caution you against comparing the way you've traveled previously in Europe with traveling internationally in Southeast Asia. They are not the same at all!

In Europe you can hop on a train from a station in the center of a city and hop off 4-6 hours later in the center of another city that's in a completely different country and environment.

On this trip you will be flying internationally, so keep in mind that:
1. airports are often located far outside the city centers (one hour travel time is not uncommon)
2. going through customs and immigration can sometimes take several hours - both entering and leaving a country - especially at BKK if your flight lands or departs at a busy time.

Add flying time to this and you're talking about possibly a full day wasted each time you are going to/from and waiting at airports.

I completely understand wanting to see as much as possible, I am like that too - But it's a shame to spend so much time and money to travel so far to spend that much time in transit... in my opinion anyway.