Flights within Southeast Asia
 

We have booked our international flights on Singapore Air out of Los Angeles. We are ready to book the following intra-Southeast Asia flights and want advice as to the best, most affordable and efficient way to proceed for our Southeast Asia trip in January, 2010:
-Bangkok to Chiang Mai
-Chiag Mai to Luang Prabang (Laos)
-Luang Prabang to Hanoi
-Hanoi to Hue
-Hue to Danang
-Danang to Ho Chi Minh City
-Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh
-Phnom Penh to Siam Reap
-Siam Reap to Bali
-Bali to Singapore
Are we better off working with Greg at Exosstisimo rather than scheduling on our own?
I have been following the wonderful trip reports and threads. I don't want to be repetitious if this information already exists on the site. Thanks in advance for your advice.

I thunk you can do better on your own. Check out the Bangkok Air Discovery Pass. It can save a lot of money on the legs for which Bangkok Air is the carrier, especially to and from Luang Prabang and Siem Reap. First look at their website to see which legs they cover. Then call their 800 number to a call center in India. You can order specific flights for specific days and they can give you the total price. International legs cost more than internal Thai legs, but it's still cheaper.

What a trip!

Minor note: Hue to Danang is a nice drive of about 3 hours if you wanted to consider doing that leg of the trip on land. It is easy to hire a car and driver. The scenery is lovely. No airport hassles.

Of all those flights, the one I *think* is not doable is Siem Reap to Bali. I'm pretty certain there are no flights to and from either of those places directly. You'd either have to go through Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur or Singapore.

Also, you're not going to get *all* those airfares on one airline. I'd imagine you'd have to look into a combination of Bangkok Airways and Thai Air (both of which have "saver passes" for multiple legs...and Air Asia, which is probably going to be cheapest option for you.

You have a lot of flights! If this were my first trip to Asia and I had all of these flights, I think I'd faint when I saw the total price! (I hope you have a lot of time in SE Asia, as you have 11 destinations. With a mere two full days days in each (which means three nights), you'll need over a month. Some of these flights will be easy, a number will require connecting flights. Many of these flights are rather expensive as there is only one carrier on the route.

One note, you probably don't want to fly between Hue and Danang - most people hire a car and driver. You can also hire a car and driver between PP and SR.

The Bangkok Air Pass is a great deal for the legs it flies, but it doesn't fly all of those routes. Budget airlines can cut some costs, but remember, if you miss your flight for any reason, you will have to buy a new (more expensive) ticket.

Air Asia does have a new non-stop between Bangkok and Bali, which will save you lots of money as that is an expensive flight (and not a short one).

Roosevelt, I just went back and read your itinerary. Fortunately, you do have a good, long time in SE Asia. DId you add a day or two to LP? And the Bali portion seems to be new since your itinerary post.

Thank you,thank you for your recommendations. Kathie, you are absolutely right that Bali is an addition to our itinerary as a recommendation from some friends who said we should not miss Bali (allotted 6 full days, not including days for flights to Bali and flight to Singapore). Our trip is scheduled to leave LA on Jan. 12 and return is scheduled March 3. As per the recommendations on this site, we will fly into Luang Prabang from Chiang Mai on a Saturday and have 3 full days in LP with a Wednesday departure to Hanoi.
Regarding driver recommendations between Hue to Hoi An and Phom Penh to Siem Reap, are there recommended drivers who might enhance the experience with some commentary during the drive? Do you know how long it takes to drive from PP to SR?

The cheapest way is to take budget airlines Air Asia where possible and also use the Bangkok Airways pass as suggested by Gpanda above, where indicated below. Note that the pass requires you to purchase at least 3 flights.

Bangkok to Chiang Mai – Air Asia

Chiang Mai To Luang Prabang – Lao Airlines (pass)

Luang Prabang to Hanoi – Lao Airlines (pass) or Vietnam Air

Saigon to Phnom Penh – Vietnam Air

Phnom Penh to Siem Reap – Siem Reap Airlines (pass)
Instead of flying why not take a bus or taxi (4-5hrs) over a good road and see some of the country.

Siem Reap to Bali via Kuala Lumpur – Air Asia

Bali to Singapore – Air Asia

air asia is a great way to work first....then bangkok air using their pass for some internal thai flights and LP

air asia now flies from bkk to bali which is new

Siem Reap to Singapore to Bali on jetstar www.jetstar.com
is another option

Sounds like a great trip!

I am wondering if Air Asia is comparable to airlines within the states as far as leg room, etc. Also, does anyone know about its safety record? I understand that Lao airlines is not give high marks for how the airplanes are maintained.

Air Asia has a good safety record. Lao Air had a very bad record in the past, but has improved. They still have a few old Chinese or Russian planes, and you don't want to be on one of those.

Kathie,
Does Air Asia compare in leg room and amenities to US Airlines? Thanks for the safety info.

Sorry, I haven't flown Air Asia so I don't have first-hand experience.

I've flown with Lao airlines and felt quite safe. I think they only use the old Chinese and Russian planes on internal flights. Also, the last time I flew from Vientiane to Phnom Penh, I booked Lao and ended up flying with Vietnam Airlines through a code share arrangement.

Re drivers between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, my wife did one trip with a car and driver and the latter had very poor (read non existent) English. After that she and her sister bused. Mekong Express (?) seems the most professional operation. I quite enjoy the interaction with fellow travelers.

Air Asia uses Boeing 737-300 and AirBus A320 aircraft (take a look at the FAQ page on their website where this information is listed, and which also gives some very limited safety information), so leg room etc would be as per those aircraft. In my limited experience with them, they tend to have more AirBus aircraft. You can probably find on-line stats on leg room, etc with some searching. Generally, as flights within SE Asia are not very long and for the most part are during the day (e.g. no overnights), IMO, you won’t be too uncomfortable. You may be able to find safety information at travel.state/gov, but also note that they fly to London and Melbourne, and generally the UK and Australia would not give them landing rights if they did not have at least an OK safety record.

In Vietnam and Thailand, you might look into trains for all your in-country travel, or just the shorter distances, you might find this interesting and different. As you have some time for this trip, a slower mode of transport is an option for you, and trains are quite cheap and certainly different from just another flight. At least one overnight train might be a really good experience as part of the trip, and day trains let you see a lot of the countryside. See http://www.seat61.com/Vietnam.htm and http://www.seat61.com/Thailand.htm for info on trains in Vietnam and Thailand (This site is very helpful for Indian trains, I have not used it much for Thailand and never for Vietnam, but would think it would be just as reliable).

You might look into a boat trip in Cambodia for the trip between PP and SR. The website above gives info, takes 6 hours or so, looks interesting. Costs US$25.

I don’t know if you are aware of it, but Chinese New Year in 2010 will be celebrated starting February 14. Your itin may put you in Singapore then, which would be very good, esp. if you could be there a day or so before for events leading up to the celebrations and fireworks during the holiday. (Tet in Vietnam is celebrated over the same dates, but according to your itin, you will not be in Vietnam near those dates.) Generally the public holidays will be for three days (14-16), with fireworks on the second day (generally Feb 15), but confirm this as the dates get closer (as Feb 14 is a Sunday, an extra public holiday on Feb 17 is possible). On the first day and some of the other public holidays, many shops and restaurants will be closed, as will some tourist sites like museums, but areas like Little India and the Arab Street and Geylang areas should be active enough to keep you occupied. (It is generally the first day of the holiday where most things are closed, after that things do start to return to normal quickly.)

The Chinese New Year holiday may also make air travel and hotels a bit more crowded and expensive around those dates, esp. in Bali which is a favored destinations for expats here in Asia. I would book flights sooner rather than later when you know your exact dates.

Finally, while I like Singapore a lot and have lived there, I might also suggest you consider Hong Kong instead (where I live currently), as the fireworks in the harbour are rather magnificent and there are pre-holiday events like the giant flower market in Victoria Park which you might find interesting. February is not always the best weather (although this past February was perfect sunny weather), but then again neither is Singapore so much in Feb either, they tend toward more rain than in other months. We just have cooler cloudy weather. You can get non-stop flights from Siem Reap to Hong Kong and onward to Bali. (You could even use Air Asia to fly to Shenzhen, which is just over the border from Hong Kong, and then just hop a train or bus into Hong Kong in about an hour. Air Asia also flies to Macau from Bangkok.) I think you would enjoy either place, it’s hard to pick, although Hong Kong would offer hiking/walking and ferry trip opportunities which Singapore does not (but our street food is not as varied as S’pore).