Help! First-Timer in Asia
 

Hi All! This forum has been so helpful for my previous trips to Europe, and now I hope to be as lucky with insight on Asia.

I'll be heading to Southeast Asia in late December for two weeks (yikes--peak time and last minute!). Now that the excitement has settled in and planning begins, I'm realizing how expensive flights between these areas are, as it appears it will cost roughly $800 to get around (~$200 each flight). Does anyone have thoughts on my itinerary and/or if air passes are viable?

Arrive Bangkok-2 days
Ko Phi Phi -2/3 days (fly via Bangkok to Phuket)
Siem Reap/Angkor Wat-2/3 days (fly from BKK)
Vientiane-1 day (fly from Siem Reap)
Vang Vieng-1/2 days (bus from Vientiane)
Luang Prabang-2-3 days (bus from Vang Vieng)
Leave Bangkok-1 day (fly from LP)

Any feedback is greatly appreciated!!

I'm inferring from your inquiry about flights that you have not booked them yet. If this is accurate, my recommendation is that you skip a few of the locations. Asia is best enjoyed at a leisurely pace. I would do either Siem Reap or Luang Prabang, but not both.

Yes, a Bangkok Air Discovery Pass can save some money, but you need to book promptly.. There are limited flights and it is high season.

Have you checked fares with some of the budget airlines, www.jetstar.com (subsidiary of Qantas) www.asiaair.com and www.tigerairways.com (a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines) all being considered quite safe and then if you have a look on www.attitudetravel.com you'll find more.

www.talesofasia.com may be of value to you as a reference.

It seems a lot of places in very short time.

Am in SEA at the moment on my way to Vietnam. The only advice I can give is do less places and spend more time in them.

You just don't have the energy or time to see a place in half a day and flights get delayed. Sometimes the best laid plans etc.

Enjoy your trip

Yipes! With this itinerary, you'll spend all of your time in transit and won't see a thing. If you have 2 weeks, choose not more than three locations. Figure on a half a day minimum to get from place to place if you are flying, and some of your transits will pretty much take a full day. SE Asia is not like Europe.

as this is your first asia trip you must first understand that asia is not like europe....you have to slow down....moving about takes times, unlike europe....you can't do 3-4 things in the AM and repeat this in the PM...its way too difficult, plus you have to deal with the heat and humidity...

i usually plan one major visit for each 4 hour slot....maybe two at most...

i guess i would skip vientianne and VV, plus tame my beach time at a place that does not require several hours to get there like phi phi..

doing the trip as outlined i think sets you up for failure....it can be done, but at great cost and exhaustion it seems to me...

Go here:
http://wikitravel.org/en/Vang_Viang

Then, please tell me just why on earth you would want to go there?

Or Vientiane, for that matter. That's purty low down on my list of interesting things to do. Did it. Forgot it. Don't.

Lose 'em. Fly direct Siem Reap to L.P. easy. Then your plan is manageable. [too full for me, but I'm not you]

We agree with the comments that you are trying to do too much in too little time. We are big fans of Laos -- one of the great joys of spending time there is adopting a slower pace, sitting in the shade to watch monks wander by ... just "being" for a while. You would have a difficult time getting that flavor without more cushion in your schedule.

We really enjoyed Vientiane on our second trip to Laos (went to Luang Prabang both times). In our opinion Vang Vieng is not a highlight at all and certainly not worth the detour (and hours on the road) that it would take to get there on your short trip. We'd recommend skipping it.

One other suggestion -- why not reverse your trip and end at the beach since you will be racing around for the other part of your travels?

Thanks everyone for all the information! Good advice to not look at transit in Asia as the same in Europe. Will now skip Vang Vieng and possibly Vientiane as well.

WinterTravel, we're doing the beach first because it would be over New Year's. Not sure when I would be on an island for NY ever again, and it sounds like could be fun.

Bushranger, thanks for the talesofasia link!

If part of the lure of Vang Vieng was the pictures of those amazing mountains along the Mekong and it's remoteness -- you might want to look at a day trip I'm considering out of Luang Prabang now that you've got more time there:
http://www.greenheartfoundation.org/Area_Photos.html
We have 4 full days in LP and we're considering going for a day. My experience planning for Laos is that as remote as LP is in some ways, I kept wanting to go somewhere even *more* remote -- but it takes considerable time to get places.
As to flights -- do check Bangkok Air online for availability and then call the reservation desk and they can help you book via the Discovery Pass if flights are available. There are very limited flights in/out of LP so I would get that nailed down first.

Book hotels and flights NOW. You're in the highest of the high season.

Thanks for the tip Jenskar2! Yup, the karst mountains and beautiful scenery of Vang Vieng caught my eye, but it's too time consuming.

Day trips to Nong Khiaw and/or Muang Ngoi Neua seem like good alternatives. Have you planned this part of your trip?