rampup82

Hi all, I'm looking for an honest, reputable travel agent who can help us book airfare to and within Southeast Asia. Any recommendations?

We would like to visit Bangkok, Phuket, Siem Reap (Angkor Wat), Singapore, and Bali. Tried booking flights to all these places and almost went crazy!!!

P.S. Is Chiang Mai worth visiting?

Thanks!

SirHalberd

For your airfare to and from your country you ought to check with the airline websites and see what they are charging! Without knowing what the airline is charging how would you know if a travel agent is giving you a good price?? (I never use travel agents back home and simply check the airline websites often. Usually a good price comes through, but I am retired and have the time to play with a computer.)

In Thailand it is easy to book a flights within the country and to other countries through a local Thai travel agency. In over 11 years I have never been screwed by a local travel agency in Bangkok or Pattaya! Prices are cheaper too when compared to booking everything in my home country.

I would rather see Chiang Mai than Phuket if I was a first time visitor to Thailand! You can always find beaches in other countries, but you will find what makes Thailand unique only in Thailand! A choice between a beach and Chiang Mai I would choose Chiang Mai any day! Beaches are a dime a dozen!

You have a busy itinerary, do you have the time to see all of these places?

Good luck.

Kathie

You certainly want to go to a lot of places. How much time do you have for this trip? I wouldn't try to do this many diverse places in less than three full weeks on the ground in Asia.

Like SirH, I book my own tickets from home to Asia on the airline website. Next, I book intra-asia tickets, utilizing an airpass, if appropriate, or booking individual segmoents or roundtrips. I do have an agent I use in bangkok for intra-asia tickets I either can't easily get on my own or that can be purchased less expensively in Thailand.

If you have a realistic amount of time to visit all of those places, you might get an open-jaw ticket into Bangkok and out of Singapore. From Bangkok, you would visit Siem Reap and any other Thai location you wish (I agree with SirH, Phuket is an international beach resort and won't give you a lot of feel for Thailand, but it is a lovely place to relax), I'm not fond of Chiang Mai, but many people love it. You could then fly from Bangkok to Singapore and after a few days there, fly on to Bali. After Bali, you could return to Singapore and fly home.

rampup82

Thanks SirH and Kathie! We will have about 3.5 weeks to spend in SE Asia.

The trouble we have right now is booking tickets to Bali. I checked Air Asia, and they do not have connecting service from Bangkok or Singapore to Bali. Do you know what other airlines fly there (and that is not ridiculously expensive)?

Also, would you advise us taking the bus to Siem Reap from Bangkok since not many flights go there? What are the buses like?

Thank you in advance!

Kathie

I understand that Air Asia has connecting service from Bangkok to Bali through KL. Otherwise, it's a rather expensive flight on Thai Air non-stop to Bali and an expensive flight from Bali to Singapore on Singapore Air.

Bangkok AIr flies the Bangkok - Siem Reap route about 5x per day. The flights, however, are expensive. The overland route from Bangkok to Siem Reap is much traveled, and is a rather miserable waste of a day. Also, there are scams galore. So if you want to do the overland trip, do read www.talesofasia.com which will give you all the info you need to do this trip in the least uncomfortable way and without getting ripped off.

Let me suggest that with the time you have, you cut Bali and Singapore and add in another location Thailand, Laos (I recommend Luang Prabang) or even Viet Nam. Logistically, it will be an easier trip (no long intra-asia flights) and therefore less expensive. THis might also allow to take advantage of Bangkok Air's Discovery pass, so you could fly between Bangkok and Siem Reap at a much better price (you need three legs to use the Bangkok Air pass).