I am in the US and am planning a 3-week open-jaw trip to Asia in Oct. The outbound leg will be JFK-Hong Kong, and the return leg will be Taipei-JFK.
While in Asia, I plan to visit China (Shanghai) and possibly Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur).

My question is: should I buy the intra-Asia tickets ahead of time while I am in the US, or should I buy them after I land in Asia? I am retired so my schedule is totally flexible.

Thank you for any advice or word of wisdom you can share.

Hi mazin16 - I can't confirm rules in China or Malaysia, but I do know, from our recent planning, some countries require proof of an exit ticket. So depending on where you go after Kuala Lumpur you may have to prove you are exiting at some point.

You should check with your government’s website for current entry requirements for both countries. As Tdiddy says some countries will require proof of exit. Important to note that these requirements often change. The airlines at the departure point are responsible for ensuring you have the correct documentation before boarding. If you don’t ( or they THINK you don’t ) you will be denied boarding. I had problems with this once when flying from KL to Saigon when they insisted I needed a VISA. I didn’t as the rules had changed a couple of weeks previously. I had to spend a couple of hours jumping through hoops to prove my point and almost missed the flight. same with exit flights.

if you do need proof and want to keep it flexible, buy the cheapest ticket out to anywhere at any time you can find and just bear the cost when you don’t use it. Lotos of cheap budget airlines in Asia so it won’t be difficult or expensive . Alternatively by a flex ticket, though that will be much more expensive.

These days everything's on-line, so where you are when you buy isn't really relevant. The question is more one of how far in advance will you get the best price for flights? And how much do you value the flexibility to make up your plans as you go? Since you don't have to be on an exact flight on an exact day you can buy as you go.

Also consider that in China there's high-speed rail everywhere now, and you may consider that a more comfortable way to travel, and with the chance to see the countryside as you go, or break at an intermediate city. It's a four-hour flight from Hong Kong to Shanghai, but an eight-hour train ride, which is nothing if you like looking out of the window, maybe talking to others, and having room to stretch your legs.

You can buy mainland domestic tickets at Hong Kong West Kowloon Station, so you could go straight there on landing, or first thing in the morning as there can be quite long line-ups. This is for high-speed trains only. Look elsewhere for slower services. Ticketing details and opening hours here:

https://www.highspeed.mtr.com.hk/en/...-channels.html

The site says there's a 6am start, but my memory says 7am or 8am, depending on the window. Note that without local ID you won't be able to use the ticketing machines. It's the counter opening hours you need, and here foreign credit cards are accepted (notifying your bank/card issuer where you're going still a good idea). There's also a link there to a list of other Hong Kong-based ticket agencies, presumably reliable as they are MTR-approved. But get ticket prices from the site, compare to air tickets, and then see what the agency is asking if you plan to go that route. Line-ups at the West Kowloon ticket offices are well organised, and there are English-speaking organisers issuing queuing numbers and making sure you're in the right place. And there are plenty of places to buy coffee and snacks should you end up facing a significant wait. You'll need passports for everyone travelling.

As for entering China without a confirmed exit route, currently that's all right for citizens of many countries, but there's plenty of time for things to change between now and your travel dates. I'm assuming you're aware that (dependent on your nationality, but very likely) you need no advance paperwork for Hong Kong, but the visa for mainland China is a different beast. Typically that has requried proof of plans to depart, and if entering overland from Hong Kong and without a plan the usual method was to purchase a fully refundable ticket from Hong Kong to somewhere local, and get a refund after acquiring the visa.

But geography suggests your route should be HK-KL-Shanghai-Taipei, or you'll be doing a lot of doubling back on yourself. Generally speaking, and if you're willing to give up your flexibility, then you may well be better to buy all those tickets in a single package from one of the consolidator websites.

OP here. Thank you to all who responded; you certainly gave me a few things to think about. As some of you mentioned, proof of onward travel may be required (it is required for China, since I plan to take advantage of the 10-day "Transit Without Visa" option) so I need to look into it more. I will also be checking high-speed rail options from Hong Kong into China. I have been window-shopping for intra-Asia flights and found them to be "relatively" inexpensive, at least compared to domestic flights in the US.

Thank you again, this is a wonderful community.