Best way to fly to Asia

[Shay HTFC]

I'm looking to fly to Asia in mid July, but wondering what the best way to go about getting cheap flights is.

I have no specific destination in mind as I am just going to be travelling at first, which leaves me open to lots of options.

I'm thinking about getting a last minute deal a few days before I intend to fly out. Can anyone give me some advice on whether that would be a stupid idea? Are there actually any cheap 'I will fly anywhere' last minute deals like my general knowledge seems to think there are?

Alternatively, what are the cheapest places to fly to in Asia? Where are the bargains to be had?

And where do people recommend out there? I'm thinking of doing some mainland China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand etc, but got nothing specific planned.

[v15ben]

Cheapest place to fly to is Bangkok. Ideal location to travel around that area too. A group of my mates are flying into BKK then doing a 3 week loop north to Laos, across to Hanoi then down Vietnam and back through Cambodia.

I did a similar trip but including China and over 3 months rather than 3 weeks back in 2008. I found local flights easy enough to book without too much notice. Air Asia, Tiger and Vietnam Airlines all served me well without too much pain to the wallet. Amazing part of the world and I'll be back later in 2010

If you are flying out in July I'd check all the usual flight search engines like Kayak and Flight Scanner and see which is coming up cheapest. I think STA still have a price beat guarantee for the same flight too.

I can recommend hundreds of places in that region too. A few to look up:
- Get to a remote part of the Great Wall of China and go hiking.
- Pingyao - cool village in China
- The Three Gorges Dam
- Halong Bay
- Phu Quoc Island in Vietnam
- Angkor Wat

Fantastic part of the world and plenty of photos on my Facebook

Edited by v15ben on Thursday 10th June 23:12

[Lost soul]

once you get there use Air Asia for flights around Asia they are great

[i'm no superhero]

Shay HTFC said:

I'm looking to fly to Asia in mid July, but wondering what the best way to go about getting cheap flights is.

I have no specific destination in mind as I am just going to be travelling at first, which leaves me open to lots of options.

I'm thinking about getting a last minute deal a few days before I intend to fly out. Can anyone give me some advice on whether that would be a stupid idea? Are there actually any cheap 'I will fly anywhere' last minute deals like my general knowledge seems to think there are?

Alternatively, what are the cheapest places to fly to in Asia? Where are the bargains to be had?

And where do people recommend out there? I'm thinking of doing some mainland China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand etc, but got nothing specific planned.

If you're under 26 or are a student, STA Travel is the obvious option. You will *not* find cheaper flights anywhere else.

[Nolar Dog]

Shay HTFC said:

I'm looking to fly to Asia in mid July, but wondering what the best way to go about getting cheap flights is.

Netflights.com

Etihad.
To BKK via Abu Dhabi.
Around £500 mark typically.

Job done.
Enjoy.

[v15ben]

i'm no superhero said:

If you're under 26 or are a student, STA Travel is the obvious option. You will *not* find cheaper flights anywhere else.

As an ex-employee of STA, I'd say you'll usually get very good under 26 deals with STA but there are often better prices around. Get searching

[anonymous-user]

My advice to anyone making a first trip to Asia is land in KL Singapore or HK, landing in BK on your own on your first trip is not easy, much easier in the forst three as English is spoken, getting the Bus for BK airport to the city if you don't know the ay is difficult but in KL etc you just follow the english signs and the driver will speak English. Have afew days there then go to BK etc.
Having said that my first rip to Asia was on my own was to Bombay, lived through it but I had a police man pull a gun on within 30 minutes of landing because i went thrpought the wrong door.

[XJSJohn]

Lost soul said:

once you get there use Air Asia for flights around Asia they are great

or jet star, or tiger. I think that Thai does some sort of 3 flight domestic deal as well.

Berw does make some sense in what he says,

Singapore is Asia with training wheels,
KL is Islam with training wheels and the rest can be a bit full on (depends on where you are from mind you, country boy or city slicker!) for the Asia newbie

One thing i would say is that for the sake of 10 or 15% on a flight do look at the quality of inflight service, you will spend the minimum of 13 hours trapped in closed confinement and if you are anything like me (6ft 3" of grumpy traveller) the extra inch or so or that better inflight service, or edible food does make all the difference between arriving in a fould mood or just grumpy!

[Shay HTFC]

Berw said:

My advice to anyone making a first trip to Asia is land in KL Singapore or HK, landing in BK on your own on your first trip is not easy, much easier in the forst three as English is spoken, getting the Bus for BK airport to the city if you don't know the ay is difficult but in KL etc you just follow the english signs and the driver will speak English. Have afew days there then go to BK etc.
Having said that my first rip to Asia was on my own was to Bombay, lived through it but I had a police man pull a gun on within 30 minutes of landing because i went thrpought the wrong door.

I'm quite an avid traveller and have been to numerous places that have a completely different language / way of life. Handling the confusion is part of the fun for me.

I'll have a look into the advice everyone posted above. And does anyone know about last last minute flight bookings, like a few days / hours before departure? Is it just a myth that great deals can be had?

[XJSJohn]

Shay HTFC said:

And does anyone know about last last minute flight bookings, like a few days / hours before departure? Is it just a myth that great deals can be had?

Past experiance they tend to be more expensive .... havent had a last minute bargain on long haul for a long time now.

[v15ben]

Long haul last minute deals are a myth nowadays!

[sneijder]

Don't just jump on the cheapest deal, or you'll be transfering in Bangladesh. An extra £50 - 60 quid with the likes of Emirates stopping nicely half way is well worth it.

[v15ben]

sneijder said:

Don't just jump on the cheapest deal, or you'll be transfering in Bangladesh. An extra £50 - 60 quid with the likes of Emirates stopping nicely half way is well worth it.

...and Emirates is often one of the cheapest options anyway. I'm going to Singapore with them and it is definitely worth paying a bit extra.

[sneijder]

v15ben said:

sneijder said:

Don't just jump on the cheapest deal, or you'll be transfering in Bangladesh. An extra £50 - 60 quid with the likes of Emirates stopping nicely half way is well worth it.

...and Emirates is often one of the cheapest options anyway. I'm going to Singapore with them and it is definitely worth paying a bit extra.

I agree, although they appear to be one of the cheapest until you *really* start digging :

http://www.biman-airlines.com/

Go on OP, I dare you !

[Simon Brooks]

skyscanner

[10JH]

What we did last year was book a return flight to Hong Kong a week before we went, then got Air Asia flights whenever we wanted when we got there.

We managed to get £340 for a return 3 months later.