Trying to save money

I am making a planing on my next trip to Thailand to do a tour of Asia. I was thinking of departing from the UK, to go to Singapore, Bali, Kuala Lumpur and then onwards to Thailand. My internal flights within Asia come to the staggering sum of ┬г684.00. Which is additional on my ticket from the UK and back, to the UK, which is ┬г502.00.

I am now thinking would i be saving money if i just purchase a ticket from the UK to BKK, and purchase my interanls flights around Asia, from BKK.

I would be grateful, of any advise and tips. Thankyou in advance guys.

I am making a planing on my next trip to Thailand to do a tour of Asia. I was thinking of departing from the UK, to go to Singapore, Bali, Kuala Lumpur and then onwards to Thailand. My internal flights within Asia come to the staggering sum of ┬г684.00. Which is additional on my ticket from the UK and back, to the UK, which is ┬г502.00.

I am now thinking would i be saving money if i just purchase a ticket from the UK to BKK, and purchase my internal flights around Asia, from BKK.

I would be grateful, of any advise and tips. Thank you in advance guys.

Given your itinerary it seems very cheap to me. Taking into account your accommodation expenses (very costly in Singapore and not all that cheap in KL, unless you are back-packing it), I think you are being a bit ambitious if you are trying to do such a trip on the cheap.

[Sen Yai]

peter30, I think there are some ways that you could reduce the ┬г684.00 for local flights:

Tip 1 Try booking a flight LHR-SIN-LHR on Thai Airways or a flight LHR-BKK-LHR on Singapore Airways. That way you will get a free stop-over, for what ever duration you want in either Singapore or Bangkok. The cost of this will probably not be any different to a direct flight to a single destination, as the airlines are only interested in getting bums on seats to their home city. Depending when you plan to travel, you might get a better fare than the ┬г502.00 you quote - but that is a pretty good price.

Tip 2 If you travel to Bali from Singapore, you are pretty much stuck with Singapore Airlines (or Garuda if you are feeling brave!) as they control this route carefully. The low-cost airlines (JetStar**, AirAsia and Tiger) don't get to fly there, but you could try LionAir (Indonesian low-cost operator) if you are feeling very brave!

Tip 3 As for flights between Singapore KL and Bangkok, all the above low cost operators will offer return flights for less than ┬г100.00 depending on the time of day you fly, and you could even book one way flights from one destination to the next. Check out www.tigerairways.com (http://www.tigerairways.com) www.airasia.com (http://www.airasia.com) and www.jetstarasia.com (http://www.jetstarasia.com) to plan your itinerary.

And Lady Davina, as I read it the ┬г684.00 peter30 is talking about would not include accommodation!

** PS, Ok JetStar do now fly to Bali, under the guise of ValuAir, but only 3 flights per week

[billyhouston]

AirAsia will do KL to Bali return for under ┬г100 (615MYR) and BKK to SIN for Baht2400. BKK-Singapore-KL-Bali-KL-BKK would come in at under ┬г200. So ┬г684 sounds awfully expensive. AirAsia are not my first choice low-cost airline but they're OK.

[wowpow]

For best value you need a return ticket and have to fly in and out from the same place. For your itinerary this is likely to be Bangkok though Singapore is a possible and Kuala Lumphur and outside chance. Once that's done you can fly between you other destinations using budget airlines.

An alternative might be to book your return to Bali with a stopover Bangkok or Singapre - do your side trips and then go to Bali and thence home. Usually the longer flights are best value.

http://www.airasia.com/site/en/home.jsp
http://www.asia-budget-airlines.com/
http://www.bangkokair.com/
http://www.attitudetravel.com/lowcostairlines/asia/
http://www.jetstarasia.com/
http://www.nokair.com/
http://www.onetwo-go.com/
http://www.tigerairways.com/
http://www.valuair.com.sg/

There are also 'specials' on full service airlines to consider. It's a minefield shopping for best airline prices.

Pete - I agree with Tee Pee about it being a minefield out there re airfares, and the other posters posted very usual info.

I get the impression that u are trying for budget so how about this itinerary for you -I set it out so u didnt have to retrace your steps and not knowing when u wish to travel I just selected October for an example:

Itinerary:

London - Bangkok - Kuala Lumpur - Denpasar - Singapore - Bangkok - London

Cost: 490 GBP all up (excluding BKK dep tax)

Your calculation: 1186
Less: 490

Savings: 696

Give me your dates (pref flexible) and I will get you a price no problem, then........

PS: Don't want to go to Phuket or Koh Samui as well?

Lady Davina[/b], as I read it the ┬г684.00 peter30 is talking about would not include accommodation!



I did not mean or imply that the ┬г684 that Peter was talking about included accommodation (we would all wish that this was so !!). I was trying to point out the pointlessness of trying to fly on the cheap when the accommodation expenses on top would be high unless back-packing.

Pete, because its a foul day here and I have the company of a delightful chateau cardboard unwooded chardonnay, I got to wondering what sort of reasonable trip u could do on a budget, yet still have reasonable accommodation and visit the places u mentioned in a reasonable time frame. So, just for fun I came up with this:

Dep: London: 1 November
Arr: Bangkok: 1 November 908.00

3 nights accomm 60.00

Bangkok - Kuala Lumpur 4 November 23.00

3 nights accomm 90.00

Kuala Lumpur - Denpasar 7 November 30.00

3 night package + extras 263.00

Denpasar - Singapore 10 November 79.00

2 nights accomm 108.00

Singapore - Bangkok 12 November 19.00

3 nights accomm 60.00

Bangkok - ChiangMai 15 November (return) 75.00

3 night package 160.00

ChiangMai - Bangkok - Pattaya (limo return BKK) 55.00
18 November

Pattaya - 7 nights 110.00

BKK - London 25 November

Total $US 2040.00
GBP 1075.00

Not a bad effort I reckon, comments?

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