Travel planning help?

LPiaPia on 27/09/2015 - 19:54

Hi all,

A friend & I have decided to go on a trip this dec to jan, with possibly a return to sydney for xmas. I understand that this is peak travel periods and would like to get the best deals possible. Was wondering whether anyone could help on where to start with our plans, websites that are used to look up and compare flights, hotels, etc.

Also hope this doesn't open a can of worms, but any airlines I should most likely avoid? Or take a look into? We're trying to do this on a budget.

There is no set location besides us wanting to go to Asia, we're looking towards 2-3 locations, possibly Japan (which city?), Philippines, Vietnam, South Korea, or any suggested places?

Thank you in advance for any comments, with the travel dates creeping up I need to get onto this but no idea where to start.

Travel

Comments

  • Flying Ace on 27/09/2015 - 20:07
    +2

    Well first things first is working out where exactly you want to go. Airfares are at their highest around the time you would like to go, so nowhere is going to be particularly cheap. Just remember that it is winter in the northern hemisphere then, so plan accordingly!

    • PiaPia on 27/09/2015 - 21:12

      Thanks for the reminder about the weather!

      I'm not quite sure where I would like to go exactly, although I am open to any suggestions as I am not familiar with the cost of travel :)

      • Flying Ace on 28/09/2015 - 01:20

        I would recommend Thailand. Cheap, good food, exceptionally friendly people and you don't need a visa for entry. Vietnam in December and January is cooler and wet, so it wouldn't be that much fun, however I'm not familiar with the climatic conditions for Thailand in around the same time.

  • pat0809 on 27/09/2015 - 20:08
    +1

    Japan is great but it depends what your budget is. The Phillipines and Vietnam will certainly be a lot cheaper than Japan. But if you're into skiing/snowboarding then I highly recommend going to Hokkaido in Japan, it's great there.

  • lenlynn on 27/09/2015 - 20:12
    +1

    What is your budget and how long would you like to go for? If it is tight, avoid Singapore and Japan and go for Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand etc.

    • PiaPia on 27/09/2015 - 21:14

      Travel periods is about mid dec to mid jan, with the possibility of returning to sydney for xmas.

      Thank you for the suggested places. From what I've gathered Japan seems to be costly but sadly it just looks so good!

      Edit: I'm not quite sure about budget, sorry, just seeing whats out there & what are the best websites to use.

      • pat0809 on 27/09/2015 - 21:59
        +1

        You really need to have some idea of what your budget will be and what type of travelling you want to do. For example, do you want to stay in fancy hotels or are you happy to to stay in low end hotels to save money?

        • PiaPia on 27/09/2015 - 22:03

          I'm happy to stay in a low end hotel, just not some sort of backpacker hostel or anything.

          Just throwing a number out there, maybe $3000-$4000 between the two of us but I'm extremely unfamiliar with travel costs so I'm not sure how far that would take me. I never travel.

        • pat0809 on 28/09/2015 - 00:38
          +1

          @PiaPia: At that budget you can pretty much rule out Japan (if you plan on travelling for a month). Accommodation here is too expensive.

          I have never visited other countries but countries such as Malaysia, Phillipines, etc generally have cheap accommodation.

        • lenlynn on 28/09/2015 - 02:15
          +1

          @PiaPia: That includes airfare I assume? Concentrate on exploring Malaysia, Thailand and/or Vietnam then.

          Japan in winter is even more expensive if you throw in all the ski rental equipment etc.

          Do your homework check out which place appeals to you in terms of scenery, attractions, food, weather. If you hate the humidity, then maybe Korea? Personally though Korea didn't appeal to me much.

        • PiaPia on 28/09/2015 - 21:23

          @pat0809: Aw, Japan looked the most interesting to me. I'm second guessing some of my choices since I forgot it was winter, what a shame.

          I haven't completely ruled Japan out (I just want to go around the city really) but not exactly sure where to be looking to compare flights.

          Don't exactly plan on staying in one spot for the month period, was hoping to do

          Mid Dec to Late Dec (Location #1)
          Back to Sydney
          Late Dec or Early Jan to Mid Jan (Location #2, possibly Location #3)

          Thanks for the comment :)

        • PiaPia on 28/09/2015 - 21:24

          @lenlynn: The numbers I threw around were for airfare & accommodation.

          Thanks for the suggestions lenlynn :)

        • lenlynn on 29/09/2015 - 00:21

          @PiaPia: We enjoyed Japan the most too so if you can find flights and accm within the budget then go for it! :)

          japan accommodation we got ours through airbnb. Check out the ongoing thread on places to go in Japan!

        • piggyfund on 30/09/2015 - 18:30

          @PiaPia: I've just booked tickets to VN for the time you are wanting to go and it is between 1,500 - 2K return just for the airfare.

  • jennkei on 28/09/2015 - 14:55
    +1

    For flights, Adioso has a nice interface, if a little slow. (You can search to 'Anywhere' or to 'Asia') I haven't bought a flight without a deal for ages so I'm a bit rusty searching for those.
    For hotels, search hotels sort:created on Ozbargain and you should come up with some sites with offers. Check all of them. Tripadvisor for reviews/pictures. AirBnB has been popular of late, though I haven't tried it out yet. It's also an option to look at.

    Japan is not as expensive as some people might think, refer to the Japan thread here - https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/211665 It's still fairly expensive though, so if you're after one solid month away then ah, it probably won't work out with Japan. (But I don't know what would work out for you, search out the other destinations. ^^")

    In the end, travel to somewhere you're happy to go to.

    As for budgeting, add your flight + accomodation prices and budget a daily expense amount for food, attractions, gifts.

    I've flown with a variety of budget airlines (AirAsia, Jetstar, Cebu Pacific, Scoot) and never had any problems. The most was a delay of a few hours. But others will always have horror stories with airlines. If you haven't traveled with a budget airline before, do note that addons are extra and can inflate the flight price. There are ways to save with stuff like in-flight food (which mainly sucks but it's hot; most airlines allow you to bring your own non-jello food), amenities like rent-a-tablet/blanket (or just bring your own), luggage (travel with only carry-on/only return with checked), allocated seats (pray you get good seats at check-in, or don't care because it's a short flight/you don't particularly mind sitting away from your friend/you're gonna move to an empty seat anyway). One last thing, might want to buy a luggage scale (can get a fairly cheap one on Ebay or some shops around) so you make sure you don't over-buy/over-pack and end up being charged excess baggage fees, which can be pretty awful. You can check in online, and some airlines will allow you to add luggage even just a few days before you leave; just check what their terms are.

    • PiaPia on 28/09/2015 - 21:28

      Brilliant! Thank you for your post, really appreciate it.

      I'll definitely be checking those sites and more around OzBargain. Also many thanks for the tips :)

      Anyone else have site suggestions?

  • Peck on 28/09/2015 - 17:58
    +1

    Vietnam. Good hotels approx $45. Fly AirAsia.

  • PiaPia on 28/09/2015 - 21:32

    Those are the types of prices I drool over. Also with a travel partner that is fluent in Vietnamese, this is one of the top destinations on my list (not too sure if they're keen though).

    • Flying Ace on 01/10/2015 - 11:10

      Oh don't get me wrong, Vietnam is one of my favourite countries (my girlfriend is Vietnamese and I just got back yesterday from 5 weeks there), but from what she tells me around December and January is cool and pretty much raining all the time :-)

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