Hi, I'm planning a trip to Asia this summer, and I'm told that it's much cheaper to buy intra-Asia flights from a travel agent based in Asia. I'm hoping to visit Vietnam, Thailand, China (HK and Beijing), and the Philippines. I would greatly appreciate a recommendation of a reliable travel agent in Asia (preferably English-speaking, but I do speak Mandarin) who could arrange for my travel.

Many thanks!

Try www.asiatravel.com (http://www.asiatravel.com) Their home page will show you the countries they service. Their choice of hotels, airport pickup services, tours and airfares might be a good place to start.

I've used Asiatravel a lot, but I ran across this site that you might want to investigate further, http://www.aerohkg.com

Rich

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by rjh:
I've used Asiatravel a lot, but I ran across this site that you might want to investigate further, http://www.aerohkg.com</font> I took a look at some of these fares HKG-BKK-HKG, and they seem a little be expensive. For example, their TG fare is about US$270 (same price in HK$). I have used a variety of TAs in Kowloon (Aero International is over in Hong Kong) who, with a bit of negotiating provided a HKG-BKK-HKG ticket at about the same price that I can purchase it in Bangkok (BKK-HKG-BKK): US$165 per ticket for a group of five. Most of these agents will FedEx the tickets to the US if so requested (with appropriate surcharge), or have them available for local pickup. My advice is to just stroll around, and check out the competing TAs in Kowloon and Hong Kong for the best deals. Same advice for Bangkok.

I've had very good luck with Charlie Connection in Bangkok. Charlie is very good about responding to email and speaks excellent English.


Charlie Connection Travel & Tour Ltd.
Tel: +66 2 629 4260-2
Fax: +66 2 629 4261
E-Mail: info@travelconnecxion.com
www.travelconnecxion.com (http://www.travelconnecxion.com)

Have you just considered using the All Asia pass offered by Malaysia Air and Cathay Pacific.

I agree the Asia Pass from Cathay Pacific and Malaysia Air are great deals.

In HK, I recommend:
http://www.sunnseaholidays.com
http://www.aerohkg.com/
http://www.hkwtl.com
http://www.travel.com.hk
http://www.priceline.com.hk
http://www.planetholidayhk.com/boracay_eng.htm


[This message has been edited by travelem (edited 10-29-2003).]

I have a new one for Shanghai: numbers are 6298 2744 and 6298 7516; address is 608 Changshou Rd (that's near Zhongshan Park about 1 mile north of the Portman).

The good news is that they just sold me a ticket to Beijing this weekend for a remarkable Y400. In addition to having access to more inventory than standard TAs, they sell group tickets to individuals. The bad news: 1) they don't speak English; 2) they are almost impossible to reach on the phone; 3) going there in person is not unlike buying a train ticket at the train station; and 4) I wouldn't bank on them delivering tickets (because it seems to be a consolidator for other agents).

I was referred to the new place by my long time TA, Liz (5424 4605) because Liz can no longer book discounts greater than 20% (for reasons too complex for my simple mind). Those of you booking from overseas may still wish to go through Liz or one of her equivalents (Liz excels in the service department), but if you want to get a good deal on domestic tickets, the new place is for you.

the ASEAN pass is $120 per Flight,
you must by it from an asia carrier as part of your ticket to asia.
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