AllTheNines

Ok, so here's the scenario - February next year I will find myself with approx 9 days spare for some city hopping in Asia. I have a bunch of Avios and so with a wealth of flights in the region on Dragonair, Cathay Pacific and JAL I can pretty much take any routing that I please.

Potential places on my hit list are:

- Hong Kong (this is a must)
- Taipei (not sure)
- Kyoto (I like the look of this, particularly the surrounding countryside)
- Tokyo (not sure)
- Seoul (not sure)

I'm on a "flash" packer budget - i.e. happy to stay in hostels and take public transport but I will not stop short of seeing each city properly if that means spending a bit of money. I'm looking for interesting and good food on a budget, a little bit of nightlife (only 1 or 2 nights) and of course some interesting sights.

So can anyone please help me decide how I may best split my time?

Of course I could fit them all in if I really tried, but I'm wary of spending too much time sat in airports and on transport to/from cities - I think ideally I would like to spread my time between a maximum of 3 places.

Obviously February is a winter month but the weather doesn't concern me too much - although I may like to avoid somewhere that's more than likely to have continuous wind/rain!

Any thoughts/tips much appreciated.

lazard

2 days in Hong Kong, 2 days in Seoul, 2 days in Tokyo, 1 day in Osaka, 2 days in Kyoto

AllTheNines

I like your simplicity! However, I'm wary of the time spend going to/from airports.

I notice you miss Taipei so presumably that's bottom of the list as far as you're concerned?

It would also be nice to spend a day or two outside of the metropolis - the area surrouding Kyoto looks very nice. Would you potentially recommend this in favour of Tokyo, or would it be a big shame to miss Tokyo?

HawaiiO

For me, hopping to so many cities isnt fun and u spend too much time traveling.

If 9 days, just go to HK and Tokyo/Kyoto
Lots of areas around Kyoto too like Osaka and Nara.
U can go to traditional small towns outside Tokyo as well.

Too much travel

Why don't you head further south?

I've been to Seoul in winter before, and it can be exceedingly cold, especially with those bitter winds from the west. Tokyo/Kyoto will be the luck of the draw (it's maritime so not quite as bad as Seoul which definitely gets the cold continental winter climate). Taipei and Hong Kong are actually very nice that time of year.

Have you thought about the likes of Saigon, Bangkok and Penang (specifically Georgetown for the food)?

AllTheNines

Sorry I should have said that this isn't my first trip to Asia. Year before last we did Bangkok, KL, Singapore, Kota Kinabalu/northern Borneo and then Tioman Island to finish up. The year before that I did 2 separate trips including Bangkok both times, Ko Samui, Langkawi, Penang, Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, etc.

This holiday we're starting in Bangkok again and working our way to a new Thai island (to be decided but possibly Koh Kradan), onwards to Siem Reap (we've said for a while we need to try Cambodia) and then to Hong Kong on Dragonair. Which is where my 9 spare days then come in to play! Looking to fly back to Europe from Tokyo and so the bit in between is where we need the advice.

At the moment we're edging towards 3 full nights in Hong Kong, skip Taipei, a full 3 nights in Kyoto area and exploring the nearby countryside, then finish up with a day or two in Tokyo.

jiejie

Yes. Good plan.

Bear4Asian

You might want to consider that Chinese New Years - 2015 is in February. Travel can get quite crowded and expensive for many days around the official date.

A380 Flyer

I still think you should try and fit Seoul in there somewhere, even if you have to double back on yourself with a budget airline (Peach fly from Osaka (which is the gateway to Kyoto really) to Seoul for less than £100 return).

Would you not consider skipping Tokyo and doing Seoul instead?

Kyoto is certainly the most interesting part of Japan, Osaka is a big city, but nothing amazing there, it's just a hub for Shinkansen either way to Hiroshima or Kyoto really.

If you are spending time in HKG, why not get the ferry across to Shenzhen or Guangzhou? Some good experiences to be had there if you paid for the Visa

glennaa11

Limiting yourself to a couple of cities is a good idea I think. So your current plan seems like a good one.

I really like Taiwan though. TPE is a very short flight from HKG and is only something like 7500 Avios. The island has a lot to offer in terms of nature (especially on the east coast) and transport is pretty well-developed for getting around.

BuildingMyBento

Kyoto is good for pre-20th century history, sure, but to me Tokyo is endlessly fascinating.

...and then you mention hopping over to Shenzhen? It's a good food town, and there's an esoteric landmark for Hong Kong buffs, but other than that, its two most famous points of interest involve a replica of the Eiffel Tower and a place to buy North Face (or Van Gogh) knock-offs.

Daawgon

I would avoid any destination in Vietnam in mid-February due to the Tet family holiday - makes transport and life rather difficult for traveling westerners (also on the expensive side). If you're on a strict budget, Northeast Asia and Hong Kong are not exactly budget destinations! Georgetown (Penang), Malaysia is wonderful for cheap food and accommodation, and can be very colorful around Chinese New Years (starting Feb 19th).

moondog

Many places in Asia celebrate the lunar new year.

jiejie

But Vietnam is a particular problem, I agree with Daawgon to avoid. Similar to how we advise travelers to China to avoid the period before/during/after Chinese New Year. Although the disruption period in Vietnam for Tet is shorter than CNY in China.

windhund

Taipei is great if on a budget--you can get delicious food for cheap while there. You can also find reasonably priced hotels, depending on where you want to stay. The subway is clean, efficient, and inexpensive. Taxi cabs are also relatively inexpensive (compared to the US/Europe anyway).