I'm trying to plan a trip to SE asia for end of June into July. I will likely be flying in from Hong Kong. Places I am interested in visiting: Thailand (probably just bangkok and maybe Pattaya since I have seen most of thailand in a prior trip), Vietnam (likely to spend a decent chunk of time here since I have never been and would like to go from saigon to Hanoi), the philippines (not sure where I would go other than Manilla). Also singapore is an option.
On my award I can try to fly into and out of SGN, BKK, SIN and Manila and they all cost the same amount of points. I am interested in the best route so I could go to minimize backtracking. I would basically be looking for cheap flights to get around once in SE asia. I was thinking of getting suits in BKK in which case it may make sense to have that at the end of my trip before flying back to HKG so that I do not have to lug them around although I suppose I could just have them shipped to my home country. Any advice on the best way to order my visits would be appreciated.
On my award I can try to fly into and out of SGN, BKK, SIN and Manila and they all cost the same amount of points. I am interested in the best route so I could go to minimize backtracking. I would basically be looking for cheap flights to get around once in SE asia. I was thinking of getting suits in BKK in which case it may make sense to have that at the end of my trip before flying back to HKG so that I do not have to lug them around although I suppose I could just have them shipped to my home country. Any advice on the best way to order my visits would be appreciated.
How much time do you have for this itinerary?
MNL is always cheap to fly to although if you're not planning on any other destinations in the Philippines it might not be worth it to go there at all.
SGN should also have a number of cheap flights at any time, HAN less so.
Of the options you gave, I think the best value can be had on a BKK or SIN redemption but it might not be very worthwhile anyway considering there are lots of other options on these routes. Without a redemption, you could still get to Bangkok cheaply on VN with SGN as a stopover or flying to Bangkok's other airport, DMK, and if you decided to do Singapore, you could fly in or out of JHB, although I'd skip it and spend more time in any of the other places instead (particularly in Vietnam).
It could be more worth it to fly on points into some smaller airport instead.
MNL is always cheap to fly to although if you're not planning on any other destinations in the Philippines it might not be worth it to go there at all.
SGN should also have a number of cheap flights at any time, HAN less so.
Of the options you gave, I think the best value can be had on a BKK or SIN redemption but it might not be very worthwhile anyway considering there are lots of other options on these routes. Without a redemption, you could still get to Bangkok cheaply on VN with SGN as a stopover or flying to Bangkok's other airport, DMK, and if you decided to do Singapore, you could fly in or out of JHB, although I'd skip it and spend more time in any of the other places instead (particularly in Vietnam).
It could be more worth it to fly on points into some smaller airport instead.
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MNL is always cheap to fly to although if you're not planning on any other destinations in the Philippines it might not be worth it to go there at all.
SGN should also have a number of cheap flights at any time, HAN less so.
Of the options you gave, I think the best value can be had on a BKK or SIN redemption but it might not be very worthwhile anyway considering there are lots of other options on these routes. Without a redemption, you could still get to Bangkok cheaply on VN with SGN as a stopover or flying to Bangkok's other airport, DMK, and if you decided to do Singapore, you could fly in or out of JHB, although I'd skip it and spend more time in any of the other places instead (particularly in Vietnam).
It could be more worth it to fly on points into some smaller airport instead.
I haven't determined how long I am going for, but right now looking about 3 1/2 weeks. Was thinking maybe a week and a half in vietnam, week in the philippines, 3 days in Thailand, 3 days in HKG.Originally Posted by ProleOnParole
How much time do you have for this itinerary?MNL is always cheap to fly to although if you're not planning on any other destinations in the Philippines it might not be worth it to go there at all.
SGN should also have a number of cheap flights at any time, HAN less so.
Of the options you gave, I think the best value can be had on a BKK or SIN redemption but it might not be very worthwhile anyway considering there are lots of other options on these routes. Without a redemption, you could still get to Bangkok cheaply on VN with SGN as a stopover or flying to Bangkok's other airport, DMK, and if you decided to do Singapore, you could fly in or out of JHB, although I'd skip it and spend more time in any of the other places instead (particularly in Vietnam).
It could be more worth it to fly on points into some smaller airport instead.
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The time for Vietnam sounds about right. There's a lot to see and moving around can be slow.Originally Posted by Red259
I haven't determined how long I am going for, but right now looking about 3 1/2 weeks. Was thinking maybe a week and a half in vietnam, week in the philippines, 3 days in Thailand, 3 days in HKG.
3 days in HK should be enough to get the gist of Central and Kowloon. You could also manage to fit in a trip to Lamma Island with a return via Aberdeen or a day in Macau.
Don't stay for a week in Manila though. Either fly to other places (PPS, CEB, MPH/KLO for Boracay) or if you don't want to go anywhere else, 1-2 full days is enough. You could then add more time in Bangkok, which is a huge city.
Unless you consciously skipped Malaysia, consider adding Kota Kinabalu. You could do an MNL-BKI leg very cheaply, and if you wanted even more travel, perhaps a ferry to Brunei via Labuan, and then onwards from BWN to SIN/KUL. Or a short hop to East Sabah (SDK) to see all the wildlife.
Note that you'll be travelling during the typhoon season. It's possible that there will be flight disruptions or, in the Philippines, even some flooding. It'd be best to keep your flights (ticketed separately) spread out in so that any unpredictable weather does not ruin your whole itinerary.
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3 days in HK should be enough to get the gist of Central and Kowloon. You could also manage to fit in a trip to Lamma Island with a return via Aberdeen or a day in Macau.
Don't stay for a week in Manila though. Either fly to other places (PPS, CEB, MPH/KLO for Boracay) or if you don't want to go anywhere else, 1-2 full days is enough. You could then add more time in Bangkok, which is a huge city.
Unless you consciously skipped Malaysia, consider adding Kota Kinabalu. You could do an MNL-BKI leg very cheaply, and if you wanted even more travel, perhaps a ferry to Brunei via Labuan, and then onwards from BWN to SIN/KUL. Or a short hop to East Sabah (SDK) to see all the wildlife.
Note that you'll be travelling during the typhoon season. It's possible that there will be flight disruptions or, in the Philippines, even some flooding. It'd be best to keep your flights (ticketed separately) spread out in so that any unpredictable weather does not ruin your whole itinerary.
Thanks, I don't know much about Malaysia so I will look into your recommendations. I've been to Bangkok a long time ago, so I probably don't need to add time there. With hong kong I might look for a day trip for one of the days I am there since I have spent time there in the past. Maybe I will drop a day off HKG and add it in somewhere else. Maybe two days Hong Kong and two days singapore? I have to go through HKG on my way there but maybe I can fly into SIN and travel up to Kuala Lumpur. Then hopping a flight to bangkok, 2 days there and taking a flight over to Hanoi (if possible or SGN). If Hanoi then working my way down vietnam to SGN (or vice versa) then head to Philippines for the end of the trip and fly out from there to HKG and on to home. Maybe what I will do is have my HKG layover on the way out instead of on the way in, so I can kind of recovery in luxury at the end of my trip.Originally Posted by ProleOnParole
The time for Vietnam sounds about right. There's a lot to see and moving around can be slow.3 days in HK should be enough to get the gist of Central and Kowloon. You could also manage to fit in a trip to Lamma Island with a return via Aberdeen or a day in Macau.
Don't stay for a week in Manila though. Either fly to other places (PPS, CEB, MPH/KLO for Boracay) or if you don't want to go anywhere else, 1-2 full days is enough. You could then add more time in Bangkok, which is a huge city.
Unless you consciously skipped Malaysia, consider adding Kota Kinabalu. You could do an MNL-BKI leg very cheaply, and if you wanted even more travel, perhaps a ferry to Brunei via Labuan, and then onwards from BWN to SIN/KUL. Or a short hop to East Sabah (SDK) to see all the wildlife.
Note that you'll be travelling during the typhoon season. It's possible that there will be flight disruptions or, in the Philippines, even some flooding. It'd be best to keep your flights (ticketed separately) spread out in so that any unpredictable weather does not ruin your whole itinerary.
So an update and looking for advice. I'm going to fly in to se asia in mid-june and end on july 10th. I have a layover in tokyo where I will spend two nights three days (I was just in Tokyo last year and I'm just taking advantage of the free layover). Then I fly into Hanoi. In vietnam I want to see Hanoi, Halong Bay (i'm travelling on my own so I probably don't want to spend a ton of time in the bay but maybe an overnight cruise or just do it in a day? How will the weather be in the area at the time of year?), Hue, Hoi An, DaNang, Saigon, Mekong delta. Are these the best places to visit in vietnam? What is the best way to get around? Should I take a flight from Hanoi to Hue? Is DaNang worth visiting? How about China beach? I take it I would need to catch a flight down to Saigon as well? What would be the best way to break up my time at these destinations in vietnam? My understanding is Hanoi has a lot to see, which would require more time Hanoi or Hue & Hoi An? I was thinking two nights in Saigon?
Once I get to Saigon and southern vietnam this is where I am unsure of where to go. I was going to hit bangkok, but I am unsure if I should head there right after vietnam or go into the phillipines etc first? My flight out (at least at this point) is planned to be from SIN, so that will most likely be the final stop (I may switch up my exit redemption if the flight I wants opens up but as of now I am planning on flying out of SIN).
Given the time of year and the weather I am not sure which countries or areas of the various countries would be the best to focus on? Also there have been some recent warnings about Pawan which was an area of the Philippines I was considering. Above Malaysia was mentioned and I would be interesting in seeing wildlife as well. Maybe go from vietnam to bkk to phillipines down into borneo etc and then head from there to SIN? Looking at some flights though it seems like I may have to fly out of the way to make connections to fly back to my target, so looking at a map and trying to plot my route out may not be the most ideal thing. I'd like to use points on some of these intra asia flights where possible, but only if it makes economic sense. The flights within vietnam seem to be decently priced that points even on the low end may not be worth using for them. Which airlines in SE asia should I avoid for safety reasons?
Once I get to Saigon and southern vietnam this is where I am unsure of where to go. I was going to hit bangkok, but I am unsure if I should head there right after vietnam or go into the phillipines etc first? My flight out (at least at this point) is planned to be from SIN, so that will most likely be the final stop (I may switch up my exit redemption if the flight I wants opens up but as of now I am planning on flying out of SIN).
Given the time of year and the weather I am not sure which countries or areas of the various countries would be the best to focus on? Also there have been some recent warnings about Pawan which was an area of the Philippines I was considering. Above Malaysia was mentioned and I would be interesting in seeing wildlife as well. Maybe go from vietnam to bkk to phillipines down into borneo etc and then head from there to SIN? Looking at some flights though it seems like I may have to fly out of the way to make connections to fly back to my target, so looking at a map and trying to plot my route out may not be the most ideal thing. I'd like to use points on some of these intra asia flights where possible, but only if it makes economic sense. The flights within vietnam seem to be decently priced that points even on the low end may not be worth using for them. Which airlines in SE asia should I avoid for safety reasons?
FWIW, when I did my 3-week Vietnam trip years ago, I took a conventional north-south route and just did backpacker tours when there, as they were so cheap it was near-impossible to go lower independently. This included a 3 dayer to the Mekong Delta and 2 for the Ha Long Bay/Cat Ba. I would do the bus trips between cities otherwise, so after coming in from Cambodia overland (an adventure then) the bases were HCMC, Dalat, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue, and Hanoi. Great trip, even though I got pickpocketed (thankfully recovered wallet, just without cash). Average spend was $30 a day. I also saw some of the same people at every stop.
Have been to the Philippines many times...it's a place that gets a lot of sharply divided opinion but I would say needs to grow on you. It gets far less tourism than Thailand or Malaysia and there aren't as many opportunities to fly in and go see something right away. Boracay is the closest to a Phuket-like place and small and fragile. I've been to PPS and points nearby but not El Nido. Also Cebu. Bohol, Cagayan, Puerto Galera, Baguio, Banaue, etc. Banaue is definitely a "thing," and the Chocolate Hills in Bohol maybe a bit less so. Access takes some investment in time, though.
With Borneo I'd highly recommend a tour of the lower Kinabatangan (out of Sandakan, most likely) as it's really beautiful and very threatened. There were even orang-utan sightings on mine. The National Parks are also really beautiful. I haven't done the Mt. Kinabalu thing but I'm sure it's nice. KK lacks charm IMO but that may be because of being flattened in WWII (Kuching is better for that). Brunei is kinda unique.
Don't worry too much about the monsoons. At that time of year you might get a big but short-lived downpour around 5 p.m. or so.
Whatever you do, there won't be enough time and plenty of things on the wish list that'll have to be left for later trips. On my earlier trips to the region I really crammed the itins but also underestimated my ability to get back for more trips.
Have been to the Philippines many times...it's a place that gets a lot of sharply divided opinion but I would say needs to grow on you. It gets far less tourism than Thailand or Malaysia and there aren't as many opportunities to fly in and go see something right away. Boracay is the closest to a Phuket-like place and small and fragile. I've been to PPS and points nearby but not El Nido. Also Cebu. Bohol, Cagayan, Puerto Galera, Baguio, Banaue, etc. Banaue is definitely a "thing," and the Chocolate Hills in Bohol maybe a bit less so. Access takes some investment in time, though.
With Borneo I'd highly recommend a tour of the lower Kinabatangan (out of Sandakan, most likely) as it's really beautiful and very threatened. There were even orang-utan sightings on mine. The National Parks are also really beautiful. I haven't done the Mt. Kinabalu thing but I'm sure it's nice. KK lacks charm IMO but that may be because of being flattened in WWII (Kuching is better for that). Brunei is kinda unique.
Don't worry too much about the monsoons. At that time of year you might get a big but short-lived downpour around 5 p.m. or so.
Whatever you do, there won't be enough time and plenty of things on the wish list that'll have to be left for later trips. On my earlier trips to the region I really crammed the itins but also underestimated my ability to get back for more trips.
Looking at it I think my plans are shaping up as follows: fly into hanoi and spend four nights there. I may do a day cruise at halong bay but I am not certain or if I should do a day tour of Ninh Binh instead. Not sure which one would be best? From there I will go to Hue for 2 days then I will head to either danang or hoi an to stay and spend two days visiting those. From there I will head to SGN for two nights. From SGN I am going to make my way down to cebu city in the philippines and stay there for six nights using Cebu city as a base for daytrips to Bohol or other locations. From Cebu city I will head to BKK and spend three nights there before heading to SIN for a night. My flight leaves a 6am at of SIN so I am not sure if I will get a hotel for the second night in SIN because I may just be better off staying up all night exploring the airport and sleeping on the plane ride to Tokyo, an alternative is to do a six hour stay or something at a transit hotel at the airport. Still I hate the idea of going to bed early on my last night of vacation.