Basics - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 25

options into Guangdong province, from where
you could continue west into Vietnam, and on
into Laos.
If you're planning to fly from London to Vientiane,
Phnom Penh, Manila or Yangon, you will have to
change planes in Bangkok or Singapore, as there
are currently no direct flights to these destinations,
although you can now fly direct from London to
Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam on Vietnam
Airlines. Vietnamese visas are still easier to obtain
in Bangkok than in London, however, so it may be
worth building in a stopover just for that.
A one-year open RTW ticket from London taking
in Hong Kong, Singapore (with surface travel to
Bangkok), Sydney, Auckland, the Cook Islands and
Los Angeles costs from £1200, although basic options
are around £600. The cheapest time to begin your
RTW trip is usually post-Easter to mid-June.

Kong take at least fifteen hours and the cheapest
fares from New York start from around US$910.
The best options for flights from Canada to Hong
Kong include nonstop flights from Vancouver (13hr)
and Toronto (15hr). Fares from Canada's west coast
start at around CAN$760.
An RTW itinerary might be New York-Dubai-
Singapore-Hong Kong-New York for around
US$2160.

Flights from Australia and
New Zealand
The cheapest way to get to Southeast Asia from
Australia and New Zealand is to buy a one-way
flight to one of the region's gateways such as
Denpasar (Bali), Jakarta, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur,
Bangkok or Hong Kong, and carry on from there
by air, sea or overland.
Airfares from east coast Australian gateways
are all pretty similar, although nonstop flights
are sometimes cheaper from Darwin and Perth.
From New Zealand , you can expect to pay
about NZ$200-400 more from Christchurch and
Wellington than from Auckland. Return fares to
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei can
be as little as Aus$400/NZ$800, while to Thailand,
Indochina and Hong Kong you can expect to pay
from Aus$450/NZ$1050.
A RTW ticket from Sydney to Singapore, taking in
Bangkok, London, Berlin, New York and Los Angeles,
starts at around Aus$2549; one from Auckland to
Singapore, taking in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, London,
Munich and Bangkok, costs from NZ$2899.

Flights from the US and Canada
There's no way around it: flights from North
America to Southeast Asia are long. With the
exception of nonstop services to Singapore,
Bangkok and Hong Kong from the US West Coast,
all flights, including so-called “direct flights”, will
require a stop somewhere along the way. But this
means you can take advantage of the stopovers
offered by many airlines.
Numerous airlines run daily flights to Bangkok
from major East and West Coast cities, usually
making one stop, though it is possible to fly
direct from Los Angeles. Flying time from both the
West Coast via northern Asia and from New York
via Europe is around eighteen hours. Departing
from the West Coast, expect to pay from US$880
return, a bit more from the East Coast. From
Canada, the flight takes around seventeen hours
(from Vancouver via Hong Kong) or around
twenty (from Toronto via Europe). Prices start from
around Can$960 from either Vancouver or Toronto.
Singapore is served from New York, Los Angeles
(nonstop) and San Francisco; flying eastbound is
more direct but still involves at least 22 hours'
travelling time. Prices start around US$970 from
New York; or US$830 from Los Angeles and San
Francisco. From Toronto or Montreal, prices start
at Can$1150 and, from Vancouver, Can$1050.
Fly via Hong Kong if you wish to visit mainland
Asia. The cheapest low-season fare from the US
West Coast is around US$870 for the round trip and
typically includes a connection in Taiwan or Korea.
A direct flight costs more and takes at least fourteen
hours. From the East Coast, direct flights to Hong

Agents and operators
Agents
Flight Centre UK T 0844 800 8660, Australia T 133 133, Canada
T 1877 967 5302, New Zealand T 0800 243 544, South Africa
T 0860 400 727, US T 1 877 992 4732, W flightcentre.com.
Discounted flights, tours, packages and hotel bookings.
North South Travel UK T 01245 608291, W northsouthtravel
.co.uk. Friendly, competitive travel agency, offering discounted fares
worldwide. Profits are used to support projects in the developing world,
especially the promotion of sustainable tourism.
STA Travel Australia T 134 782, New Zealand T 0800 474 400,
South Africa T 0861 781 781; UK T 0871 230 0040, US T 1 800
781 4040, W statravel.com. Worldwide specialists in independent
travel; also student IDs, travel insurance, car rental, rail passes, and more.
Good discounts for students and under-26s.
Student Flights Australia T 1800 046 462, W studentflights.com.
au. Flights and round-the-world tickets, plus adventure travel, hotel
bookings, rail passes and TEFL placements, for students and budget travellers.