While you are watching it snow outside and realizing that winter has only just begun, keep in mind that it is always warm in Southeast Asia and whether you are after a beach vacation, a shopping trip or a cultural expedition, you'll always find what you are after in Asia.
Singapore Airlines' vacation arm, Asian Affair Holidays (tel. 800/742-3133; www.asianaffairholidays.com) has a selection of deals that won't break the bank. Their six-night package in Singapore and Bangkok includes round-trip airfare on Singapore Airlines, airport transfers, three-nights each at the four-star Furama Hotel, Singapore, and the four-star Swissotel Merchant Court Hotel, Bangkok, daily breakfast, half-day City Tour in Singapore, admission to Singapore's Chinatown Heritage Center, Singapore River Experience and a half-day Grand Palace Tour in Bangkok. Priced from $995 plus taxes per person from Los Angeles, this deal is available until March 31, 2005 (some blackout periods apply). Or for a few days in tropical paradise, try their six-night Singapore and Phuket combination from $1,095 plus taxes.
Thai Airways (tel. 800/426-5204; www.thaiairways.com) has super low round-trip webfares available to Bangkok from Los Angeles with prices starting at $640 per person plus taxes. The offer expires on January 5, 2005, for travel dates from January 18 to April 30 (February 2 to 8 is a blackout period). Lowest fares are based on midweek departures, or you can add $30 for travel for weekend travel.
Old standby Go-Today (tel. 425/487-9632; www.go-today.com) always has cheap Southeast Asian vacations available, and this winter is no exception. Their Bali special valid from January 5 to March 31, 2005, is a sweet $939 plus taxes out of Los Angeles and features round-trip airfare, seven-nights at the centrally located Oasis Kuta Hotel, continental breakfast daily, a half-day Sunset tour, "Magic of Northern Bali" day tour, the Oleh Oleh half-day tour, hotel taxes and service charges. Add $300 from Miami, Washington DC, Cleveland and a large selection of US departure cities. Add $460 from New York. Taxes of up to $180 are additional, plus the cost of an Indonesian visa ($25) and Indonesian departure tax ($9). Hurry -- purchase deadline is December 28, 2004.
For a budget-conscious Bangkok getaway, Go-Today's $699 package includes round-trip airfares from Los Angeles, five-nights at the Manhattan Hotel Bangkok, airport transfers, daily breakfast, City and Temples tour and hotel taxes. Valid for departures between January 13 and March 31, 2005, with a December 28, 2004, booking deadline. Add $80 from Seattle, $160 from New York or $390 from Boston. Other departure cities are available.
If you thought that price was low, Gate 1 (tel. 800/682-3333; www.gate1travel.com) has really scraped the bottom of the pricing barrel for its five-night Bangkok vacation. With prices starting at $599 plus taxes, not only is it cheaper than any published airfare we could find, but the package includes airfare from Los Angeles, airport to hotel transfer, five-nights at the tourist-class Bangkok City-Inn Hotel, and daily breakfast. The $599 price is for a March 7, 2005 departure only but for $30 to $60 more, other departure dates in January, February or March are available. Additional nights plus optional sightseeing tours are available at additional cost. Taxes of up to $200 are additional plus a mandatory $14 Thai departure tax. Gate 1 also offers a variety of guided tours to other exotic South East Asian destinations including multi-city Cambodia and Vietnam vacations with prices starting at $1,499 per person for 13-day tour package.
For a more in-depth cultural experience, Friendly Planet (tel. 800/555-5765; www.friendlyplanet.com/thailand.html) has a number of specially priced Thailand adventure and Thailand/Cambodia escorted tours. They also offer you the opportunity to save up to $800 per couple on a package deal to Thailand if you reserve before December 31, 2004. Examples include a 17-day Amazing Thailand plus Angkor Wat, Cambodia extension priced from $1,399 per person plus taxes from Los Angeles with departures in February, March and April. Add $100 from New York. The Amazing Thailand plus Phuket Island tour starts at $1,299. Taxes of approximately $140 are additional.
Cathay Pacific (www.cathay-usa.com) has an extraordinary discounted airpass available if you are interested in traveling extensively throughout Asia. Their 2005 All Asia Pass is priced at $1,099 per person plus taxes of approximately $110 and includes round-trip economy class travel between New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver or Toronto and Hong Kong, plus 21 consecutive days of travel to any or all 17 qualifying Asian cities. Departure dates are February 15 through May 13, 2005, or August 17 through December 1, 2005. Optional extended travel periods of 30, 45, 60 or 90 days available for an additional charge. Minimum stay of seven-days required. Travel must be completed by December 9, 2005. Students, children and adults 55+ receive a $100 discount. The only catch is that you must become a member of Cathay's Cyber Traveler Club, a free online membership that subjects you to regular e-mails from Cathay Pacific offering specials, discounts etc. Long haul travel (from the US to Asia) is restricted to Monday to Wednesday departures only.
Airfare-only specials to South East Asian destinations are readily available through various supliers. I recommend visiting one or more of the aggregator websites like www.cheapflights.com if your travel dates are open, or www.mobissimo.com if you have a specific travel date in mind. The cheapest fares will be easily accessed without too much effort.
If time saving and novelty factor are more important than price, your best bet will be to consider one of the new direct flights to Asia from either Los Angeles or New York. Although you'll often pay a premium for these flights (around 10% more than the traditional flight), the benefits include larger more spacious aircrafts and a saving of up to six hours of flying, connecting and transiting time. Singapore Airlines (www.singaporeair.com) offers a direct 18-hour flight into Singapore and both Continental (www.continental.com) and Cathay Pacific (www.cathay-usa.com) do the long haul flight in to Hong Kong from New York. In the spring of 2005, Thai Airways (www.thaiairways.com/index_station_usa.shtml) will be introducing new direct flights from New York to Bangkok. One-stop flights to Vietnam are now available through United Airlines (www.united.com). Their San Francisco to Ho Chi Minh City via Hong Kong flights began operation on December 9, 2004.