Hey all,
Im currently saving up to purchase a ticket to Thailand, however, I'm starting to wonder whats the right time to buy. I want to fly out mid december from LAX to Bangkok, my dates are flexible, and ill fly at all hours. The problem is that right now tickets range from $1400 to $1550, and im wondering whether they will go down or only further up from this date on. If anyone has experience with buying tickets and when is the best time please let me know, it is all much appreciated.
Steven,
You are traveling at the peak of high season. High season for Thailand is roughly Thanksgiving until Feb 1. If you can avoid high season, you will get a better airfare. I suggest you join 'airfarewatchdog'. Sign up, put in your travel dates and they will send you an e-mail if the fare drops in price. Good luck.
Hey thanks mike,
I know its the high season, buts its the only time I will be able to make the trip this year, so I decided to go regardless. In your opinion can i get away from the tourist but still enjoy thailand? Should i plan out my whole trip and book hostels in advance or do as I normally do and just go with it. I just dont want to be surrounded by other tourist all trip. Thanks for the heads up on the website.
Keep on keeping on,
Steven
Research that plane ticket a little more. Use the I to find a cheaper ticket. I ran a sample and came up with these lows for Dec: $1108. for 12/17 and $1068. for 12/25. You can't buy a ticket on that site, but it will tell you which airline has low priced seats. That $1108. seat was on China Southern.
(use the calendar option on itasoftware, LAX-BKK)
The price of oil and the time of the year you fly affect the price of your plane tickets. At least flying from LAX you have more choices for airlines. The Christmas - New Years holiday season is the most expensive. Hotels are also more expensive at that time of the year in Thailand too.
Because you want to be there at the most expensive time of the year I would start checking prices now. Every now and then the airlines screw up and have a lower price that you can grab. But I would not expect that a price of $1400 would be unusual for the Christmas season. Unless you expect that there will be some cheap oil coming out of Alaska or from the drilling sites off the coast of the US.
Part of the reason that hotels in Thailand are cheaper than other Asian countries is because of the many tourists around. Tourist money helps pay for the good roads and need for efficient transportation. So, having lots of tourists around in Thailand is a benefit for frugal travelers.
There are not a lot of hostels in Thailand, some in Bangkok but most of the accommodations for budget travelers are in small hotels or guest houses. Plan a budget out and see how much you can afford to spend on your hotel/hostel/guest house and then ask for some suggestions that fit your budget.
I don't know if you can go somewhere and not be surrounded by other tourists cheaply. Pattaya is cheaper than Bangkok and Bangkok is cheaper than Phuket but there are lots of tourists around. What is it you want to do in Thailand? Is it fry yourself on a beach all the time or visit some of northern Thailand, like Chiang Mai and nearby areas?
If you want to avoid tourists maybe just hop on a bus and head for some out of the way city or town and camp out there for a while. But part of visiting Thailand for many tourists is to actually take some tours and visit some popular areas not avoid them because other tourists are around.
I would book a night or two for Bangkok instead of immediately trying to avoid that city especially if you arrive late at night. In Bangkok you can arrange your transportation to some other city during your short stay there. Likewise, spend the last night in Bangkok and do some last minute shopping and not have to rely on a last minute bus or plane arriving in time for you to make your connection home.
At least you have some time to nail down your accommodation. Now you have to choose where to go in order to avoid other tourists. Personally I like other tourists around because they keep prices down and there is more safety.
Never been here, maybe in this place you can be around fewer tourists:
Steve,
Even though you are going to be in Tland during high season, I would not book anything beforehand. Do not lock yourself into a hotel/GH before looking it over. Forget hostels, GHs are cheap enough and you do not share a room/toilet. If you are going to choose the parts of Tland that have few visitors, you will not have any trouble finding a room in your price range.
You can get away from most of the crowds by visiting the less popular parts of Tland. If you head North to trek or visit the Myanmar border area, use as your base instead of Chiang Mai. Fewer tourists.
Here is a that might be worth your time. Certainly the little town where it is located is not usually visited by tourists. The is not usually crowded either. The Northeast part of Tland is probably the least visited part of Tland. is another island that you might take a look at. Just a few ideas to look over.
Good luck with your planning.
[ 18-May-2011, at 21:43 by vegasmike6 ]
For December I would normally book early July. I often use airlines like Gulf Air where you have a few hour stop each way, which saves quite a bit of money.
Incidentally I have found that as you go into December (so towards Christmas), so the price goes up, where going on say the 10th, can be hundreds of dollars more than going on say, the 8th.
I would recommend you to booked it ahead.... As that period will be of high season. to avoid anything bad in terms of higer air tickets, higher accommodation rates etc. Better booked not later than July
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