Tour packages for week long vacation?

[luoldeng9]

So I will have a week-long spring break starting in a week from now. I'll be traveling alone and I'm now thinking of taking a trip to Taiwan, Japan, or Thailand. I hope to spend 7 days in a foreign country. I've never been to any of those places before. The flight will be quite expensive (about $2000 round trip), but I think its worth it since I plan to move to Asia starting this May to try to get an English teaching job

Does anyone have any experience with the package tours? I am thinking I could also just go out on my own unless I hear great things about the tours. However, I only speak English fluently and cannot even read any other languages, so that's why I'm not sure if it's worth it to travel alone. Any advice?

[davewe]

So I will have a week-long spring break starting in a week from now. I'll be traveling alone and I'm now thinking of taking a trip to Taiwan, Japan, or Thailand. I hope to spend 7 days in a foreign country. I've never been to any of those places before. The flight will be quite expensive (about $2000 round trip), but I think its worth it since I plan to move to Asia starting this May to try to get an English teaching job

Does anyone have any experience with the package tours? I am thinking I could also just go out on my own unless I hear great things about the tours. However, I only speak English fluently and cannot even read any other languages, so that's why I'm not sure if it's worth it to travel alone. Any advice?

Depends on where you're going and what you want to do. If you're sightseeing - maybe, although even then I prefer creating my own tour, hiring a cab or car to take me around. But with only a week to go I'd just decide on a place and go.

Again, what are you looking to do? Sightsee, meet girls, soak up the culture, lay on a beach. All depends.

[luoldeng9]

So I will have a week-long spring break starting in a week from now. I'll be traveling alone and I'm now thinking of taking a trip to Taiwan, Japan, or Thailand. I hope to spend 7 days in a foreign country. I've never been to any of those places before. The flight will be quite expensive (about $2000 round trip), but I think its worth it since I plan to move to Asia starting this May to try to get an English teaching job

Does anyone have any experience with the package tours? I am thinking I could also just go out on my own unless I hear great things about the tours. However, I only speak English fluently and cannot even read any other languages, so that's why I'm not sure if it's worth it to travel alone. Any advice?

Depends on where you're going and what you want to do. If you're sightseeing - maybe, although even then I prefer creating my own tour, hiring a cab or car to take me around. But with only a week to go I'd just decide on a place and go.

Again, what are you looking to do? Sightsee, meet girls, soak up the culture, lay on a beach. All depends.

I'm just looking to sightsee and, more importantly, get a feel for what the people are like there. I'm not into the bar scene or p4p, and although I'd like to meet the college girls, it probably won't happen if I only have a week and can't speak their language.

[Winston]

Tours are more expensive than arranging things on your own. I don't see the point in using them. You can always meet people through CouchSurfing.org who will show you around too.

Why is your airfare so expensive? You can get airfare for under $1000 most of the time. Didn't you try different search engines? You can try mine at the airfares tab at the top.

[luoldeng9]

Tours are more expensive than arranging things on your own. I don't see the point in using them. You can always meet people through CouchSurfing.org who will show you around too.

Why is your airfare so expensive? You can get airfare for under $1000 most of the time. Didn't you try different search engines? You can try mine at the airfares tab at the top.

I just looked at priceline for the flight costs, I didn't see your link above. Even with your search engines, the cheapest I found was $1100 round trip, but I would have to leave Mon 3/12. If I left Fri 3/9 instead, the cheapest is $1500

[davewe]

Tours are more expensive than arranging things on your own. I don't see the point in using them. You can always meet people through CouchSurfing.org who will show you around too.

Why is your airfare so expensive? You can get airfare for under $1000 most of the time. Didn't you try different search engines? You can try mine at the airfares tab at the top.

I just looked at priceline for the flight costs, I didn't see your link above. Even with your search engines, the cheapest I found was $1100 round trip, but I would have to leave Mon 3/12. If I left Fri 3/9 instead, the cheapest is $1500

Well Manila's cheaper than Bangkok if you have an interest in the Philippines. I am been using Onetravel.com and getting a bit cheaper rate than Expedia.

But back to your question. I'd sightsee on my own or with a cheap local tour once you get there. I would not book one of these expensive sightseeing tours of a given city. But again, YMMV depending on your interests and age.

Also of interest to me is what you are looking for. I suspect that Tokyo and Bangkok attract different interests. And since budget is a consideration, your week will be cheaper in some 3rd world place compared to Tokyo! Look at hotel prices. To book a hotel, go to Agoda.

Good luck

[luoldeng9]

Well Manila's cheaper than Bangkok if you have an interest in the Philippines. I am been using Onetravel.com and getting a bit cheaper rate than Expedia.

But back to your question. I'd sightsee on my own or with a cheap local tour once you get there. I would not book one of these expensive sightseeing tours of a given city. But again, YMMV depending on your interests and age.

Also of interest to me is what you are looking for. I suspect that Tokyo and Bangkok attract different interests. And since budget is a consideration, your week will be cheaper in some 3rd world place compared to Tokyo! Look at hotel prices. To book a hotel, go to Agoda.

Good luck

Yeah it seems like everyone is telling me to just go own my own and not book an expensive tour. I'm not really interested in the p4p scene or the nightlife scene. I was thinking about visiting Chiang Mai just so I could get a feel for what the Thai people are like and how it's like to live there

[PaulB]

Chiang Mai is a great city for touring. Elephant riding, jungle trekking, rafting, etc. It's easily the cheapest of your options and easiest to meet college girls and be able to communicate with them. I'll be there next month for Songkran if you want to join. Roundtrip flight from LAX to Bangkok should be $900-1000 and from Bangkok to Chiang Mai around $30 via AirAsia.

[NorthAmericanguy]

Why is your airfare so expensive? You can get airfare for under $1000 most of the time. Didn't you try different search engines? You can try mine at the airfares tab at the top.

Yup. I can get to most places in the world under a grand. The KEY is to fly out of JFK or LAX AND use a search engine such as kayak.

[NorthAmericanguy]

and from Bangkok to Chiang Mai around $30 via AirAsia.

Wow really? Only 30 bucks? A flight from Bangkok to Koh Samui is going to set me back about 100 bucks one way.

[pete98146]

and from Bangkok to Chiang Mai around $30 via AirAsia.

Wow really? Only 30 bucks? A flight from Bangkok to Koh Samui is going to set me back about 100 bucks one way.

If I recall the only airline that goes between BKK and KS is Bangkok Airlines who holds the monopoly hence the higher price.

[luoldeng9]

Chiang Mai is a great city for touring. Elephant riding, jungle trekking, rafting, etc. It's easily the cheapest of your options and easiest to meet college girls and be able to communicate with them. I'll be there next month for Songkran if you want to join. Roundtrip flight from LAX to Bangkok should be $900-1000 .

I can only stay there for next week. Too bad I'm here in Texas. It costs $1200 (1300 to stay a few more days) to depart to Japan whereas it costs $1500 (2000 if I stay for a few more days) to go to Bangkok. But the hotel costs about $50-100/night more in Japan than Thailand.

[xiongmao]

Just book a flight and go! I went to Japan by myself, and I even went to Wuhan (in central China) by myself. That time was to meet a Chinese girl hee hee hee .

Packages are for un-freethinking mugs. The flight back to London from Beijing was full of escorted tour folk who'd seen the Great Wall, Terracotta People blah blah blah. By travelling alone I'd visited a local family's apartment, been on a crazy boat trip with about 1000 Chinese and 10 lifejackets between us and had the train journey of a lifetime.

As for Japan, well I just wandered around drooling over and taking photos of sexy women:







You don't need any English to visit Tokyo or the other big cities. Elsewhere it's a little tricky at times, and god forbid you have a health problem and want to find your usual medicine in the pharmacy!

Since it's International Woman's day I'll link to more sexy Asian women photos here.