How to plan a very flexible multi-city trip to SE Asia?

Posted 23rd Jun 2023
I have July off work and was planning on visiting a friend in Kualar Lumpar for a couple weeks.
I'd like to see some other countries/cities in SE Asia while I'm there as I have the time and travel between the nearby countries looks very cheap, and some KL flights stop in places like Singapore or Bangkok.

I was thinking something like:

1st July-ish:
London -> Bangkok (stay 2-3 nights)
Bangkok -> KL (stay ~2 weeks)
KL -> Singapore (stay 2-3 nights)
Singapore -> London, maybe stopping somewhere like Istanbul on the way back for a night or two.

But I'm totally flexible on dates, how long I stay places and what cities I go to, which is great and means I can just go for whatever is the best deal, but it means there are almost infinite possibilities to explore!

I've never done anything like, this so was wondering what is the best way to go about searching for something so vague! Are there sites that can help? Is an actual travel agent going to be worth it (I'd only need flights, not accommodation)?
Or does anyone have any tips for routes/cities/airlines that would be cheapest to get to…?

Many thanks!
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  1. PeteW's avatar
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    Thanks, that does look fab, but the flights around SE Asia are super cheap and I'd only be getting 2 of them.
    The question is more about where in SE Asia to fly to/from London to get the best deal.
  2. mds1256's avatar
    just book them separately on sky$canner, however just note you wont get 'trip/package' protection but if you are flexible and only staying a few nights here and there it should be fine.
  3. guilbert53's avatar
    One of my relatives and their partner spent about 18 months touring the Far East before covid ended their trip.

    However they do run a website giving advice for travellers so have a look there:

    Some travel tips before you go

    hotelsandhandluggage.com/tra…go/

    More travel tips here

    hotelsandhandluggage.com/res…es/

    And some advice for visiting Singapore and Bangkok

    hotelsandhandluggage.com/des…ns/

    They cover other countries and cities like Japan, Vietnam, Hong Kong but you don't mentioned them. (edited)
  4. Russ2626's avatar
    Many people that I've met in hostels that were travelling around with no set route recommended the Rome2Rio app (select where you want to travel from and to and it will show you different transport options and rough prices). That may be useful for you
  5. Mendoza's avatar
    I used to know a website, for this purpose, from when I used to do it (20 years ago mind) I’ll see if it’s still on my old emails, and get back to you
  6. bozo007's avatar
    Don't try to combine local travel with your ticket from UK. You will pay more and lose flexibility. Buy the local Ryan Air equivalent tickets separately.
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