Travel Hacks to Getting Around Asia

You might be thinking that it’s not very feasible to travel Asia let alone navigating it on your own. As far as international travel goes Asia is one of the most affordable destinations to travel to. Check out my post about Saving Money in 2019 for budget travel hacks that you can apply to any destination. My recent travels to Asia gave me some great insight on their transportation “system” and how to get around cheap and efficiently.

One Way Flights

Sometimes one way flights can be cheaper across the pond and then that way if you are traveling to different cities and countries you have more flexibility. Check out Skyscanner and Hopper to buy cheap flights at the right time. Most likely you will fly different airlines traveling around Asia.

I flew Air Asia, Malaysia Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, Eva Air, British Airlines, and had good experiences with all of them. Air Asia is usually the cheapest when you get over there to fly from place to place. Eva Air was great to fly from LA to Bangkok and I flew British Airways back to the states. I felt so fancy on that one because of the accents!

Taxi’s

Taxi’s are going to be the more expensive mode of transportation. The rates are NOT consistent, taxi drivers WILL try and price gouge, but if it’s your only option where you’re at then try and negotiate. I once spent $24 (700Baht) for an entire day in Phuket sightseeing.

That was a steal but I had to look for the right driver because everyone else wanted to charge me that amount for a one way to one location. You have to be patient if you want the best deal and driver. I was lucky and kept searching and found some pretty great people.

Motorbikes

The cheapest way to get around the cities but this only works if you’re by yourself. For groups it’s not really an option but you could split the taxi or shuttle around town. You can either rent and drive a motorbike but please practice before you get there if you don’t have any experience! There are so many people renting motorbikes that have no idea how to drive one and that’s how a lot of the accidents happen.

The other option is you can get a motorbike taxi to take you around. The GoJek App is like Asia’s version Uber. You do have to put in your mobile number for them to send you a confirmation code so if you don’t have a sim card that might not be an option.

Ferry’s

You will take a ferry to and from surrounding islands. Pretty self explanatory but they are also CHEAP! There will always be plenty of booths with tickets and prices for whatever destination you are searching for. Sometimes the booths will have different prices and you can search for the cheapest deal but you’re all on the same boat. The tickets usually include picking hotel pickup and take you to the pier.

Buses

For the love of all things good and happy, check the travel time that it takes you to go from one city to the next via Bus! Oh and then add about 2 hours to that time. Because in all reality the bus will stop to pick up everyone and their mom on the side of the road. Busses might be cheap but in my opinion DON’T DO IT! It’s not worth it! I spent 8 hours going from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh in Cambodia because my travel buddy wanted to see the countryside.

Yeah it was like driving through Kansas for 8 hours. A whole lotta nothing (Trust me I know I used to live there). I would have rather paid the extra $10 for a $20 flight and gotten there in 45 min.

Like I said Asia can be one of the cheapest places to travel to especially for the solo, backpacker, budget travelers. I have done it all when it comes to modes of transit in Asia and just be prepared for price changes, random stops, and bargaining with taxis.

If you get used to the fact that nothing makes sense there and just go in with an open mind, think on your feet, and search for the right fares then you’ll be ok.

I was apprehensive to travel there just because people make it seem like a scary thing to travel to a place that’s so different. I find that’s the beauty in it. It’s a completely different culture that is nothing like my own and I appreciate that. 

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