How to plan a two-week trip to Asia
With summer looming around the corner, chances are you’re beginning to think about where to take a holiday. While the usual suspects are tempting (Vegas, anyone?), they can be boring if you return too many times. With the whole world available for travel, why not wait and plan a two-week vacation to Asia instead of playing it safe?
Overall Cost
Asia is a relatively inexpensive continent. Although the big cities of Tokyo and Hong Kong are quite pricey, they can be visited frugally, thanks in part to the large number of inexpensive guesthouses, an efficient public transportation network and plethora of restaurants and food stands.
If saving money is important to you, you must remember that Asia is wildly different from North America. Insisting on maintaining the same way of life as you have in North America can lead to a very expensive 2 week vacation in Asia. You just have to look at where to find the savings.
Getting travel insurance is a good idea. Sometimes the cuisine doesn't sit well with Canadians, so it doesn't hurt to have some protection if you're stomach goes haywire.
How to Get There
Flights to and from Asia will likely be the biggest line item in your budget. Again, flexibility is key – don’t insist on flying to a specific airport. Take a chance on Asian-based airlines and consider flying mid-week. By combining all of these money saving tips, you can fly round trip to Asia for only a few hundred dollars. Compare that to $1000+ direct flights with most Canadian airlines!
Where to Go
Each Asian country has its own culture and an abundance of unique attractions, making it impossible to visit everything in only two weeks. With such a short time frame, choose one country or two neighbouring ones: China, Japan and South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand, etc. This likely won’t be your last trip to Asia, so don’t worry if you can’t fit Taiwan or Laos onto the itinerary this time. Picking too many destinations will make your trip overwhelming and cause you to miss more than you see.
When to Go
Southern Asia could replace Mexico as a hot destination to visit over Christmas break. To North Americans (and especially Canadians), southern Asia is a welcome relief from the daily grind of snow boots and thick jackets. Even South Korea and Japan, although quite far north, have mild winters compared to Canada.
Conversely, many Canadians will want to avoid taking a two-week vacation in Asia during the summer. With incredible humidity and temperatures in the 30s, many Canadians will find the heat intolerable – even more so if you’re trying to stay frugal by walking and using public transportation.
When planning a two-week vacation to Asia, be flexible with your dates, your destinations and your expectations. If money is a big concern, book the cheapest flight you can find and enjoy the ride. Save money by staying in shared or traditional accommodations rather than a North American chain hotel and try to buy your meals from local street vendors. With so many people in Asia, the economies of scale work in your favour, making a two-week vacation downright affordable – and a nice change up from those all-inclusive weeks in the Carribean!