General Info

My friends, please pardon me if this is a bit vague, but I am trying to get a handle on travel to, from and within the Philippines. I am planning an extensive trip through SE Asia and departing from the Southwest US. Apologies to mongers coming from Oz or Europe, but you have your own conveniences and inconveniences getting there, right? Anywhere else, you fly into the main international airport: FRA, BKK, KUL and you take it from there. Train, bus car and it's simple enough. Seems PI is not so simple. Like Indonesia, this archipelago of islands complicates travel by its layout. Unless you live on the west coast of the US, most Americans will not have a shot at a direct flight into MNL. Some of the connections to MNL are ridiculous. A plane change at HNL and then another in Guam, as you zigzag around the Pacific in the most indirect path.

It's not much better once in Asia. It has occurred to me that some of us will do better to fly into other major airport and other nations and fly onto the Philippines from there. However, my ideal journey is going to take me around SE Asia, not just in and out. I have found you cannot just fly between CRK and PNH, with the same ease and economy with which you could go to Chiang Mai from Kuala Lumpur. And from what I can discern, the infrastructure of PI doesn't make ground transport something to look forward to.

So, I would appreciate some ideas from members who have flown around, learned the logistics, and found the least path of resistance. Do any of you suggest any cities in Asia best used for hubs for international travel? Any particular airlines that I should look into, that will get me between the PI and other points in Asia economically? I am sure somebody else has dealt with this before. I suspect that a multitude of mongers have had that dilemma: how do I got from Angeles City to Pattaya?

[QUOTE=Omega3;2004517]This is truly "off the wall", but some locals are abuzz with the "prediction" of a major (7.2) earthquake hitting Metro Manila during the first half of March 2017, because of "planetary alignment. ".

In which case, NAIA radar may be shut down even longer!

OM.[/QUOTE]Because of the "planetary alignment" of course!

OM.

[QUOTE=Eszpresszo;2005362]My friends, please pardon me if this is a bit vague, but I am trying to get a handle on travel to, from and within the Philippines. I am planning an extensive trip through SE Asia and departing from the Southwest US. Apologies to mongers coming from Oz or Europe, but you have your own conveniences and inconveniences getting there, right? Anywhere else, you fly into the main international airport: FRA, BKK, KUL and you take it from there. Train, bus car and it's simple enough. Seems PI is not so simple. Like Indonesia, this archipelago of islands complicates travel by its layout. Unless you live on the west coast of the US, most Americans will not have a shot at a direct flight into MNL. Some of the connections to MNL are ridiculous. A plane change at HNL and then another in Guam, as you zigzag around the Pacific in the most indirect path.

It's not much better once in Asia. It has occurred to me that some of us will do better to fly into other major airport and other nations and fly onto the Philippines from there. However, my ideal journey is going to take me around SE Asia, not just in and out. I have found you cannot just fly between CRK and PNH, with the same ease and economy with which you could go to Chiang Mai from Kuala Lumpur. And from what I can discern, the infrastructure of PI doesn't make ground transport something to look forward to.

So, I would appreciate some ideas from members who have flown around, learned the logistics, and found the least path of resistance. Do any of you suggest any cities in Asia best used for hubs for international travel? Any particular airlines that I should look into, that will get me between the PI and other points in Asia economically? I am sure somebody else has dealt with this before. I suspect that a multitude of mongers have had that dilemma: how do I got from Angeles City to Pattaya?[/QUOTE]Hey Eszpresszo,

That is a really, really vague question.

Generally speaking, the lower cost airlines are AirAsia (HQ'd in KL), TigerAir (HQ'd in Singapore) and Cebu Pacific (HQ'd in Cebu, though flying very frequently from and to MNL and a little less frequently from and to CRK).

I've never visited Cambodia, so can't really say what's the best airline to use to get to PP.

All I can say is that I would try flying in and out of the Philippines through NAIA or Cebu. CRK's connections are very limited (mainly HKG & Seoul), due to this, I usually try to tuck my Angeles visits in the middle of the trip and have time in Manila / Cebu in the edges unless I know I'm trying to get to Hong Kong when leaving (which I frequently am).

In any case, I found [URL]www.momondo.com[/URL] to have the most options as well as cheapest prices specifically for SEA.

I'd be happy to help if you had something a bit more focused.

Enjoy your trip.

Dave.

Like BD I'm not sure of the specifics for which yuou're searching. You don't, for example tell us where you're coming from to get here, but it's not that difficult. PAL now flies from San Fransisco, and Vancouver and New York direct to Manila. You can fly Korea Air through Seoul to Cebu. Getting to the Philippines from various points in the US just isn't that difficult or complicated. And while it's true that it's not easy to fly to Clark from international destinations, what's the big deal? Fly to Manila and arrange a car to take you to Clark. Once here, if you know where you want to go as an onward destination, you can figure out the flights fairly easily. It's a simple matter for example to get from Manila to Phnom Penh, to Bangkok, to Jakarta, to Kuala Lumpur, to Singapore or pretty much anywhere else in SE Asia.

Internal travel by air is also not all that complicated though you might not be able to fly direct. I'd suggest that you first figure out where you want to go and then ask more specific questions.

GE.

[QUOTE=GoodEnough;2005622] what's the big deal? Fly to Manila and arrange a car to take you to Clark.


GE.[/QUOTE]I never said it was a big deal. I was just asking for some tips, that all. Is that such a bad thing?

I think that if you work out where you want to visit, then get out an atlas and work out a logical routing in SE Asia, then some of the questions become easier to research. Something like Philippines. Indonesia - Singapore- Malaysia. Thailand - Vietnam. Cambodia -Laos. Hong Kong.

The Philippines is a low-yield market, like much of SE Asia, and can't support expensive long-haul flights. Europe gets PAL to London (post removal of Philippines from EU blacklist) and KLM from Amsterdam, now operated as an extension of the Taipei flight instead of non-stop. The cheapest flights get the worst routing / timings. I could have recently booked London. Manila for £248 return (say US $ 320) with Air China and a 16 hour layover in Beijing. Have you expanded your horizons beyond PAL and the US major airlines? Tokyo, Taipei, Hong Kong, Seoul, possibly Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou stand out as possible transfer points to Manila and I would not think that the extra few hours would be a deal breaker in view of the overall length of your trip.

Geographically, Clark serves northern Luzon, and in travelling time is probably not a great deal better than Manila for even the northern parts of Metro Manila. It's like comparing Oakland to San Francisco for air service.

A point to remember in SE Asia is that you are travelling internationally. If you want to fly say, Jakarta to Phnom Penh, you will almost certainly be restricted to Indonesian or Cambodian airlines. If you want to hub somewhere, Kuala Lumpur (Air Asia) is probably as good a choice as any although Bangkok might be worth an investigation, as Thailand are relatively generous in allowing third nation carriers traffic rights (Fifth Freedom). As Dave suggested, TigerAir (Singapore) and Cebu Pacific are also reasonable choices. One word of warning on the LowCost Carriers (the preceding are all classified as that) check out any others for ownership. Some like Skoot are subsidiaries of major airlines. But some that operate in 'challenging conditions' EG Indonesia too often fail to meet them.

Angeles City to Pattaya? Much the same way you would get from Manila to Bangkok I would think.

This is probably as clear as the Pasig River, but may give you some ideas where to continue looking.

[QUOTE=Eszpresszo;2005717]I never said it was a big deal. I was just asking for some tips, that all. Is that such a bad thing?[/QUOTE]Sounded like you were asking for this:

Any particular airlines that I should look into, that will get me between the PI and other points in Asia economically?

A question maybe somebody on a backpacker forum could best answer for you.

[QUOTE=ShiningWit;2005823]The Philippines is a low-yield market, like much of SE Asia, and can't support expensive long-haul flights. Europe gets PAL to London (post removal of Philippines from EU blacklist) and KLM from Amsterdam, now operated as an extension of the Taipei flight instead of non-stop. The cheapest flights get the worst routing / timings. I could have recently booked London. Manila for 248 return (say US $ 320) with Air China and a 16 hour layover in Beijing. Have you expanded your horizons beyond PAL and the US major airlines? Tokyo, Taipei, Hong Kong, Seoul, possibly Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou stand out as possible transfer points to Manila and I would not think that the extra few hours would be a deal breaker in view of the overall length of your trip.

Geographically, Clark serves northern Luzon, and in travelling time is probably not a great deal better than Manila for even the northern parts of Metro Manila..[/QUOTE]Thanks mate. That is exactly the kind of transparency I was trying to get at. The problem with internet portals like Momondo is they don't show all your options, or connections with regional and low-cost carriers. And you have a good point about the PI being a low-yield market. No, its not like flying into Frankfurt. AFAIK, all these Filipinos who live in the US like to take their whole family home regularly (if not annually) but they tend to be lower-income families, as well. That is likely to influence the cost / convenience ratio of travel from the US to the PI.

KUL as a hub sounds like a brilliant idea. And I am fortunate that I live in a city where three Gulf State airlines fly to Dubai, Doha and Abu Fucking Dhabi every day of the week, which all connect easily to KUL. (Interesting that I have great access to places where I would never think of visiting). Lost cost Asian air carriers? That's the ticket, mate. They just don't get exposure where I live. And I always wanted to check out the Malaysian cuisine and the scene at the notorious Richmond Hotel / Ace Electronik Building.

I wish I was in Manila this weekend. Apparently exam tuition is due next week and girls are scrambling to get some cash. It could be good fishing at the freelancer areas and social / dating sites. You all do your part for higher education, ok?

[QUOTE=Eszpresszo;2005717]I never said it was a big deal. I was just asking for some tips, that all. Is that such a bad thing?[/QUOTE]Google " transportation Clark to Pattaya" and one site will give you three options. Look (below the line) here for a thread on transportation between Manila and AC.

[QUOTE=SaltyPete;2005893]I wish I was in Manila this weekend. Apparently exam tuition is due next week and girls are scrambling to get some cash. It could be good fishing at the freelancer areas and social / dating sites. You all do your part for higher education, ok?[/QUOTE]Yes, agree with this. Semester finishes in March. The schools want accounts to be in order for results to be released. So if the student graduates this year, they will not graduate unless they are paid up.

Happy days.

School returns after Easter.

BD.

[QUOTE=SaltyPete;2005893]Apparently exam tuition is due next week and girls are scrambling to get some cash. It could be good fishing at the freelancer areas and social / dating sites. You all do your part for higher education, ok?[/QUOTE]SP: Such a romantic.

[QUOTE=SaltyPete;2005897]Google " transportation Clark to Pattaya" and one site will give you three options. Look (below the line) here for a thread on transportation between Manila and AC.[/QUOTE]Thanks, Salty Pete. I also did a bit of research on CRK. A lot of flights to CRK don't make it to the travel search engines, as it is serviced by many obscure carriers. So, I found out who services CRK and worked backwards from there. And of course, I came across a lot of regional airlines like Tiger and Cathay Dragon that service AC with low fares, from various points in Asia that could serve as hubs to different places. Meanwhile, I discovered that SIN is actually a pretty good hub with a lot of cheap fares to other points in Asia, and airfares to the US are competitive.

I am assuming that one of the best things about AC now, must be that it is not as accessible as some places. Once it does get accessible to the masses, it could ruin things. That said, I should look at these inconveniences as a blessing perhaps.

[QUOTE=BrainDrain;2006451]Yes, agree with this. Semester finishes in March. The schools want accounts to be in order for results to be released. So if the student graduates this year, they will not graduate unless they are paid up.

Happy days.

School returns after Easter.

BD.[/QUOTE]And some need cash to pay for the exam!

Always wondered how crazy the system is where you pay fees and exams separately but it happens. I know some who were in that position and was asked by their honey / moneykos if this was true. I surprised them when said "yes some schools charge extra". That plus the countless mindless "projects" they are set where the professor gets the them / parent to pay for things the school should supply IMHO. I remember one where they had to have a camera so I said "ask teacher as he set the project so he supplies the camera" and recently the CHED (I think) has made mention about field trips not being compulsory as some folks can't afford these silly things yet fear the sibling will be failed if they can't go. So as many more experienced contributors know the system in the country is far from perfect.

So now is the time gents as am sure some of you are finding out.

[QUOTE=WestCoast1;2006481]SP: Such a romantic.[/QUOTE]I prefer to think of myself as a realist. Just trying to help out both the girls and guys. :)