AirAsia ASEAN Pass Itineraries: 7 countries, 1 trip (at the very least!)

ICYDK: ASEAN stands for Association of SouthEast Asian Nations, ten countries in the region

Everyone's talking about AirAsia's new ASEAN Pass, which allows you to book flights in the region ideally at a discounted rate! Naturally, our instinct dictates that we make the most of it by using each of the 10 or 20 points pass to visit as many different destinations and countries as possible. As Pinoys like to say, "Sulit!" (Worth it!)

Stunning sunsets in Boracay, Philippines.

The key of course is to use all the applicable 1-point routes and avoid the 3-point ones as much as possible. Based on the USD 160 cost of a 10-point pass, a 1-point flight (base fare only) will cost roughly USD 17, and that makes a 3-point flight cost USD 50 (again, base fare only) - plus applicable taxes. 

I have always been an advocate of visiting multiple countries in one trip, as there are many benefits aside from the obvious one of getting to visit multiple countries in one trip, such as:

• Saves you the cost of 1 flight. Since instead of booking two round trip flights to countries A and B from your country X, you will just book 3 one-way flights: X to A, A to B, B to X, forming a triangle. Or an octagon.
• Saves you travel taxes and airport departure terminal fees (I'm looking at you, NAIA)
• Lets you try other airlines you don't normally have the chance or reason to fly with. (In my case, Japan's Peach Airlines and Vietnam's VietJetAir - great quality budget airlines!)
• Maximizes your free time/days off from work (not everyone has a gap year like Europeans do!)
• Forces you to improve your planning skills
• Forces you to learn to pack light!
• Forces you to really save up for your trip, and hopefully let it become a habit for life!

Visit magnificent temples like these at the Angkor Wat complex in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

The general guidelines of the pass can be found here:
http://www.airasia.com/ph/en/book-with-us/asean-pass.page

With so many rules such as booking your flights at least 14 days days ahead, no repeating of routes, etc this certainly needs a lot of planning. But if there's one thing I'm good at, (among many other things haha), it's planning. And overthinking. And I happen to be looking forward to seeing the majestic Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon and hopefully the Bagan sunrise in Myanmar, as well as checking out the night markets in Luang Prabang, Laos - both for the first time. My point is, I made these itineraries so you don't have to (that much.) :P

After much analysis (obsessing, really), below are the three itineraries I made:


LEGEND                          "(0) Bangkok DMK 1"

(0) - 0 means the first city/airport of origin you're departing from. Subsequent cities (N+1) are arranged by order. (NOTE: Only major international airports of each country are used in the itineraries below)
Bangkok - the name of the city/airport at this point in the itinerary
DMK - the 3-letter airport IATA code
1 - the number of points it takes to fly here from the previous city

ITINERARY A: Maximized Ten

- 11 cities, 10 flights/points, 7 countries (including Cambodia as origin; excludes Philippines, Laos and Brunei)

(0) Siem Reap REP or Phnom Penh PNH (or Hanoi HAN) 0
(1) Bangkok DMK 1
(2) Yangon YGN 1
(3) Bangkok DMK 1
(4) Ho Chi Minh SGN 1
(5) Kuala Lumpur KUL 1
(6) Phuket HKT 1
(7) Singapore SIN 1
(8) Jakarta CGK 1
(9) Bali DPS 1
(10a) fly back to Singapore SIN 1 <END>
or (10b) fly back to Jakarta CGK 1 <END>
or (10c) Domestic Indonesia such as Yogyakarta/Solo/Surabaya/Bandung 1 <END>

or (10d) forfeit this last segment and fly out from 9) Denpasar Bali <END>

***To complete all 10 ASEAN countries:***
- You can fly starting from Manila MNL to Siem Reap REP via Cebu Pacific
- You can fly to Vientiane VTE or Luang Prabang LPQ, Laos and back ideally while you're in Bangkok (all from BKK Suvarnabhumi Airport, not DMK)
- From (10a) SIN or (10b) CGK, you can fly to Bandar Seri Begawan BWN, Brunei 

ITINERARY B: Max Ten Version 2 (My preferred itinerary!)

- 10 cities, 9 flights/points, 7 countries (including origin; except Philippines, Laos and Brunei)

- similar to Itinerary A but order inverted

(0) Bali DPS 0
(1) Jakarta CGK 1
(2) Singapore SIN 1
(3) Phuket HKT 1
(4) Kuala Lumpur KUL 1
(5) Ho Chi Minh SGN 1 or Phnom Penh PNH 1 
(6) Bangkok DMK 1
(7) Yangon YGN 1
(8) Kuala Lumpur KUL 3 <END> or (8) Bangkok DMK 1
(9) Siem Reap REP 1 or Hanoi HAN 1 <END>

ITINERARY X (as in eXtended and fleXible): Choose your Origin and Last Stop

Start from (0) or any of the subsequent cities in the general itinerary below (in the following or reversed order)
(0) Phuket HKT 1
(1) Singapore SIN 1
(2) Jakarta CGK 1
(3) Bali DPS 1
(4) Kuala Lumpur KUL 3
(5) Yangon YGN 3
(6) Bangkok DMK 1
(7) Phnom Penh PNH 1
(8) Kuala Lumpur KUL 1 

Then after KUL, continue your itinerary by choosing from one city from either
Group 1 Point: SIN, SGN, HKT 
or Group 3 Points: DPS, CGK, BWN, REP, HAN, Vientiane VTE, Manila MNL, Cebu CEB, Clark CRK, Kalibo Boracay KLO

...until you complete as much as 10 or even 20 points! (Remember that the first city you depart from is not 1 point)

Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. More here.

Got recommendations? They're highly welcome! Comment them below. 

So is the AirAsia ASEAN Pass a good deal? That's for you to decide! :)

Tip: package tours in Bangkok are REALLY cheap. As low as USD 70 per head for a 3-day, 2 night stay inclusive of hotel stay, breakfast, tour and airport transfers. Totally worth it right? Inquire here.

- # thetravelguyshops

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