OUR VIETNAM TRIP FOR P6,000 (US135)

Posted by Wander Girls on 2:30 AM in , ,
June 30, 2011


OUR VIETNAM TRIP FOR P6,000+ (U$135) 
By Ysabel Villaflor

Yes, your eyes aren't deceiving you.

My friend (Gen) and I surprised even ourselves when we were able to pay for our plane ticket, hotel and breakfast meals  in Vietnam for only P6,000 (around US $ 135) for 5 days trip.

With a little bit of patience and a lot of reading, we were able to make it possible!

This is how Gen and I did it:



1. PLAN AHEAD.

Gen and I have been talking about going out of the country for sometime now and  when the idea came up to ACTUALLY travel, we set out options: WHICH country are we interested in AND the DATES we were free.  It turned out that we were both interested in VIETNAM and two other countries and we decided that the 3rd week of May was good for us.

Why do this?  Because we knew that a promo will be up but we had no idea which places are included and when the promo applies (travel period).  So, just in case any of our decided countries pop up at our agreed travel period, then it was easy to decide what to do next.

True enough, a promo for Vietnam popped out in February 2011 for travel periods April-June 2011  :)



2. PATIENCE FOR PROMO FARES

My friend and I subscribed to Cebu Pacific's texting service, facebook and twitter.  We also checked the Cebu Pacific website regularly to be updated with their weekly promos.  It might take a bit more effort, but once you get a great deal, it beats paying full price.  I mean, why pay full price when you can have it 50% or more off the full price?  Once the promo came up, we booked right away.

For our Vietnam trip, we were able to book a CebuPac PROMO roundtrip ticket for May 19-23, 2011 for Php 3,600 each.

Charges at the airport, however, are not included in the amount.

3. STRATEGIZE.

Promos come up for travel periods which are way in the future.  That's the trade off for booking early.  Longer waiting periods.  Once you book them, better be prepared to wait for a couple of months before a trip. This could be good.  It leaves more room for planning.


It is also better to book a ROUNDTRIP ticket which costs cheaper than booking ONE-WAY tickets.

Remember these words: the more absurd the time, the cheaper.
If you want a more cheaper flight, book the "Latest flight in, Earliest flight out".  Flights later in the day going to your destination are cheaper than earliest flights out.  There is a downside to this though: you might lose one day of your trip.

However, in our situation, since my friend still had work until 5PM, the timing of leaving late at night was perfect.  We left Manila around 10PM night on a Thursday night and we arrived in Vietnam around 1AM Friday morning. We left Vietnam 1AM in the morning on a Monday.

3.  RESEARCH AND BOOK HOTEL IN ADVANCE

Mai Hotel

We researched the area we were going to and booked through www.Agoda.com. What is Agoda?  Agoda is  an online hotel reservations service. If your intended destination is around Asia, booking through Agoda is a great idea. Why? DISCOUNT. Nothing beats their discounted prices on published rates of their associate hotels (maximum of 75% off).  Agoda manages to keep the price low and giving travelers to Asia more budget-friendly alternatives.  And if you're lucky, you can even get a free hotel stay or a free upgrade or both with a minimum number of nights stay.  

For our Vietnam trip, we booked 2 hotels. Mai Hotel and Halo Hotel.  We were lucky that both hotels included free breakfast and unbeatable location (near all the important sights and shopping areas).  The check in was a breeze.  This is the third time I have tried the service (the first time was when I went to Hong Kong), and so far, the check in went on without a hitch. (thank God!)

Halo Hotel
Breakfast nook at Halo Hotel

4.  STUDY YOUR ITINERARY

It is important to understand the time you will be arriving and leaving the country, and the check-in and check out policies of the hotels you booked.  Knowing when to check-in and check-out can save you money.

At first glance in our ticket, you would think that we would have 5 days and 4 nights to book for a hotel.  Upon careful scrutiny, we found out that we only had to book for 3 NIGHTS for our hotel (Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights only) since our flight was on a MONDAY at 1 in the morning and we needed to be at the airport at around 10PM Sunday.  We didn't get another night for Sunday since it would be useless.  What we did do after we checked out at 12NN Sunday was to deposit our baggage with our hotel concierge while we do our last minute sightseeing and shopping. :)


----------------------------------------------
the BREAKDOWN of OUR P6,000 Vietnam trip.


Plane Fare
Cebu Pacific Promo

P3,6000
HOTELS
Mai Hotel 
P1,503/night standard
(P1,503x 1 night)/ 2 persons
P 750

Halo Hotel
P1,052/night standard
(P1,052x2 nights)/ 2 persons
P1,052


TOTAL
P5,402




Upgrade

P 300* x 3 nights
P 900


GRAND TOTAL:
P6,302*


* the amount is based on converted rates. So it is more or less than the amount.

Both hotels INCLUSIVE of free breakfast meals.



 


As you can see, you could already book everything under P6,000.

However, while we were checking in, we found out that for an additional minimum fee, we could have a room upgrade.  So, we went for it! We wanted more room and we wanted our own beds anyways.

Charges at the Airport are not included here. (Travel tax and Airport tax)

It really is possible to get really good deals.

My next goal - to finally NAIL that P1 (PISO) FARE PROMO!!!!!

2 Comments


Comment via Facebook:

Kristina Erasmo Viaene " Wow galing! Maabilidad! :)"

Ysabel Poblete Villaflor " Patience is a virtue hehehe"

Kristina Erasmo Viaene Unfortunately, wala ako nun. :P


Comment via Facebook:

Fozzy Castro-Dayrit " gudjob!"

Thanks Anna!! - ysabs

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