Packages that combine air and hotel are another way to save. As on PricelineвЂ™s United States hotel site, you learn the name of the hotel after you pay. You can also bid for hotels in major Asian cities on, choosing trip dates, hotel star rating and the general neighborhood you wish to stay in, and then naming your own price - just as you do on the United States site but this time in Hong Kong dollars. For example, a вЂњfamilyвЂќ room, which comes with a double and a single bed, at the Yeng Keng Hotel, a 20-room boutique hotel in the City of George Town in Penang, Malaysia, was offered for $118 in mid-March on Agoda versus the promotional rate of 380 ringgit, or about $125, listed on the hotelвЂ™s own site. It offers deals at more than 10,000 hotels in the Asia-Pacific sphere, including specially negotiated last-minute rates that can offer savings. Farbus, and domestic flights range from $65 to $113.ДЄ, which was purchased by Priceline in 2007, is a good place to begin your search. Flights between countries are typically $120 per segment, according to Ms. One air pass that doesnвЂ™t require backtracking is the Discovery Airpass, operated in a joint venture by Bangkok Airways, Lao Airlines and Berjaya Air, with flights between Thailand, Cambodia and Laos and many of the small island resorts in the region. A trip in late April along that route starts at $980 when using the air pass, versus $2,885 if booked as individual tickets, Ms. But that additional flight can shave a lot off your costs.

вЂњWe also like the fact that if circumstances change and the client has to cancel or change their ticket it will only cost $25.вЂќ One drawback: because the air pass uses Singapore as a hub, travelers who want to fly to, say, Siem Reap in Cambodia from Yangon, in Myanmar, must first fly to Singapore. вЂњThere are no minimum or maximum restrictions on the amount of coupons or segments, and thereвЂ™s also no minimum stay requirement,вЂќ she said. One with fewer restrictions, said Simone Farbus, air travel manager at Asia Transpacific Journeys, is the Discover Asia Airpass, operated by SilkAir, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, which offers flights between 22 Asian destinations, ranging from $145 to $345 per segment. But be sure to check the airline site directly before you book in case the fare is lower on the carrierвЂ™s site. She added that, TravelocityвЂ™s Singapore-based affiliate, can be helpful when searching for budget carriers. The same flight on a mainstream airline, she said, would have been at least double that amount. She recently paid $226 total for round-trip flights on Tiger Airways from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for herself her husband, Will Karlin and their 1-year-old-daughter, Lena. вЂњThey have ridiculously low fares,вЂќ said Stephanie Trzaska, an American expatriate who has been living in Asia for the last four years, including in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore. Once in Asia, use budget airlines like AirAsia or Tiger Airways to jet around. For example, American Airlines does not fly to Hong Kong, but Cathay Pacific, a OneWorld alliance member, which has a code-share agreement with American Airlines, does and accepts American miles. If you have a stockpile of frequent flier miles on an airline that doesnвЂ™t fly to your Asian destination, you still may be able to use those miles, thanks to airline alliances.

(One exception is Vietnam - where United States travelers are getting about 12 percent more for the dollar than a year ago.) But itвЂ™s still possible to save on your Asian vacation if you plan carefully. And stronger Asian currencies, from the Taiwan dollar (up about 8 percent against the dollar compared with a year ago, according to Travelex, a currency exchange company) to the Malaysian ringgit (up roughly 11 percent), means Americans have less buying power. Rising jet fuel costs arenвЂ™t helping matters. That means bargains will be harder to come by for travelers who are only now planning vacations. вЂњOur most popular 14-day tour of China already has more passengers booked to travel in 2011 than the entire 2010 season,вЂќ Marty Seslow, vice president for sales and marketing at Gate 1 Travel, based in Fort Washington, Pa., said a few weeks ago. And tour operators that cater to United States travelers say bookings this year are already well ahead of last year. International tourist arrivals to the region increased 11 percent in 2010, according to the Pacific Asia Travel Association. PLANNING a trip to Asia this year? Better get booking.

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