Hi I’m wanting to travel to south east Asia, but I’m unsure about whether or not to buy a single or return flight as I haven’t made any plans of where I want to go whilst I’m there, just where the wind takes basically . What would be better a single or return to which airport Bangkok, Thailand or another?
Thankyou
Have you got any 'limits'
eg time? money?
Or can you just do what you want,for as long as you want to?
Also..where are you flying from? And are you going to fly back to the same place when you finish?
Personally, I think buy a one-way ticket. You want to travel "where the wind takes you". Leave it open-ended instead of having a deadline to return.
As a general rule of thumb:
SOME countries require an "onward ticket" as a condition of getting a visa or visa waiver.
I do not recall which ones still do (it used to be a lot of them).
Hence, if you get a one-way ticket you will need to plan around that fact.
That does not make one-way tickets bad, them makes a factor for which you must plan.
Added:
My Asia travel experience is a little bit dated, but I found Hong Kong to be sort of "Visa Central."
It was just so darn easy to "pick up" visas there. I felt like I could have gotten 5-10 in a single day (I'm not sure that's true, but that's how easy it felt.)
Many countries have a theoretical requirement that you have an onward ticket, which they don't really enforce... BUT the airlines are often paranoid as hell about this.
If you arrive in a country and are refused entry because of paperwork ( lack of visa or onward ticket, for instance ) then in many countries the airline is responsible for you. They have to pay a fine, and provide you with transport to somewhere you are allowed to be.
So the airlines often check your documents when you check in for the flight. If you don't have an onward ticket, they may refuse to let you fly, even though they were happy to sell you a one-way ticket. I had to deal with this bullshit twice last year, in Asia, and again the year before. Airline staff are often poorly-trained about this, and would rather create a problem for you than take the chance of making a mistake.
I would consider buying a return ticket just as a security precaution, they're often not much more expensive than a one-way flight and also useful in an emergency. Alternatively, buy a separate full-price one way ticket home that is fully refundable. After your trip, you get your money back, if you come home early enough and don't mind paying the fees involved.
Thailand is one country where you could be asked at check in for either a visa or proof of onward travel within 30 days.
Cambodia and Laos have visa on arrival.
Vietnam you need a visa if entering overland. Just get it at the country you enter there from.
Myanmar you need a visa.
malaysia and Singapore you enter on a Social Visit Pass which is free.
Indonesia is another where you run the risk of being asked for proof of onward travel.