Planning to travel around South East Asia soon? Then you’re probably doing your research on flights and transportation. The great news about budget travel in South East Asia is that there are tons of budget airlines here that can get you to your destination without burning a hole in your pocket.
This means you’ll have plenty left over to explore secret beaches, mysterious jungles and waterfalls, and ancient temples and ruins. Having said that though, remember to watch out for extras, including baggage allowance, food & drink, entertainment and comfort kits, especially if you’re going to be travelling with little children.
While AirAsia is the most popular and credible airline with routes to almost all major airports in Asia, Lion Air is another extremely popular budget airline to consider – the carrier belongs to the same parent company as Malindo, Batik Air and Wings Air and flies to over 36 destinations with up to 226 flights daily.
If you’re travelling within Indonesia, then Lion Air will the perfect choice as it can take you to the most far-flung locations like Raja Ampat, Lake Toba, Borneo, Ternate and Komodo and to the more popular locations like Bali and Lombok. Outside of Indonesia, Lion Air travels to Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam at really competitive rates! In fact, it is one of the cheapest airlines travelling to the most popular routes in South East Asia.
It’s really hassle-free to travel cheap with Lion Air if you’re not looking for extras – like baggage allowance. The airline lets you bring one personal item and one carry-on on-board for free. Your carry-on should not exceed 7kg and the stipulated dimensions.
But if you’re going away on a long holiday and you’re not comfortable living out of a backpack, then you’re probably going to need more than 1 carry-on because as of 2019, Lion Air no longer allows 20kg checked baggage for free.
Here’s where it can get tricky –
Lion Air lets you pre-buy baggage allowance via its website – but they don’t accept international credit or debit cards. You think, OK that’s fine, I am just going to pay for my bags at the airport. This is a major rookie mistake and it has happened to me once where I ended up paying almost one hundred dollars extra for one 30kg bag!
While most budget airlines charge twice or triple the amount when you try to check-in your bags at the airport, Lion Air charges about 10 times that. If you call Lion Air, they’ll tell you that you can pay in cash over the counter at their head office – in Jakarta. So unless you’re going to be in Jakarta anytime soon, this is definitely not a viable option.
At this point, things may appear a little bleak and you’re probably thinking to just go for the more expensive carriers instead. This is where Buybaggage.com comes in.
Buybaggage.com is an American-based company established by two really seasoned travelers who faced the same baggage issues with Lion Air. Establishing Buybaggage.com helps travelers like us to buy prepaid bags for Lion Air, Thai Lion Air, Wings Air and Batik Air in advance at the original cost quoted by the airlines on their website.
They’ll do everything for you and send you an email confirmation once the bags are purchased. You’ll get your baggage allowance at super low costs and peace of mind without the hassle of having to deal with the airlines directly. There is a small service fee which is totally worth it as opposed to you having to find an Indonesian or Thai person with a local credit or debit card to purchase your bags for you, or worse, you paying 10 times the amount at the airport!
Check them out here and don’t forget to bookmark the page. Have fun on your travels to South East Asia!
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