Written by Adam Whitehouse
Posted, 22nd July 2022
As promised the team at Feel Free Travel has put together some guidance on booking connecting flights between trips. Due to there not being a huge amount of consistency in these short-haul routes we’ve made a bit of a cheat sheet instead of giving you exact flights to book.
These 6 tips below will give you peace of mind when booking those connecting flights 👇🏼
#1 – Search for a ‘direct’ flight…
We recently updated this blog as the direct option from Chiang Mai to Hanoi wasn’t running during 2022. We have some great news!! Some dates from March 2023 now have the direct flight from Chiang Mai (CNX) – Hanoi (HAN). If this option is available you should jump on it and ignore the option of booking 2 legs through Bangkok below.
IMPORTANT: You’ll see in the screenshot below that the word ‘Direct’ is very clear. If the flight isn’t ‘Direct’ follow the steps below!
#2 – Earlier rather than later…
We suggest booking a flight as soon as possible on Day 15. The sooner you leave, the sooner you’ll arrive in Vietnam and you’ll be grateful for that little extra time to shower and freshen up!
#3 – Book each leg separately…
***This option is only needed if a Direct flight isn’t available – check Tip #1***
For those of you doing Thailand followed by Vietnam, you’ll need to transfer via Bangkok. The easy option would appear to be to choose Chiang Mai as your departure location and Hanoi as your arrival location and then click search. We suggest AVOIDING this option and booking the legs separately, picking a route from Chiang Mai to Bangkok and then Bangkok to Hanoi. This will give you time to relax at the airport to get some lunch between connections. Plus it prevents you from arriving stupidly late that evening.
#4 – Double-check the airport…
When booking the legs separately it’s very IMPORTANT that you connect in the same airport. In Bangkok, you have 2 airports; (DMK – Don Mueang Airport) & (BKK – Suvarnabhumi Airport). It will make your life 1000% easier if you book from the same airport as they are 1 hour from each other.
#5 – Be generous with timings…
When booking the 2nd flight it’s always a good idea to be generous with the amount of time between flights. If you can arrive in Bangkok before 10/11am this would be awesome, you’ll then be able to grab your next flight around 2/3pm. Arriving around 5pm would be perfect! It’s a good idea to factor in 3-4 hours between flights to allow for collecting baggage and checking back in.
#6 – Have all your documentation ready…
Being prepared when heading to the airport definitely reduces stress levels and gives you more time to shop and scoff your face. Be sure to have all the necessary documentation ready – passport, flight details & visa (check this yourself).
To Summarise…
Where possible book a direct flight from Chiang Mai to Hanoi (read ‘Tip #1’). If there isn’t a direct option available, aim to leave Chiang Mai as early as possible (8/9am), this will give you time to get a flight from Bangkok around 2/3pm or earlier (allow enough time between flights to collect bags and check back in – 3/4 hours).
