It’s almost summer in the Philippines and spring in many other parts of the world—which means, it’s sakura season! The blooming of sakura, or "cherry blossoms" in Japanese, always entices many a Pinay to travel to cooler countries that are home to these beautiful flowers, including Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. And since there are a lot of long weekends coming up, you may want to plan your trips as early as you can, beginning with Klook’s Travel Fest, which is happening on March 9 to 10 at the SMX Aura Convention Center.
If you’re not too privy about what Klook is just yet, it’s an app that allows you to book discounted holiday activities and transportation at your destination of choice. It even allows you to reserve for SIM cards and WiFi dongles which you can retrieve upon arrival to make communicating easier for you.
Klook goes all out with this upcoming Travel Fest, which highlights their Blossom Deals that provides you with a slew of expert travelers and interactive booths that can help you customize your best itinerary. Of course, there are huge discounts that will only be offered during the two-day event, such as slashed-off prices to certain attractions in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
Admission to the Travel Fest is free as long as you’ve downloaded Klook and created an account. You’ll just have to claim your mobile voucher online, which you’ll have to show at the Klook Express registration area in the venue.
You may also want to take note of their Half-Hour, Half-Off deals on activities available for single purchase. Here are a few of them:
Hong Kong
- Hong Kong Big Bus (single route ticket) – half-off on March 9, 12:30 p.m.
- HKIA Express Train Tickets (Kowloon Station – roundtrip) – half-off on March 10, 12:30 p.m.
- TurboJet Ferry – HK Pickup tickets (weekday/weekend, day/night sailing – roundtrip) – half-off on March 10, 3:30 p.m.
Japan
- Kawazuzakura Cherry Blossom Viewing – half-off on March 9, 12:30 p.m.
- Kyoto Temples and Shrines Day Tour from Osaka – half off on March 9, 3:30 p.m.
- Osaka Amazing Pass – half-off on March 10, 12:30 p.m.
- Universal Studios Japan (one day admission) – half-off on March 10, 3:30 p.m.
South Korea
- Lotte World One Day Pass (daily passport ticket) – half-off on March 9, 12:30 p.m.
- N Seoul Tower (observatory only) – half-off on March 9, 3:30 p.m.
- Chasing Cherry Blossoms tour – half-off on March 9, 12:30 p.m.
- Discover Seoul Pass (24-hour pass) – half-off on March 10, 3:30 p.m.
Taiwan
- Taipei Unlimited Fun Pass (unlimited one day pass) – half-off on March 9, 12:30 p.m.
- Three-Day THSR (Taiwan High-Speed Rail) Tourist Pass – half-off on March 9, 3:30 p.m.
- Taipei 101 Observatory E-Ticket – half-off on March 10, 12:30 p.m.
- Cherry Blossom Festival: Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village Day Trip (English-speaking tour guide) – half-off on March 10, 3:30 p.m.
Of course, if you’re flying out, you’ll need plane tickets. To complete your entirely discounted trip, here are a few airlines that currently have travel deals:
Cebu Pacific
Promo: #CEBSuperSeatFest
As Cebu Pacific celebrates its 23rd anniversary, they’re offering discounts on one million seats to 36 domestic and 26 international destinations the whole month of March. There are also discounts on in-flight meals and baggage allowance.
FN Tip: Watch out for their featured daily/weekly discounts on Facebook!
For more details, visit Cebu Pacific’s website.
Philippine Airlines
Promo: 78th Anniversary Sale
Book your flight until March 10, 2019 for travel any time between March 16 to December 31, 2019 and get huge discounts. (And don’t worry about rushing for dibs—there are over two million seats on sale!)
FN Tip: PAL now offers myPAL Wi-Fi Hi-Speed, which enables you to stay online during your flight. Passengers of long flights have complimentary 30MB, plus an additional 100MB for those in business class. Once you hit your data cap, you can top-up an additional 100MB for $5 or P261*.
For more details, visit PAL’s website.
Air Asia
Promo: #CelebrateWithAsia
This promo is for Air Asia’s BIG Members: Book your flights from Manila to Seoul or Shanghai until March 10, 2019 for travel any time until August 31 and get tickets for as low as P2,990 one-way.
For more details, visit Air Asia’s website.
Jetstar
Promo: Jetstar has ongoing travel deals, so you’ll always have to visit their website to see what’s available!
As of writing, there are currently deals for as low as P2,948 (one way) from Manila to Nagoya (Chubu) for travel from May 19 to June 8, 2019.
For more details, visit Jetstar’s website.
*Rates are based on Google Finance’s conversion during the time of writing.
