I’m trying to arrange a two-week independent trip to Cambodia and Laos, but flying there seems way more expensive than to Bangkok. Is there a better way?

Carl Middleton, Leicester, by e-mail

A Sunday Times travel expert responds: There are no direct flights to Cambodia or Laos from the UK, and fares that involve a plane change (usually in Bangkok) start at about £650. That’s almost £200 more than good deals just as far as Bangkok.

However, with Bangkok-Phnom Pen returns starting at about £150, you’ll soon eat up any savings. Enter the Bangkok Airways (01293 596 626, www.bangkokairways.com) Discovery Pass. Buy three flights or more, and book before you leave the UK, and you pay a flat rate for a domestic flight of $55 (£29) and another for an international flight of $90 (£47) - excluding taxes of about £9 per flight.

Siem Reap Airways International and Lao Airlines are in the scheme too, which means you can create some great itineraries, not only visiting Laos and Cambodia, but with the other flights of Bangkok Airways, Thailand and China too. Also, flight dates can be changed for free, subject to availability.

A popular routing is to fly Bangkok-Phnom Pen, overland to Siem Reep, then fly to Luang Prabang, and from there back to Bangkok. The total cost is about £120. To stretch the value of the pass even further, longer flights, like those from Phnom Pen to Hong Kong or Bangkok to Guilin, are also $90. The normal one-way fare on each of these routes is about £240.