So you finally have a passport and are itching to give it a spin, and you decide to attend your first out-of-town con. If flying to Japan is out of the question (as it requires a significant amount of funds and securing a travel visa), the next best thing would be to attend a big con in a nearby territory — like Hong Kong, Bangkok, or Singapore.

I’ve had my fair share of traveling abroad to attend events — sometimes with friends, but mostly just by myself. From experience, I’ve come up with a list of practical tips you can use when flying out for the first time to attend your maiden international anime and gaming event.

Air Transport

International cons are usually announced well ahead of time — sometimes four to six months prior to the con date, to encourage foreign attendees to fly in and join the festivities. If you’ve pretty much had your heart set on attending a particular event, then that’s half your work done, because now you can concentrate on the logistics of getting there.

Check the websites of local airlines to see if they fly to your preferred destination, and then book a sample itinerary. DO NOT SUBMIT THIS BOOKING — we are just checking the rates. If you can, take advantage of airline seat sales if your fly dates coincide with their promo dates — doing this can reduce your fares to even half of regular rates.

Now compare the final quotes of all the airlines you checked to see who offers the cheapest fares. Do not forget to include local taxes in your calculations (as this may artificially lower advertised fares): PhP 750 airport terminal fee, and PhP 1620 Philippines travel tax. Once you’ve picked your airline and itinerary, just book online and pay with your credit card, or pay within the next 24 hours via an over-the-counter bank transaction.

Print out several copies of your flight confirmation code, which is displayed on the airline website as well as e-mailed to you; this will act as your airline e-ticket. During your trip, always keep one copy of your e-ticket with you, and leave another copy in your luggage in the hotel.

Accommodations

The next major consideration is accommodations. If you prefer (and can afford) luxury hotels, this is not really a problem since you can simply book via the hotel website and secure your room. However, I personally do not recommend this, as you will rarely be spending time in the room you are paying upwards of USD 100 to sleep in. It’s better to save the money by booking cheaper rooms, and then spending that on the convention dealer’s floor.

I am a great believer in business hotels and hostels. Not only are they cheaper overall, they are also mostly located in high-traffic areas that are close to public transport systems; that will save you even more money since you can simply take the train instead of paying for a cab ride.

I pick the place I am going to stay in by considering three bases of criteria: price, location, and reviews. I make sure that the price I am paying for is reasonable — not dirt cheap, as dirt cheap will sometimes get you a dirty, bug-infested hellhole. I also check that the hotel or hostel is within walking distance to major bus and train lines, or even better to the convention hall itself.

Last but not least, I troll travel sites like Trip Advisor and Lonely Planet for reviews of the place I intend to book rooms with. Fellow travelers are the most critical and honest sources of information about a place, as the company website and the picture gallery might be too good to be true.

Continued in Part 2.