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Seasoned Travelers, Plz?
Gandalf_the_Crazed
VigiloConfidoRegistered User regular
VigiloConfidoRegistered User regular
Here's the thing: I want to spend Christmas in Beijing, as cheaply as possible.
This is a problem, because I'm not actually in China, you see. In fact, I am on the other side of the world from it, in the States.
It is further a problem because, though I've been to China a few times, my tickets have always been booked for me by my school. However, this time, I've gotta do it all myself, including paying for those tickets. :P Having never booked tickets for myself, I don't know how/where to get the best deals. Please help, those of you who are good at this shit.
A few facts:
1. I am close to Memphis Int'l, and no other major airports. It's essential that my flight itinerary depart from Memphis.
2. I speak Mandarin, so if language barriers are somehow an issue....they're not. ;-)
3. It is absolutely necessary that I arrive no later than Christmas morning. I'll be surprising a friend who's studying there, because otherwise she'll be celebrating Christmas without any friends or family, which is quite obviously not cool.
4. Spending New Year's there would be an awesome bonus, especially if it means I can get a cheaper flight back. I plan to stay in $4 - $12 hostels while there, so length of stay is not too relevant.
So far, the cheapest I've found is $1085, but that one arrives at 9:45 Christmas morning and leaves around noon the following day, and that's assuming there's no delays -- which is not a safe assumption at Christmas time.
Can anyone who's good at this find a cheaper/more worthwhile flight itinerary?
This is a problem, because I'm not actually in China, you see. In fact, I am on the other side of the world from it, in the States.
It is further a problem because, though I've been to China a few times, my tickets have always been booked for me by my school. However, this time, I've gotta do it all myself, including paying for those tickets. :P Having never booked tickets for myself, I don't know how/where to get the best deals. Please help, those of you who are good at this shit.
A few facts:
1. I am close to Memphis Int'l, and no other major airports. It's essential that my flight itinerary depart from Memphis.
2. I speak Mandarin, so if language barriers are somehow an issue....they're not. ;-)
3. It is absolutely necessary that I arrive no later than Christmas morning. I'll be surprising a friend who's studying there, because otherwise she'll be celebrating Christmas without any friends or family, which is quite obviously not cool.
4. Spending New Year's there would be an awesome bonus, especially if it means I can get a cheaper flight back. I plan to stay in $4 - $12 hostels while there, so length of stay is not too relevant.
So far, the cheapest I've found is $1085, but that one arrives at 9:45 Christmas morning and leaves around noon the following day, and that's assuming there's no delays -- which is not a safe assumption at Christmas time.
Can anyone who's good at this find a cheaper/more worthwhile flight itinerary?
Gandalf_the_Crazed on
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I'm not saying that you have a bad idea, I'm saying that you should plan accordingly and wisely. Good luck.
Yeah, I'll be in touch with her during the lead-up to Christmas, so if she says anything about traveling, I can go ahead and spring the surprise to make sure I don't just end up kickin' around in Beijing by myself. :P It seems unlikely, though, as she's studying, and from what I understand will still have classes (that she said she probably won't attend on Christmas Day itself).
And my dates are insanely flexible, Dman, but it seems $1085 is going to be the best deal, yeah. Just wish I could find an itinerary that let me stay longer than 26 hours. :P
....the fuck? And there's still tickets open for them? How did I not see these?
Could you provide links of some kind?
The flights that previously were ~$1100 are now ~$1600. Obviously I know prices shift. What I'm wondering is, do they fluctuate, or is it likely to be a steady climb between now and then? Should I go ahead and buy my tickets ASAP, or is there a chance that by waiting the tickets will go back down?
this. kayak can actually give you limited price histories and updates if you sign up for an account, which is free.
when trying to plan things far enough out, you can get Kayak to send you weekly updates on ticket prices, and you'll start to see when the peaks and valleys start to approach a median. this is usually when you'd want to buy the next low point you see. unless you're going to risk it on last-minute ticket deals, but I wouldn't recommend that since you're on a deadline.
you've been given the best possible resource for ticket sales, so you're covered there, just remember to read any fine print about ticket and baggage restrictions
I'd ask about your visa status...what passport do you hold? if your school previously did the tickets for you then they probably also handled a group visa application
make sure you get your tourist visa early... it's not as bad as it was back in 2008 with the Olympics and Christmas is low tide for visa apps, but I'd still get your application in as early as possible!
EDIT: and yes ticket prices do fluctuate, and they tend to climb the closer you get to the travel date then drop down again depending on the rate at which the flight is (or isn't) filling up
for international flights, waiting to the last minute is usually not ideal
also consider that you are flying at vacation peak time, which means that in this particular case the prices are very likely to climb until the very last minute, at which point the tickets will go so fast it's unlikely you'll get one
Regardless, I will make sure to have the application on its way by Sep. 20. Seems like sufficient time to get it processed.
I've used farecompare.com and cheapoair.com. You could probably come back any day you please, there's flights everywhere, and those types of booking sites find them (you might have to fly through Korea or Japan, but as long as you're not delayed in the terminal it doesn't add much time)
Visa isn't a problem, I turned my application in on a Friday, picked up the visa the next Wednesday. It was a hell of a lot easier than last year, I go to visit my sister, and last year I needed the actual hotel reservations. This year it was enough to say that I'm visiting a relative that lives there, and hell they gave me a multi entry visa when all I asked for was a single! Just have the agency get the visa, driving from Memphis to Houston for that would be absurd unless you decide to make a trip out of it. It's not that much extra over the couple of tanks of gas you'd use each way, and man the weather sucks here! And you're about to spend a 1000 bucks on a ticket, if a 130 dollar visa is giving you pause, well, that's weird.
WATCH THE TRAVEL TIMES. There's a gigantic difference between when you depart and when you arrive. Watch out for long delays, and make sure you understand when you're actually arriving in China compared to when you're leaving. I've seen the actual net trip times range from like 16 to 36 hours.
I edited this last part 'cuz it wasn't worth a bump, but my sister just sent me a link to where we're staying and it's 10 bucks a night. Hah, so I guess that price range is good
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I dunno, 4-12 is basically 30 to 100 kuai a night hostels, and I know you can get good ones in Shanghai (where I also used to live) for 50 kuai a night. They were all pretty nice, even by expat standards.
Beijing might be a bit more expensive, but I'm sure the selection is larger just because Beijing is a much larger tourist destination for backpackers than Shanghai is.
That's about right. When I went to BJ 3 years ago the hostels were about that. They were clean, nicely furnished, and had a great kitchen/menu. They even picked us up at the airport for super cheap. The only downside was that it was a little ways from everything, but public transit in BJ is super cheap. The subway system was a single kuai to go anywhere it runs.
I mean it's great for a touristy day because it goes all the way down chang an jie and loops round the second ring road, which covers all the big in-the-city destinations, but going further than that can be a pain
though I say this as someone who used to live out past the fifth ring road and I really doubt the OP is going to be staying way out there
365 Inn -- $5.13/night
EDIT: Link fixed. I think.
I mean between hanging out with your friend and enjoying Beijing and shopping at Hongqiao and all that, the hostel's just a place to sleep and have a shower and maybe meet some other travelers
if you're happy with it, go for it, and it's not like you can't find another hostel if you REALLY don't like this one
I ran into my friend along with some other folks today, and at one point in the conversation the subject of Christmas came up. I made a remark about needing to "find a way to get [her] present to [her]." She just sighed and kinda said, "Yeah, I really really hope I actually get presents."
This trip is gonna be so worth it. I've already talked to her family, and they said they'd like to send some presents over with me in my luggage, and help to make sure that she doesn't make plans to skip town for the weekend or something. Getting there on Christmas Eve means that I'll get to be like, "No, you have to wait to open your presents just like everyone else." ;-)
All of this to say, thanks folks for all the help, consider this problem solved. I don't wanna prolong the thread, but if anyone is familiar with Beijing (I've been there for ~24 hours during the Olympics, but didn't get to see that much), what are the really cool spots? My return flight doesn't leave until January 1st, so I'll have some time to spend on my own while my friend's in class/studying after Christmas weekend. If the Powers That Be decide to lock this thread (since technically the original problem has been solved) and you have the inclination, my PM box also has space.
Sanlitun has the biggest collection of bars, but they've kinda gone a bit off since I've lived there
Hou Hai is apparently the new hip place to go
Chang'an Jie is a good place to hang out, it's basically the main street of Beijing, there's plenty of touristy and shoppingy things to do
the Temple of Heaven is always a nice visit if you haven't been there before, and the Hongqiao shopping place is nearby, which has a pearl market on the top floor and the stuff you can get there is cheap as hell (well, cheaper than what you'd get the same quality for anywhere else)
and of course you have Ya Shou shopping centre, just ask your friend about it I'm sure she knows where it is and how to get there