Shanghai.Flights and prices from Shanghai? Good 3 star hotel?
Hotel Prices
Tero J asked:
I am planning on taking a flight to Shanghai in December(cheapest from Finland) and flying from there on to warmer places like Hainan, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok etc… Does anybody know which flights are available, what are the prices and should I buy tickets at the airport or beforehand, if so from where. Hotel recommendations under 50 dollars a double/night and 3 stars also appreciated.
Joseph
I am planning on taking a flight to Shanghai in December(cheapest from Finland) and flying from there on to warmer places like Hainan, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok etc… Does anybody know which flights are available, what are the prices and should I buy tickets at the airport or beforehand, if so from where. Hotel recommendations under 50 dollars a double/night and 3 stars also appreciated.
Joseph
January 17th, 2009 at 1:54 am
Hotels in China:
Check out and for info on hotels (and flights). They both have hotels arranged by city, stars, and price. Some hotels in China still don’t accept foreigners, but I’m pretty sure that if they are listed on these sites foreigners can go. Both these agencies are booking services and have negotiated a pretty low price with the hotel. They can help you reserve the room, but for any additional arrangements you have to contact the hotel directly.
Another note: Chinese hotels never guarantee a reservation (they say they do, but if you read the fine print… they don’t). It’s possible that you show up and there’s no record of your reservation… or you get put in a different room. It’s a hit and miss thing.
For your first trip to China I suggest that you don’t stay at any hotel less than 3 stars. Though they say they use an “international star system”, that isn’t true. A 3 star hotel in China is the equivalent cleanliness of a cheap youth hostel in other countries. A “4 star hotel” isn’t likely to receive 2 stars anywhere in Europe.
Travel guides are great sources of up to date information (Lonely Planet, Fodor, Rough Guide, etc…).
Hotels should be booked 2 weeks to a month in advance (especially if you are travelling during a holiday)… and international flights need to be booked 2 to 3 months in advance… longer if you are travelling during a holiday.
In China:
It’s pretty hard to book flights from China to other countries because their reservation system is different. They can’t book any flight that doesn’t depart from China… not even legs of the same trip (so if you wanted to fly to Australia and you had to change planes in Singapore, a Chinese agent couldn’t do it for you). Booking flights from China to other countries is generally a hassle, and you either have to book months in advance, or take a chance that there will be a seat on the plane the next day. There usually isn’t.
See if your travel agent in your home country can book you on all the flights you need before you leave. If not, contact a big agency in China like CITS (www.cits.net) or CYTS (www.cytstours.com) to make your arrangements in advance… as far in advance as possible… at least one or two months.
There is no way for you to get the flights and times you want by purchasing tickets at the airport (in any country). Generally, tickets bought in advance are cheaper than tickets bought the week before (sometimes up to 60% cheaper). If you want to fly “standby” it would be pretty cheap, but involves spending hours (or days) at an airport until a flight has an empty seat. Who wants to spend their holiday at the airport?
January 20th, 2009 at 3:07 am
I live in Shanghai and one way I buy tickets to travel inside China is, they also have great deals on hotels, the above suggested website is also good, Dec. is a low time of travel in China so you should be OK getting them, when Spring Festival comes around prices go up and it is hard to get tickets, December is a pretty nice time of year in Shanghai, this winter it was mild, so you can never really tell, but generally it is not that cold, the bet time to come to Shanghai is after mid-Sept. and before end of Nov.
January 21st, 2009 at 12:25 am
Well if you want direct flights from Europe, you will first have to fly to Frankfurt (Air France or Lufthansa), Paris (Air France) or Armsterdam (KLM). Have you tried ?.
If you are looking for flights from China to Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok or even within China, you can try, its better to buy flights in the departing country.
Hotels in Shanghai is incredibly cheap. I have stayed at a 2 star hotel for less than US$20/day. The rooms are clean but there isn’t a lot of amenities. Again, I recommend you try some web sites in China (they have English) & you can find out where to stay and what they have.
You probably want to stay near a subway station or at least in Puxi area and not in Pudong because its very far from the city center. If you decide to stay in Pudong, Lujiazhui is an excellent area as it is right across from the river (Bund).
Again, try