Gina_07

We are planning a trip to China in July and will visit Beijing at the end of July/beginning of August, before the Games start (August 8th). We haven't even looked at the hotels yet. Are we too late even if it's not exactly during the Games?

Thanks.

Colduphere

Hi Gina

I think that rates shoot up in many hotels at the start of August. As well you may run into minimum stay requirements.

Given that you are there at the end of July you may be okay for most of your stay. We found our accommodation by searching on hostel websites.

dlemaste

I'm planning to go. I'm taking two nephews. I was able to book an individualized tour through e-Commerce Technology, Inc. They booked the tour I wanted in the cities I wanted for the length of time I wanted. I was able to get all my event tickets from Cosports (12 events, 11 sports, 10 different venues). e-Commerce Technology, Inc. will get me hotel rooms, organize all travel from US to China and within China, and handle transfers, local tours, and a driver/translator for our day trip to Sunday Market in Tianjin.

I just couldn't bear the thought of trying to do all that myself in a country where basically I'm illiterate.

I've been to 3 other summer Olympics (Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004) but this is the first time I've leaned so heavily on professional help.

nuttakorn_r

Yes, I have planned to go there. You need to find the hotel now, I heard many of hotels are almost full , there are some place still available. You have to check it out.

TracyLynn

Hello to all!

This will be our third Summer Olympics. So far, I am booking things the same way that I did for Sydney and Athens- hotel/apartment over the internet, airlines via frequent flyer miles, and the 'after Olympics tours' through American Express Travel.

I got on the Cosport web page on the 26th after work around 6pm EST and got Water Polo, Handball, and Weightlifting on the 18th, Athletics on the 19th, Hockey on the 20th and Athletics again on the 21st. I logged on a few hours later and Fencing was then available on the 17th. We tend to like to see the sports that aren't real popular in the USA. We fell in love with the fencing event in Sydney! This will be our first time seeing Water Polo,Handball and Weightlifting. Believe it or not...Badminton was very exciting in Athens! We are going to try to get Softball tickets while we are there if the US gets to the finals.
The only thing that I have a problem with is the Cosport shipping charge of $35 per order- that's $70 for us with the two orders! There is an option to pick up the tickets in Beijing, but we don't know if we want to be trying to find the Cosport office in a city that big where we don't have a good grasp of the language. What is everyone else doing?

One thing we are *not* doing this time is over extending ourselves by trying to go to too many sporting events. For Sydney and Athens we wanted to go to so many events that we were exhausted by the time the Olympics ended. We really didn't see much of Sydney at all.

I start mentally planning the next Olympics when I am at the present Olympics- in other words...my mind will be already making mental notes for London while we are in Beijing. What can I say- I'm a planner.

Well, I'm on my way to wire the rest of my deposit to Kelly's Courtyard.

Have a great day!

TracyLynn

Norman17130

We have freq flyer tickets also - will be there from aug 8 thru 28.

I have this (naive) feeling that all the hotels are block booked by tours at present - at ridiculous prices. I am sure they will open up as the games start - particularly outside of Bejing. If not, we're screwed, but either way we plan to travel outside of bejing until the last week of the games.
Any input from other travellers ? What about previous Olympics - Did those accomodations free up ?

donna_calgary

I've been reading with interest (and admittedly with envy) that so many posters were able to secure tickets to various Olympic events. It appears that CoSport in the U.S. was a far better source than in Canada (at least I'm assuming that every one who wrote is American). My nephew is on the Canadian men's gymnastics team and there is a group of about 20 planning on going but NONE of us was successful in the initial draw, nor the November sale. We did get a few preliminary event tickets for men's gymnastics but not all that we'd requested, and nothing for any gymnastic finals. Very frustrating. We heard that the November draw opened 20 minutes earlier in the U.S. than Canada. Everything was sold out in Canada within minutes, except handball which took a bit longer. We've decided we are going, with or without tickets and hope for the best. As for accomodation, the company my husband works for is Chinese-owned and he has been in touch with colleagues in the Beijing office who assure us they'll find us a place to stay. But I do suspect that as Norman17130 suggested, hotels just might open up closer to the date. We found that to be the case in Athens in 2004. Prices were still highly inflated, but we found great accomodation 2 weeks before the Olympics commenced. Oops! this is a bit long - rookie mistake!

Colduphere

Hi Donna

We are Canadian, well Ottawa. There were quite a few tickets available for many sports during the day of November 26. Most were gone by evening. Gymnastics was very, very difficult to get wherever you live I believe.

explorer29

A friend in Beijing is happy to rent out his 2-bedroom apartment during the games and I think he is charging under $100/day. You may email him and find out. [email protected]

donna_calgary

Hello ColdUpHere (I suspect its even colder in Calgary!),
I've been checking out the "hostel" option on the internet and Kelly's Courtyard sounds great. Unfortunately the price on the hostel websites is now $150/night per person so I thought I might phone them directly to see if I can get a better price. However, I'm having trouble locating their phone number so I was wondering if you would mind providing it? I'm getting worried that my husband's work connections might not pull thru & this sounds like a super option. Thanks for your help!

Violet_1125

you can serch some appartments at Tongzhou District,which is a about 15miles from Olympic area,but there is subway link with Olympci erea,which will be much cheaper than downtown.
for the others,one of my classmates work at real estate,if you need his infomation,you can contact Steve [email protected].

Colduphere

Hi Donna

The way I wrote it it looks like I spoke to the fellow but in fact it was all done through email. So maybe he only types in good English. I am having trouble cutting and pasting but you can find a phone number at www.kellyscourtyard.com and then click the owner category. And yes their rates seem to have gone up. They have received several more glowing reviews so the word is spreading.

volleyballann

Hey Jack, How did you get a room at the Holiday Inn? I'm looking for reasonable accomodations for my 10-year-old son and myself. Any suggestions???? Thanks.

USNR

We understand that preparations for the 2008 Olympics have been in place for some time. Great!

That's why we are going in April, BEFORE the Games begin. Staffs will be up for the influx of visitors. Sites will be prepared. Facilities should be in top condition.

That said, we will watch from our easy chairs here at home -- without the crowds, the hustling, the price gouging, the hassle at airports, train stations, etc.

I know -- we will miss "the Olympic experience." Life is one series of trade-offs after another.

afterall

I wouldn't go to these games if you paid me too.

In fact the whole Olympic thing, which was once so good, is now one more story of money and politics.

Why were the Games awarded to Beijing? - politics of course. What has the impact been? Huge areas demolished and hundreds of people displaced. Do they have any meaning? - no, except to cement China's claim to a place on the world stage. Fair enough - but they don't play by the rules. Many products for export do not meet basic safety standards: most if not all of the products for export are manufactured in sweat shop conditions. The corruption is breathtaking.

If you want to go and show your support for this - that's your choice. But all you enthusiasts must remember - this is still a police state.

And, yes, I have visited China (twice).

donna_calgary

Thank you for the info ColdUpHere. By the way, my daughter goes to Carlton & loves Ottawa.

To respond to "why would anyone support the Beijing Olympics?", I'm going to support and cheer on my nephew who has been training as a gymnast since he was 3. The athletes don't get a say in which city is awarded the games. I think everyone is aware that the Olympics have unfortunately changed over the years. However, the dedication and determination that my nephew (and his teammates)has displayed over the past several years deserves recognition. So I plan to be there!

petitepois

Oh, afterall, you're such a rabble rouser! Don't pick on donna -- we all have a right to make our own decisions without criticism, particularly on a travel forum.

Donna -- I hope you don't feel guilty about attending the Olympic Games. The Olympic motto is "Swifter, higher, stronger," -- not "I am morally righteous." It seems like you are going for the sport -- and that is true to the spirit of the Olympics.

Now, I personally would not attend the games, but only because I lived in Beijing for four years and don't have any desire to see the city in that way. Plus, if I even set a toe in Beijing during August 2008, I'd probably be put straight to work!

By the way -- Afterall -- only a FEW of the many Beijing citizens who were moved from their homes were disgruntled about it. Many, many, many of them were thrilled -- not only did they receive financial compensation, they were able to move into new apartments with bathrooms (unlike the hutongs, which do not have private toilets). Of course, that doesn't make for splashy headlines. As for points (b), (c) and (d) -- I agree that China should better control its quality of imports -- they need to clean up their act. But they have improved their policy on Sudan in recent months, and should be given some credit for that.

Katie_H

An earlier post was removed.

Colduphere

Gee I hate missing over the top posts before they are removed. I can understand people not feeling comfortable with aspects of the Beijing games. It is certainly their right to not attend, ignore or even protest the games as they see fit.

On the other hand, as I wrote above, events such as the games are a great opportunity for people from all over the world to come together and celebrate. The World Cup of soccer/football in Germany was amazing in that respect. So were the last games I attended (Montreal 1976) although the Olympics are a much bigger deal now than they were then. I am hoping Beijing becomes a celebration, even with its problems.

TracyLynn

Hello all,

Good for you colduphere, donna and petitepois.

We just love the Olympic competitions. We have been exposed to sports that we otherwise would not have seen live ( or on tv for that matter) like badminton. What an exciting sport when seen live!

I'm a *big* fan of the separation of sports and politics. Notice that I didn't say sports and nationality/state/city. Two entirely different things.

I'm not going to cancel my trip based on one or two postings... how silly.