lilybart

I am desperate for a tip on getting a last-minute ticket (within 4 days) from Shanghai to Ha Noi. The sources I have used in the States (cheaptickets, orbitz, priceline, etc) do not do business with flights originating out of the States, and the similar international websites want 4-7 days to authorize credit card information.

China Southern had a great itinerary at a decent price, but I kept getting errors on their website. The other major carriers (China Eastern, China Air, the Hong Kong one and the other obvious ones) do not, surprisingly, have service to Ha Noi. One major carrier was totally booked (DragonAir).

The two hotel "travel agencies" I visited today were not real agencies-- young people who did not speak English and who gave me fixed prices -- no flight numbers or carriers-- from the same tattered, plastic sheeted notebook. I was unable to find their suggested itineraries on any of the major carriers' websites. The American carriers I tried (on their websites) had impossible prices such as United's $6000 + per person.

Please help~! I would like to find a "real" travel agent~ do they exist in Shanghai? Or a reliable website where I know the e-ticket I purchase is a real travel document.
Thanks~ signed, Desperate in Shanghai

thursdaysd

I would try CITS. Haven't used the Shanghai one, but the Beijing and Xi'an ones were fine - Nanning not so much! Frommers gives this contact info for buying airline tickets from them: "China International Travel Service (CITS)... [a] branch at the Bund at Jinling Dong Lu 2 (tel. 021/6323-8770) where you can purchase airline and train tickets."

baaj

I'd recommend that you check the prices on Ctrip www.ctrip.com. They are as reliable as Expedia, but take cash only I believe (courier delivery is free).

Check the prices there first so you can get a baseline price before you use a more expensive option like CITS.

Shanghainese

lily -- Please e-mail asap

[email protected]

I talked to a staff member in their US office, they will try to help get you a ticket and deliver to your hotel in Shanghai. Best and take care.

lilybart

Thank you so much, Shanghainese~! I'm awaiting their response. If that doesn't work out, I will try CITS and CTrip. I'm trying not to feel discouraged at this monkey wrench in our plans~ we were to have left for Vietnam today, but my son's Chinese employer did not express mail his passport and Chinese visa at the end of last week as they had promised (we STILL have not received it), so we were unable to get the Vietnamese visa at the beginning of this week as planned, and if it doesn't arrive tomorrow we'll have to delay our departure until next Monday night, giving us less than a week in Vietnam instead of the original 12 days. . . .

But Shanghai is a fascinating city to cool one's heels in, and I'm savoring its delights as well as the company of my son, whom I haven't seen in almost a year. . . .

lilybart

Hi, Baaj. Just for future reference~ c-trip is for travel in China only, so it couldn' t help me with trips to Ha Noi, But it looks like a great place to check if we need to resort to Plan B, and give up our visit to Vietnam this time.

wiselindag

Hi Lily,

I just got back from a few days away from the computer and read about your trials and travails. What's a trip without a few bumps in the road, as they say? I just wanted to note that Ctrip does now have international flights in addition to internal Chinese ones... they are advertising flights to Europe and various other places... not sure about Viet Nam, however.

Another travel agent who was recommended to me by a friend of mine who is a professor of Chinese History at Columbia is as follows:

The travel agent in Nanjing is:
Claire Li
office: 86-25-8472-4488 (025-8472-4488 in China)
cell: 1360-518-6887
email: [email protected]

Perhaps she can help if you haven't resolved the problem yet.

Good luck... so glad to hear you are enjoying your visit with your son.

Linda

Shanghainese

Lily -- Hope things are working out for you, meanwhile, enjoy your son's company and Shanghai, you can check my notes from my Oct/Nov trip for more things to do.

Where are you staying? Are you really cooling your heels? I heard from DM and DS the month-long rains have stopped and it is hotter than NYC.

Shanghainese

Where are you and what happen?

From my resources, you had to leave that day and the TA couldn't deliver the ticket to the Astor on time and advised you to go buy the ticket at the airport China Southern counter, is that correct?