China with kids
 

Anybody have any advice about how to book hotel rooms with 3 kids (ages 6, 6, and 11)? I don't want to have to book 2 rooms! We'd be happy with 2 double beds and a cot, but it seems like noone wants to do that for us. We need hotels in Beijing, Guilin, and maybe Shanghai.

Also, we will be taking the Z train from Beijing to Xi'an. What should we book for 5 people? One soft sleeper for 4? What do we do with the fifth person? 2 of our kids are little, would they be allowed to share a bed?

On another note, would a yangtze river cruise in December fun for little kids?

Thanks!

You will have trouble with 5 people in a hotel room. Most hotels in China only have two single beds. So, you'll need 3 rollers or cots to sleep 5. And I doubt any hotel will let you do that, or have the room for it.

For the train, you can just buy 4 softsleeper tickets to get the whole cabin; then buy a hard-seat ticket for one of the kids. No one will care if that kid ends up in your cabin.

You may book an apartment hotel in Beijing,xi'an and shanghai.send me an e-mail if you need help.

The 2 kids may share one bed,so 4 sleepers will be ok .

I agree with rkkwan about the train arrangements. No need to pay the premium for the 5th soft sleeper.

I'm not sure how you usually travel, but you might want to do as I've seen many of local Chinese do - pay for a room, then figure out how to pack in your extended family. There is the element of uncertainty, so consider yourself warned. But it shouldn't be too difficult.

I've done it on several occasions myself in China, although we had to pay off someone once - still far cheaper than another room, once we'd haggled her down. This is probably your only other option short of buying two rooms. Rollaways aren't very common outside of the <i>internationally rated</i> 5-star places. Remember the level of service at a Chinese 4-star (and sometimes 5) will often fall short of the standards you'd expect at the local Holiday Inn. So it's often better to take matters into your own hands.

Thanks to everyone for their input. I'm just a little nervous that if we have one kid with a hard seat ticket, they might not let them into our compartment!! Would this happen? Since you were so helpful, just another couple of questions-

Should we do a Yangtze river cruise or Shanghai or Hong Kong for our last 4 days before we head home from Bejing? Please keep in mind the 3 little boys, and that it will be December.

We are visiting friends in Xi'an, and are going with them to Yanan, and the Guilin area.

Thank you so much for your input!

You won't have problem getting the kid into the compartment. Everybody does it.

Thanks again. Do you think we need to buy tickets in advance online, or can we get them when we get there. We are arriving in Bejing on Dec. 15, and want to leave on the overnight train on the 19th.

I forget what's the current limit for advance ticket sales, but it's not that long. You should just get it when you arrive in Beijing. Don't bother trying to get it yourself. Use the hotel's concierge or a travel agent there. Well worth the small fee.

As of last year, there was a 14 day advance limit for purchase of train tickets, so there's not much you can do now.