Hi, This is my first post on the Fodor’s message board, sooo… Hello everyone

I have a couple questions and would like to have some advice from the more experience travelers around here. Two of my friends and I (one who is Chinese) are planning a trip to China for the spring of 2008 after we graduate. We plan on going to Beijing, the capital of Hunan, and Guilin. We plan on going for about 4-5 weeks on a budget of $5000 CAD ($2000 of which we are setting aside for air fare, as we have not booked flights yet). The first question I have is will this be enough? I have never gone on vacation without my parents so this is he first time I have had to plan on myself. As a bonus we know some people in China, so our hotel in Beijing and Hunan will be relatively in expensive (probably about $100 for ALL hotel expense in Hunan and Beijing). I have done the math and this seems ok, but I could be way over or under. Instead of going to Guilin, or possibly in edition to Guilin, we would like to go on a vacation somewhere in the area (i.e. Thailand) I would like to know if anyone would know a great place we can go to cap off our trip to relax before we head back to Canada. Any advice would be appreciated, I have read a few books already but I would like to know some experienced travelers opinions.

Cheers
Andy

4-5weeks with $5000 CAD in enough,suggest go to Tibet since you have a long time in China.

Not sure what a CAD is worth these days, but if it's anywhere close to a US$, you'll be in good shape. There should be no problem staying on budget, especially when you are traveling as part of a group.

Unless you will be visiting friends there, instead of going to Guilin check out Yangshuo which is just south or guilin and much less urban. There are also some very interesting places in Yunnan province (not too far from Hunan) that you might want to consider (look at Dali and Lijiang).

Vietnam would be closer than Thailand and offers nice beaches to unwind.

You can find 3* (Chinese standard, not international) for about 300-400RMB at most cities. That's about C$45 or so per night. Food is very cheap. Transportation also relatively inexpensive.

Highend 5* hotels and their fancy eateries are not cheap, so stay away from those.

The other thing that is NOT CHEAP is admissions to many tourist sites. Some national parks charge like 150-300RMB per person, per day. Extremely expensive if you think how much locals earn. Especially since most national parks in US/Canada are free or almost free.

Hi Andy,
I'm currently studying in Beijing for one month and staying in a small hotel near the university (Wudaokou area, which is pretty vibrant and cool). The hotel costs about US$25/night, (Chinese) breakfast and Internet included.

Food IS really cheap - enough so that you can steer clear of the street food unless you're so inclined. We've been eating very well, and larger meals usually come out to about 30-50RMB (less than US$10) per person; eating in a group is definitely a benefit in that respect.

When I travel into the center of the city, I find that the prices are much higher (along with the percentage of menus in English LOL).

Subway is quite cheap: 3RMB for the center city, plus another 2RMB for the light rail, which is what I take to the area I'm staying in. Taxis are also very inexpensive, again especially when there are more of you splitting the bill.

As mentioned, probably one of the larger expenses are the admission fees. (This is relatively speaking, since they're still less than what admission would be in the US, when translated into US$!)

The highest fee I've paid so far was for the Forbidden City. Currently it is 60RMB, plus 40RMB for the self-guided audio tour (which also requires a 100RMB deposit). This is, of course, still less expensive than hiring a tour guide! All parks, and many temples, etc. also charge an admission fee. Note that we were able to get the student discount at the Temple of Heaven with our US ID cards; to date, this is the only place that accepted them...

Hello Andy,

If you live near Vancouver or Toronto, get your (Chinese) friend to pick up a Chinese language newspaper, in the travel section, you will find cheap flight to China offered by Chinese travel agents, you can fly Vancouver-Shanghai return with Chinese Eastern for around CAD$800.00, you air fare shouldn't cost 2000.00
Have a good trip.

Is that CAD$5000 per person or for all of you together? In either case, you shouldn't have a problem with money. I just arrived from a 2-month backpacking trip in China and Southeast Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Singapore) plus 1 week in Japan for about CAD$3000 including airfare.

Anyway, to keep costs down, have you guys considered staying in a hostel? Some are really clean with toilets in their own rooms. You can check out hostelasia.com for reviews. A lot of them offer private rooms that will accommodate up to 4 people. I stayed at the Downtown Backpackers' Hostel in Beijing which is located in a charming hutong. Plus, they have an incredible full-day hiking tour across the Great Wall (from Jinshanling to Simatai) which I highly recommend if you are physically fit. You can see more info about the hiking tour and the hostel here: http://www.backpackingchina.com/nr/greatwall.html

As for Guilin, skip it and head straight to Yangshuo which is about 1-2 hours by bus from Guilin. Guilin is just another big chinese city while Yangshuo is a charming small town that is near the Li and Yulong river. Most hostels have biking tours and river tours across the limestone karst area.

Yes, you can go to Thailand if time permits. There are cheap flights from Macau to Bangkok depending on how far you book. If you book for September, you can get a round-trip ticket from Macau to Bangkok for about CAD$135. But, if you need to get back to Mainland China, you would need a double-entry visa.

Or better yet, grab an open jaw ticket where you fly into Beijing and fly out of Bangkok. I was able to get an open jaw ticket quite cheaply with the following itinerary (YYC-SFO-PEK, SIN-NRT, NRT-SFO-YYC) for about CAD$1150 total including taxes and fuel surcharge.

Anyway, have fun!

Sorry, I forgot to mention the website where you can book that flight to BKK from Macau. It's through Air Asia (www.airasia.com)

It looks like the $5000 CAD is the budget for all three, if I read it right. So you are probably a little light for the airfare, allow minimum of $800 CAD each (inc. taxes) for Chinese airline. Stay out of large cities as much as possible. In Shanghai costs generally are 50% higher for hotel and food. If you plan on leaving China for Vietnam and re-entering be sure to get double or multiple entry visa to China, another $100+ inc. fees.

This budget of $5000CAD for three is tight, as admission fees and cable car fees are everywhere.

Hi Everyone,
First off thank you very much for your responses, I am taking much of your advice and ideas. I love the day tour of the Great Wall and will more than likely check it out. In my original post I meant to say we had a budget of $5000 each, I apologize for the poor grammar. It is good to know that $5000 dollars will be more than enough, and I will definitely check out the cheap flights in the papers. I had a quick question about the visa (I could probably do a little research but I will ask here first). How long can I get a visa for and can I get one now for next year?

Thanks Again
Andy

Chinese visa information can be found here for Canadians:

ca.chineseembassy.org/eng/lsfw/Chinese%20Visa/default.htm

There's no reason to apply this early. In general, the single entry visa allows entry to China within 3 months afte issue; the dual entry and 6-month multiple are good for 6 months; and the 1-year one year.

Each stay is generally for 60 days. Stay longer and you'll need to get an extension while in China.

If you're flying roundtrip to China, and then go to Thailand and back, you'll need the dual-entry one. Apply later this winter or early next year.

Andy -- I assume you have a passport already, right? Nowadays it takes forever to get one in the US.

Hey Andy, it takes 4 days to get a visa but you can get it earlier for an additional charge. I paid about $75 for a double-entry visa. You might have read a thread here about a price increase in Chinese visas but that only applies to US citizens. I don't think you can get a visa now for next year. The visa I had had an "expiration date" where I must enter China before that date to make my visa effective. I got my visa around April 2007 and I had to enter China before sometime October 2007 in order to use my visa. I hope this helps.