train or plane?

Old Feb 25th, 2007, 11:18 AM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
train or plane?

My husband and I will be in Hong Kong the second week of April. We will then visit Beijing for a week. We are considering flying Dragon Air from Hong Kong to Beijing round trip as we depart out of Hong Kong to return home OR we could train up to Beijing (26 hours) and fly back to Hong Kong.

Has anyone out there:
1. Flown Dragon Air?
2. Taken the train from Hong Kong to Beijing?

Suggestions and comments are welcomed to post here or to email directly. Thanks! Nancy

[email protected]
Nanners is offline  
Old Feb 25th, 2007, 12:03 PM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 23,073
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
My parents have taken the direct train to Beijing and Shanghai from Hong Kong, in both Soft Sleeper and Deluxe Soft Sleeper. First, keep in mind that they serve the two destinations in alternate days, so on the day you want to go to Beijing, there may not be one.

Second, you don't save on hotel (like shorter overnight train) and basically waste a day of time. Just depends on whether time is important to you.

Third, they are not that cheap, especially if you go Deluxe. Cheaper than flying from Hong Kong to Beijing, but not cheaper than Shenzhen to Beijing.
rkkwan is offline  
Old Feb 25th, 2007, 05:37 PM
  #3  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 33
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
the train to beijing from hongkong kowloon will cost you 24hour23min, so my advice is fly to beijing and back to hongkong by train. The benefit is you can experience the long journey on train and dont need to waste too much time

You can check the train schedule through http://www.adventurechinatrip.com/chinatrain.asp.

Cheers
asprilalee is offline  
Old Feb 25th, 2007, 07:35 PM
  #4  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thanks so much for the train info. We need to make sure we are back to Hong Kong from Beijing in time to catch our flight back to the US. So I don't think we will take the train back. Sounds like the train is more time and money than it is worth for the trip up to Beijing. I just thought it would be a nice way to see more of the country side. Guess I'll be viewing it from the sky. My thanks! Nancy
Nanners is offline  
Old Feb 25th, 2007, 07:46 PM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 23,073
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
If you decide to still do it, the southbound trip will be more scenic. The northbound leaves Hong Kong at 3pm, daparts Guangzhou at 5:04pm. It'll be getting dark when it climbs over the Nanling range.

It will also cross the Yangtze in Wuhan before 4am. It's mostly flatland for the daylight part of the journey.

The southbound train crosses the Yangtze at around midnight. The river is dark, but at least you can still be up to see Wuhan and the bridge.

And you'll cross Nanling in daylight.
rkkwan is offline  
Old Feb 26th, 2007, 07:32 PM
  #6  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Boy rkkwan- you are a wealth of information. Thanks for the explanation about considering the train back to Hong Kong. You have been most helpful to this fellow Texan.
Nanners is offline  
Old Feb 26th, 2007, 09:18 PM
  #7  
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 7,689
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Dragon Air is an excellent airline, certainly the best intra-China carrier. They are owned by Cathay Pacific. This is not a local budget PRC carrier, it's a real airline. Better than many other "world class" airlines, IMO.
Cicerone is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
scottthompson
Asia
4
May 29th, 2013 04:18 AM
joan rose
Asia
9
Nov 2nd, 2010 10:08 AM
chinovice
Asia
4
Oct 12th, 2005 05:42 AM
fdKen
Asia
5
Sep 11th, 2004 06:48 AM
chicco
Asia
6
Jun 27th, 2004 05:21 AM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -