Inspired by Mr. Rich’s comment on my last blog, I decided to write something about travelling. Honestly I am far from an expert tourist, and I don’t travel as much as I would like to. But as a passionate lover of travel, I’m glad to share some of my experiences. Hope it could be a bit helpful to those who plan to hit the road.

       As much as I love trips, I’ve never been very fond of group travel. Travel for me is about to break, to break the routines, to break the boundaries----for temporary, to live out of the box. That’s why I don’t like being herded around, hurried from one sight spot to another, and wasting precious time on unwanted shopping. If I travel, I’d like to travel with wings. Am I overdramatized on it? Sorry. Old habits die hard. Anyway, I always prefer to so-called FIT (自由行hotel+flight package) or do-it-yourself tour.

      For those hotel+flight package, I got used to consult Ctrip first.

      When I discussed with my friend about our Phuket trip, he asked suspiciously: “Ctrip, are you sure?” I understood his doubts, after all, he has well connected to local travel agency and his family went to Phuket twice before---all well arranged by Travel Agency. In fact, I was not sure. So we decided to do it separately and then decided which way to take. The next day, he called me: “Let’s Ctrip.”

     We ordered a 7-days-5 night stay in Phuket at the price of around 5600 per person. The price is outrage but still competitive comparing to the travel agency’s offer. It’s understandable. Ctrip has a large customer base which few local agencies could compete with. Therefore it’s easier for Ctrip to get a better price from hotels and Airlines. 

      Another reason I like Ctrip is it offers a wide range of selection for hotels, from hostel to 5 start luxury---at different prices, of course. And there are reviews and rates for each hotel as reference. I could take time to choose the most suitable one.

Tips:

1. The earlier the better. Especially for peak time travel (like Spring Festival or National Day), the price would change dramatically by daily. If you made your decision at the last minute, you might have to pay the highest price for the worst stay. I ordered the package three days ago, and today when I rechecked, the price had already leaped up for anther 1000 yuan per person and only three hotels left. What a hell!
2. Ctrip offers airplane pick-up service. It’s cheaper, but you need to take some time to wait for other travellers.
3. Visa/ID and your credit card information are needed when you make an order.

       Ctrip might have upper hand on package tour, however, when coming to booking hotel and flight separately, you might need broaden your research to get the best bargain. Here are some websites I used the most:

Flights:

Air Asia: http://www.airasia.com/site/cn/home.jsp

“Everyone can fly” It’s not just a sweet talk. I once nabbed three round-trip tickets from Shenzhen to Malaysia at 99 yuan! Although the golden days of almost free flight have long gone, you still can manage to get promotional international ticket at the price less than 1000 yuan for a round-trip. 

To book domestic flight, I prefer: http://www.kuxun.cn/

It’s a sort of like airline search engine, helping you to book flight at the lowest price.

Hotel:

http://www.agoda.com.cn/

http://www.latestays.com/

http://www.booking.com/

      It’s hard to tell which one is better. To get the best offer, we need to spend sometime doing comparation and research. Sometimes I even tried taobao. Last time I went to Hongkong, I booked my stay at taobao.net.

      Another great travelling website: http://www.go2eu.com. If offers a lot of service and information about abroad travelling: hotel, flight, visa, travel tips….

       If you have any question, please feel free to ask. I'm glad to help.

      At last, Bon Voyage!