Luxurious 15 days in China under $2,000 per person. Seems Impossible? Here's how we did it!
Suppose, like most people, you only have a couple of weeks of vacation each year, and you don't have a lot of money to spend on holiday. You likes 5 star accomodations on a budget. Then keep reading and see how I managed to travel to China on a meagre budget and still managed to get the whole experience even better!
I have been a budget traveller since I started travelling in my 20s. My first trip overseas was to celebrate my college graduation. My sister and I backpacked through Europe for one month on CAD20.00 a day. Since graduation, I’ve up my game a little. I’ve been traveling the world, staying in five star hotel and eating in the most unique restaurants and I am still on a budget.
Fastword to August 2018, I reached a birthday milestone. I wanted to celebrate and positively highlight this new chapter of my life with a Great Adventure. As an Art Historian who loves to immerse herself in Culture, China has always intrigued me. I invited six friends to accompany me on this journey. It was the most sensory experience in my life, right after India!
Research, Research, Research:
All-Inclusive tours to China can be pretty expensive. The best way to save a buck is to plan and do a lot of research. I started by buying the Lonely Planet China. This book is the holy grail of travel books and is an excellent source of information for travellers.
During my research on the internet, I found a ten-day package with Nexus Holidays for about $1800.00 p.p. with flights. I decided to contact Nexus and get more information. It turns out it's an organized shopping tour to bring tourists to China, and the price was for Toronto departure only; for other Canadian cities, there is a CAD300.00 surcharge.
However, they told me that we could purchase the land portion only for CAD 550.00. That includes accommodation at 4 and 5 Star Hotels, most meals, taxes and gratuities, transportation by coach bus to all the sights plus the flight from Beijing to Shanghai.
I'm not too fond of organized tours; I find them too limiting, but this was too good of a deal to pass. They helped with all the paperwork and the Visa requirements to enter the country. These days, Nexus Holidays has the same package called China Discovery Tour, for CAD 499.00 p.p.
As you'll come to realize, most ten-day tours are eight days because you lose two days travelling to and from your country. We decided to extend our stay and arrive three days before the organized tour and stay another three days after the tour to fully experience China and immerse ourselves in this culture.
We booked on Booking.com an apartment hotel for three days. The Ayuxi Hotel Apartment is located near the Chaoyang district, north and east of central Beijing, and Beijing's Central Business District (CBD). Cost for three nights for six people, $575.00. The property owner was kind enough to give us a letter, with the Hotel info and direction, written in Chinese to present to our taxi driver. For our stay in Shanghai, we booked three rooms at the Campanile Shanghai Natural History Museum Hotel for two nights for $519. CAD for six people. As the Hotel's name indicates, it's near the Natural History Museum Beijing, Jing'an Sculpture Park, Jingan Qu, the Natural History Museum train station. It's within walking distance to the Bund and Shanghai Times Square. Both accommodations were decent.
Our flights to China were booked on Air Canada from September 30th to Oct15. At the beginning of the year, we set out a flight tracker on google.ca/travel/flights. Google Flights is a flight search engine, easy to use that makes fare hunting super easy. I've entered my travel dates and destination (Montreal-Beijing- Shanghai_Montrael) and let Google work its magic and send me regular notifications on flight prices. Late September/early October is considered low season, so we got a pretty good deal on our flights. We avoided the $300 surcharge and the long connection in Toronto. Although our flight to Beijing had a 2-hour flight connection in Vancouver, the return flight was direct from Shanghai to Montreal. The cost for the flights $570.00/CAD.
Now, most travellers would advise against travelling during the Mid Autumn Festival because it's the second most important holiday in China after Chinese New Year. The Mid-Autumn Festival is a three-day statutory holiday and. Millions of people are travelling during this time, visiting family all over China, which causes transport stress. Our guide told us this holiday is possibly the worst or best time to travel to China. It depends on how you see it. The one positive thing is that all major manufacturers are closed all across the country, so the sky was blue and the air much cleaner.
One month before our departure, I met with my friends to go over the itinerary, and we all agreed that we have to see the Terracotta Army in Xian. I looked for flights from Beijing to Xian and was a little discouraged at the fair prices. Most of the flights varied from $700.00/CAD to $900.00 as I was about to throw the towel when I found a fare on Air China for CAD 350.00 round trip on FLY.com and booked it right away. From this moment on, FLY.com has become my favourite website for last-minute travel deals.
Suppose you plan to see the Terracotta Army in Xi'an during the Harvest Festival. My suggestion is to stay overnight and not travel back the same day, especially if you fly. The crowds travelling to the Terracotta Army are unbelievable; it's literally like swimming in a sea of people. We almost didn't make it inside the museum.
Since we already had tickets and that we were only there for the day, we had to battle our way inside the museum. If you have no intention of experiencing millions of people on the move in China, you should avoid this holiday when planning your trip. Our guide told us that it's not unusual to end up sitting in the car all day on the road during this holiday. Fortunately, we had a very resourceful driver and an excellent guide that we found on Tripadvisor by fluke.
We’ve pre-booked our guide and driver from Canada. They picked us up from the Airport, took us to the Terracotta Museum and the Muslim Quarters and back in time for our evening flight. All this for CAD 350.00 for six people.
Looking back, I wished we made that decision earlier and went by train instead of flying. The early morning high-speed train from Beijing to Xian is a 4-6 hour journey and costs around CAD 160. (Price may vary). The flight to XIAN is three hours but, when you factor in that you have to show up three (3) hours before your flight, even for a domestic flight, it comes to about the same thing, and it's less stressful to travel by train. Check out rail.ninja.com for more details on the Shanghai to Beijing Trains and train schedules.
Important Facts before travelling to China:
Always show respect for the people, culture and laws of the country you're visiting.
Communications in China:
Make sure you have a printed copy of all your documents and bookings.
I recommend that you download WeeChat and Yahoo Applications before arriving in China. WeeChat is your primary communications tool in China, as Google, Gmail, Facebook, and Instagram, do not work in China. WeeChat is a Chinese multi-purpose messaging, social media and mobile application. It translates speech in many languages with a voice recognition feature. This app makes it easier to communicate with people on the street as most people in China don't speak English.
I would also strongly recommend buying a Sim Card for your phone at the Airport to make calls and access the internet. As you know, without an internet connection, Wechat and Outlook won't work.
Transportation:
Do not pre-book taxis from the Airport as it is pretty expensive. We could get a Taxi at the Airport for 75% cheaper than from any pre-booking online. Taxis at the Airport are safe and reliable. Upon our return from XIAN, we took the Subway from the Airport to our Hotel. It was fast, convenient, easy and super cheap. Understanding Beijing and Shanghai and the Xian subway map is relatively easy. The subway maps are written in English and Chinese. Once you understand how the train system works, taking the train in China is a piece of cake. But make sure you familiarise yourself with the Subway map before arriving in China. If you do not want to take the train, your Hotel can help make taxi arrangements. Most Hotels will give you a business card, written in Chinese and English, with the Hotel information to present to your driver.
Eating In China
China offers a broad range of eating options, from fine dining to street food. Most menus have pictures so you can see what you're ordering. Overall, eating in China is reasonably inexpensive. If you are missing your western food, you can easily find a McDonalds' or KFC anywhere in Shanghai.
Our group wanted to celebrate our last night in Style. We were lucky enough to be in China during Shanghai Fashion Week, and there were some exciting events in the French Quarter. It was bustling with stylish tourists and locals with music and entertainment. We had a marvellous meal at Wolfgang Puck in the French Concession while listening to a live band.
These days, due to COVID19 restrictions, travelling to China has become more complicated. That should not stop you from planning your next vacation. But, make sure to check your local government website before making any travel arrangements. In the meantime, it is ok to dream about your next vacation.
How much did it cost to travel to China?
EXPENSES COST
Flight Montreal - Beijing - Shanghai……………………CAD 570.00
Flight Beijing - Xian …………………………………...CAD 300.00
Tour Guide and Transportation in Xian …………………CAD 60.00
Nexus Holiday Land Package…………………………..CAD 550.00
Accommodation for five days …………………………..CAD 182.00
Extras- meals and groceries- Transportation …………….CAD 200.00
TOTAL CAD 1862.00
Itinerary Beijing - Xian - Shanghai - Suzhou - Wuxi - Hangzhou
Oct 1, 2018 to Oct 14, 2018
Day 1 -Departure
Day 2 -BEIJING-Arriving in Beijing, check-in Condo.
Day 3 -BEIJING - XI’AN
Fly to Xian for the day, visit Terracotta Museum and the Muslim Quarter
Day 4 -BEIJING
Visit the Temple of Heaven in Beijing and Hutong Tour, Chaoyang district, north and east of central Beijing, and Beijing's Central Business District (CBD).
Day 5 BEIJING
Check out the hotel. Meet the Nexus Holiday local representative and the group at the designated hotel; enjoy a couple hours at the Spa.
Day 6 -BEIJING
Depart by bus with the group, visit Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming to Qing dynasty.
Day 7- BEIJING
Climb a portion of the Great Wall, visit a Jade and Silk Factory
Day 8 -BEIJING – SHANGHAI – SUZHOU
Tour the exquisite Summer Palace and a former summer resort for Emperors, and "Beijing 2008 Olympic Center," including the famous Bird's Nest and Water Cube.
In the afternoon, depart for Shanghai and be transferred by bus to Suzhou.
Day 9 -SUZHOU – WUXI
Visit Lingering Garden, in Suzhou Take a cruise along the Grand Canal to view life along China's golden waterway. Then, visit a Silk Spinning Mill.
Day 10 -WUXI – HANGZHOU
Visit a FreshWater Pearl Farms. Then, head to admire the famous Lingshan Grand Buddha, with a thousand-year-old Buddhism temple. Later, travel by coach to Hangzhou. Enjoy a performance, "Impression West Lake'' a masterpiece created by Zhang Yimou, the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics Games Opening Ceremony director.
Day 11-HANGZHOU – SHANGHAI
Take the boat ride on the West Lake. Experience an oriental tea-tasting at the Dragon Well Tea Plantation. Travel by coach to Shanghai. Upon arrival, walk along the famous Bund, a mile-long stretch along the Huangpu River.Enjoy exhibits at Shanghai museum.
At night enjoy a Huangpu River Night Cruise and get a glimpse of the dazzling and charming night view of Shanghai.
Day 12-SHANGHAI
Say bye to the Tour Group, take a taxi to the Campanile Hotel in Shanghai.
Enjoy green spaces at Yuyuan Garden, Shanghai Natural History Museum and Jing'an Sculpture Park, Jingan Qu.
Day 13 -SHANGHAI
Walk and Shop along Nanjing Road and in Tianzifang/Xintiandi. Visit the Underground Market.
Stroll through Yuyuan Old Street.
Day 14 SHANGHAI
In the evening, Experience Fashion Week in Shanghai. Stroll through the Visit French Quarter. See Shanghai's European architecture for dinner at Wolfgang Puck Bar and Grill.
Day 15-Departure from Shanghai