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[bjkizza]

Hi,
I am planning a holiday to Japan and China from December 2007 - End of January 2008. I am travelling from Brisbane,

Australia and have found that most travel agents I talk to are glorified receptionists! They dont have a clue about anything

that isnt listed in a travel brochure or available on their computer.

I am seeking for help from the general travelling public! I want to know a few things:

a) I am not overly concerned as to which country I travel to first, nor do I care which city I land in, I just want the

cheapest way to get there and back. Does anyone know which country is the cheapest approximately?

Will it be cheaper to book a return ticket to one country, for example China and then travel by ferry or maybe another

plane to the other country... Japan, eventually making our own way back to China again?

c) One travel agent suggested getting a return ticket to China with a stop-over in Japan, but she wasn't sure if this would

be cheaper or if they would allow up to a month stopover in Japan; does anyone have any ideas?

d) Last but not least, in China we are hoping to travel to the following destinations, Shanghai, Beijing, Xian, Chengdu

Gualin in any particular order, arriving last in Hong Kong. Do you think it would be better to do this via tour, or on our

own accord, we couldn't find any tours operating in December - January that do all these destinations; we are assuming due to the

unfavourable Yangzi River conditions so if you know of any tours that do this I would LOVE the name!

Basically. HELP!

I am appreciative for any and all help that you guys can give me,

Kizz

[rbisset]

Keep a look out for the cheapest flight you can find. Jetstar are starting a service to Osaka soon, I believe from Brisbane, that'll probably be the cheapest flight. Other than that I think you should look at flights to Hong Kong as they'll be cheaper than mainland China/Japan.

I wouldn't recommend a tour as China is great for individual travel. I travelled overland on the sleeper trains between all the cities you plan to visit without much trouble and they are cheap.

There is a ferry service to Japan but I don't know how frequently it would run in the winter. It'll be bloody freezing in Beijing in winter.

[rich]

I'm going to Japan next month for 3 months, then travelling by boat from Osaka to Shanghai (£100ish). So I've paid for 2 flights (Manchester-Tokyo + Beijing-Heathrow) and it cost about £450. Not sure if that's any help to you whatsoever by the way, but just thought I'd throw it in. Everybody says Japan is expensive, much more so than China, so that might affect how long you stay in each country...

[chinatourguide1]

Hi,bjkizza,

Just per our experience, below Tips are for your reference:

1)If you travel to China through plane, then round trip ticket is better since normally if you buy round instead of single trip ticket, you can get very better discount through some agents in your country.

2)Per season Dec & Jan, it is winter with cold seasons in China , you may need to take thickness clothes or you can buy in China market ( it is cheaper also and can help you to reduce your packages since you travel as backpackers)

3)As for Yangtze River, in this season, you still can try to visit it & you can enjoy different scenery for this season.

4)As backpacker, hostel (www.worldhostel.com) is a good choice if need to save money.
On the other hand, in some cities , you can also try to China local character's hotel.
They are also small and clean hotel & you can see different side.

Have a good trip & drop us a message if you meet any problem in China trip!

It is our pleasure to extend our support to you when necessary.

Yours sincerely,
Susan Zheng
Location: Shanghai,China