China Travel Forum

[CADYNA]

Hi all,
I am planning a tour to china in november with a few friends, and we need a bit of help.
I am looking to fly from beijing, do a cruise on the yangtze for a few days and then fly on down to Hong Kong.
Can you advise what is the best/economical way to do a cruise? is it better to book it locally? ideally i would like to book it before i travel, does anyone know any useful websites for this?
Also, what is the best way to book internal flights? again, are there any websites for this and any airlines i should aim to use?
Any other information about cruising the yangtze, and is it worth doing would be much appreciated. or any do's and dont's would be helpful too!
thanks in advance,

[kamal]

Here is my 'summary', and hope it is useful despite a bit out of date:
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/18aef/f9c79/
You can buy 'internal' flight tickets once you get there. If you have a very tight schedule in Beijing, then communicate with your hotel, they should be able to help you. Or check www.ctrip.com or www.elong.com, two reputable websites of China. They both sell flight tickets (I have used their hotel reservations but not never bought the plane tickets from them).
Cruise ships aimed for foreign tourists are the most expensive, less so those for domestic tourists, least are ships for transportation that local use. If you want comfortable/luxury, go for the first type; if you enjoy hopping among small towns/villages along the river, then go to the last.
The view from those hill top vilages looking down the Yangtze river below is much more dramatic than looking up the cliffs from a cruise ship.
Have a good time.

[jabaroo]

Just posted this same information for another traveler but fear it may be too late.
Domestic Chinese airline tickets are much cheaper if purchased here. Only need a few days preflight to purchase in November and possible get a good discount. Your hotel can do this for you.

For train and flight schedules and recommended flight fares check www.chinatravelguide.com and lots of good travel review here too.

Yangste is worth seeing still but if you are pushed for time you can take the bus from Chongqing to Wanzhou Y96 RMB 4 hour trip and catch the Hydrofoil downstream to Yichang a 5/6 hour trip if you choose not to stop.

You can get off and overnight in Wushan for Lessor Three Gorges or Badong for Shenlong stream . They only sail during daylight hours and it's about one hour between each of the stops. Just buy a ticket for as far as you want to go and buy another ticket for the next portion.

Wanzhou to Wushan approx Y100 Fengjie to Wushan Y45 and Wushan to Badong Y52 Sorry I haven't got the Badong to Yichang segment price now but all up no more than Y250 and quite a fast comfortable trip. You have to stand up and go outside to view the scenery but have to do this on most cruise ships anyway.

Hope this is useful