Four or Five Days in Early January? Aruba Wins!

October 9, 2010 - Rick

After searching through my vouchers and coupons folder I found $850 of AA gift cards that worked out just perfect for a 5 night trip to Aruba. The flights worked well as we can fly non-stop to Miami and then direct to Aruba. I’ve got some 500 mile upgrades as well that may get credited with my platinum status. The ticket cost was $500 each and after the vouchers came to $199.90 out of pocket. That and a free room is my kind of trip.

Our hotel is the Westin Aruba Resort and Casino. The category is cat 4 at 10,000 points per night or $342 (not). I did the 5th night free option so 40K in SPG points. Early January is the coldest month on Hilton Head so our timing appears fine. And word has it, they have a casino onsite. That may increase my trip cost somewhat????

Ernst

Don't be a typical tourist and visit BaDaLing – the closest Great Wall tour location to Beijing… Here's a trip report from Beijing if you are interested – http://xernstx.blogspot.com/2008/05/beijing-trip-report.html – any questions, contact me!
Susan

Our daughter was just there last spring and did a 3 day wall hike. I emailed her for info and will pass it on!
Anonymous

An un-crowded alternative to the standard tourist visit to the Great Wall is to see it at Mutianyu. That's a little town near Beijing. For fun, you can ride the toboggan down from the wall after the visit. A 1/4-mile(?) walk down the (only) street takes you to The Schoolhouse at Mutianyu for lunch or dinner.
Alex

I booked a US airways award to Australia this past summer that allowed me to stopover in Shanghai on the return. You could likely do that type of routing with US, CO, or AC awards. Also ANA — often overlooked in that regard but a great AMEX partner that allows many stopovers.

There is no frugal way to get a chinese visa
Anonymous

Agree with Ernst (and from his report, it looks like we did the same exact things!) – you can't just get on the wall from any location, but the first one out of Beijing is lame. Be warned – the climbing is harsh and tough on your cardiovascular system – both going up the wall and then along the wall. Or maybe I was just out of shape!

Xi'an and Shanghai are also excellent visiting locations. I found Beijing harder than Shanghi in terms of language barriers…Xi'an is even worse. But worth it…
Wei

I think United, Continental and of course, Air China fly to China.

Check out Yellow Mountain. All my American friends who visited there loved it. Also the food is great. A tour guide might be good for you since English is not widely spoken and used in China. But for Beijing and Shanghai, you should be fine.

And also try to avoid holiday season in China, Oct.1-7, any time around Spring Festival when public transportation is fully packed with people going home.
Ace

take a look at dandeals.com/forums there was a guy that posted a great china report trip and that included the great wall
Anonymous

You said you might be interested in taking a river cruise. You might want to look into the Viking River Cruises' China tours.
We have taken the Europe tour, but not the China tour. We really enjoyed it the the food was very good!
Anonymous

hey frugaltravelguy,
just saw your post on china! thought to share with you *a currently has great partnerships in china (air china and shanghai airlines, for now at least). i recently went using my CO points – you can route from hk to beijing or shanghai with a stopover in either city, then back to hk – only 30k miles for business class! beats buying a ticket! and you can hit two cities in one shot! but hurry, ithink shanghai airlinese is leaving *a.

have fun! and i go to mutianyu great wall – it's soo much less crowded!
Anonymous

Dad,
Perhaps I'll meet you there? When would you be looking to go? I must admit I'd be really keen to fly from Beijing to Ulaanbataar, Mongolia for the Naadam festival in July. Do a search. Cultural immersion is your friend!
Anonymous

Asiana will also get you to China via Seoul but you need to depart from either ORD or JFK. As for Nepal….do that when you go to India, it's much closer.

I hired a private guide while I was in China and while a bit more expensive it was worth every $
Bowei

As mentioned, UA/CO/CA has non-stop flight to China. If you don't mind connections, there are a lot more better options to across the water, say SQ/NH/OZ/TG.

For the hotel, I would recommend you to try Park Hyatt Beijing/Shanghai especially when you get your new Hyatt Visa Card. I stayed at the PH Shanghai this Summer when it was still the toppest hotel in the world… Fantastic.
Bowei

As mentioned, CO/UA/CA has non-stop services to Beijing/Shanghai. If you don't mind connections, there are much better options to across the water, say SQ/NH/OZ/TG.

For hotels, I would recommend you to try Park Hyatt Beijing/Shanghai once you receive your Hyatt Visa card. I stayed at PH Shanghai this Summer when it was still the toppest hotel in the world… Fantastic.

Feel free to contact me should you have any questions.
britinva

You definitely need a visa to enter mainland China, but don't need one for Hong Kong (but you probably need one). For great seafood travel an hour outside of Beijing to Dalian (by plane). Very close to North Korea too. Just be careful not to cross that border! Have fun. I've been 3 times this year for work and going again later this year to Beijing. Usually stay at the Grand Hyatt, the Park is a little too $$ for work but using your hyatt points I agree Park Hyatt is best.
Anonymous

You need to get a chinese visa before you head out. I believe it needs to be done a few weeks beforehand and can only be done in certain cities. I would also second the mutianyu section of the wall. It's less commercial and more authentic. Nepal is a far ways away from Beijing. Even Tibet is fairly far.
Mark McGowan

I have used BC Visa to get visas to China. BC Visa is out of Houston so you only have to FedEx your passport to them. Also, I would get a multi entry visa as they are the same price as the single entry. You can then go to Hong Kong or other places in the middle of your trip. I am currently living here and within China, Air China is the way to go.
Mark McGowan

Also, there is a Great Wall Sheraton that a lot of people recommend.
Katie M

I agree with others to pass Badaling for further out Great Wall visits. I went to the next closet and there were maybe 30 other tourists visiting. We (my friend) hired a taxi driver to take us out, wait until we were done, then drive us back in. It was worth every cent. As far as visa's are concerned, I sent mine to a company that process visa's for you. It was recommended to me as the fastest and easiest. I really want to go back to China and take my husband. It was great!

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