2 Silk Road Itineraries: 9 day and 12 day
Mar 30, 2011, 11:02 am
#1
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
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Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 42,136
2 Silk Road Itineraries: 9 day and 12 day
Earlier today, my friend asked me to help his friend tweak a Silk Road itinerary. Since his original plan wasn't viable, I spent about 40 minutes providing him with a 9 day and a 12 day option. Given the number of threads we have about itineraries here, I thought you guys might appreciate my research, so I've adapted my email to him and am posting it here.
Both trips can be initiated from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi'an, Hong Kong (basically all cities that have direct flights to/from Lanzhou/Wulumuqi).
In terms of budget, I'm going to estimate $800 for the 9-day trip and $1100 for the 12-day trip, assuming: 1) soft sleepers on trains whenever available; 2) BJ/SH departure/arrival -- can mix and match, but these two cities feature cheaper air fares than most of the others; 3) average hotel cost is $40/night; and 4) demand for travel to that region remains low.
Notes:
-while infrequent China travelers may be intimidated by the some of the logistics at play here (i.e. very few advanced reservations), with a guidebook, cell phone, and maybe an Ipad type device, it's pretty easy to travel out there
-unless air fares start to rise suddenly, there isn't much point in locking in your flight from Wulumuqi back to civilization until after you start your trip
-you can also do it in reverse (similar timeline)
Both trips can be initiated from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi'an, Hong Kong (basically all cities that have direct flights to/from Lanzhou/Wulumuqi).
In terms of budget, I'm going to estimate $800 for the 9-day trip and $1100 for the 12-day trip, assuming: 1) soft sleepers on trains whenever available; 2) BJ/SH departure/arrival -- can mix and match, but these two cities feature cheaper air fares than most of the others; 3) average hotel cost is $40/night; and 4) demand for travel to that region remains low.
Notes:
-while infrequent China travelers may be intimidated by the some of the logistics at play here (i.e. very few advanced reservations), with a guidebook, cell phone, and maybe an Ipad type device, it's pretty easy to travel out there
-unless air fares start to rise suddenly, there isn't much point in locking in your flight from Wulumuqi back to civilization until after you start your trip
-you can also do it in reverse (similar timeline)
Get yourself a plane ticket to Lanzhou for April 2nd. This should cost less than $100, all-in.
Then, plan on spending a lot of time on trains (buy a good guidebook in order to kill dead time on the train and optimize your plans). The train goes all the way from Lanzhou to Kashgar (Kashi), and you can spend as much or as little time at various cities/towns along the way as you please. I traveled around there in 2006 so I have some sense of what is worth seeing and what isn't. But, consider something along the lines of the following:
-April 2-one night in Lanzhou; ask hotel to help you book train ticket to Jiayuguan (the city in which the Great Wall terminates)
-it is likely that the train will be an overnight train, which will put you in Jiayuguan on April 4
-apart from the usual tourist sites, there is a bathhouse near the train station there that is pretty impressive
-you can either stay overnight in Jiayuguan, or try to make it to Dunhuang the same evening (there are fast trains between Jiayuguan and Dunhuang, but the one we ended up on was painfully slow... no big deal because we made it)
-But, let's just assume you do spend the night in Jiayuguan; you'll end up at Dunhuang on April 5, hopefully early enough to catch the sand dunes while there is still daylight
-Ask your hotel in Dunhuang to help you book an overnight train to Turpan on April 6
-Visit the grottos on the morning of April 6 and then cruise around town (I forget what else there is to do there, but it was a nice enough place)
-Arrive in Turpan on the morning of April 7
-Turpan (or Tulufan) is worth two full days, in my opinion; rent a bike, check out the vineyards and the old city, the mosque, and hang out in the cafes. If you go this route, that brings us to the evening of April 9 (seven days) after you leave
-My friend told me you only have 9 days for this trip. If so, then simply head up to Wulumuqi and try to do as much as possible before flying back from Wulumuqi to Shanghai on April 11 (evening). Wulumuqi itself is not a very nice place, but there are some interesting spots within 2 hours bus ride. Consult your guidebook to see what you might be able to squeeze in.
************************************************** ********
BUT, if you can stretch it out to ~12 days, then you might want to try to head all the way to Kashgar. You can either fly from Wulumuqi, or continue on the train from Turpan. That train is kind of neat (beautiful scenery), but since Turpan to Kashgar requires 24 hours, most people like to stop somewhere in the middle; Kuche is particularly popular, though there isn't much in Kuche
-take overnight train from Turpan to Kuche on April 9
-arrive in Kuche on April 10
-spend the night there, and continue onto Kashgar on April 11
-whether you get a day or night train, April 11 is basically shot, so April 12 would be your first usable day in Kashgar
-plan on spending 3 or 4 days there; if you don't head up into the mountains, 2 days might be sufficient
-but, let's assume, 3 days, 2 nights for now
-fly Kashgar-Wulumuqi-Shanghai on the afternoon of April 14
Then, plan on spending a lot of time on trains (buy a good guidebook in order to kill dead time on the train and optimize your plans). The train goes all the way from Lanzhou to Kashgar (Kashi), and you can spend as much or as little time at various cities/towns along the way as you please. I traveled around there in 2006 so I have some sense of what is worth seeing and what isn't. But, consider something along the lines of the following:
-April 2-one night in Lanzhou; ask hotel to help you book train ticket to Jiayuguan (the city in which the Great Wall terminates)
-it is likely that the train will be an overnight train, which will put you in Jiayuguan on April 4
-apart from the usual tourist sites, there is a bathhouse near the train station there that is pretty impressive
-you can either stay overnight in Jiayuguan, or try to make it to Dunhuang the same evening (there are fast trains between Jiayuguan and Dunhuang, but the one we ended up on was painfully slow... no big deal because we made it)
-But, let's just assume you do spend the night in Jiayuguan; you'll end up at Dunhuang on April 5, hopefully early enough to catch the sand dunes while there is still daylight
-Ask your hotel in Dunhuang to help you book an overnight train to Turpan on April 6
-Visit the grottos on the morning of April 6 and then cruise around town (I forget what else there is to do there, but it was a nice enough place)
-Arrive in Turpan on the morning of April 7
-Turpan (or Tulufan) is worth two full days, in my opinion; rent a bike, check out the vineyards and the old city, the mosque, and hang out in the cafes. If you go this route, that brings us to the evening of April 9 (seven days) after you leave
-My friend told me you only have 9 days for this trip. If so, then simply head up to Wulumuqi and try to do as much as possible before flying back from Wulumuqi to Shanghai on April 11 (evening). Wulumuqi itself is not a very nice place, but there are some interesting spots within 2 hours bus ride. Consult your guidebook to see what you might be able to squeeze in.
************************************************** ********
BUT, if you can stretch it out to ~12 days, then you might want to try to head all the way to Kashgar. You can either fly from Wulumuqi, or continue on the train from Turpan. That train is kind of neat (beautiful scenery), but since Turpan to Kashgar requires 24 hours, most people like to stop somewhere in the middle; Kuche is particularly popular, though there isn't much in Kuche
-take overnight train from Turpan to Kuche on April 9
-arrive in Kuche on April 10
-spend the night there, and continue onto Kashgar on April 11
-whether you get a day or night train, April 11 is basically shot, so April 12 would be your first usable day in Kashgar
-plan on spending 3 or 4 days there; if you don't head up into the mountains, 2 days might be sufficient
-but, let's assume, 3 days, 2 nights for now
-fly Kashgar-Wulumuqi-Shanghai on the afternoon of April 14
Apr 3, 2011, 11:13 am
#4
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 42,136
update: 5 day itin
Since the friend of the friend couldn't fit either of above trips into his schedule, I helped him craft a 5/6 day itinerary, in which he is currently undertaking.
He flew from Shanghai to Xi'an on Friday evening, spent a day and a night there, flew from there to Dunhuang Sunday morning, and left for Turpan the same evening (by bus; I tried to get him to try for the --much more comfortable -- train, but he buckled under the pressure of his hotel staff). He'll stay in Turpan for one or two nights.
While the above isn't so glamorous, it works, and makes sense for those of you who don't have much time to spare (good point: Dunhuang's airport is extremely convenient; bad point: those flights are almost always full fare).
He flew from Shanghai to Xi'an on Friday evening, spent a day and a night there, flew from there to Dunhuang Sunday morning, and left for Turpan the same evening (by bus; I tried to get him to try for the --much more comfortable -- train, but he buckled under the pressure of his hotel staff). He'll stay in Turpan for one or two nights.
While the above isn't so glamorous, it works, and makes sense for those of you who don't have much time to spare (good point: Dunhuang's airport is extremely convenient; bad point: those flights are almost always full fare).
Apr 17, 2011, 8:06 am
#5
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Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 42,136
Trip to Kashgar starting on May 8
Two more friends of a friend are heading out there on May 8, and I'm going to try my best to join them (with 3g wireless, it's pretty easy to get work done from anywhere in China, including on trains traveling through the desert).
These guys are locked into a (tight) four day itinerary; they will spend a 2 days in Kashgar, take a 23 hour train ride to Turpan, and then fly back to Beijing from Urumqi.
If I join them, I will do Kashgar with them and take the same train, but get off in Kuche, continue on to Turpan the following night, and make my way back towards Shanghai over land. In the event I get tired of spending alternate nights on trains, there are several opportunities along the way (Lanzhou, Xi'an, Hefei, etc) to simply fly to Shanghai and close out the trip.
I figure the entire trip would consume around 10 days and set me back about $1200 (including the plane ticket from Shanghai back to Beijing, which would not be necessary if I didn't want to visit Shanghai, obviously).
Bottom line: the "friends of the friend" are already committed to this venture, and my participation is 70% certain. But, even if I can't make it, I will do everything in my power to ensure that those guys have a good trip (e.g. easy to cancel ctrip hotel rooms and on call cell phone support; this might come in handy if they end with hard seats on the 23 hour train ride and aspire to escape that plight).... basically, I'd be serving as a (100% free) remote tour operator. If any of you fancy joining in, get yourselves plane tix to Kashgar on May 8 and contact me.
These guys are locked into a (tight) four day itinerary; they will spend a 2 days in Kashgar, take a 23 hour train ride to Turpan, and then fly back to Beijing from Urumqi.
If I join them, I will do Kashgar with them and take the same train, but get off in Kuche, continue on to Turpan the following night, and make my way back towards Shanghai over land. In the event I get tired of spending alternate nights on trains, there are several opportunities along the way (Lanzhou, Xi'an, Hefei, etc) to simply fly to Shanghai and close out the trip.
I figure the entire trip would consume around 10 days and set me back about $1200 (including the plane ticket from Shanghai back to Beijing, which would not be necessary if I didn't want to visit Shanghai, obviously).
Bottom line: the "friends of the friend" are already committed to this venture, and my participation is 70% certain. But, even if I can't make it, I will do everything in my power to ensure that those guys have a good trip (e.g. easy to cancel ctrip hotel rooms and on call cell phone support; this might come in handy if they end with hard seats on the 23 hour train ride and aspire to escape that plight).... basically, I'd be serving as a (100% free) remote tour operator. If any of you fancy joining in, get yourselves plane tix to Kashgar on May 8 and contact me.