stuff726

Hi, I'm new to the forum here. I would like to travel from New York to Hong Kong in Nov. and then from Dalian China (DLC) back to New York, with a 3 day stopover in Seoul (either going there or coming back). I called an agent and she said with stopovers, the price is $1700+ (but with no stopovers it's only $835).

I seem to recall that Nippon Airlines could let you do a stopover in Tokyo (Narita, I think) for an extra $100 last year. Does Asiana not let you do that? If I can't get a stopover at a reasonable price (under $950), does anyone know how I can get a long layover 15+ hour). I've seen some posts in this forum from London or Australia that has long layovers.

Thanks for your help!

A_Lee

Normally OZ has cheap V fares which prohbit any stopovers in ICN. I know because I tried to check into them a while back as they were really good deals. But from what I could determine, there is absolutely no way to wrangel a stopover in Seoul with one of these fares. Is this a V fare you're looking at? Sorry I don't have any good suggestions for you, maybe someone else will.

stuff726

Thanks A_Lee. I'm not sure what class of fare the agent was looking at (how can you tell?), but it's probably the cheapest class. I guess it probably won't work. Do you know what their rules are on layovers? If there's two connecting flights from Seoul to New York, say one with a 5 hour layover and another with a 18 hour layover, can I book using the earlier flight and then ask to change to the later one? Does that depend on your booking class too?

I was looking at going through Dubai earlier (they had an amazing deal from New York to Hong Kong and back from Beijing for around $850), but when I called their New York office about it they said the price with layover is $1500+. I checked their Chinese website and they allowed layovers for about 8000 RMB (just under U.S. $1200), but it's coming to New York from China (argh!).

I'm a big fan of long layovers. Last time I travelled to Asia I had a transfer in Vancouver (enroute to Taipei) and I had 21 hours before my connecting flight. It was awesome because I got to visit the city and around for a day, something that I would have never been able to do otherwise. I'm desparately trying to replicate something like that in my trip this time around.

I think if I can't have a long stop in Korea my best shot at getting a layover/stopover is in Japan. The agent I contacted told me to call back on Monday for Japan deals. So I'm going to try on Monday.

flytofly

From a traveler's point of view, I would go for the Japan deal.
IMHO, there aren't much to see in Seoul, compared with Tokyo.


Just My Two Cents.

looksmart

If you can't get a stopover at a reasonable price and have a flexible schedule, you may consider purchasing a separate return ticket from Dalian to Seoul which usually runs around USD $200 - $250 round trip. It's cheaper to buy tickets in China - mostly through a travel agent and November is not really the busy season. Both Asiana and Korean Air have one daily and China Southern has 2 daily flights. There is also an overnight ferry - about 15 hrs served by Dain Ferry from Dalian to Incheon, 3 times a week. If you choose above options, make sure you have a multiple entry visa to China.

DownUnderFlyer

There are world heritage listed sites in Seoul and I wouldn't know where to start to recommend things to do. Plus you can do the DMZ tour which is great as well.

ethelman

couldn't agree less- apart from the cost of getting into Tokyo, Seoul has lots of easly accessible things to see and do.
I may be jaundiced by my visits to Tokyo, and have missed a lot there, so.....

A_Lee

I also would choose Seoul over Tokyo. Having spent lots of time in both though, neither hold any interest to me currently, but both were exciting on my first ever trip to those cities. Seoul though was much cheaper, not as crowded, and more to my liking. Of course everybody's tastes are different.

stuff726

Thank you all for your very helpful advice. I ended up buying a ticket through Emirates. I'll be doing a 20 hour transfer at Dubai (both ways) instead before heading over to China. Considering it's was $832 and I have never been to that part of the world before, it was too good of a deal to pass on.

I have Korea and Japan on my lists for next time!

Explore SE Asia

Late reply - Remember a layover of less than 24hrs in a city is NOT considered a stopover on an international ticket. Usually you can have a layover of less than 24 hours in any city you are transiting at no additional cost.

Explore

Airgroovin

I have spent a lot of time in both cities and they have a lot to offer... Either way, a great trip awaits you...

Both ICN & NRT are far away from the city - and it can prove costly to get into the city proper.

How anyone can be 'jaundiced' by Tokyo, I'll never know!

IMO it's one of the best megalopolis' on the planet... The food, people, culture, shopping and beautiful sites make Tokyo an amazing place to visit...

All that said, we all have different tastes...

Cheers,

AG. :-:

ethelman

I said "jaundiced by my visits"- which have been short business trips, not jaundiced by Tokyo. It MAY be ( and probably is) a beautiful city etc but I did not see that in my 24 hour stays.

Airgroovin

OIC... 24 hours clearly does not provide nearly enough time to explore a city like Tokyo...

Cheers,

AG. :-: