Hello everyone – long time FlyerTalker but first time poster. Reading through the China forum has provided invaluable tips and I’d like to thank all those who contributed and provided such great information. My girlfriend and I will be traveling to China this October for our first time and I had a couple specific questions as it relates to transportation. I’ve reviewed the master transportation and other threads but am still at a loss as to our best options. Also, it would be helpful if you could provide a quick critique of my itinerary (below). My first question is how best to hire a private driver in Beijing to tour the Great Wall (right now I’m considering Mutianyu). We’re staying at the Westin Chaoyang and know they could provide a car but was wondering if anyone had any recommended drivers they could PM me that would be less expensive than a hotel car?

Second question relates to domestic Chinese airfare, which I’m finding to be quite expensive considering what I’ve heard (maybe assumed) about domestic flights in China. As I mention below, we’ll be traveling from Beijing to Guilin (Yangshuo is the destination) and from Guilin to Hong Kong. Currently, ctrip is showing PEK-KWL is 1430rmb and KWL-HKG is 1329rmb. So total 2759/person total…as I plan to buy this week (before I can get my visa) I just wanted to verify this pricing is as expected and I’m not missing out on any discounts or anything.

Itinerary:
10/19 – 10/24, Beijing
10/24 – 10/27, Yangshuo (staying at Lee River Retreat – does anyone have any thoughts on this place?)
10/27 – 10/30, Hong Kong

Any thoughts or suggestions would be very helpful and much appreciated!

on elong for those days, I am seeing 1070+180 in Taxes for Y, and 1790 for Y+ (pek-kwl) it is a 40% off sale.

Then on the KWL-HKG 900RMB+280RMB in taxes on dragonair or 1040+289 on Cathay....so elong has some better pricing for sure.

I don't know about the retreat, but yes would highly recommend getting a driver in Beijing, some good sources here, I regret not doing it and trying to go it alone on my trip, the rain and taxi 'silent strikes' are really quite bad getting stranded out in the city!

PEK-KWL-HKG is a relatively expensive route, no matter how you slice it. If it makes you feel any better, PEK-HKG itself is also on the pricey side (you're basically getting the KWL stopover for free).

Regarding drivers, I suggest you go to the relevant thread, and work backwards (i.e. call the most recent drivers first). Or, if you want to save money, and are traveling on a weekend, join the "hiking around Beijing" group on beijingstuff.com.

We stayed at the Yangshuo Mountain Retreat and had a great experience. We considered the Li River Retreat as well, and I corresponded with them about some river trips. They were very responsive, and the location looked like it would be good.

By the way, I would highly recommend doing a sunrise Yangdi to Xingping Li river cruise on one of the little boat/rafts rather than taking the big boat trip all the way down from Guilin. We ended up arranging this through a guide, rather than through Li River Retreat, but I believe they do offer this trip as well as a few others. Spectacular scenery, best part of the river, and then the rest of the day to explore Yangshuo.

Thank you everyone for the prompt feedback! I've made initial contact with a couple drivers from the other thread - I plan on going with one of them. As for flights, given the route, looks like no point in waiting so I'll take a look at travelzen & ctrip again and then pick the best option before applying for our visa tomorrow.
I did look at Yangshuo mountain resort - that one looked really nice as well! I'll definitely consider the river cruise you suggested as I have not made specific plans yet for our time in the Yangshuo area.

Thanks again!

I stayed at Yangshuo Dongling Resort last October and have the highest praise. It's basic and clean and quiet, but a bit out of town (45 min walk or 10-15 min taxi). The best part is the family that runs it is extremely friendly and helpful at arranging trips in the area. Good breakfast and outstanding views (at least from our room).