Some kind of guide / best practices for booking Chinese bullet train trips?
Aug 4, 2019, 8:06 am
#16
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: China and Canada
Posts: 1,886
Aug 4, 2019, 11:17 am
#17
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Montana
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 149
I booked mine at travelchinaguide. Same trip in September. Booking was easy and paid via cc on paypal. For $7, they will deliver to your hotel, which ch I s what I opted for. I received a confirmation of booking immediately and an update the following day stating that tickets are released 28-30 days prior to departure date. It said I would receive an update after tickets are confirmed. We will see how it works out.
Aug 4, 2019, 7:45 pm
#18
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I booked mine at travelchinaguide. Same trip in September. Booking was easy and paid via cc on paypal. For $7, they will deliver to your hotel, which ch I s what I opted for. I received a confirmation of booking immediately and an update the following day stating that tickets are released 28-30 days prior to departure date. It said I would receive an update after tickets are confirmed. We will see how it works out.
Aug 4, 2019, 9:11 pm
#19
Join Date: Feb 2006
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I believe trip.com and ctrip are the same company, with trip.com targeting sales outside of China. Anyway, I purchase my domestic China air and rail tickets on Ctrip and it works fine. I personally prefer purchasing all the tickets ahead and picking them up at a rail station at a convenient time after I arrive in China. You can change the rail ticket only once, after which you must refund and repurchase.
China HSR includes not only “G” trains but also “D” trains that make more stops (similar to the distinction between Nozomi and Kodama trains on the Japanese Shinkansen) and “C” trains, which typically operate nonstop and at frequent intervals between two regional cities (e.g., Beijing and Tianjin).
China HSR includes not only “G” trains but also “D” trains that make more stops (similar to the distinction between Nozomi and Kodama trains on the Japanese Shinkansen) and “C” trains, which typically operate nonstop and at frequent intervals between two regional cities (e.g., Beijing and Tianjin).
Aug 5, 2019, 1:38 pm
#20
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Hi All,
I ended up going with trip.com. I figured I would write up some of my experiences below for anyone else who chooses to go down this route...
I ended up going with trip.com. I figured I would write up some of my experiences below for anyone else who chooses to go down this route...
- The site was super easy to use and navigate.
- One confusing part is that you don't choose the number of passengers in the beginning. You add passengers at the end, assuming you want more than one.
- The site does not tell you what the rate for a child ticket is, but it tells you that it will charge you the adult rate and then refund the difference for a child ticket once the ticket is issued.
- Making a booking doesn't mean you have a ticket issued. I created a reservation, and it tells me that my train tickets should be issued "on our before August 26" and that I'll get another email once they're confirmed.
- This also means that being able to book does not mean there is availability. I still don't have tickets, and while I'm pretty far in advance so I feel fine about getting seats, I have not been guaranteed seats.
- There was no option to select dropoff at hotel or anything like that.
Aug 5, 2019, 1:56 pm
#21
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 3,097
Rail tickets are generally available only one month before travel, though sometimes the period is changed by the railway administration. So there's no good reason to book before then.
Otherwise, ctrip normally sends your confirmation within a couple hours.
Note that that China Rail shuts down for online bookings, including bookings by agents, every night from 11pm to 6am Beijing time. So you won't receive confirmations from ctrip during this period.
Otherwise, ctrip normally sends your confirmation within a couple hours.
Note that that China Rail shuts down for online bookings, including bookings by agents, every night from 11pm to 6am Beijing time. So you won't receive confirmations from ctrip during this period.
Aug 5, 2019, 2:53 pm
#22
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: LON
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I'm not sure if you've travelled much in China before, but despite your misgivings (which are all perfectly valid!), the Trip.com process is a walk in the park compared to some of the challenges I've come across on the ground. Trying to secure road transport in rural Yunnan is a different matter entirely!
Aug 5, 2019, 2:55 pm
#23
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Location: SFO
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I have spent about a month in China total over the past ten years, but I have never traveled with my family there before - always business. And I have never done rail travel - just local metro / cab / airplane.
Aug 5, 2019, 4:33 pm
#24
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: China and Canada
Posts: 1,886
" "on our before August 26" - I don't understand that part. Tickets are issued 30 days ahead of travel date. Sometimes there is a bit of a delay when schedules are being revised or that sort of thing. So it should say "on or after August 26" (assuming that you travel date is September 24.
Aug 5, 2019, 4:34 pm
#25
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" "on our before August 26" - I don't understand that part. Tickets are issued 30 days ahead of travel date. Sometimes there is a bit of a delay when schedules are being revised or that sort of thing. So it should say "on or after August 26" (assuming that you travel date is September 24.
Aug 5, 2019, 5:14 pm
#26
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 42,037
Did you manage to opt out of the insurance? In my experience, ctrip likes to switch up the opt out process on a semi regular basis.
Aug 6, 2019, 9:17 am
#27
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: China and Canada
Posts: 1,886
These tickets will be available August 19. I don't understand why they would wait (at least) an extra week to buy them.
"The site does not tell you what the rate for a child ticket is, but it tells you that it will charge you the adult rate and then refund the difference for a child ticket once the ticket is issued" - also a strange practice as they know the price of child tickets.
"The site does not tell you what the rate for a child ticket is, but it tells you that it will charge you the adult rate and then refund the difference for a child ticket once the ticket is issued" - also a strange practice as they know the price of child tickets.