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I have never been and am starting to do some long term research for a trip that is more than a year away. I'm having difficulty narrowing my focus and am interested in comments from those of you who have been there. Here are our interests and preliminary constraints.
1. 14 - 18 days duration.
2. We will use AA miles so will probably fly in/out of Hong Kong, Beijing, Tokyo or Seoul.
3. We have no problem with renting a car.
4. We like to experience the local food.
5. We like natural and man made wonders (great wall?) even if they are places where lots of tourists go.
6. We have minimal interest in museums.
7. May want to play golf.
8. We will get out to the country and smaller towns rather than just focus on the big cities.
9. We will go to at least two of the countries listed.
10. We will not go on a group tour longer than a half day. We like to explore on our own.
I know this is rather wide open but I have to start somewhere. Maybe some of you have a "must see" list in this area.
Be aware you need a visa for China (not for HK but for Beijing) that you must obtain before travel. Also, I would advise against renting a car, particularly in China. I am not even sure if that's possible.
If using AA miles, maybe you can visit two spots on one ticket - "open jaw" flights I think they call it. I did this a couple years ago for a trip to Europe using delta miles - US to Amsterdam to Prague to Amsterdam to US - all in points used for one round trip ticket to Europe. Explore the fine print you will be amazed how much you can squeeze out of those award mile options.
A couple of things I can think of--The Hong Kong money system is different from mainland China so you need different money.
You really don't want to drive in China. In the main cities public transportation is ok, you just have to figure out where to go. Most places have translated English maps.
Beijing has some cool history--Tieneman square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and the Wall. I recommend not going to the Badaling part of the Wall. Look up Mutanyu--fewer tourists there and more scenic.
I have never been and am starting to do some long term research for a trip that is more than a year away. I'm having difficulty narrowing my focus and am interested in comments from those of you who have been there. Here are our interests and preliminary constraints.
1. 14 - 18 days duration.
2. We will use AA miles so will probably fly in/out of Hong Kong, Beijing, Tokyo or Seoul.
3. We have no problem with renting a car.
1. 14 - 18 days is too much a hassle for 4 cities which are very far away from one other.
2. I'd drop Beijing. The air quality is **** 24/7 and you'll need a visa.
3. Nobody rents a car in the four cities you listed. HK, Tokyo, and Seoul have some of the best public transport systems in the entire world, and I'm not sure why but I just have never heard of anyone who has rented a car in China.
Yes, I've done the open jaw before. Unfortunately, you can no longer do that on AA. Every award segment is like one way and they don't allow stopovers.
So, we could fly to Tokyo using an award. Then fly to Hong Kong on a paid ticket. Then fly home from Hong Kong.
Honestly, I'd pick one country or a region within that country. Doing all three- I feel like you would spend more time traveling to and fro, checking in and out of hotels, etc...
We drove around Eastern Europe last summer on a two week trip including Poland, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary and Czech Republic. It was not a problem. The odds are that I will only go to the far east one time and I enjoy the different countries. I'm sure we will go to at least two countries and probably three.
My 25 yr old daughter did a solo 6 week vacation to Japan/China/Korea last fall, In Japan and Korea she stayed at youth hostels and had no problem joining up with other travelers to do daily trips here and there.
Her China part of the trip she went on an 18 day group tour,she said she was glad she did as she would never have got to half the places she went or even known some places existed without a guide, also communication would have been a real hassle as once outside the major cities its the rare person who speaks English.
Her group. http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g1...ps1f7xnlzo.jpg
I have never been and am starting to do some long term research for a trip that is more than a year away. I'm having difficulty narrowing my focus and am interested in comments from those of you who have been there. Here are our interests and preliminary constraints.
1. 14 - 18 days duration.
2. We will use AA miles so will probably fly in/out of Hong Kong, Beijing, Tokyo or Seoul.
3. We have no problem with renting a car.
4. We like to experience the local food.
5. We like natural and man made wonders (great wall?) even if they are places where lots of tourists go.
6. We have minimal interest in museums.
7. May want to play golf.
8. We will get out to the country and smaller towns rather than just focus on the big cities.
9. We will go to at least two of the countries listed.
10. We will not go on a group tour longer than a half day. We like to explore on our own.
I know this is rather wide open but I have to start somewhere. Maybe some of you have a "must see" list in this area.
Dn't rent a car; it's not worth it and its way too much hassle.
14-18 days is pretty tight, my guess is you would have to maybe focus on just 2 countries.
I just want to comment that if you are not going on tour groups, which I understand, you would really need to know some of the local language, i have been to China and Japan and don't be surprised if the staff at the international airport can't speak English.
On a last note, if you want to go to China, no matter what happens, please never go during the Golden Week period.
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