China Solo Travel: Your Ultimate Guide (Part 2)
Booking Hotels and Train Tickets: Conquering the Apps
Navigating China's travel booking scene solo can feel daunting, especially when you're new to it and apps are predominantly in Chinese. But don't worry, My's here to break it all down so you can feel like a local!
Your Go-To Travel Apps: Hotels, Trains, and Flights
You're likely familiar with popular booking platforms like Trip.com, Agoda, Booking.com, and Traveloka for travel in Vietnam and beyond. In China, Trip.com reigns supreme, boasting the widest selection of hotels and the best prices. While Agoda and Booking.com often offer better deals elsewhere, Trip.com's dominance in China stems from its roots as a Shanghai-based Chinese company. It's so integrated that it's your default app for booking flights and trains within Alipay, truly positioning it as China's go-to super app for international visitors.
Trip.com is also the ONLY platform in China where foreigners can purchase train tickets. While locals have access to various railway websites, these are often cumbersome for international users due to requirements like Chinese national ID numbers and language barriers. Train ticket prices on Trip.com are comparable to buying directly at the station, with a small processing fee of around 5-10% added.
A crucial point for train travel in China: you generally need to book your tickets at least a day in advance, and ideally three days ahead. Tickets frequently sell out, sometimes for the entire following week. Trying to book for tomorrow or the day after today will likely end in disappointment. Therefore, using Trip.com to secure your tickets in advance is essential for independent travelers. The app even offers a 'waitlist' feature; if someone cancels or changes their booking, you can snag those released tickets instantly. It's beneficial to familiarize yourself with China's high-speed and conventional trains, station layouts, and typical routes. Jumping straight into the booking interface without this background knowledge can be confusing, but with practice, you'll get the hang of it.
Flight prices on Trip.com are also quite competitive, often featuring routes not even listed on international platforms like Agoda.
Setting up your credit card on Trip.com is straightforward, allowing seamless booking for train tickets, SIM cards, and hotels. The platform offers both English and Vietnamese interfaces, and crucially, their customer support is multilingual, including Vietnamese speakers. Unlike other apps, My has found it challenging to connect with support staff elsewhere.
CTrip: The Chinese-Centric Version with More Options
CTrip.com is essentially Trip.com's interface tailored for Chinese users, featuring a significantly larger inventory of hotels, often at better price points. While the app is exclusively in Chinese, you can easily navigate the website version using your browser's translation feature (like in Safari or Chrome). Simply go to ctrip.com and select 'Translate Page'.
CTrip offers substantially more hotel choices than Trip.com, and you'll discover more budget-friendly options. However, the payment process can be more intricate. It's fair to say that hotels listed on Trip.com undergo a higher level of selection, which is reflected in their pricing. If you find yourself in a more remote area with limited or extremely expensive options on Trip.com, exploring CTrip can reveal hidden gems. Once you find a suitable hotel on CTrip, you can then head there directly.
Once hotel bookings are sorted, the next step is figuring out convenient, economical, and efficient ways to get around. This topic is extensive, so My will share those details in a future post. Remember to share this guide for easy reference – My doesn't check direct messages very often!
Cre: Nguyễn Ngọc Trà My
