travel advice (through China south to Vietnam)

travel advice (through China south to Vietnam)
Jan 12, 2009 17:36
guest03230	Hi all, i'm off to China for the first time with a friend this summer, we are landing in Beijing and plan to spend about 4 days in the city before traveling south stopping of at the classic tourist locations (Panda reserve, Guilin etc) but also want to witness more of the culture and travel off the beaten track, any advice on good locations from your experience? also what would be the best method of transport around the country? We then plan to enter Vietnam, anyone know of any complications regarding this issue? i presume i'll require a double entry visa? is this harder to come by when compared to the usual one entry visa? thanks a lot for your time!

Jan 12, 2009 17:36

guest03230

Hi all, i'm off to China for the first time with a friend this summer, we are landing in Beijing and plan to spend about 4 days in the city before traveling south stopping of at the classic tourist locations (Panda reserve, Guilin etc) but also want to witness more of the culture and travel off the beaten track, any advice on good locations from your experience? also what would be the best method of transport around the country? We then plan to enter Vietnam, anyone know of any complications regarding this issue? i presume i'll require a double entry visa? is this harder to come by when compared to the usual one entry visa?
thanks a lot for your time!

Jan 14, 2009 03:51	#1
GUEST03230	bump- anyone? would be much appreciated!

Jan 15, 2009 18:17

APAULT
Points:
Join Date: Mar 11, 2006
Status: Offline

Yes, you will need a double entry visa which is not usually any more difficult to obtain than a single entry.

If you check out past threads on travel, you will see that you can choose train travel and bus. I mostly use buses as they are easier to book at short notice. There are difficulties, like multiple bus stations in each city (there are 18 in Guangzhou, for example) and often little knowledge in one bus station about what runs from the others. There is also little information on the internet in English about buses. To get off the beaten track is not always easy if you don't speak Chinese. If you can't get local info in advamce, try looking for older, smaller buses, sometimes just behingd the main bus station. Failing that, head out of town on a road heading in the right direction and wave down buses that come by.

I suggest looking for established off the road routes that are documented in various books and websites. As you mentioned Guilin, take buses from Guilin to Sanjiang and then the locally famous wooden bridges at Chengyang bridge, then continue through the mountains to Kaili. All this journey is thrrough excellent scenery and Dong and Miao villages.

Number one advice, don't try to do too much too quickly - it takes time to gather info, you will not find the right roads or buses, and so on. Even when I travel with Chinese we meet a few problems.

Jan 20, 2009 04:16	#3
ELLYSE Points: Join Date: Oct 30, 2005 Status: Offline	Eh, why would you need a double-entry visa? Did I miss something? It looks like you're arriving in Beijing, travelling around China, then exiting to Vietnam. If that's correct, you'll only need a single-entry visa. How much time and money do you have? What month (of summer) are you coming in?

Jan 26, 2009 00:06	#4
GUEST03230	Hi, i will be entering china on 24th June, staying for 4 months. I will then be entering china again to get back to my flight in beijing! so am planning a clockwise round trip! Thanks greatly for the advice apult, that route sounds interesting.

Jan 26, 2009 19:01	#5
DSATAN Points: Join Date: Jan 23, 2009 Status: Offline	If you come to fenghuang (phoenix town),I can translate the language for you...13574396954 is my TEL number.I can help you to rent a car whith driver,help you to book your room. My English name is John......I am a good private guide,.MSN:qq.com\|84945666

Jan 29, 2009 04:16	#6
ELLYSE Points: Join Date: Oct 30, 2005 Status: Offline	You might have some problems. The maximum amount of time on each entry is usually 30 days, and you can usually get at least 1 extension in the country, and most probably a 2nd extension as well. However, that would only give you a maximum of 3 months (if you're successful all round), not 4 months.

Jan 29, 2009 04:17	#7
ELLYSE Points: Join Date: Oct 30, 2005 Status: Offline	Also, if you get an extension on your 1st entry, I think I've heard reports that your 2nd entry gets cancelled. So if you want to get extensions on a double-entry visa, do it on your 2nd entry!

Jan 31, 2009 15:05	#8
GUEST03230	oh dear slight typo there! i meant 4 weeks! sorry! Is it easy enough to enter china from vietnam? i have heard that some entry points are harder than others?

Feb 1, 2009 21:33	#9
ELLYSE Points: Join Date: Oct 30, 2005 Status: Offline	There're two open land borders between mainland China and Vietnam. One is Friendship Pass (Hanoi-Nanning) going to Guangxi province, the other is Lao Cai-Hekou going to Yunnan province. I think the former is the easier one. Also note that travellers have reported having Lonely Planet China (or perhaps other guidebooks) confiscated when going from Vietnam to mainland China at the latter border.

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