USEFUL WEBSITES
Do you want to know the best websites for booking flights, accommodation and everything else that makes for an amazing China trip? Then you have come to the right place!
Listed below are all the best travel websites that I actually use to plan my own epic China adventures.
*Contains affiliate links – please note by using one of these links I will get a small commission that will not affect your price.
FLIGHTS
This is my favourite website to search for flights - I have been using it for years. It has a 'search everywhere' function so you can find the cheapest destination to fly to in China. If you aren't fussy about your travel dates you can use its 'search by month' function to find the cheapest day to fly on.
It usually tells you which company is the cheapest to book with but sometimes it is better to go direct to the airline as you can get airline points.
Trip.com will feature a few times on this page because it is one of the best travel websites for booking things in China. We often book our flights with Trip.com as it is usually one of the cheapest options for flying to China. You also get ‘coins’ every time you book with them so you can save money in the future.
It also has the best prices and selection on domestic flights, so if you want to get your itinerary sorted in advance this is the way to go.
ACCOMODATION
Trip.com is a great place to search for hotels in China. It often has a larger selection than other websites, especially in smaller cities. Some hotels don’t accept foreigners in China, (this is usually very rural locations). If we have booked on Trip.com in the past they will always help us find an alternative or reimburse us for the inconvenience. Their customer service is great and you can use it conveniently on your app where all your bookings are saved on your phone.
Every time you use it you get ‘coins’ so you can often get a free night stay or money off a room once you have enough points.
Booking.com is the OG for booking hotels and hostels. When it comes to China I would use it to book in major cities maybe not more rural locations. I would also compare the prices with Trip.com to make sure that I’m getting the best deal.
Since being in China I have come across a few problems through no fault of Booking.com and their customer service has been incredible so I would highly recommend them.
TRAINS
You can’t come to China and not take a train. Whether that be one of the amazing high-speed trains or a slow sleeper to save on accommodation for a night.
Trip.com is the easiest and fastest way to book trains in China but they do slap on a booking fee for each ticket which is annoying. If you are booking everything else on Trip then it does make it easier to have it all in one place.
This website and app can be a little bit harder to use. Once you make an account it has an English language option so it works in pretty much the same way. The advantage to this is the booking fee is smaller so it really depends on your preference.
Trains can be a bit of a pain though to book as you can only book 2 weeks in advance. So I wouldn’t recommend trying to book trains over a national holiday as it will be difficult to get tickets. But the train prices don’t usually change much so it is a good way to budget your trip and also there are usually many trains throughout the day for major destinations.
You can reserve tickets but you still might not get any.
TRAVEL INSURANCE
When travelling around the world we have found Safetywing to be a great insurance provider. It is one of the only travel insurers we have found that don’t need you to be in your country of residence at the start of your trip which means it is great for people who are digital nomads or backpackers.
If you are travelling directly from your country of residence then I would recommend checking out a travel insurance comparison website to make sure you get the best deal. In the UK you can use something like Money Supermarket or Go Compare. It doesn’t matter what you go with just make sure you get travel insurance as you never know what might happen.