The Chinese New Year, also known as Spring Festival, is the longest public holiday in China, going from the 7th to the 13th of January this year. This is the moment where almost everyone travels back home or enjoy the time to travel around Asia. However, considering the size of the Chinese population, it’s no mystery that this is the busiest time of the year to do so. If you live in China and still haven’t booked anything, fear not, we are here to help you! How? By sharing a killer list of websites and apps, so you can land the best deal for your trip.
Also known as the go-to-place to buy flight tickets in China, for domestic and international flights. It also offers service covering hotels, tours and trains. Very famous among the expats, considering it has a great English version that has saved us all at least once. It also accepts foreign credit cards and has a free mobile app (iOs and Android).
Just like Ctrip, it serves the expat community incredibly well due to its English version. What separates Elong from Ctrip is that you can actually book helicopter tours of the Great Wall and rent a car or driver through the site. It has a 24×7 English-speaking customer support available and a “Fare Calendar”. This is probably the coolest feature: you pick the 2 cities you want to fly between and it will show a 30-day calendar with all prices. It also has a free mobile app (iOs and Android), but it’s only available in Chinese.
Maybe you are planning to go somewhere else than Asia and Skyscanner provide you with all available flights globally. Of course it covers all of Asia, so it’s very good to compare prices – although Ctrip and Elong usually have better offers. It has a free mobile app (iOs and Android) in almost all the languages you can imagine.
Singapore’s TigerAir has very good fares and you can book your flights on your phone via the app (iOs and Android). It also has an option for users to check the latest discount fares and it personalizes the currency according to your departure point. They also accept international cards and have a very clear section about all the taxes and charges. Just make sure you check where it departs from – Shanghai and Beijing are not an option.
The app created by Indonesian startup Tiket is available for both iOs and Android. According to Indonesia Flight “The price you see is the price you pay”, meaning that the ticket price you see is already with tax included, so you don’t have to stress about those hidden high taxes. Most of the payment methods are for people living in Indonesia, but you can pay with your VISA or Mastercard credit card.
This app allows you to search for flights and hotels, with a great option for last-minute flights. It also offers even bigger deals for packages: you can book a flight, a hotel and rent a car. It also offers more than 10,000 activities and transfers in more than 150 countries. The endless options are sorted out in categories. There is also a web version available.
If by any chance you did book your flights but didn’t have time to deal with hotels and planning activities, here are some extra free apps where you can find good deals.
Jetsetter (iOs)
This app offers access to hotels and its market rates, insider’s tips, reviews and photos of endless destinations. It also has a “deals” section with discounts up to 60% and flash sales that last from 5 to 14 days.
TravelZoo (iOs and Android)
Deals for restaurants, resorts, shows, activities and a lot more with discounts up to 65%. It has daily “Local Deal Vouchers” and every Wednesday the app releases a list of the top 20 deals of the week. You can book all of it through the app, which makes everything a lot easier.
HotelQuickly (iOs and Android)
A mobile hotel-booking app that offers very good deals to more than 200 destinations across the Asia Pacific region. Plus, if you recommend a friend you get a free night at a hotel of choice.
Now go and grab your deal – before is actually too late!
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