Hi, I'm an American debating two ways to craft an itinerary for an upcoming trip and want to see if one is the better option re: visa entry to China and cost of flights. I'm going away for about three months, June - September to visit friends in Melbourne and Shanghai.
I could either buy a round trip ticket to OZ (direct from NY is on sale now for about $1300 RT) and then sometime during my stay in OZ, fly to Shanghai for a few weeks (I know this flight may be expensive...I am not familiar with the budget routes/carriers between OZ and China, are there any?)
The other option is to visit China before or after OZ, and I have not even begun to look at costs for booking the trip this way (NY-Shanghai-Melbourne-NY) But before I do, logistically, are there visa issues I should know about that makes one route more desirable?
And If I do go with option #1, do I have to get my visa for China in the US or can I get it at the US embassy in Melbourne once I get to OZ?
Thanks for any assistance...
Kelly,
You should get your china visa and your Oz tourist visa in the US.
The airfare you seek is called a circle airfare for north asia and australia. This retails from about USD 1600 -1900 ( depends on mileage) in Australia + taxes with star alliance (which includes united airlines).
Personally I do China first and then recover from the culture shock in Oz before flying home. Visa problems will only happen if you have to overnight on the return leg so have to re-enter China or Australia .. so you will ahve to pay something but the correct airfare will save you USD 1000 ..
There are no all-budget carriers from Australian ports to Shanghai or Hong Kong, but Qantas (and others) may have good deals at various times of the year. I think the three-leged itinerary (as per #1) sounds better, plus less airtime.
You won't be able to enter either Australia or China without the relevant visa for wherever you are going. In fact you won't be allowed on the plane. Get both visas before leaving home.
Why would you get a Chinese visa at a US embassy in Australia? They are issued by the Chinese from their consular offices (at Embassies) - yes, you can get it in Australia, but you and your passport will have to go to a Chinese consular office. List of Chinese consulates in Australia.
Check out Cathay Pacific, they have a flight via Anchorage to Hong Kong, then on to Sydney. It allows a stopover in Hong Kong. They also have an asia pass on sale which might include places in China. Check it out.
Thanks everyone -- yeah, NY-Shanghai-Mel-NY makes the most sense, if I can't find a good ring deal (open jaw i think they call it?) then i will just find the cheapest possible flights for each leg of the route...the Cathay booking function is not working right now but I will def check that out.
Oh yeah, and oops, of course I have to get my visa from the Chinese consulate...silly me. As soon as I have my travel plans sorted out, I will work on getting the visa...I don't think I need one for Australia, last time i went there I didn't (if staying less than 3 months I think?)
You certainly DO need a visa for Australia unless you are a NZ or Austyralian citizen. Then you aren't getting on that plane. For a visit up to 3 months, as a US citizen, you need an Electronic Travel Authority. Other tourist visa options here
Vircle fares are not open-jaw. Open jaw is when you make your own arrangements between two points - fly into one, and out of the other.
Look here for examples of Circle Pacific fares. Otherwaise get googling. Try Star Alliance and One World which are groups of airlines offering such fares.
Why doesnt Australia reciprocate the visa waiver program that the U/S has in place for Australian citizens. My family and I have had 3x90day visas in the last year, all granted at the Canada-U/S border.
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