Travel agents for multi-stop trips?

Catatonia

I want to book a holiday, flying from London to Beijing, spending 10 nights in Beijing, then flying Beijing to Hong Kong, spending 4 nights in Honk Kong, and then flying back to London.

It seems to be impossible to quote for such a holiday online, so I called Trailfinders. They told me that if I fly with Cathay Pacific, as they stop in HK anyway, it won't cost me any extra to break up my holiday like this. Great. They also quoted a price for the flight that wasn't much more than I'd seen it on Expedia etc.

But, they want £84 a night for the Beijing hotel, which is available through Lastminute, expedia etc and the hotel's own website for only £46 a night. I queried this huge difference, and was told 'this is just the price we've negotiated with them'.

So, where else can I go to organise my holiday? I'd rather book through a travel agent so that I have the extra protection (AFAIK, Expedia etc don't count as travel agents for protection purposes as they sell flight plus hotel rather than holidays), plus I think I need someone I can speak to so that I can sort out the flights properly. But most big name travel agents don't seem to do Asia, as far as I can see. Any ideas?

creased-leach

I'd try Travel Counsellors. Several friends have booked really complicated trips using them, and the praise was glowing. One of them even said as it was a honeymoon, their agent (without being asked) emailed ahead and arranged upgrades, flowers/chocs etc.

If I can find a reference to the franchisee they used, I'll message you

Catatonia

Thanks for the recommendation. I will give them a call.

Voyager2002

For goodness' sake, just book your flights and hotels separately. Both Trailfinders and Cathay Pacific are extremely reputable businesses; you will also have credit card protection; and you can choose your travel insurance with care to give you far more protection than ABTA offer.

As for hotels: I have been to Beijing and Hong Kong many many times and never paid until I arrived. Since you have found a hotel you like, use the contact details on the website to let them know when you are coming, and pay when you arrive.

rozzy_2

You could try thomson worldwide, Hayes & Jarvis (part of TUI), Kuoni etc. But as others have said it may be cheaper to book flights and hotel separately, But at least it gives you something to compare against.

Janie2008

You can book multi stop flights on the Opodo website. Even if you don't book with them you can play around with the dates to get the best price. Just click on multi-stop flights.

RoxieW

We've used tradewinds

daveyjp

As it's only two destinations it should be easy.

Try Kuoni - a four centre, five flights, one ferry and all taxis and transfers holiday was no problem for them.

Bananabelly

Catatonia wrote: »

I want to book a holiday, flying from London to Beijing, spending 10 nights in Beijing, then flying Beijing to Hong Kong, spending 4 nights in Honk Kong, and then flying back to London.

It seems to be impossible to quote for such a holiday online, so I called Trailfinders. They told me that if I fly with Cathay Pacific, as they stop in HK anyway, it won't cost me any extra to break up my holiday like this. Great. They also quoted a price for the flight that wasn't much more than I'd seen it on Expedia etc.

But, they want £84 a night for the Beijing hotel, which is available through Lastminute, expedia etc and the hotel's own website for only £46 a night. I queried this huge difference, and was told 'this is just the price we've negotiated with them'.

So, where else can I go to organise my holiday? I'd rather book through a travel agent so that I have the extra protection (AFAIK, Expedia etc don't count as travel agents for protection purposes as they sell flight plus hotel rather than holidays), plus I think I need someone I can speak to so that I can sort out the flights properly. But most big name travel agents don't seem to do Asia, as far as I can see. Any ideas?

The other way you could do it is get a return to Hong Kong and then a return to Beijing from there (which you will have to do if you're flying Cathay anyway). Any travel agent could do this for you without any trouble (STA, flight centre, trailfinders, etc etc). This is not a very complicated trip at all. Plus, even 46 pounds is a fair amount for a Beijing Hotel, depending on the standard you want.

conradmum

Bananabelly wrote: »

The other way you could do it is get a return to Hong Kong and then a return to Beijing from there (which you will have to do if you're flying Cathay anyway). Any travel agent could do this for you without any trouble (STA, flight centre, trailfinders, etc etc). This is not a very complicated trip at all. Plus, even 46 pounds is a fair amount for a Beijing Hotel, depending on the standard you want.

This is good advice. Try Flightcentre. They've always given us good deals (and beat Trailfinders' prices). A nice, cheap, well-located hotel in Hong Kong is the Shamrock on Nathan Road.

Catatonia

Thanks for all the advice. I will look at flights through Opodo. I think not paying until arrival might be a good idea. Could this cause any problems if they try and charge more than is quoted on their website? I'm just a bit wary about having to trail round hotels with lots of luggage, or argue with someone in another language.