This was posted 1 year 3 months 2 days ago, and might be an out-dated deal.

Related
  • expired

75% off China 9-Night Trip - $999pp Twin Share (Departs Sydney or Melbourne) @ TripADeal via Qantas Tour

3219
75% off China 9-Night Trip - $999pp Twin Share (Departs Sydney or Melbourne) @ TripADeal via Qantas Tour
Go to Deal
Averell on 25/08/2023 - 10:40 tours.qantas.com (14633 clicks)
Last edited 25/08/2023 - 12:18 by 2 other users

Beijing, Hangzhou, Suzhou & Shanghai
Operated by TripADeal

Flight, accommodation, transportation, dinners (not sure about breakfasts, lunches, and suppers)

Seems to be a great price.

Not sure why kids/teenagers are excluded

Mod: "Includes return international flights, eight nights of 4-star hotel accommodation, daily breakfast, and much more"

Visas

A tourist visa for China is a strict requirement if travelling on an Australian Passport. Please note as of today you are required to attend a Chinese Visa Application Service Centre in person to apply for a visa. China Visa Application Service Centres can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane. You must attend the China Visa Application Service Centre relevant to the state you reside in. Please visit https://www.visaforchina.cn/ for more information. You will be able to start your visa application process once you receive your final travel documentation approximately 6 weeks prior to departure.

Important:

  • Please start arranging your visa as soon as you've received your Travel Documentation to account for any delays due to consulate operating hours.
  • Visa rules may have changed since Covid-19. Some countries and airlines may require you to obtain an additional visa before arrival. Please check with the nearest embassy, consulate or immigration department of the destination you're entering.

Please note:

  • Passengers who are not Australian citizens must also check with the respective consulate or visa agency to determine what their visa requirements are and what personal identification is required.
  • It is also important to note that some areas of employment, such as journalism, government authorities and charity organisations, may have additional restrictions in applying for Visas. This may, in turn, affect the type of application required.
Travel Accommodation Airfare Asia Beijing China Hangzhou Instagrampost Shanghai Suzhou Tour Zhejiang

Related Stores

Qantas
Qantas
TripADeal
TripADeal

closed Comments

    • ChatCPT on 25/08/2023 - 14:19
      +1

      cant i just skip the tours. flight accom bfast is covered - i'll fill in the rest

      • ass3ts on 25/08/2023 - 15:21
        +1

        I'm not sure as I don't take packaged tours, let alone dodgy tours like this but I know people who did. I believe the accommodation bookings will be organised by the tour company, so good luck attempting to use them without joining the 'tours'.

        • ChatCPT on 25/08/2023 - 15:23
          +1

          sounds like a pain. OK back to Jetstar… LOL

  • yht on 25/08/2023 - 11:01

    No offer from Perth ??

  • aiyoyo on 25/08/2023 - 11:05
    +1

    No kids 😭

    • bcYield on 25/08/2023 - 14:11

      Yo kido

  • Catsfan070911 on 25/08/2023 - 11:06

    Kids seem to be excluded from most of these Qantas Holiday packages with no exceptions that i've seen. I saw a great deal for 'two adults' for Fraser Island and called to see if I could add my infant, answer was no, deal for two adults only :)

  • kobeduck on 25/08/2023 - 11:07

    Who the hell wants to go China?

  • Ozybargdias on 25/08/2023 - 11:08
    +9

    This appears to be the exact same itinerary / tour as this deal posted for half the price (and negged to oblivion) in 2019. Apparently it's a 'shopping tour' where they cart you to a bunch of factories and coerce you to buy their tat. Even if you don't buy anything, you still spend your holiday touring around Chinese factories and industrial areas.

    Also dinners are not included - only breakfasts. Please update your post OP.

  • capslock janitor on 25/08/2023 - 11:09

    How's lockdown status?

    • fishandchips on 25/08/2023 - 11:39

      want to ask the same question, is the Zero Covid policy still there? because if it's still apply, if you are in bad luck as coincidenttally one covid then the Chinese gov will lock down the whole city.

      • sobriety22 on 25/08/2023 - 11:56

        Was there under a month ago.
        No lockdown, no zero covid, nothing.
        Barely any testing and the official line is there is no Covid in the country…..

  • letmecry on 25/08/2023 - 11:09
    +10

    It's cheap. But if you value your time, this is probably not for you. You will be forced to visit all tourist trap' shops; Pearl / Jade / Silk / Medicine / Tea.
    Wasting hours and hours in there.

    We call it a bucher shop that waiting for you to jump on a chopping board.

    • cmyk on 25/08/2023 - 11:11

      Just don't turn up for the tour bit?

      • capslock janitor on 25/08/2023 - 11:12

        just walk off?

        • Ozybargdias on 25/08/2023 - 11:14
          +6

          These places are likely to be on the outskirts of town or industrial areas, and they bus you there on the way to your next hotel so you can't avoid it. Have fun wandering around Chinese industrial dystopia in the summer heat.

        • SomeGuyOnOzB on 25/08/2023 - 12:18
          +12

          What Ordnance said

          From the tour I went on:
          - forced shopping locations don't have beautiful landscapes and are very industrial
          - factory is often just a blocky, ugly building
          - you are kept there for HOURS, generally in the shop area
          - there is nowhere else to go (no shops, houses, restaurants nearby)
          - sales people will keep pressuring people in the group, or the entire group
          - feeling near the end of many of these visits that "we won't let your group move on until we reach an unspecified sales target"

          Even trying the green tea, while they try to make it look nicer, it was crowded with groups being brought through and put in different rooms (again the room you are kept in for hours is unattractive without much if any view). Even with everyone buying a pack of tea, they then tried pressuring about a special where you can now get 2 packets for a reduced price … :S and again they wanted to keep us in the room for what was probably over an hour.

          I still remember the guide asking, who'd like to see silk making, jade carving, gemstones etc and basically we were taken to these shops.

          People in our tour got sick of it, but at best you can get on the bus or stay on the bus. Otherwise, find somewhere to sit and hopefully you have stuff to read or watch for hours at a time.

          This is probably why children and teenagers can't be brought on the tour.
          1. They probably won't be interested in the products you are trying to sell
          2. They might distract mum and dad and lead to less shopping time by their parents

          • eagle86 on 25/08/2023 - 12:25
            +1

            @SomeGuyOnOzB: can you just flag down your own taxi and bail? Even if it's an hour taxi back to your hotel, it's not expensive in China

            • DandenongBad on 25/08/2023 - 12:40
              +3

              @eagle86: Yes, you can.
              but from my own experience
              1. (Most often)it's very hard to get a taxi or DiDi in these places unless your plan is walking hours back to Hotel.
              2.the security guy may stop you from getting out. if you insist on it, you can.
              3.in the next few days you will be left with bad experince as you break the relationship with your tourguide.

              If the tourguide is friendly, he will give you some hints if the shop is worth it by coughing or body language.
              Escaping from the shopping without communicating with your guide is definitely your final method.

      • odysseus on 25/08/2023 - 11:18
        +2

        Then you won't get to your next destination e.g. Great Wall/Tiananmen Square/next city.

        The shopping trips are not independent side visits, but a stop on the way to the next sight/location. You can't avoid them.

  • 1c1990 on 25/08/2023 - 11:11

    Can we add kids under 5 to this travelers list? If yes how much they will charge for kids. I didn’t see that info in the page. Thanks

  • varunbabu008 on 25/08/2023 - 11:14
    +10

    This has been 999$ for over 6 months or so.
    Qantas just hosted the same webpage with different font. Below is the original tour
    https://www.tripadeal.com.au/deals/4721-china-discovery

    Correction not 6 months maybe 4 years or so. Previous post with a lot of negs for the same deal. No one batted an eye back then
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/440954

    • Ozybargdias on 25/08/2023 - 11:24
      +6

      Funny that people will ignore / neg a tour via Trip A Deal, but will foam at the mouth over the exact same tour for double the price (the deal you've linked is $999 for two people, $500pp) for the privilege of booking through the Qantas website.

      • varunbabu008 on 25/08/2023 - 11:25

        Yeah exactly. Put a Qantas logo and people are all over it. Sad !

      • runamuck on 25/08/2023 - 11:31
        +2

        Yep same thought. Its the same price but somehow whack Qantas on it and everyone goes its a great price. It has been this price for almost a year.

    • Ceri on 25/08/2023 - 12:41

      Damn I just straight away purchased this deal. The ozbargainer in me weeps at paying double the price now

    • SeVeN11 on 25/08/2023 - 20:08

      Inflation has obviously made this $999 deal significantly better than 4 years ago!

      $999 today can't buy you much of an overseas holiday for 9 nights.

  • shabaka on 25/08/2023 - 11:17
    +3

    travelling solo +600 yeah nah

    • SeVeN11 on 25/08/2023 - 20:09
      +1

      Surely you can find a friend from ozbargain.

      • shabaka on 25/08/2023 - 20:13

        what a great idea this is! hey @jv are you available

        I bought some Grant Burge Sparkling Rose!

        and pies are leading half time! it's a sign!

  • wildstone on 25/08/2023 - 11:19
    +1

    So is there a penalty if you just simply do not want to get onto the tour on that day, and wanted to roam the city freely by yourself?

    • Ozybargdias on 25/08/2023 - 11:21
      +1

      Usually the tours happen on the way to your next hotel / transit terminal, so they're difficult to avoid.

    • muncan on 25/08/2023 - 11:22
      +1

      Maybe the return flights?

  • klrrider1 on 25/08/2023 - 11:25
    +32

    This is a Trip a Deal. The same price and tour were available before the pandemic. Trip a Deal went broke during the pandemic and Qantas bought a 50% share of Trip a Deal to bail them out with part the $2 billion of Jobseeker payments from the Morrison government.

    This $999 deal is an Australian version of the Chinese infamous zero dollar tours to Hong Kong and Bali.

    Beyond the $999 headline price, everything is plus plus.

    • no porters - passengers carry their suitcases to their rooms and down to the bus in the mornings before breakfast.

    • no paid guides - Trip a Deal does not pay for guides, your guide will go down the aisle of the bus every morning collecting $A12 in cash from every passenger.

    • no visa - each passenger has to front up in person to a Chinese Visa Centre in Australia and pay more than $A100 for a visa.

    • beyond the shopping tours on the website, every tour or trip is extra.

    • visits to the "tea factory" and "silk factory" are actually visits to a giant tea shop and a giant silk shop, some passengers are expected to buy the overpriced products, so Trip a Deal can receive commissions.

    • like the infamous zero dollar tours, passengers must follow the guide with the blue flag.

    • meals are really just the airline meals and hotel breakfasts, with the exception of one banquet.

    • Trip a Deal buys the cheapest flights, so you should expect midnight departures and midnight arrivals.

    • BargainsGrabber on 25/08/2023 - 11:36
      +7

      Thanks for sharing your insight and letting us know it is a rebrand with a Qantas logo slapped on it

      If they’re expecting us to cover additional purchases or commissions other than the $999 paid, I would rather plan a separate trip with either my family or mates and we can just explore other places without the constraint of crazy arrival/departure time and overpriced items

    • shabaka on 25/08/2023 - 12:40
      +3

      what a great way to advertise a country and attract tourists! lol

      now I won't go on such a tour unless they PAY me for it

  • littlesoldier on 25/08/2023 - 11:26
    +4

    just be careful not to "touch the red line" of the Chinese CCP
    otherwise it might become a "one-way" ticket LOL

    • Franck P on 25/08/2023 - 11:36
      -1

      Or end up like Otto Warmbier, So they have no problem giving you a return ticket.

    • unfinishedsentenc on 25/08/2023 - 11:41
      +1

      Has there been any reports of foreigners gone missing in China for the past few years?

      • MakkhiChoos on 25/08/2023 - 12:09
        +3

        No reports doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.

      • littlesoldier on 25/08/2023 - 12:14
        +9

        This is the official advice from the Australia government

        We've reviewed our advice for China. We haven't changed the level of our advice, exercise a high degree of caution. If you're arriving on an international flight into China, you can take a rapid antigen self-test (RAT) within 48 hours before boarding. As previously advised, authorities have detained foreigners on the grounds of ‘endangering national security’. Australians may be at risk of arbitrary detention or harsh enforcement of local laws, including broadly defined National Security Laws.

        https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/asia/china

  • Flying Ace on 25/08/2023 - 11:29
    -4

    Don't you love seeing deals for China coming up and the same tired old jokes keep getting trotted out by those who think they're being edgy?

  • divstar on 25/08/2023 - 11:29

    Sure if you want a CCP sponsored holiday where they shuffle you through only the parts of China they want you to see, and hide away everything else that's going on. Plus you can guarantee you'll be spending a lot more on "shopping experiences"

    • Fredfloresjr on 25/08/2023 - 12:03
      -2

      Typical comment from a DIVA

    • littlesoldier on 25/08/2023 - 13:46
      +1

      Unlike north korea
      CCP isnt hiding the truth to foreigners
      they just hide the truth to their own people
      that is what the "firewall" is used for

        • crispynuy on 25/08/2023 - 19:36
          +1

          not a fan of the CCP, but this guy and the other guy he collaborates a lot with tend to have quite biased takes on anything related to China and, more often than not, exaggerate a lot. It might have stemmed from the fact that they were "evicted" from China as political dissidents. They used to live in China for a long time, how they got kicked out was quite a sad story, really, but I found myself disagreeing with them on many things they said. I would take them with a grain of salt. However, I can't blame you as there aren't many good YouTubers (that talk about China) and the ones yapping about often just perpetuate the stereotype. Why not go and see for yourself? YOLO.

  • KaTst3R on 25/08/2023 - 11:30
    +11

    Be prepared for stopovers at jade, jewellery and tea factories which often employ high pressure sales people to get you to spend on overpriced goods. They will shut the doors and don't let the group leave until everyone buys something.

    Not sure why kids/teenagers are excluded

    Because they cant pressure sales kids.

    Having gone through this shit when I was younger and wanted a cheap tour, i rather spend more now and avoid this crap.

    • montorola on 25/08/2023 - 11:34

      Yeah but what if someone doesn't go on tour and just uses this deal for flights and accommodation?

      • KaTst3R on 25/08/2023 - 11:39
        +5

        They are not dumb, everyone thinks about this. Firstly, the movement of the trip will be one direction. You will have your luggage on board the bus most of the time and only stop over hotels for sleeping. The booking will be done under the tour agent's name so you have no way to check in yourself.

        At most you can just use the flights on your own, but the deal wouldnt be as sweet without the accommodation.

        • Thrawn on 25/08/2023 - 14:55

          China accommodation is pretty cheap anyway. Especially if they avoid the city center of the big capital cities. You can get "4-star" hotel rooms for $50 a night. That's only about $250 worth of accommodation per person.

          I'm doing a 16-day trip in October using the $375 Hainan airlines deal. Booking all the hotels right now using trip.com 12% cashback. Averaging about $50 a night in hotel rooms.

      • AustriaBargain on 25/08/2023 - 12:07
        +3

        Then they just live in the jade factory forever. That is their home now.

      • MakkhiChoos on 25/08/2023 - 12:08
        +4

        CCP will round you up and give you a choice.

    • belongsinforums on 26/08/2023 - 02:06

      apparently there's a new law that restricts tour operators from forcing sales

  • morediscount on 25/08/2023 - 11:30
    +2

    one way ticket?

  • porsche804 on 25/08/2023 - 11:40
    +11

    Not worth going, visa process took a full day of waiting even though I booked an appointment beforehand, customs and needing to use WeChat to fill out a covid form was a major pain.
    Many places in China don't take cash anymore only WeChat pay that foreigners aren't allowed to use. Anywhere else in the world is better to go, even North Korea would be more interesting

    • Munki on 25/08/2023 - 16:07

      I think WeChat pay is now open for international users.

      • mountaineer on 25/08/2023 - 17:13

        Yes but with surchange to use your non-Chinese bank issued cards, 3% plus currency conversion fee..bad rates…

  • Hugh G Rection on 25/08/2023 - 11:44

    which city has all the cheap fake stuff. that would be worth a trip, yes?

    • SomeGuyOnOzB on 25/08/2023 - 12:28
      +2

      Wherever you are; we now have Ali, Amazon etc and you can check what other people on OzBargain are recommending.

      Then you can go on a trip to a different country, where you are not forced to spend about 8 hours a day getting to and being in shops facing high pressure sales people.

      • Hugh G Rection on 25/08/2023 - 14:26
        +1

        oh yea, very true. i haven't traveled in a while, and i forgot how stressful it is dealing with them. also feel like they are degrading me and want to fight me all at the same time, lol.

  • hippyhippy on 25/08/2023 - 11:48
    +1

    This would be a deal for any other country besides China …

    • mafim on 25/08/2023 - 11:55
      +1

      Just imagine a 9-Night Trip inside Sydney or Melbourne with 4 star hotel for less than 1k pp? that cannot even cover the accommodation…

      • SomeGuyOnOzB on 25/08/2023 - 12:40
        +4

        @mafim
        that's not the same thing. You have to add in maybe 8+ hours a day spent going to and being in the shops, possibly not being able to speak the language, being in a new location each night and the food isn't always what you'd expect at a 4 star hotel.

        When we had to leave extra early in the morning, the breakfast packed was something like a boiled egg, a juice box, a bottle of water and a banana.

        I think it's Beijing where people forgot to use bottled water for brushing their teeth and they ended up very sick (from using the tap water).

        One of the hotels had very few visitors while we were there. So they turned off lighting etc in much of the building. Despite it being cold weather, the rooms ended up very hot (28+ C). We had to complain 4 times, each time being told to wait for an hour for the air conditioner to kick in, before they finally turned the air conditioner on and the temperature dropped enough for sleep.

        Probably good to bring sore throat lozenges from here. People couldn't find recognizable products when they got the pollution cough while staying there.

        • mafim on 25/08/2023 - 13:47
          +1

          You get what you pay for, right? This kind of trip is not a holiday we used to have here, which is relaxing and sometime a little boring. It provides you a chance to go through as many as possible places and attractions in a short period, maybe because people in China doesn't have similar amount of annual leave as we have here. Although I'm not sure you mentioned "8+ hours a day" is a whole single day during the 9-night trip, or everyday which doesn't look like to happened here, it's definitely not a good choice for people with limit annual leave, or high standard for holiday, who want to spend everyday nicely during the holiday.

          Consider around 1k for flight, another 1k for accommodation, transport between cities and attractions (1500+km, not sure about the price though) and the tickets for attractions, which may make it 3k pp for similar trip. Of course, I personally would spend 9 days in one or two cities in China for a holiday, not a 9 night trip like this.

          • Nedward on 25/08/2023 - 17:42
            +1

            @mafim: accommodation and transport is included in the trip. what you DO pay for is all the overpriced scams and junk they coerce you into buying,

  • gooner85 on 25/08/2023 - 11:48
    +1

    Sounds horrible experience. I did a tour once in Asia and they left us in middle of nowhere. Couldn't imagine 9 days of it

  • IpGem on 25/08/2023 - 11:50
    +3

    -What's the catch?
    -China

  • Orican on 25/08/2023 - 11:52
    +1

    " This offer is strictly valid for those 18 and over"
    why???
    anyone know why?

    • MakkhiChoos on 25/08/2023 - 12:06

      CCP mandate

    • T18 on 25/08/2023 - 13:52

      might be because to stay in a hotel on your own you have to be 18 and over. Same for the locals

  • ChipsChicky on 25/08/2023 - 11:53
    +1

    Interested in the MUCH MORE ….

  • ChibsQT on 25/08/2023 - 11:55
    +3

    Risk of being detained and sent to a re-education camp if go on this trip? Is it just a way for CCP to harvest some Aussie organs to resale?

    • mafim on 25/08/2023 - 11:58
      -1

      Even in the "news", the re-education camp is in Xinjiang only, so how do you make up a new camp?

  • H_J on 25/08/2023 - 11:56
    +1

    probably spend 5 hours shopping everyday?

  • kolorijo on 25/08/2023 - 11:59
    +1

    This should be negged, a much worse deal than before :(

  • Dack Smith on 25/08/2023 - 12:01
    -3

    Good deal, pick up some Chinese girls on the trip and bring them back to Australia - they adore foreigners lol

    Just gotta watch out they aren’t CCP sleeper agents

    • illusion99 on 25/08/2023 - 12:11
      +4

      Is this for the white incels where local girls wouldn’t touch them with a ten metre pole? Why else would you go out of your way to find a foreign girl?

      • mr_asstight on 25/08/2023 - 13:44
        +1

        He's a passport bro, bro

  • chadbest on 25/08/2023 - 12:02
    +2

    In current situation, it is definitely not wise to enter China. Please stay safe.

  • AustriaBargain on 25/08/2023 - 12:05

    Kids/teenagers don't have as much money to spend as adults.

  • MakkhiChoos on 25/08/2023 - 12:06
    +2

    Qantas will cancel it a few weeks out anyways. I wouldn’t bother.

  • Ozb24 on 25/08/2023 - 12:13

    'This offer is strictly valid for those 18 and over.' - Why, but WHY????

    • T-Quizzle on 25/08/2023 - 15:05

      To annoy parents

  • fitr on 25/08/2023 - 12:17

    Any catch here?

    • Ozybargdias on 25/08/2023 - 12:33
      +4

      Try reading all the comments on this deal?

    • Jimothy Wongingtons on 25/08/2023 - 12:42
      +3

      No mate no catch

    • shabaka on 25/08/2023 - 15:45
      +1

      absolutely no catch. there may be a reason or two why this is so cheap, and you may want to read comments above, but no, no catch whatsoever.

  • DandenongBad on 25/08/2023 - 12:19
    +1

    FYI
    Beijing Friendship Hotel cost RMB700-800 per ninght =roughfy $150 per ninght.
    Holiday INN hotel in Hangzhou and Shanghai cost RMB400-500 per ninght =roughfy $90 per ninght
    High speed train (economy /second class ) fromBeijing to Hangzhou cost RMB650 per single trip =roughfy $137

    It is really a good deal enven for chinese citizens who are just planning a trip to Shanghai& Beijing .

    My only question would be how can they make a profit ?

    • immrnonamehello on 25/08/2023 - 12:30

      Commission. Also the cost of hotel is likely not the same for them.

    • Poor Ass on 25/08/2023 - 12:43

      Well they don't need to if it's sponsored promotion

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join