Chinese carrier China Southern runs two weekly nonstop flights between London-Heahtrow and the Island of Hainan, a popular destination South of China. Currently, they are selling roundtrips to Sanya – a large city in the island’s South – as low as €429, a great deal on this particular route. This fare includes a checked bag up to 23kg and full board service during the twelve hour long flights.
China Southern uses an Airbus A330-200 on these flights. These airplanes feature a retrofitted cabin with a rather spacious economy class (up to 80 cm seat pitch) in a 2-4-2 seating pattern. Occasionally, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner operates these flights as well. The seat pitch in these planes is roughly the same while seats are arranged in 3-3-3 rows.
Search & Book
According to fare rules, this offer will be available until August 31, 2019. It is valid for travel commencing before December 31, 2019 and covers trips up to three months. A minimum stay of a three days or at least one night from Saturday to Sunday applies, as well. We compiled all possible travel dates at the lowest fare up to a 30 day trip in our availability calendar:
If you’re planning on a longer trip, we recommend to check Google Flights for suiting dates (instructions). You can find flights up to €20 cheaper when entering the same dates in our flight search.
Mileage
China Southern issues tickets in booking class N. It is almost impossible to earn miles in this discounted booking class. Your base earnings without tier bonuses shall look like this:
- 4,834 Miles on CSA OK Plus
- 3,022 Award Miles on Flying Blue
- 3,022 Award Miles on Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles
- 3,022 RDM + 604 MQD on Delta SkyMiles
Destination
Sanya is the tourism capital of Chinese island Hainan. Almost every internationally renown hotel chain operates a beach side resort inside or near the city. You can expect beautiful, long beaches and tourism orientated, modern infrastructure. Sanya is especially popular with Chinese and Russian tourists.
Information & Tips for China
China is the most populous and the third largest country in the world, so naturally, there is a lot to see. The most touristically important cities are the capital of China, Beijing and the financial and trade center Shanghai.
Best Time to Travel
Since the country is vast and extends over several climate zones, there is no best travel time for China. China is connected to Europe through numerous direct flights and the travel time is about 11-13 hours. Flights to China can be found for less than 400€ throughout the year, and there are also often excellent Business Class fares.
A general advice is that travel should be avoided during the Chinese national holidays, which span over the first two weeks of October. During these time tourist destinations are overcrowded with Chinese tourists on their domestic vacation.
Visa for China
Most European citizens will need a visa to enter China.
You can apply for a tourist visa at a Visa Application Service Center (CVASC) in your country. There you’ll hand in your visa application personally and can pick it up again after a few days. There is no faster and cheaper way.
Alternatively, you can apply for a visa by mail. The processing time will be up to two weeks, and you’ll have to pay for extra for shipping.
There are also so-called Visa services available that sometimes offer a faster (and maybe even cheaper) way to get your Visa. Check local sites to find out more.
→ All Dealz for China
Cover Picture: © Pixabay-User Achair