Musings of The Global Traveller
Thoughts, advice and travel news from around the world by a seasoned frequent flyer.
When I saw an email header of amazing awards available now my suspicions were raised. Opening it I saw it was promoting a frequent flyer shop where I could waste my miles on such things as a bar of soap fo 2,300 miles. Unfortunately it wasn’t 1 April.
I suppose the only good thing that can be said about scams such as this is that it may hold off devaluations for the awards I really use and value, at least for a little longer.
This is part of a series of blog entries on how to get to countries and places. Here is a link to the index. I plan to eventually cover every country and some other places. If you have a request for a particular country or place please use the Contact link at the top, or leave a comment.
Central African Republic
Overland travel is not simple with some borders closed (eg the one with Sudan). There are buses from Cameroon and boats from Brazzaville. The few airlines flying to Central African Republic include:
TIP As with many places in central & west Africa, fares tend to be high. Thus an award or around the world fare to Bangui is a good option.
As promised, I am answering some of Wendy Perrin’s readers’ frequent flyer questions. This batch of questions deals with which program works best in different circumstances.
This is part of a series of blog entries on how to get to countries and places. Here is a link to the index. I plan to eventually cover every country and some other places. If you have a request for a particular country or place please use the Contact link at the top, or leave a comment.
This post is how to get to China generally. There are separate posts for some places in China (see the index).
China
Source: Samuel Li
Many airlines fly to China. For flights to Hong Kong refer to the separate How to get to Hong Kong post. The main international airports are Hong Kong (HKG), Beijing (PEK), Shanghai Pudong (PVG) and Guangzhou (CAN). Many Asian airlines also have flights to other regional or primarily domestic airports.
TIP Longhaul fares are generally cheaper to Hong Kong than to Beijing or Shanghai, due to greater competition.
TIP Intra-asia fares are also generally cheaper to Hong Kong than to Beijing or Shanghai due to the presence of more low cost airlines.
TIP For award or discounted alliance fares (eg around the world), there are far more options (and thus generally better availability) on Star Alliance and Sky Team than on Oneworld.
TIP For intra-China travel there are far more options on Sky Team than on Star Alliance. Oneworld intra-China flights are very limited.
UPDATED August 2010 – Updated for TAM and Aegean joining Star Alliance, Shanghai leaving Star Alliance, Vietnam Airlines and TAROM joining Sky Team. Advice is changed.
Not so many options for 5,000 points a night Priority Club Points Break awards this upcoming quarter. Some browser caches have problems accessing the updated list at the moment – see this listing on Flyer Talk for details of the April to June 2010 Points Break hotels available.
Some lowlights:
Central & South America – 1 Crowne Plaza
Oceania – 1 Holiday Inn and 1 Crowne Plaza
Africa – 1 Holiday Inn
This is part of a series of blog entries on how to get to countries and places. Here is a link to the index. I plan to eventually cover every country and some other places. If you have a request for a particular country or place please use the Contact link at the top, or leave a comment.
Kiribati
The country of Kiribati straddles the Equator and also the 180th degree of longitude – literally in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is difficult to get to. At the time of writing, 3 airlines fly to Tarawa in Kiribati – Air Pacific and Air Kiribati from Nadi Fiji, and Our Airline has resumed flying from Nauru. There are also infrequent supply ships from Fiji.
TIP In the past several years air services have been interrupted for extended periods, so do not book too far in advance of travel. Air Pacific used to fly to Kiritimati (Christmas Island) en route between Nadi and Honolulu but this was discontinued in 2008 due to runway safety concerns.
TIP Air Pacific partners with some airlines (eg American and Qantas) and thus their flights are available for awards and can be included in Oneworld Global Explorer around the world fare.
As promised, I am answering some of Wendy Perrin’s readers’ frequent flyer questions. This batch of answers are about mileage valuation – what are those miles really worth and when should we burn miles as opposed to earning them?
This is part of a series of blog entries on how to get to countries and places. Here is a link to the index. I plan to eventually cover every country and some other places. If you have a request for a particular country or place please use the Contact link at the top, or leave a comment.
The Gambia
The Gambia is a small country in West Africa almost completely surrounded by Senegal. Taxis run to each side of the border enabling land travel from a few places in Senegal, including the capital of Dakar. A few airlines fly to The Gambia, including:
TIP Air fares are generally expensive, particularly intra-Africa. If you can get availability then an award on Brussels Airlines or Spanair is good value.
TIP Fares to Dakar may be cheaper, in conjunction with long taxi rides to visit The Gambia.
This is part of a series of blog entries on how to get to countries and places. Here is a link to the index. I plan to eventually cover every country and some other places. If you have a request for a particular country or place please use the Contact link at the top, or leave a comment.
Syria
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Buses connect Syria with Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. Airlines flying to Syria (Damascus only unless specified) include:
TIP Longhaul fares to Syria are not particularly cheap. Try flying to Turkey or Egypt instead with a connecting flight on a separate ticket.
TIP Syria is considered part of Europe for special fares and awards and thus can be good value. This applies on around the world fares, certain longhaul fares to Europe (where intra-Europe flights are charged a per sector cost) and awards. Routing options, however, are more limited than most other neighbouring countries due to less airlines flying to Syria.
UPDATED August 2010 – Updated for TAM and Aegean joining Star Alliance, Shanghai leaving Star Alliance, Vietnam Airlines and TAROM joining Sky Team. No change to advice.
This is part of a series of blog entries on how to get to countries and places. Here is a link to the index. I plan to eventually cover every country and some other places. If you have a request for a particular country or place please use the Contact link at the top, or leave a comment.
Thailand
Source: Wikimedia Commons
While many visitors arrive by land (bus or train) from neighbouring countries, most arrive by air. Many airlines fly to Thailand (mostly using Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport), including:
TIP Thailand is probably the easiest place in Asia to reach cheaply from Europe, North America and Australasia. With lots of competition fares are not excessive and awards readily available. Bangkok is also conveniently located with plentiful service for around the world tickets.
TIP Longhaul fares from Bangkok are usually cheaper, sometimes substantially cheaper, than fares to Bangkok.
TIP There are cheap flights to & from Bangkok from all nearby hubs (Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Singapore, Hong Kong). Bangkok is a good base from which to explore south-east Asia.
UPDATED August 2010 – Updated for TAM and Aegean joining Star Alliance, Shanghai leaving Star Alliance, Vietnam Airlines and TAROM joining Sky Team. No change to advice.
