Cost of travel to China for two?

Question

Total in $USD, how much can I expect to spend on flight costs, accommodation costs, food costs, transportation costs, souvenirs, etc?

I'm not planning to go there yet, but I would like to some day.

This would be for two people

Answer 1

  Unless you plan on really living it up in China, your flight should be the most expensive thing by far.  The plane tickets will be over $1000 USD per person.

   Other than that, everything seems cheaper in China (for the time being).  You can find a private room in a decent hostel for under 20$ a night in cities like Beijing or Xi'an.  Dorm-style hostel rooms can be found for under $10 a night!  If you want a real hotel, budget rooms can be found for under $30 a night.  Check a website like hostelworld.com

   Souvenirs will be very cheap, especially if you can haggle skillfully.  Taxis are also very cheap and convenient for getting around a city like Beijing.  When I was there in June, our cab rides were always under $5 USD.

   Food varies a lot.  You can get ripped off on food if you aren't careful (I ended up paying $2 for a can of Coke once), but usually food is dirt cheap.  Just try to avoid places frequented by tourists: you'll be less likely to get ripped off and you'll have a more culturally immersive experience.  Convenience stores can be found all over the place that sell cheap snacks and bottled drinks... a 40 oz  beer can be bought for about 0.40 cents!

   So basically I can't give you an overall estimate of cost since I don't know what kind of trip you want and costs can vary extremely.  However, if you are looking to go as cheaply as possible, China is a good choice except for the airfare getting there!