Train ticket National Holiday Beijing-Guilin

[boenloekke]

I'm planning to take the train from Beijin-Guilin October 9th or 10th 2009. But will it be difficult to buy a ticket considering the National Holiday ends October 8th?

I'm planning to reserve a ticket by a travel agency (eg chinatripadviser). Preferably hard sleeper, but would it be a better option to go for a soft sleeper? It's more expensive but perhaps easier to acquire.

Or would it simply be better to by a plane ticket instead?

Thanks for your advice

Ulrik

[roddy]

You might be ok - it's just after the holiday, so everyone should already be back at their desks, and with the holiday ending you'd expect the bulk of traffic to be Guilin>Beijing, rather than Beijing>Guilin. But you can never guarantee getting a ticket until it's actually in your hand.

Do check flight prices on Ctrip and Elong though - they're often competitive with the train, especially if you're looking at paying a travel agent's fee for the train ticket.

Hard sleeper's more fun, you'll meet more people, but is likely to be busier and less comfortable. Everyone should do at least one overnight hard sleeper journey though.