Date: Dec 1st 2008 12:16p.m.

Contributed by:
leemack

Spring Festival is coming quickly, along with a big fat week-long holiday (starts on Jan. 24 if you’re keeping score at home) and the tour companies are slinging package holidays faster than McDonald’s slings Happy Meals. Tour agencies have groups going to the most popular destinations in Asia and if you act now, you can angle in on some great deals. TUI China Travel (www.tui.cn) is a solid choice for mid to high-end travelers. Book before Dec. 30 and get eight days at the Berjaya Beach & Spa Resort in Langkawi plus round-trip airfare for RMB8,690 (departs Jan. 24). They are also offering seven days in Tibet observing the unique Monlam Festival for RMB9,580 (departs Jan. 29). DiverseChina (www.diversechina.com) busts out the bikes for a cycling holiday in Hainan. Price for eight days and 500 km of biking? RMB6,300. Cycle heads will also want to check out Yunnan Cycling, a new tour operator in Yunnan (www.yunnancycling.com) which is running multi-day bike trips around places like Lijiang and Dali for less than RMB5,000. Meanwhile Beijing’s own SinoScuba (www.sinoscuba.com) packs up the gear for a week of diving in Puerto Galera, one of Asia’s best and most accessible dive spots. Price tag? RMB6,000. The travel industry is feeling the pinch (along with everyone else) and is slashing prices for the upcoming holiday season. No better time to pack a bag and get gone.