The secrets and shortcuts to successfully attending this summer’s games

It's less than two months before the Olympics begin in Beijing, and more than 500,000 visitors are expected to arrive during the games. If you want to be one of them, you've probably already heard how expensive it may be to get there, how costly it will be to be there and how impossible it may be to get tickets to the events.

But if you can think a little outside the box and plan carefully, you can easily get to China, stay there, and attend some of your favorite Olympic events.

Let's start with the task of getting there:

Getting there
Try pricing an airline ticket from the U.S. to Beijing and be prepared for serious sticker shock. A few airline tickets are available — coach — for over $2,000 from New York to Beijing. On Continental Airlines, a round-trip coach seat on their nonstop flight from Newark (listed on kayak.com) is priced at more than $10,000!

But there are a number of affordable alternatives, and the fare savings are substantial. Even better, many of them have some surprise benefits.

One option is to buy an RTW ticket. RTW stands for around the world — and what you'll be doing is just that — with Beijing as a stop along the way. This is the one ticket where more costs-... less. Some RTW choices with sample itineraries:

Airtreks – RTW ticket: New York - Kiev - Beijing - Hong Kong - New York, $1,249-$1,625 (high season) plus taxes of $450; Los Angeles - Beijing - Delhi - Istanbul - London - New York
$1,699-$2,225 plus taxes of $480

There are many flight options with RTW tickets and they are offered in conjunction with two or more airlines with dozens and dozens of flight/destination combinations. You can fly in any direction. You just need to stay flying in the same direction throughout your trip — no doubling back.  

The All Asia Pass on Cathay Pacific: The All Asia pass includes coach-class air from Los Angeles, San Francisco or New York to Hong Kong plus 21 consecutive days of travel to up to four other “basic” Asian cities such as Beijing, Bali, Bangkok, Singapore and Tokyo. The 2008 All Asia Pass starts at $1,099, but for travel through August 17, 2008, it requires a summer surcharge of $500. Still, a great deal.    

Air Tahiti: Air Tahiti recently launched its RTW ticket, starting at $3,600 for coach ($6,450 business and $10,050 first class), plus taxes and fees.
(Note that the business-class around-the-world fare is less then Air Tahiti Nui's regular business-class round-trip price for L.A.-Sydney!)
     •     You must fly in one direction, but you can opt to start either in Los Angeles or New York.
     •     The biggest catch is that they fly on Air Tahiti and Emirates, neither of which goes between China and Japan, so you have to make your own way between those two countries.
     •     A sample itinerary can be L.A.-Tahiti-Tokyo, then get yourself to Beijing-Dubai-L.A.; N.Y.-Dubai-Beijing-Shanghai, then get yourself to Tokyo-Tahiti-N.Y.

Or, you can go to local Chinese travel agents in the U.S.

Fly China: Chinese-owned travel agency based in Boca Raton, Florida. Only arranges airfare, not hotels.
     •     Currently has tickets to PEK (Beijing) from LAX/SFO between $1,600-$2,500 and from JFK $1,800-$3,000.
     •     Flights to Hong Kong are about $1,400 from LAX/SFO, $1,600 from JFK.
     •     Flights to Shanghai from LAX/SFO will be about $1,600-$2,500 and from JFK $1,800-$3,000.
    
Where to stay in Beijing
Marriott International: Marriott will have five new properties in Beijing: The JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton already opened in October, but those are close to fully booked at this point.

The three remaining properties have close to 1,000 rooms still available: Courtyard by Marriott Beijing Northeast, Renaissance Beijing Capital and Beijing Marriott Hotel City Wall. They are accepting bookings at this point and will be open by the Olympics.

Intercontinental: Holiday Inn Express begins at $360 and Holiday Inn begins at $344, and all of the hotels below have rooms available.