Tours - Loads of questions - Help

Hi,

I unfortunately was one of the people who booked through Travelscope who went bust last Christmas. My sister and I had to save long and hard to pay for the trip (it was a present for my Mums 75th and Husbands 40th) and we have just got our money back and want to rebook. In total there are 7 of us, 5 adults and 2 children (6 %26amp; 7) and we have decided as a lot of the UK based companies will not take kids under 12 to try and sort out with another company. Wwe have booked flights into Beijing (Oct 31st) and back from Shanghai (November 11th)....So

1. I have checked loads of different companies Travel China Guide seem the best value but they are Beijing based and I am understandably a little worried about the money transfer and the cost it, or a credit card would cost - so has anyone travelled with them before? And can anyone recommend any other good UK based Tour companies?

2. Is it worth sorting out when we get there?

3. Can anyone recommend a good itinary we definately want to go to Xian, Guilin Yangshou - or are there place to be avoided and better places to go?

4. What is the typical cost of 3-4 star hotel and can anyone recommend ones in Beijing, Xian and Shanghai

5. How much does it cost for mini bus transfer to Shanghai airport? and is there a departure tax?

6. Are internal flights easy to organise and approximately how much do they cost?

7. Are there plenty of ATMs

8. Is it expected that you should tip...some of the tours we have contacted say you have to give $8 per person per day which would work out at about 拢200 that is a lot of money. I appreciate people work hard and good service should be recongnised but its usualy down to the descretion of the individual?

Thats all my questions for the moment, any help, tips and suggestions will be much appreciated.

Many thanks in anticipation.

Jane

Tours - Loads of questions - Help

Suggest you look at Intrepid Travel - Australian based %26amp; Gecko Tours. I have been on an Intrepid Tour - I think they do specific ';Family tours'; in some countries.

You have only 11 days so it would be unlikely you could get a tour to suit so recommend that you DIY - internal flights and trains are very reliable in China, although the trains are harder to book.

Look at: BJ (3-4 days); overnight train to Xi%26#39;an (1 night); Fly to Guilin - 3 nights Yangshuo; Fly to Shangahi (remaining 2-3 nights)

Tours - Loads of questions - Help

2) Plenty of people DIY, if you wanted to know.

3) Not enough information about you to do so. What are your sightseeing interests and preferences? Do you have any mobility problems?

4) Big difference between these two. 3-star manageable for about 400-600 RMB in all 3 cities, with Xi%26#39;an being a little cheaper than that.

5) Take 2 taxis, easier. No departure tax as it%26#39;s already included in the ticket price.

6) Relatively easy to organise. Your other question depends on a lot of factors eg distance covered by flight and amount of discount given, so it%26#39;s impossible to give a reasonable answer.

7) Again, not enough information given. I presume you%26#39;re asking about machines that take international ATM cards. These are generally quite easy to find in the well-touristed, major cities -- which seem to be the only places that most TripAdvisor users seem to venture to, in China, anyway.

8) No.

Hi Jane

We have booked a tailor made holiday with China Highlights. (service@chinahighlights.com) We knew where we wanted to visit, in our case Shanghai, Suzhou, Lijiang and Hong Kong, and checked travel reviews through Trip Advisor for hotels. China Highlights have put together the flights, transfers and our choice of hotels in China and they are quite reasonable. The nice thing about arranging everything before leaving the UK is there will be no hassle on arrival as we will be met at each destination but once at the hotel free to go at our own pace.

We have been to Xian twice, as part of an organised tour. We found that on a tour you are very limited with the time in Xian itself. The organised trip to Ban Po and the Terracotta Warriors takes up most of the trip. We would have liked to have spent some time in the Muslim quarter and more time on the town walls which are quite stunning. We have stayed at the ANA Grand Castle, lovely hotel just outside the gates of the city, overlooking the city walls. We have also stayed at The Garden Hotel, again a very nice hotel but not as central though cheaper.

In Beijing we have stayed at the Swissotel, nice hotel. The underground stop is right outside the front door and takes only minutes into Tianamen Square. I can%26#39;t remember the name of the other one we stayed at but though very nice, was quite a way out from the centre.

We do tip people for good service especially the hotel staff if they have looked after us but we always tip if we feel we have been looked after.

Suggestions:- a trip up the Yangtze, the scenery is spectacular though we haven%26#39;t been since the dam opened. The Great Wall at Mutiyanu - there is a cable car which is a great help when you are not so sprightly. The Temple of Heaven in Beijing - such an amazing building. A walk up Coal Hill in Beijing for the view over the Forbidden City and the Silk Market in Beijing for some wonderful bargains.

I hope this information will help. We have been to some wonderful places, met some of the nicest people and some of the best behaved children anywhere.

Enjoy your holiday

I will try to add some information without being repetitive.

1. I don%26#39;t see the need of tour operators to visit big cities like Beijing and Shanghai. Would you recommend a tour operator to visit London or New York? You will visit big attractions and can do this on your own.

2.Make a list of what you would like to see and sort it out there. For one thing your hotel can help you. They get people like you all the time. You may want to book your hotels ahead of time but everything else will be much cheaper if done locally at the last minute. I normally book my flights 3 to 5 days prior to departure. If booking late makes you nervous just go to www.elong.net and check the flight availability for your destinations in 3 days. You can even look for flights tomorrow, and you will see there are plenty.

3.For only 11 days I would drop Xi%26#39;An or you will spend too much time commuting.

4. There is no single answer when it comes to hotels. Go to www.wotif.com You can book from this site 30 days ahead. Note that the prices include all charges. Hotel wesites quote prices before 15% service charge. The results are organized by number of stars. Find the ones in your budget and check the reviews here. Serviced apartments are a good option for families.

5. No departure tax. Take a taxi, they are cheap.

6. I find internal flight cheap. The best option is to buy the tickets at your hotel. They all have a travel desk or will call a travel agent for you. You can do your own shopping on www.elong.net Once you find the flight you like (cheapest and appropriate schedule) just note it down and buy from the hotel. For the cost, it depends, just check now on that site and just use a theoretical date like tomorrow to give you an idea.

7. They are absolutely everywhere including hotel lobbies.

8. There is absolutely no tipping in China (including taxi drivers and restaurant waitresses). The only exceptions are the hotel bellboys. I think that guides are also now used to being tipped. Not only is tipping not common, it is actually discouraged. Don%26#39;t believe people who tell you otherwise, I have been to China 10 times.

For the most part, I am a do-it-yourselfer.

I am getting my train tickets from Beijing to Luoyang from a friend currently working in Beijing. I hadn%26#39;t heard back from him in a couple of weeks, so I emailed my hotel, and they said they would book them for me for a small commission.

In Luoyang, I was going to just grab a taxi, but I decided that rather than try to negotiate when I don%26#39;t speak Chinese would be too difficult, so I contacted a couple of agencies to inquire about a driver and someone in Luoyang to arrange our onward tickets.

China Highlights is one of the companies I contacted. I found their prices are high for what I was asking for. But they seem to be good for the type of trips where they arrange everything and tell you where you should go. I am looking for someone to drive me to where I want to go, whereas they are used to providing a guide and mapping out the itinerary and buying tickets at each venue, etc.

Of all the companies I contacted, the most expensive one was the only one that suggested that I should tip the driver.

I%26#39;ve finally booked with John in Xian to arrange a Luoyang driver, and train tickets there and in Xian. (johnqingg2004@yahoo.com.cn as recommended here) He%26#39;s affiliated with CITS, who have been recommended by Lonely Planet. And the prices are quite reasonable, basically what I would pay if I were to do it myself, plus a small fee for their time. Tours tend to be at least 5 times that amount.

Hi,

I would like to thank you all for your help and advice it is appreciated.

I am very much a DIY person myself and spent six months travelling the world in 2000. I suppose this time though I have to consider the others including my 75 year old Mum who can occassionally have aching legs,the 2 kids - one who is autistic and my sister and her boyfriend who tend to do packages.

I must say though your right I wouldn%26#39;t dream of booking tour around London, and you have all made me feel more optimistic about just going ahead and booking everything myself.....

More Questions.....

1. Is the underground network in Beijing and Shanghai easy to navigate? Are they always jam packed like London?

2. Also when booking hotels ahead do they charge you for using a credit card?

3. Generally, how much does it approximately cost to get into places - Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Gret Wall, Ming Toms, Summer Palace, Zoo, Terracotta Army etc etc

4. What currency do they tend to operate in - as all quotes for things seem to be in USA Dollars?

Thats it for the moment i will check out the sites etc you have all suggested.

Thanks again

Jane

1) Yes, extremely easy as they%26#39;re well-signposted in both English and Chinese characters. I can%26#39;t speak for the one in Beijing but Shanghai%26#39;s metro IS jam-packed during rush hour (as would any other one around the world during rush hour), at other times it%26#39;s fine.

2) No?

3) Erm, depends on the sight. Reckon on 30-100 RMB each. If your kids have student cards, bring them. If your autistic child has some kind of proof of being handicapped, bring that. If your Mom has some kind of ID to prove her age, bring that. All these might help to get you some discounts on admission fees, but don%26#39;t count on it to always happen.

4) Nothing but RMB, please!

Hi Jane,

We have booked with travelchinaguide for our trip leaving the US on Sept 19 for a 10 day tour to Beijing. Xian and Shanghai. We are taking the private tour and from all of the research I did on pricing of a pkg vs what is included in the pkg, I believe they had the best ';deal';. We will have a private car %26amp; guide and they even upgraded our inter-China flights to 1st class for us.

I have found them to be very responsive to my questions (with answers within 1 day-or less) and also to various changes to their initial itinerary.

Like anything else, one can only hope we made the right choice and will not know, until we complete the trip :)

Lu

I agree with all of Ellyse%26#39;s points. Except that I never used the subway in Beijing, the taxis are too cheap. I took a taxi from the Central Plaza Holiday Inn (not really central) to the Forbidden city for less than a single fare in Zone 1 on the tube in London.

A lot easier, too. I would have the bell boy at the hotel write the names of the places I was going on a notepad in Chinese, and I carried the card from the hotel to show when I wanted to get home.

As for your reasons for booking a tour, I say book it all yourself, and it%26#39;s DIY for you, and a package for your brother and sister. And I have spent more useless time standing around while on tours than I ever have on my own, so I don%26#39;t think having you organize everything will cause any hardship for your mother.

';the taxis are too cheap';

I took a taxi from Beijing main train station to Liuliqiao long-distance bus station (west 3rd ring road) and it took us %26gt;1 hour, and 60+ RMB.

The next day we wisened up and took the metro for 2 RMB each (we were 4) and much less time too!