I'm intimidated about independent travel in China

My title says it all. We are experienced independent international travelers, but our only experience in Asia was Vietnam. There we made our own arrangements with agencies and had private guides pretty much all of the time except in the large cities which we handled on our own with no problems. We were pretty far off the beaten path for most of our trip, and I know we would have not been able to manage what we did on our own without a guide.

Now China is on my horizons--possibly Sichuan or Yunnan. I really am not looking to just take a typical guided group tour because they are not our style. One issue is that we often like to do things that are not on the typical tourist itinerary. Another is that I know tours often cost a lot more because of all the middle-men being paid. Enforced shopping stops are not to ur likes either. Also, we are not looking for 5* type expensive lodging so won%26#39;t be able to avail ourelves of the hand-holding that comes with this type of tourism. Finally--the biggie--we have zero language skills and obviously can%26#39;t even read the characters.

Bottom line. How difficult is it to travel in the areas of China I%26#39;ve mentioned independently? Are my fears for naught or are they justified? We want to do more than just travel from one large city to the next or each major tourist site to the next. I guess I should also add the question of how much more expensive it would be to do our own thing, which I know would entail hiring private guides and drivers vs. just signing on for the typical tour group? Thanks.

I'm intimidated about independent travel in China

Yunnan province is extremely well-travelled by independent backpackers, Sichuan a little less so but still very doable.

I just went for 2 weeks in Yunnan province -- 1st 8 days as 3 together and the later 6 days as 2 together. Including round-trip flights from Shanghai, and a Jinghong -- Kunming flight (which turned out to be unnecessary, upon learning -- too late -- that it was doable by overnight bus), our 14-day trip cost about 6500 RMB.

I'm intimidated about independent travel in China

We are also experienced independent travellers.Having had everything planned (from hotels to private guides in each city), the final decision was made due to the fact that well priced domestic flights can only be booked close to departure or when already in China. We%26#39;re a group of 6 on a tight schedule, unwilling to chance it. So we decided to present our itinerary to China Connections (Xian office as we wanted to skip the USA/Canada middle man). The result is that we%26#39;ve come to an excellent agreeable price for them to book our domestic flights, some hotels %26amp; most guides(we chose to book our hotels independently in Beijing %26amp; Lijiang %26amp; we also preferred to be completely independent in Yangshuo). We were promised no unwanted shopping stops as well. Referral for China Connections was made by a fellow traveller,sssteve, on the Fodors website.

My son (11years old) and myself travelled to Beijing - Xian - Chengdu and back to Beijing independantly last April/May with no hassles at all. WE enlisted the help of cycle china to do some train bookings and timing was important and they also organised a domestic flight, we did do a Great wall trip with them as well, but apart from that we did everything else ourselves and it was all relatively easy. The only problems we had were very small language problems which are always worked out with patience and a bit of humour!

I have travelled Vietnam independantly and it is also easy.

Do it yourself you will be fine!

If I am correctly interpreting what I hear from you, your scenarios were that you did some things completely on your own, used agancies to make certain arrangements, travelled independently from place to place but often used hired guides to show you around the locales.

Actually I can figure out how to do the hotel reservations myself. In Vietnam we found our way around Hanoi and Saigon and took in the sights on our own. After arrival in Vietnam we went to an agency and made our own internal flight arrangements once we had arrived in Saigon, so I know this is doable. We did the overnight train trips by ourselves, but there was a guide waiting for us when we got off the train. We then used the guide and driver services for the outlying area we were planning to visit.

Is what I am describing what you mean by being able to do it yourself? Or, did you do everything independently with no assistance?

Is it easy to find your way around Chinese train stations and find the correct train? As I talk myself through this, I can comprehend that we%26#39;d probably be fine just going from typically touristed city to city on our own. My area of concern would be going out into more rural or off-the-beaten-path type places; here I%26#39;d imagine we%26#39;d need guide/driver services.

I appreciate the comment on costs too. Did this figure for your 7 day trip involve any help with guides or drivers? Thanks again.

There is a big difference between going to rural areas in China that have no international tourist traffic verse those that do. Going to small towns around Guilin or those in Yunnan on your own is not going to be a problem, because lots of independent traveler%26#39;s go to those places.

There are rural places in China where it would be harder to manage, but most of them are also not places you%26#39;ll have any reason to visit. You can get to those that are worthwhile by arranging trips through guest houses in towns like Lijiang and Yangshuo.

Train stations can be a little confusing, but between the English (or at least pinyin) on some signs, showing people your ticket and going where they point, and people who speak English who will offer to help you, you can manage.

Nothing to fear!!!China is quite convenient destination,I spent a month there last year,doing the popular places like Shanghai,Suzhou,Hangzhou,Putuoshan,Nanjing,Luoyang,Xian,Beijing,Qingdao and Taishan...This year (May) will try Sichuan and hopefully Tibet...It s not very hard to travel on your own,as soon as you step off the train you%26#39;ll be surrounded by older ladies offering accomodation(cheap),just make sure you are happy with the location(next to train station or center of town) and check the room before paying.I don%26#39;t expect any dramatic difference in other parts of China,cause there are really a lot of people travelling without arranging tours through the agencies.Yunnan is a very popular destination,once you found backpacker friendy hotel all the latest travel info within the province will be at your disposal. Same for Sichuan. Check www.chinatrekking.com,www.gogosc.com,www,travelchinaguide.com.Have a nice trip!

Answer to your second post ~ NO we did not have guides waiting for us, we did not need them at all, but we did only go to Beijing, Xian and Chengdu.

Using the agency to book our train tickets and flights and Great wall trip. We left from Beijing West train station and it was ok to find out way around as previous suggested. Xian and Chengdu stations not so big as Beijing and easy enough to figure out.

Hi Julie,

Don%26#39;t feel intimidated at all.....

We spent 5 weeks travelling independently in China in June/July last year and apart from one very delayed flight which was our last in China and caused a bit of panic no real problems. The only arrangements we had made in advance were international flights to/from Hong Kong, the flight to Beijing and driver for our round trip to the wall.

The rest we just booked as we went (Accommodation, flights, train, van transport, guides etc) with a little help from accomodation staff, local guides and even cafe staff. I do admit tho it was kinda nice to have our driver meet us at Beijing airport with a sign.....

I had done a fair amount of research and had a itinerary which we varied as we went along. Our route was Jingshaling (the wall), Beijing, Datong, Xian, Lanzhou, Xiahe, Langmusi, Chengdu, Leshan, Kumning, Lijiang,Tiger Leaping Gorge,Zhongdian, Yangshou,Longsheng (+several villages), Macau. So not exactly always on the well trodden path......

We had a fantastic time and absolutely no regrets in fact we were extremely happy to have had the flexibilty. By the way we are in our late 40s/50s so not spring chickens either

My opinion just go for it.... and enjoy.

Cheers Tracey