China Connection Tours feedback anyone??

This would be unwise. Please have a look at this thread for a further discussion of how to approach choosing a tour company:

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia/china-highlights-tours---reliable.cfm

Peter N-H

Don't be misled by anyone and look for feedback from people who have been on China Connection Tours.
There are always pros and cons to take a tour or travel by yourself in China.
China Connection Tours is the internet sales outlet of China Comfort Travel Xian.
They have no office in North America.
Even the 800 number on web is transferred to Xian, China to be picked up.

jubilee23,

Did you end up going with China Conection tours? If so have you taken your trip yet and how do you feel about CCT if you used them. Thanks.

I am convinced with Peter N-Hin in this forum that people should travel by themselves in China without going thru tour agents.

It is easy to make hotel reservations on line.

All Chinese airports has public transportations to downtown.
Street cab, subway, public bus, mini bus are all over.

Moreover, stay away from the Chinese tour operators, Chinese tour directors/guides as far as possible to avoid rip off and waste a lot of travel time in scamming shopping stops.

Those who still want to join group tour should pick up tour companies sending along a tour director from your home country, not one from Shanghai or Beijing, to accompany trip members and to supplement local guides.
This is worth paying more for.

I am sorry, Peter N-H not Peter N-Hin.

Hi Cat12345, I'm a guide from China Connection Tours and not promoting our company here. Just want to ask: How do you know our 800 number is transferred back to Xian? FYI, we do have offices in LA and Houston and the 800number is connected to our LA office. Also, there is another phone number of our LA office:310-542-0480.

Again, I post here not trying to sell our company but only make it clear to people who don't know us.

I have not been on the Asia board for awhile as we have been going other places. We just booked a wonderful
33 day trip with Castle & King which has brought me back to the board. I have noticed a few questions about
China Connection Tours www.china-tour.cn

We booked a 10 day private tour with them in May 2008 that turned out beautifully. They could not have been better
to work with. It was our second time to China and we were doing a 3 week bird watching tour following the arrangements that we booked with them. We were on their portion in Yunnan when the earthquake hit. Our bird tour was to be in
Sichuan and we had no idea what was going to happen with that. (It ended up going - but switched to Yunnan
and also turned out great). China Connection was in contact with us several times per day during the week or
so following the earthquake and before we left their tour. They were going to help us plan something else to do
if necessary elsewhere in China if our bird tour was cancelled. They had booked hotels, made other air arrangements,
etc. - just in case. Then, when we were able to fly to Kunming to meet our other tour - they happily
canceled the arrangements they had made, charged us nothing for their time (even though I really tried to pay
them something) and even got our ticket from Lijiang to Chengdu that they had booked months earlier, refunded
- with a small airline cancel fee - in cash to us by our guide in Lijiang. They even checked with us one more time to make sure we needed nothing
else in China and said if we did to let them know, even though we were no longer on their tour. Then of course contacted us at home after our return from China for feedback. This is a wonderful
company! We worked with both Michael and Vivien.

During the weeks of many, many emails before going - the responded in a very timely fashion to every question,
need, request (there were many!) that we made. If I emailed them during the evening I often had a response
before I even went to bed here in Colorado! We went to Dazu, Chongqing, Jianshui, Yuangyang and Lijiang.
All guides were very good - one was outstanding! Hotels, meals, air and other arrangements were perfect. I
really would give them a 100% and I don't give that lightly. I hope you do book with them from my posting
as that is about all I can do to repay their kindness. You can see many, many satisfied customers testimonials
on their website. I am certainly not the only one who appreciated them.

Corona

Would you please give me your office address in LA & Houston?

>Again, I post here not trying to sell our company but only make it clear to people who don't know us.

Make no sense!

Corona

The full address of China connection tours LA office & Houston office please?

From thier website:

"China Connection Tours is the online platform of China Comfort Travel Xian (the leading China tour operator) which has over twenty-years of experience in tour booking and operating and is the Chinese Strategic Partner of Rosenbluth International,"

So maybe the LA and Houston offices are those of Rosenbluth. Although Rosenbluth itself seems to be part of American Express...

thursdaysd

You may call their US & Canada 800 number 800-320-9088

I called the number twice, on 05/21/09 & today 07/17/09.

The phone was answered by the same guy, "Zhong".

On both occasions, he said China connection tours has no office in North America.

On 05/21/09, he said he was picking up the phone in Xian.