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Guided Tours in China – What prices can I expect to pay?

Guided Tours in China – What prices can I expect to pay?

Old Jun 20th, 2007, 04:48 AM
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Guided Tours in China – What prices can I expect to pay?

Hi fellow fodorites,

I’ve been receiving such wonderful information for my trip to China for next year. I’ve also gotten suggestions for tour guides. As I’m going independently (with my cousin) I’m planning to use some guides for some sights and go out on our own for other sights, such as the Forbidden City, sightseeing in Hong Kong, etc.

I’m looking to hire guides (or maybe just drivers?) for the following locations and would like to know what kind of prices I can expect when I get quotes.

- Great Wall
- Terra Cotta Warriors (take local bus?)
- Day trip to Suzhou and/or Tongli (Should be able to do on our own via bus – to Tongli first and then Suzhou – or maybe to just one of these places)
- Longmen Caves from Luoyang
- Rice Terraces in Longsheng
- Li River boat trip (maybe from Yangshuo instead of Guilin)
- Panda Preserve in Chengdu

Are there any other sights that should be visited with a guide and/or driver? Are any of the sights I listed doable on our own via local bus or through a travel agency once we get to each town?

Those of you who did tours, would you please let me know what you paid so I can compare prices when I get quotes?

Thanks!!

Monica
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Old Jun 21st, 2007, 03:56 PM
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I just want to bump this up.

Thanks!

Monica
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Old Jun 21st, 2007, 04:32 PM
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monica,

For our guide in Xian we used a guide from the China Trip Advisor's website.

We had a private guide and van with driver for $65 US per person for the two of us.

They picked us up at the Xian train station and did what we wanted them to do all day. It was fantastic!

Our guides name was Gloria. She is an energetic 30 something college graduate with a passion for her hometown. Her English is very good and she has a pleasant personality. Don't miss the acrobat show that she will try and sell you tickets to. It's not to be missed imho.

http://tinyurl.com/3248xp

For the Great Wall we again hired a limo and driver from the Peninsula hotel for I think 1100 yuan for the trip to Mutianyu and back.

Of course you can go outside on the street and "bargain" and hire a taxi for 450-600 yuan to take you there and back but.....well, it's all up to you what you want to do.

In Chengdu we hired a driver and limo from The Sheraton we stayed at for 200 Yuan per hour to take us to and from the Panda preserve. I think we spent 600 Yuan total which was the best 600 Yuan I spent on the trip.

If you read my trip report it gives details on the Panda event and other details of drivers we hired in China.

http://tinyurl.com/37hwc3

Hope this gives you some idea of the prices you may encounter. Others will chime in I'm sure!

Aloha!



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Old Jun 21st, 2007, 06:10 PM
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Thanks, that certainly helps! I did read about your panda excursion and will definitely go there.

Monica
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Old Jun 21st, 2007, 09:36 PM
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In beijing,you should visit some sites with a tour guide,such as the Tiananmen Square,Forbidden City,the Great Wall,Temple of Heaven,and Summer Palace,you know,these sites consist lots of the ancient culture in China,if you want to know them better,hire a tour guide.
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Old Jun 27th, 2007, 03:39 AM
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Monica: I know you are not planning to go there, but this might give you an idea: For my day trip to Xitang from Shanghai I paid 1000 RMB which is about US$130.00. This was the price for the car and driver, not per person. I hired a private driver through the hotel concierge but not through the travel agency used by my hotel. That agency would have charged over 220 USD for the same trip. I did not bargain and if I had, I imagine the price would have been a bit less.

Prices for guides and drivers are much lower in Beijing than in Shanghai.

In Beijing, as you might know, I went with Kong Lin; I felt his prices were fair. For the trip to Mutianyu, Kong Lin went as a guide and he hired a car and driver. But for driving within Beijing, we went in Kong Lin's car, accompanied by Violet. I hesitate to post prices because things may change by the time you get there, but if I remember correctly, I paid about US$150 for the day that we went to Mutianyu, Lama Temple, shopping, etc. This included all entrance fees, the hutong tour by rickshaw in the Back Lakes, lunch at a really good restaurant, and several shopping stops within Beijing. It was a long day. (We went to the Wall in the morning and returned to the city after lunch; I did not get back to my hotel until dinnertime).
The Peninsula Hotel was quoting a higher price just for the Mutianyu excursion.

I hope that helps...I am always happy to answer questions about my trip and you can always look at my trip report, posted in April 2007.
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Old Jun 27th, 2007, 04:08 AM
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Good morning!

Thanks for your comments and suggestions.

ekscrunchy, I'm not set on where we'll go for a day trip out of Shanghai. I've been looking for information on places, including Xitang. My books don't have information on Xitang - can you tell me more about it and how long a drive it took to get there?

Yes, I've already been corresponding with Kong Lin and plan to do the same tour as you - Mutianyu, Lama Temple, lunch at the same place as you, and the hutong tour.

Thanks!

Monica
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Old Jun 27th, 2007, 06:32 AM
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Hi Monica,

I went to Beijing last summer with a friend and got my hotel to recommend a list of local tourguides and driver. They had been vetted by the hotel so I had a good idea of what to expect. Also, the rest stops on the journey were at specific places which used western style toilets and the restaurants printed their menus in English. This is important because I ended up with pigs' intestines with noodles when left to my own devices.

My tour guide, Alice, was as mad as a hatter! Obviously very keen to make our journey as pleasant and informative as possible. Her english was fantastic.

As mentioned by other fodorites, you must spend time at Tiannamen Square, Forbidden City (both take an afternoon together),Tian Tan (Temple of Heaven - nice to go to first thing in the morning) and a walk along Wangfujing Avenue to pick up chinese tea and chopsticks! Connecting to the Grand Hyatt hotel is a shopping centre where you can buy CDs and DVDs at dirt cheap prices!

On your way to Badaling to walk along the Great Wall of China you will be able to take a detour to the Ming Tombs. Alternatively, with a guide you may be able to go to a different section of the wall where there are fewer tourists.

I think it would be more comfortable to take your own taxi to Xian to see the Terracotta Warriors as public transport is a bit hit and miss. Very crowded, noisy and smokey!

Hope you have a fantastic time!
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Old Jun 27th, 2007, 06:41 AM
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Monica, there is some detail about Xitang in my trip report. If I remember correctly, it is about a 2- 2 1/2 hour drive from Shanghai. Again, look at my report to confirm this. I researched quite a bit and ended up choosing Xitang because there were few organized tours going to the town, as opposed to Tongli, which now appears to feature on the itineraries of many organized tours. Frommer's Shanghai has some good details on the various water towns; according to the authors, Tongli and Zhouzhang are very commercialized in comparison with Xitang and Nanxun. I inquired about visiting Nanxun as well but it is further from Shanghai and would have been a bit far for a day trip. Take a look at Frommer's as well as the TimeOut Shanghai guide for more information. And take a look again at my report for any details I omitted in this post; I visited Shanghai at the end of the trip so scroll down past Seoul and Beijing...

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...7&tid=34984181
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Old Jul 4th, 2007, 05:35 AM
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Thanks ekscrunchy for the info. I think we'll probably do a day trip that won't take as long to get there as Xitang.

When I return from my Med cruise in late October I will really dive into planning this trip.

Monica
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Old Sep 26th, 2007, 09:14 PM
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Hi,Monica,

If you have enough time, i suggest you to add one day for Hangzhou(west lake) which is derserved to have a look.

Enjoy!

Susan Zheng
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Old Sep 27th, 2007, 05:26 AM
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Hi Susan,

Thanks for your suggestion. Not sure if I'll have the time, but will look into it.

Monica
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