WinterTravel

We are trying to help a relative plan a trip to celebrate a 65th birthday. She has decided that she would like to go to China. We are looking for an affordable trip (budget is an important issue) on which a solo traveler would be welcome (and a roommate might be possible). In the price range, it appears that Pacific Delight and GCT may be good options. Has anyone used either/both for trips to China in the last year -- comments about the experience would be much appreciated. Many thanks!

WinterTravel

Two other questions -- is the average age of tour participants older on one verus the other, and is the group size larger on one versus the other?

Susan33

I have no idea if Pacific Delight limits group size.

But we were in China at an airport awaiting a flight. There was a Grand Circle Tour there too. The group of 150 seemed really large to me.

thursdaysd

I haven't used either, but a friend took his 85-year-old father to China on a Pacific Delight tour last year and was very pleased. I think the group size was around 30-40, but could be remembering wrong.

rhkkmk

about 3 years ago we went on a pacific delight tour to beijing only....the group was about 35-40 which was a perfect size....the ages were about 30 to 70 with the average about 55 i should think./...

they did a good job overall....

grand circle has had its ups and downs lately....some fodorites have had problems with them...my in laws have used them very successfully, in europe only, for about 10 years going at least once per year with them... i think the age there tends to be slightly older, mostly retirees i believe, but not entirely...

marken

We just got back from a Pacific Delight 18 day tour thru Thailand and there was 6 of us - we did cross paths with a couple of other Pacific Delight tours (one that was just finishing and one that started a few days before us) the largest had around 20 people. I don't know if this would relate to a China group but thought you'd like the info.

stitchintime

Check Fodor's for Grand Circle Warning post about service we received from GCT.

WinterTravel

Thanks so much for all of the input so far -- very helpful! We'd love a bit more help from those of you who have taken Pacific Delights trips to China/know people who have. It appears that dinners are not included in most of their trips. Is this a problem/big expense? Some of the trips leave a lot of time on your own (rather than organized sightseeing) -- our relative will be going alone and not keen on exploring on her own. Do people in the group tend to go exploring together, or would she be better on a trip with organized events each day? Many thanks for the continued help!

jkgourmet

Have you considered the trips offered by Friendly Planet. As far as budget goes, many people on these boards say they can't be beat. Damn near perfect for our recent trip to Thailand.

Saying that, I too would suggest avoided GCT - too many warnings all over the internet. I do not see much negative about Pacific Delight, but would still say FP gets more praise than any other budget group travel company.

PS - Smartours and Friendly Planet offer the same trips, combining the group. "Friendly people and Smart People" the guides say. I've dealt with both and found the staff at FP far more polite and attentive. I'd say they were downright Friendly, but I don't like puns!

rhkkmk

on our one week trip there were side tours (overly expensive, i thought) almost every morning and afternoon and some nites....we wanted to be on our own as much as possible but two friends travelling with us took a couple of trips...one problem arose at least once, when one side trip did not return early enough for people to go on the next trip....that was a problem...

eating is no problem....you can always eat in your hotel....

i prefer for dinners to not be included---too similar usually...

she probably will hitch up with another single or with a couple but you cannot count on this of course

WinterTravel

rhkkmk and marken - We are hoping that you will see this post and tell us a bit more about your Pacific Delight experience. Our relative had pretty much decided to use Pacific Delight, but has been holding off on booking her China trip to see if one of the departures fills up. As of now most of the dates are only 5-6 people booked. The concern is that this is a very small number and that as a single traveler she might end up alone for meals, etc... Did the groups on your Pacific Delight trips tend to stick together for meals (even when not included in the itinerary), or will she be left on her own a lot? Thanks for any additional input -- much appreciated!

rhkkmk

i actually think a small group might be more to her advantage....i think they would include her more...

i think people went every which way for their non covered meals...i know we did...we were 4 people....two cousins, not ours, and karen and me....

can't she find someone to go with her and share??? how about one of you??

WinterTravel

Thanks so much for the reply. Unfortunately we cannot join her and she has not had any luck finding a travel companion. Since we are the ones encouraging her to go, we just want to be sure that the trip we suggest is one on which she will definitely have a good time (we do not do group travel ourselves, so we just don't have personal experience of tour companies). She liked the idea of Pacific Delight over the much larger Grand Circle group, but our fear is that she will end up with no company if only 6 people go on the Pacific Delight trip. We are also a little worried about the lack of a tour coordinator/contact point in China -- is there any down side to only having local guides (and nobody available 24/7 in case of difficulty)? Thanks a million for your insights....

pat

You might check out China spree. The groups are 20 or less. The price is a little higher than Friendly Planet, but it includes a lot more sightseeing and food too.

marymader

I have traveled as a single woman on 2 tours in the past. both groups had about 35 people on them and worked out great for me. As long as your relative is pretty easy to get along with there will always be someone in the group to do something with. On both trips I of course enjoyed some of the people more than others and as the trip went along did things with them. The tours keep you pretty busy as a group anyway. I would suggest going with a tour that has a person with you the entire time. this person is always there if you have a problem. I have never used Pacific Delight or Grand Cirle either one but I believe they are all alot alike. I did talk to someone that went to China with Grand Cirle last fall and loved it.

WinterTravel

Pat - We will check out China Spree - thanks! MaryMader - which tour companies did you use for your trips that you enjoyed so much as a solo traveler?

Amy

OAT is the "Overseas Adventure Travel" segment of Grand Circle that specializes in small group travel. I quite enjoyed my trip with them (not to China--I did that on my own), although I know others have had scheduling problems with them. Their group size limit is 16 and they have had a good itinerary for China.

rhkkmk

i sure that you know that there have been many complaints during the last year about grand circle...

marymader

You ask which tour groups I had used.
I have not been to China,but I am leaving 4/22 for China with Uniworld. Last year I went to Russia with Globus and the year before I went to Europe with Trafalgar.

WinterTravel

We had a look at the Uniworld site on your suggestion and got excited about one of their trips. Unfortunately, however, they apparently don't work with many people going on trips alone -- we called and were told that a single person would have to pay a huge supplement (nearly double).

Overseas Adventure Travel was our first thought when we started recommending a trip to our relative, but unfortunately they only have one trip to China (the others are all GCT) and it is too long/expensive for her.

At this point we are not sure what to suggest to her -- the Pacific Delight trips may just be too small to be fun for a solo(under 6 people) and the GCT too large (and people have had problems with GCT). Any other great ideas (for 2 week China trips -- Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai WITHOUT river trip) would be most welcome!