pinepond

Hi,

My husband and I would like to visit China for the first time. We would also like to visit Thiland, specifically Bangkok.

We have always traveled independently to Europe, except some land excursions while cruising. We detest those stops at shops, which I assume are a part of all China Tour companies?? We have looked at Pacific Delight tours, and they are expensive. Smarttours seem to be more reasonable. But we don't have any experience with either of these companies.

As a minimum, we would like to visit Beijing, Xian (soldiers), also think we would like Yangtze River tour? and Bangkok.

Is it reasonable and safe to arrange independent travel to these locations?

Are there other locations which we should include?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Regards and Thanks in advance,

Pinepond

rhkkmk

while it is possible to travel to much of china independantly, i would not do it outside of the major tourist cities and maybe a fast air trip to xian...especially if you are not an experienced asia traveller...china is much more difficult than other asian places...thailand is best done on your own by the way...

others may disagree with me on this...

i find it interesting that you consider pacific delight to be expensive...i have not found them to be that way...last week i was looking at a 7 day PD tour to shanghai for around $850, all inclusive except most meals...the airfare is that much alone...

airfares to asia are usually between $650 and $1300 i find...moving around in asia is long distances...for instance the flight from toyko to bangkok is 6 hours...

this is way out on a limb...but may i suggest the following...

how about a more limited asian trip?? fly to bangkok and from there visit one or more other places in thailand, i.e. the beaches in the south and one or more northern places, i.e. chiang mai or chiang rai....
that would take up 2-3 weeks...

depending on your timeframes you could add a short trip to angkor wat in cambodia (3 days minimum) or to yangon in myanmar (burma) (3-7 days in myanmar)

this would ease you into asia and you would come away with a real appreciation for it...thailand is very reasonable by the way....a four star hotel in bangkok can be had for $100 or less in many cases...food is very reasonable...english is widely spoken..shopping is unbelievable...

rhkkmk

i should add one more thing about price in asia...there is a great degree of difference in hotels in asia...you probably don't want to be in a 2* asian hotel where in europe it would probably be fine...this drives up prices...

i'm assuming that you are american or canadian...you have high standards for where you put your head down at nite...it does not have to be fancy but it has to be clean by western standards...you might not be happy with some asian hotels in this regard and some hotels that tour companies choose are not the best or are poorly located...
for instance you know the type of hotels that tour companies use in europe in say munich... a perfectly nice hotel but it is 25 miles outside the city so you are stuck there at nite really...same thing in bangkok...some tour hotels are way away from where you want to be and you have to take a taxi everywhere...
i give this as a warning to you...

pinepond

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. Do you have a recommendation and/or experience with a particular tour company, should we decide on that route? do you have an opinion on Pacific Tours or Smarttours?

Thanks again,
Pinepond

rhkkmk

pinepond---i only have experience with pacific delight and asian trails (www.asiantrails.com)...pacific have and office in nyc which is very easy to deal with....i went on a budget 7 day beijing tour with them and it was perfect...everything they promised and more...they were easy to deal with...

asian trails is headquartered in bangkok and is very good as well...they have great rates and i found their service excellent...i used them for touring northern vietnam...

i have not used the other...

my suggestion might be to be not as price conscious as quality conscious in asia...the two can go hand in hand...location of hotels in asia for instance is important to consider...paying slightly more is often worth the extra money...

rhkkmk

i should have added that i rarely use tour companies because it is my hobby to plan trips for us....

okminty

Pinepond

My wife and I are leaving for three weeks in China during September and are doing it independantly. I will let you know how we make out when we return. We have traveled all over Europe independantly but not to China. However we did live Korea for 6 and 1/2 years back in the late 60's early 70's so I think we understand the Asian culture. Will let you know how much of that old experience carries over into this adventure. Are also seeing Tibet as part of our trip. Wish us luck

JaneB

My husband and I spent 4 wonderful weeks traveling in China this spring. We had no reservations at all when we arrived in Hong Kong--we just followed Peter's, rkkwan's, and others' recommendations about showing up and buying airline tickets, booking hotels, and signing up for local tours (including the Yantze River cruise on the East Queen). We also took the Trans-Siberian train from Beijing across Mongolia to Lake Baikal. We never had a problem, but I had done a LOT of preparation and planning. We also traveled to Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand last year without any prior reservations. Next year we are planning to travel this way to Burma and India. I love the freedom of not having any prior commitments--but it does take a lot of planning before leaving home. You can do it, and you will be glad you did!

marywhitcomb

Hi We went with Grand Circle tours last October and had a fabulous experience with this three week trip. Would highly recommend. They specialize in tours for people over 50 but our crowd generally ranged from mid 40s to mid-60s. Check out www.gct.com If you have any questions, email me.