I am trying to decide between going to parts of china or vietnam/cambodia.
Which upscale tours do you knowledgable people suggest to China.??
Many thanks

I assume by upscale tours you mean escorted group tours -- Abercrombie & Kent and Smithsonian come to mind.

I don't usually do upscale, but I did go to China the first time on a Smithsonian tour. Pros: good hotels, excellent food, informative study leader, generally efficient logistics. Con: I felt like I was in a cocoon. The tour leader nearly had a fit when I suggested I might use the subway in Beijing.

I have a friend who spoke well of a tour to Egypt with Travcoa. But if I were going to do upscale now, and didn't travel solo, I would look into a private tour with an outfit like Asia Transpacific.

For China I would consider Pacific Delight

THANK YOU ALL

You might check out "Lets Travel China" at www.letstravelchina.com. We traveled with them last August and they were fantastic! They specialize in smaller group tours (8 - 16 people) so you don't have the waiting while 20 - 30 people are rounded up to get back on a big bus. We also had options to make some changes to the itinerary. There were only 2 of us on the tour, so we got super service! We had a tour escort for the whole trip and local guides and drivers. The price was excellent, and it included all transportation costs - airfare from LA to Bejing, all domestic flights, and transfers to hotels and airports - first class hotel accomodation, 3 meals per day, 4 nights of entertainment, all entrance fees, etc. They also visited places that other tour companies did not. We had to pay extra only for airfare to LA where the tour started, and for tips for the local guides and drivers - everything else was covered in their advertised fee with no "hidden extras" like othr companies I checked out. A friend took a similar tour to China a few months after we did, and booked with her local travel agency that purchased a tour from a company in China. She paid over $1,000 more to ride in a bus with 30 other people, see fewer sights, visit fewer cities, and eat food that was just "so-so". Lets Travel China is a new branch of a family owned travel agency in the LA area that had specialized in cruises until last year. Daniel, the agency owner, went to China and personally chose the hotels, restaurants, etc. to include on their tours, so that the client would have a good "taste" of the Chinese culture from region to region. This tour company has a good variety of tours available depending on what you want to see and how long you want to travel. We took the 12 day Essential China Tour, and went to Beijing, Xian, Chengdu, Chonqing, a 3 day Yangtze River Cruise, Shanghai, and Suzhou. We stayed in first class hotels (some hardly open for a year) and ate at great first class restaurants where we didn't see other tourists! We highly recommend this tour company for those who don't want the hassle of spending a lot of time on their own setting up tours in each city after their arrival. We plan to book another tour with them again in year or so.

Just got back from China with Pacific Delights. They were outstanding. Everything was first class.

Which Pacific Delights tour did you do? We are taking one of their tours in late October -- the 14 day Golden Route Imperial Tour. We know very few people who have gone to China so basically read up lots on the Web. Hope we -- especially me! -- made the right decision. Hubby is very understanding even when things go wrong.

We went to China with R. Crusoe and Sons. They are wonderful! You will see and do things not available on other tours -- such as visiting the restoration work rooms and being in the pits rather than on the catwalks at the terra cotta warriors. We were in Shanghia on the morning of 9/11 with R. Crusoe. They assured our group that we would be taken care of until such time as we could return home safely. They put on staff in their Chicago office to phone anyone (family or friend) that we wanted tracked and report via fax to us in China on their safety. We couldn't have felt safer. They also allowed many people to cancel upcoming trips without penalty, unlike many other tour operators at the time. They use the best hotels, offer many private lectures and behind the scenes additions, dine in great restaurants, and have wonderful guides in all cities. I highly recommend them.

http://www.rcrusoe.com/china_yangtse/

I've also traveled with Pacific Delight and had no complaints. I'd have no problem traveling with them again.

SHPAP--We took Pacific Delight 21 Day China In-Depth & Yangtze Ricer Imperial Experience Your. We left April 14 and returned May 4, 2007. We did the Red Tour. It was first class and would travel with them again. Try to find out who the American guide is. We had Dr. Herb Fong who must be the best guide in China