ellenbw

Thanks for all of this great info. I spoke with DH about switching to Japan for next year's trip but he is really interested in China which is fine with me. Im just not thrilled with the tour options so far so I'm still figuring that part out.

kja

China can be a delightful destination! Get some good guidebooks; read some of the trip reports on this board, perhaps especially ones from those of us who traveled there independently; and by all means, look at planning threads, too!

While I went pretty far off the beaten path when I traveled to China, and way out of my comfort zone at times, I will also say that I found the major cities very easy to visit independently.

Hope that helps!

ellenbw

Thanks so much kja - I've already started reading trip reports - researching and planning is half the fun! I'm always amazed by people who do not get a huge thrill out of it. I have trouble planning this far in advance, because I get so excited about a trip, the anticipation is just overwhelming. LOL - these are the good problems!

I just spoke with a colleague today who has been to Asia (China, Vietnam, Japan) several times on escorted tours. She is Chinese and is fluent, not sure about the dialect(from Taiwan, came here for grad school many years ago and her husband is from Hong Kong originally). They take escorted tours with a company that offers tours in Chinese, but the company started another branch a few years ago for English speakers. Top quality hotels, excellent food, no 'shopping' commission stops, excellent local guides and a western guide who travels with you. The name is SuperValueTours, so I will research them as well. They are based in L.A. with a branch in Beijing, I think. No Yangtze river cruise with them however.

I'm looking at Uniworld as well, which is a river cruise company that offers a land tour that gets rave reviews on cruisecritic, including a 3 day cruise on the Yangtze river on the Century Legend. I'll let all of you know what I end up with for a tour!

kja

As you read, please keep the major problems with most (if not all) tours to China in mind, and also the ease with which one can visit on one's own. You've assured us that you are familiar with the biggest problems, but I urge you to think through the nuances -- e.g., a "top quality" hotel on the outskirts of Beijing (how easily can you get to an interesting part of the city on your own?) that offers "excellent" food (that might be geared to tourists' ideas of Chinese cuisine -- quite a different beast) might not be a very good option at all. Just some things to consider....

And do keep in mind that those who have only travelled to China WITH a tour have nothing against which to compare their experience. Of course, that argument could apply in reverse to me -- having traveled there only independently, I can't really speak to a tour -- except that I did join one or two highly regarded day tours while there (and confirmed that I already knew more from my advanced research than my guides) and I read extensive comments from people who have done it both ways, many of whom provided input on this board....

Please forgive me if I seem to be overly critical of your effort to find a tour. I was initially terrified of the idea of going to China on my own, and considered it only because of the support and information I got here on Fodor's. And OMG, what a wonderful experience it was! Maybe I'm a bit too much of a convert....

thursdaysd

I have been to China three times, once on a high end tour (Smithsonian), once on a budget tour (Intrepid), and once on my own. Admittedly, the last time was in 2004, so my knowledge of China is out of date, but I am in a position to compare independent travel to travel on a tour, and I am sure that independent travel has only gotten easier.

The Smithsonian tour was the standard eastern itinerary, including a Yangtze cruise. The hotels were very good - harbor view in Hong Kong, very central in Beijing, etc. - the food seemed very good, although in retrospect I think it was westernized. We had a Smithsonian guide as well as a tour director, although all guiding at sights was with local guides and a "country" guide accompanied the whole tour. It was a good introduction to Asia, but I felt that I was in a coccoon.

The Intrepid tour was Beijing to Islamabad via Kashgar and the Karakorum Highway. It didn't include any guiding to speak of, used lower end hotels, and gave us lots if freedom. I had suggested to the Smithsonian tour director, when diverging in Beijing from the set itinerary, that we might use the metro. He was horrified. Intrepid had a sign in the first hotel recommending it. This trip confirmed my belief at the end of the Smithsonian tour that I could travel in China without a tour.

My last trip I spent seven weeks traveling mostly in Sichuan and Yunnan, on my own. I did have some support at the beginning of the trip, but only because I was traveling over the National Day holiday. I had a wonderful time.

I think the suggestion to rely on a car and driver booked through your hotels is a good one. I used local buses, and taxis off the street, but it was my third trip. I would also suggest that you reconsider the Yangtze cruise. I did it on the Smithsonian tour, but that was 1997, before the dam was finished. I enjoyed it, but it does take quite a bit of time that might be better spent elsewhere. Like Guilin, it has been over-hyped.

I speak no Mandarin, although I have tried (I can't distinguish the tones). I was able to recognize some of the characters. I had no difficulty traveling on my own, even well off the tourist trail. People, especially those who spoke some English, were very ready to help. After the National Day holiday I didn't book any hotels ahead of time, but if you want high end hotels you may get a better deal doing so.

If you decide to go independently we can offer more help.