China Focus
Oct 17th, 2000, 10:00 AM
#2
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I'm leaving on China Focus' Three Gorges tour on Nov. 7. Did your group have a lot of sickness, as a couple of earlier travelers mentioned to me? Were you generally pleased? How about money: did you find ATM machines or take Trav. Checks and cash? I think the weather in Nov. will require winter jacket (avg. temp of 40 degrees); was it cooler on the river? Did you climb China Wall -- difficult? Thanks for any info you can send. I'm looking forward to it very much.
Oct 28th, 2000, 07:26 PM
#3
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<BR>In China in Sept and would like to warn you that the ATMs did not work for some of us. I rec'd a debit card just for this trip as I found my ATM card would not work in Venazula. However, it did not work. We had to find a bank to get cash. Personally, I never take travelers checks as I found them to be a hassle, especially if they are not always accepted. I generally travel on CC and usually get cash from an ATM. I believe the reason most have problems with travelers checks is cuz they get them in US dollars instead of the currency for the country they are visiting. On my tour, Ritz Tours, our guide could always change money for us, no matter how much we requested. <BR>
Oct 31st, 2000, 02:40 PM
#4
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Just back from three week trip with Pacific Delight Tours. Atm's are scarce in PRC (People's Republic of China). Take traveller's checks, you will not be sorry. Atm's are few and out of the way, best one was at HSBC bank in Shanghai, it even has a guard standing by! I took lot of one dollar bills as suggested on this site and they came in very handy--IE: bottled water, tips, treats, film etc. We had a super tour guide, any questions email me direct. No major sickness for our group of 22. The boat on the Yangtze dress was very casual, however, I don't suggest doing laundry on the boat--very "muddy" water, lots of people sent our laundry and ended up throwing it away. Jacket, a good idea. You can climb as much of the wall as you wish--depending on weather, steps can be uneven and slippery when damp! Good walking shoes a must!
Nov 15th, 2000, 02:22 PM
#5
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Hi Ishoo, <BR> <BR>Would love to hear about your tour on China Focus. Have the same questions as Victoria. Planning to go in April. Any idea of what the weather is like then? I am narrowing my choices down to Ritz or China Focus. Any opinion is welcomed. <BR> <BR>Thanks...Jennifer
Dec 28th, 2000, 03:55 PM
#6
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My husband, 20 year old son and I are also considering a Ritz Tour package to China in May/June. Have you gotten any feedback pro or con on how they are? I haven't been able to find out too much about them although their brochure makes everything sound really nice.
Dec 28th, 2000, 03:57 PM
#7
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Sorry Jennifer, I thought I was posting a reply to you but it used your name and email address as if you were sending the message. I'm the one who's planning a trip with husband and 20 year old son and would still be interested in knowing if you have any feedback on Ritz Tours.
Jan 5th, 2001, 06:04 PM
#10
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Hi Jennifer, <BR>Thanks for the information. The Ritz Tour 14 day China Scenic tour is the one we've pretty much settled on, and we will probably do the Hong Kong "add-on". I've gotten a lot of positive feedback about Ritz and also about China Focus, but Ritz' package appealed to us more in terms of # of days and hotels to stay in. If we go, we're planning on May/June so we can let you know how it was. Thanks for writing.
Jan 5th, 2001, 07:24 PM
#11
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Suggest that you take a look at Pacific Delight Tours. They were the first tour operator to do travel to China from the US when relations were normalized with the US. They ahve been in business for over 30 years and are know for privding great value and quality. The have the largest volume of passengers to China form the US, and thus have the best purchasing power ... which they pass on to the consumer! They also have the best selections of tours and boats on the Yangtze River (e.g. Victoria Cruises, Regal Cruises, MS East Queen, and MS East King, and MV Snow Mountain) and largest number of departure dates. Their web site is www.pacificdelighttours.com, and all their tours are provided electronically at http://pacificdelighttours.com/featured.html. <BR> <BR>Feel free to e-mail me if you need more information.
