We are going to China this Fall. Would love to hear from people who have used any of the following tours: Uniworld, Pacific Delights, AOT, China Silk, Smart Tours, Grand Circle, and China Focus. I understand different people have different standards, and "value" is a relative term, so I will not worry about that. Personally we love to spend time alone, off the beaten path, and have heard how China Focus, for example, books your days completely making it difficult to have time away from the group.<BR>Thank you for your comments.

Off the beaten path tour in Xi'an:<BR><BR>http://www.taxitour.com/cave.htm<BR>

I went with China Focus on a 12 day tour and it's true we were really booked but were taken everywhere we wanted to see things. The last day was free but I opted for a tour our guide offered to still a different place. Remember you can always do something else than what the tour offers (I have to remind myself of that). The tour guides were excellent as were the hotels and all meals were covered, but again, opt out for someplace you've heard of. Friends followed up with a longer tour that covered the Yangtze River cruise and they, too, loved. <BR><BR>Now, that said, I just took a tour to Thailand with Grand Circle and it couldn't have been better. Nice hotels, great tour guide, excellent service. I do not know either of these tour companies give so much for the price.<BR><BR>Feel free to e-mail with any questions.

So, why not try TravelChinaGuide? See their testimonials and their rates. They have customed tours and you can travel with your pace.<BR>http://www.travelchinaguide.com/feedback/index.htm<BR>

Thank you.<BR><BR>Many thanks for your suggestions.

Nancy's comments on China Focus were "right on." We took a 15-day tour with them last summer. We had quite a few evenings on our own, most of a weekend in Hong Kong and a morning in Shanghai. A few people skipped various tours to strike out on their own for a day. However, China Focus packs a LOT into their tours, so you get to see most of what you would want to.

Up for Jean who's also searching for opinions on tour groups.<BR><BR>

My wife and I just returned from a great 21 day trip to China with Pacific Delight. The hotels were the best I have ever been in, food was very good, although I got a little tired of Chineese food toward the end of the trip. We had 3 or 4 western dinners that were pretty good, on was excellent.<BR>You are kept busy with plenty to see. We had a couple of half days to wander around on our own. Also most evenings we had a couple of hours to explore within walking distance of the hotel. <BR>I would highly recommend Pacific Delight, accomodations were great, guides were terriffic, no problems at all with the trip. Also no one got sick in our group. We had a small group of 12 people.