Lin

We would like to visit China but are not keen on an organized tour. We usually travel independently, but our most 'daring' adventures (language difference) have been to European countries!! I haven't got to the guide book stage but wonder if anyone could offer advice on whether we could manage on our own or whether it really would make more sense to take a tour. Perhaps someone has experience with small group tours they could recommend?<BR>Thanks!

clarence

Small group tour in Xi'an:<BR>http://www.taxitour.com <BR>

Dave

Of course there are pros and cons of each way. The cons of travelling independently is that it would be hard to know what to do, get around, and maybe have problem with planes. It's not Europe. You certainly can't rent a car (you will see why when you are there). <BR><BR>You might consider arranging a tour for 2 with a US or Chinese co. to have local guides meet you at each airport and take you around. I am not sure if you have considered this, but a few people that we met on our recent group trip to China did just that with good results. I wish we had done that also.

daniel

Bonjour Lin<BR>We were in china last april on our own for 28 wonderful days. We went from Beijing to Xian, Chengdu, Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, Yangshuo, and finally Hong Kong. You won't have any problem as long as you do a bit of planning, have a good guide book,and very good sense of humor. We travelled mostly by plane and didn't experience any problems. As for the language difficulty you will find people speaking english in all four or five stars hotels. Fell free to send us email if you want more infos.<BR>Daniel, Canada

Andrea

You can absolutely tour China on your own. It's just a matter of deciding whether or not you're the types to find the extra planning it will require part of the adventure, or whether you would prefer to trade off some autonomy for paying someone else to worry about the little details. Personally, wherever we travel, I like to make all of the arrangements myself, and then just book day tours or private guides (affordable in Asia) for specific sites or locations. As the previous poster mentioned, 4-5 star hotels will always have English-speaking staff who can help you with your further travel arrangements, booking tours, restaurants, etc. (even if you're not staying there). Armed with that knowledge and a guidebook & phrasebook (more for pointing at than reading from), you'll be fine!