smarTours Chinese/Yangtze River Tour
 

Hi!
Returning from the above tour day after tomorrow and can't rave enough about it!
The price was unbeatable so I thought they would perhaps skimp on quality. No way! The hotels were excellent, the food was good and our guide Chen went out of his way to make us all (39) happy. We were extremely lucky in that everyone was cooperative and the weather was good. It was a bit strenuous and now that we are winding down we are all tired. Luckily we had no major sickness and only 1 or 2 minor sticky fingers episodes. Our tour members all came from the United States, but were of extremely diverse nationalities and ages, making for variety. I thought the 39 would be cumbersome; however, since everyone cooperated we were able to get to know many people and yet were there for each other.
By the way, the group was compo0sed of smarTours and Friendly Planet people.
Judy

We also took Smartours to China. It was every bit as good as you said. I am still amazed at how pleasant, cooperative, prompt, etc. everyone was. Only complaint was most people liked to shop more than I did, but shopping is part of China tours. Government guides make sure we spend money. Taking Smartours was a smart decision.

JudySue and Elainee, my family and I are taking this tour next month. I was wondering if you could share any tips or recommendations? Also, can you share your experience with the timing of things - did you have any time "on your own?" And I didn't see anywhere in the paperwork about "optional excursions" - are there any for this trip and, if yes, where did they go and what did they cost? Thank you so much! We're really looking forward to our trip!

It is a very fast paced tour. Get lots of sleep before you go. On our tour most people got sick halfway thru. Most of us had a z pack which worked to make us feel ok. Check with your md to bring meds for gastro and upper respertory illness. I still have the herbal teas I got from ship doctor for my cold...didn't work! Very little free time. My big complaint was that we took several back to back very early morning flights. I got tired but our flights were on time and we did not need to hang around airports. One night I stayed in hotel and missed excellent big banquet in Xian. I needed the rest and was not sorry. Also, I took a cab back to hotel when the group was enjoying one more "rug factory". Our guide encouraged us to buy water and snacks before the boat trip. Totally unnecessary!! More than enough to eat on boat, snacks free in bar before dinner, and bottled water in cabin. The entertainment on our boat was amazing. If they have a "face changer" it will be one of the best experiences of your life. Bring rain clothes, a jacket or sweater for cold weather, very, very comfortable walking shoes, lots of film or digital space, and you will have a great time. Don't worry about being fashionable...just comfortable. Our boat did laundry for very little cost. If they have motorcycle sidecar optional tour in Guilin...take it!! In addition, very good restaurant in Guilin on main shopping (no car) street. Just order whatever the next table of Chinese are eating. The Cultural Revolution destroyed most of China's past so tour today do a good job of showing the little that remains. Go to the antique shops of Hong Kong to see the treasures of Mainland China. Let us know your experience when you return.

Elainee, thank you very much for your comments - they will certainly be of help to us. I had a tour similar to this one in Egypt where we had several early flights back to back - I know that can be hard. I will certainly report back after we get back at the end of October. Thanks again!

I was in Beijing in October 2 years ago. It was a really nice time to be there- we had perfect fall weather. However, on the last day of our trip the winds changed and the pollution blew in - I felt awlful by noontime! Bringing a z pack is probably a good idea, as a previous poster suggested.
Enjoy your trip, my friend took this tour last year and absolutely loved it.

What does "1 or 2 sticky finger episodes" mean? Were there shoplifters in your group?

Could you please explain what a z pack is. Traveling to China for 1st time & bringing my 11 year old with me. Want to be prepared.

Also, as my 11 year old is very picky eater, am hoping that McDonald's and Burger Kings are safe options for her. Opinions?

Plenty of McDonalds and other "American" fast food in Beijing. Don't know about other cities in China.

A Z pack is a short course antibiotic you get from md for upper resportory ills. Don't think they are used for kids. Glad I reread this...I will get them for our Vietnam trip next month.

It's been almost a month since I returned from the smarTours/Friendly Planet tour and I am finally getting back here to post my trip review. Frist, on a positive note, I have to say that China is a fascinating country and I’m very glad I got the opportunity to visit. I especially enjoyed Beijing for the history and the Forbidden City as well as the Great Wall. The other highlight of my trip was the Terra Cotta Warriors. As far as Friendly Planet Tours, I don’t think I’ll be traveling again with them. The accommodations were more than acceptable and the air travel went incredibly smoothly. However, our tour leader was one of the worst tour guides I’ve ever had. In addition to that, too much emphasis was placed on shopping and factory tours. It didn’t bother me too much except for when they rushed us around the actual historical sites so that we could spend double the amount of time in the gift shops or factories. For example, in Xi’an we stopped to see the Terra Cotta Warriors and our “local” guide gave us only 20 minutes in the main room and over 40 minutes in the gift shop. If I had known I was in the main room at the time, I would have just stayed in there and skipped the gift shop, but never having been there before – I was unaware of where I was and that the room I was in was the highlight of the tour. I was extremely disappointed as my group and I hardly had enough time to walk around the room (we were actually running! And this was not the only time we had to run to see what we were there to see). I was not the only one in my group who was not happy with this and when another member of the group asked the guide why we didn’t have more time in the main room she just ignored us. I understand that factory tours and gift shop stops are part of the deal when you’re with a group, but there seemed to be an excessive number on our tour (over 20 stops for 15 or 16 days on land). If I were ever going to go again, I would certainly go on my own. If you are a more independent traveler, I would highly recommend going by yourself. Yes, language would be an issue, but if you stay at Western style hotels, hopefully at least one person will speak enough English to help you. If you study up, I think going independently and maybe taking a few day tours would certainly be the way to go. Unfortunately for me, I don’t see myself ever being able to go back – too many other places to see on my list before I start repeating.

Sorry your tour did not work out well. The guide certainly makes a difference. From what I have heard..the Chinese government selects the guides..not the tour company. In our case the guide was very good. In addition, our group was strong in making suggestions to the guide and the guide did try to follow the suggestions. For example, in one city after the Yangtze cruise we requested a stop in a "non-tourist" shopping area of the city. He directed the bus driver to go there. I think the Chinese people are still talking about the strange foreigners who spent an hour in their neighborhood. We were quite an attraction, but learned a lot during our time there. Sometimes the guide needs input. I just had a phone call from two couples who were on my trip. They are doing it again (the same tour!) and wanted to know if we wanted to join them.

One may get a good guide or a bad one, but excessive shopping is pretty much the norm and not the exception in China these days.

I would ask the US tour company very explicitly about this issue of how many shopping stops will be in the tour, and what that company is doing to monitor the local guides.

I'm sorry you weren't happy with your tour and guide. The only time i have ever taken a tour was earlier this year with friendly planet. We did their vietnam/cambida/bkk trip. It was fantastic, no other way to describe it, and I am picky!!
We had a fabulous guide and there was very little 'forced'shopping.

I am topping this for a recent question on this company. I have no knowledge of them. However, I get weekly emails from Travelzoo and I believe a Smartour to China was offered on that email today.....Hope this helps.