I am interested in a 20 day trip to China. the brochure from TBI sounds interesting-- has anyone used this company and what are your thoughts. I would like to go mid september to early october. What makes this company attractive is that they have a maximum of 16 participants and do the Yangtsee downstream. I would also be interested in any input on other tours. <BR>Pat<BR>

I'm also interested in comments from anyone who's used General Tours to China. Anybody ???<BR>

We took the kids on General Tours Beijing tour in January. Wow. It's wonderful. The hotels and restaurants were very nice. Great prices too...couldn't believe the value. Really wished we would have done the Yangtzee trip. Really REALLY! Just a wonderful destination...and for less than taking the kids to "Fake China" as they call it (Epcot!!)

We're also considering a trip to China and are considering several companies so it was with interest that I went to General's website. <BR><BR>I've been considering Laurus. After looking at General, I'm seriously considering Laurus, they are much, much cheaper.<BR><BR>I'd be interested in what any of you think about Laurus (www.laurustravel.ca). Thanks in advance.

Sandy,<BR><BR>Looked at Laurus' website and certainly their 12-day package on Yangtze is better priced than General Tours' 9-day pricebuster Yangtze, but overall I don't see their prices as much, much cheaper. Certainly you'll have more Canadians on your trip w/Laurus (it's a Canadian based company) if that's important.<BR><BR>I'd be interested in any firsthand comments about Laurus. Will post a separate query to ask for any feedback.<BR>

Hi Dawn,<BR><BR>I was looking at General's China Sampler @ $2,299 for 10 days in July vs the China Experience trip w/Laurus for 15 days $1,699. Five more days and $600 less seems like a lot to me. These trips appear to be about the same.<BR><BR>And, I like Canadians just fine. In fact, I pretty much like everybody!

Sandy,<BR>Do you have a brochure from Laurus or have you talked with them? Their website doesn't have as much detailed information as General Tours. I'd like to see a list of exactly what is & isn't included in their package in order to ensure which is a better value.<BR>

I'm considering the 18 day China Odyssey with Laurus Travel. I spoke with Julius at their office. They don't have a brochure per se but mailed me the a copy of the itinerary(also on the website)...terms and conditions of contract, general info related to tour, and overview of tour leaders. I'd like to hear from someone who has traveled with Laurus. Thanks for any help.

Logged back into the Laurus website & saw that they don't take credit cards ??? If this is accurate, then maybe that accounts for their lower prices (not having to deal with credit card fees & getting paid in cash).<BR>

I've make two trip with Smartours and they also don't take credit cards. The trips were fantastic, by the way.<BR><BR>I would consider them again but I don't want a cruise as part of my trip.<BR><BR>I have found that a lot of tour companies don't take credit cards or if they do take them, they do so with a fee.

ttt.<BR><BR>i'm looking at a 14 day China trip with TBI-any more comments (good or bad) about them?<BR>thanks!

We're looking at china focus and Laurus. Want to do the Tibet trip, but we are also looking at doing it on our own too. We'll be going in June.<BR>China Focus has bigger groups which is a downside, but I hear $$ is good and value excellent. I wonder where the hotels are... are they accessible to the sights if we want to go on our own&gt; Anybody know?

My husband and I are considering going on a 15-day China tour in April. We've recently heard about Ritz Tours from several friends who said their trips were fabulous. Does anyone else know about this company?

I just got back from a Ritz tour and was very disappointed, as were others on the tour. I think their quality has slipped tremendously in the last year. We saw only very brief glimpses of China, since most of the time (2 to 4 hours a day) was spent at &quot;forced&quot; shopping in overpriced &quot;factories&quot; the guide gets commissions from. We met and spoke to people from a China Focus tour and it appears they were getting alot more sightseeing &quot;bang&quot; for their buck. There were quite a few other things that occured that would prevent me from recommending them. I wrote a letter of complaint to them and got a very nasty reply. So if actually seeing China and decent customer service is important to you, I would avoid Ritz.