Simple stays with essential amenities. Typically guesthouses, hostels or hotels rated below 3 stars — clean, no-frills, and great for value-conscious travelers.
Comfortable and reliable 3-star stays. Expect private rooms, en-suite bathrooms, and solid amenities — a great balance between comfort and cost.
Upscale 4-5 star hotels and lodges. Enjoy high-end service, refined comfort, and premium locations — ideal for travelers seeking extra indulgence.
Are you ready to uncover the heart of China’s ancient wonders at a relaxed pace? The “Classical China” trip is thoughtfully crafted for seniors seeking a comfortable yet comprehensive city sightseeing adventure. Over 12 days, you’ll immerse yourself in the dynamic energy of Shanghai, the imperial majesty of Beijing, and the rich heritage of Xian. This guided tour ensures your journey is seamless, with quality hotel accommodations, reliable transport, and delicious meals included throughout.
Designed with easy physical activity in mind, this tour lets you enjoy gentle strolls through iconic landmarks—think the Great Wall, the Terracotta Army, and the Bund—without feeling rushed or overwhelmed. Each day is carefully planned to offer both discovery and downtime, so you can absorb China’s timeless culture at your own pace. The unique selling point? This tour combines the must-see highlights of China with the reassurance of group travel and expert guidance, making it perfect for travelers who value both comfort and cultural depth.
Let this trip be your gateway to the classic sites and stories of China, all with the peace of mind that comes from a senior-friendly itinerary.
Tour guides were very punctual. The Geisha tour was not too clear as how the passengers were going to return to hotel. The Holiday Inn gave us 3 rooms in different floors which made it difficult to have access to each other since room keys are accessible only to designated floor.
Simply Japan is pretty much as described in the trip notes, a full-on tour. Owing to the challenges of travelling by Minibus on Japan's highways the tour makes full use of Japan's Efficient rail network. Each location change is via train (Shinkansen or Ltd. Express). This would be more difficult without forwarding main luggage items by courier, hence living out of an overnight bag on 3 separate occasions during the tour.
All these travel arrangements and surviving the many city Metro and tram systems would be extremely daunting if it was not for the ceaseless attention of the tour guide. I could not praise our guide Henrik enough for his support. His enthusiasm and local knowledge was invaluable and clear instructions and morning briefings kept everyone in the group on track.
Almost every night he offered a group dinner option for those who wished to join him and he would take us to some less known local restaurant for authentic local cuisine. Even on the designated free time days Henrik (his designated days off), would offer to show anyone who wished to local places of interest.
All in all a wonderful experience. The only improvement I would suggest is that arranging an extra day in Tokyo at the beginning and in Osaka at the end would be highly beneficial (Some in the group had done this). Time is limited at the start and end of the tour and I certainly felt that I have not quite explored Tokyo and Osaka as much as I would have liked.
Lliasing with your tour group leader is very useful to plan visits to the most popular temples shrines and attractions. Most big tour groups tend to plan visits for opening time and pre lunch or post lunch. Visiting attractions at around 9:45, 13:00 or 15:00 generally avoids the massive peak-time coach tours.
Thank you Explore for another great travel experience
Train tours
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Accommodation
Guest House, Hotel, Villa
Age Range
16-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
Tokyo, Osaka, Miyajima, Kyoto, A
Tokyo, Osaka, Miyajima, Kyoto, Arashiyama, Matsumoto, Kanazawa, Takayama, Hiroshima
The trip was wonderful and well organized but the only issue was that it was a very large group comprising of around 5 buses going to same places. The places we visited was very interesting. Very often it resulted in crowding and long waiting times specially in the morning for breakfast.
In Seoul, I was the only English speaking person and was assigned an individual guide Mr Simon to translate in English. Mr Simon has been very helpful and attentive. He immediately made the necessary arrangements with regards to foods when i informed him that i has some food restrictions. he ensured that my foods met my requirements.He even took me to the pharmacy to help me buying some cough medicine as I caught the flu during the trip.
The English speaking guides in Japan were also very nice and helpful and providing all relevant information. They also made the necessary arrangements regarding my food restrictions, telling me which food I could eat and which food I could not. And Pablo was like meeting an old friend as we met during my last trip in 2024.
Hello, following our recent trip in Japan.
I would like to pass on the following feedback. Firstly, I would like to congratulate all of your staff for their professional, helpful, informative commentaries for our daily activities. Although there were relatively small groups of English speaking guests on the tour we were always included and I was most impressed with the overall set up. This was our first group/tour style holiday and I would definitely look at booking other trips in the future based on this experience.
The only negative was one guide whos comprehension of English was only just adequate, as when presented with any questions he was unable to give succinct answers, and often just glossed over explanations which fell short overall. Conversely another guide David Muñoz was absolutely brilliant, his English speaking and comprehension was excellent, he managed his section of the tour with ease, engaging all guests equally, the knowledge he was able to pass on far surpassed the other guides and for this reason I am writing this message with the hope he will be acknowledged for an outstanding job. He was detailed with sharing knowledge and made the whole group comfortable with one another. All meals and hotels were fantastic, until we travelled with Maria, I and many others in the group felt that the standard of meals provided with the exception of the Roykan and Monastery at Mount Koya were sub standard in comparison to that which wed been provided prior. Excellent experience overall, manager/supervisor should review restaurant locations offering for final part of trip, acknowledge outstanding staff performance and address staff whose comprehension of English was not of a great standard.
The variation of locations and sights was fabulous. Very well thought out itinerary, highly reccomend.
David are your guide was superb . He always went the extra mile.
Most of the hotels were excellent and well located . Another tour day in the last stop would have been. Good
Cruise
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Accommodation
Hotel, Villa, Guest House
Age Range
16-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
Tokyo, Fukuoka, Ikitsuki Island
Tokyo, Fukuoka, Ikitsuki Island, Mt Fuji, Kyoto, Nagasaki, Dejima, Hirado Island
This was a top notch company and the climbing was great. The guide was completely safe and with high winds (too dangerous to climb) we worked together to amend the plans. This made me feel safe. (Note that these are high altitude climbs and one needs to have some climbing experience.) (Also in this time of the year it was cold and at times windy.) I cannot say enough about the Sherpa and the guide. An excellent time and a grand adventure.
ClimbingTrekking and Hiking
Tour Type
Private and Group Tour Private Tour with a few fixed group departures available.
Accommodation
Camping, Hotel, Eco Lodge, Guest House
Age Range
17-78 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
Island Peak, Mera Peak, Lobuche
Island Peak, Mera Peak, Lobuche East Peak, Kathmandu, Kathmandu, Seto Pokhari, Amphu Labtsa pass, Island Peak Base Camp, Dingboche, Lobuche, Everest Base Camp, Kala Patthar, Lobuche Peak Base Camp, Lobuche High Camp, Lobuche Peak, Pangboche, Lukla, Chhuthang, Tuli Kharka, Kothe, Thanngnak, Mera Peak Base Camp, Mera Peak High Camp