China Local boat rides Trips

Loved this trip. We had a few early starts, covered a lot of miles, but it was truly excellent. The trip lets you see some truly amazing sights that will live a long, long time in the memory. All the cities we stayed in were quite different from each other, which means every stop is a new experience. Man Mo temple in Hong Kong, limestone karst peaks, River Li cruise, Xi'an city walls and town, Terracotta Army, Great Wall of China, Forbidden City, and Tiananmen Square. All in one trip with more stuff on top of that. With spare time in the evenings in Xi'an, I recommend seeing the Bell and Drum towers lit up, absolutely stunning, and then get a meal in the muslim quarter which is super lively at night with tons of choice. If you fancy a real highlights of China trip, this does the trick. My only problem with it is that I liked it so much I want to go back and explore more of the country. We were super lucky to have Tracy Zhang as our tour leader, the loveliest person who looked after us extremely well. Her suggestions on what time is best to get to a particular place to avoid the busier period were all spot on. I could have happily had a few days more in Xi'an and Beijing. But you can easily add on more time to yourself in Beijing at the end if you wish. Getting about on your own there is easy and inexpensive on the metro. Loved it.

This trip was brilliant. It covered the main tourist sites all in one go, from stunning scenery at Gulin to Yangshou to beautifully crafted architecture and temples in Xian and Beijing. The people were friendly and the food was fantastic. My highlights were the boat to Yangshou and the country lanes bike ride - the contrast of the paddy fields and Karsts, such beautiful scenery. I could have spent 2 more days in Xian, there is so much to see. What we saw was spectacular - the only complete city wall left in China, the beautiful buddhist art at the Wild Goose Pagoda, the serene Great Mosque and the stunning Terracotta Army. I didn't want to leave and I'll definitely go back to see more of this fascinating country.

Busy tour, but a great tour. We added a few nights on at the beginning for Hong Kong which I would recommend if you haven't been there before. All the staff at The Panda Hotel in Hong Kong were super friendly, (and the hotel great with shops and restaurants all around), but the hotel itself was quite a way out of the centre, (about a 35 minute metro ride into the centre was only roughly £2). All accomodation better than expected and all other hotels very central, apart from Beijing, but it was close to The Temple of Heaven and Beijing is such an enormous city, (and had to travel anyway to go to The Great Wall etc.). Our guide Ollie from China was excellent, making sure we packed in as much as possible and giving us a real insight into life in China. Generally everyone was much friendly than we expected, and left feeling we had more in common than I was expecting. We could pay for extra tours with Alipay with our guide, and definitely worth downloading the Alipay App before you go, can use the App even to pay for fruit in markets if your bank will allow it to work, but a bit of cash always useful. Colourful, exciting, but safe trip. Felt safe at night markets etc..

A very fast pace holiday seeing all the major sites along the way. Vast distances covered and every form of transport used from planes, bullet trains, local buses, mini coaches, bike cycle , chair lift, vehicular, travelators, escalators, walkways - overground and underground, underground trains , ferry, boat and walking 176k steps over the 10 days! Hotels a high standard and the food great. The service was fantastic with an extremely knowledgeable guide who kept us updated, on the move and to time. This is a ‘highlight’ tour so one only spend a few hours at each major sight but at least you see them all. The people were lovely where ever we went. Security is tight wherever we went and one needs one’s passport with you at all times. Alipay is essential in China but doesn’t work for foreigners in Hong Kong but they will accept all major credit cards or cash. Expect early morning to get to some of the sights before the crowds…well worth it to get photos before others arrive as well as avoiding long queues and saving time. Breath taking scenery along the way with social media shots everywhere. My travelling companions were very friendly and we had a laugh many times on the trip.

This tour was fascinating, if challenging in places. The Wall sections walked covered a good range of types from rammed earth banks, to steps large and small, and steep hillside climbs. The views were fabulous, and there was a real sense of history on the unrestored sections, which we more or less had to ourselves. The incidental visits: boat trip, tombs, Beijing sights, were great and a good trigger for Oliver our guide to share cultural history with us. We mostly walked to the guesthouses from the Wall, and met our luggage there. All the accommodation was clean and comfortable - it generally exceeded expectations. We ate as a group every night, in local restaurants which were uniformly delicious, and around 100-150 yuan a night. Added to a good breakfast a few snacks were all that was needed to get us through the day so no time was wasted on lunch, which was a bonus. Bring gloves and boots with good grip, and poles for slippy downhill sections.

An excellent holiday, covering all the key highlights of China in a pacy and interesting way. Tracy Zhang our guide was excellent and expertly navigated us through the complex logistics of our travel between cities and our sightseeing excursions. Delicious food and lovely places, thoroughly enjoyable. Thank you!