China Tour Reviews

Dear Linda/Lydia,

Firstly, let me say that we had a really wonderful trip thanks to your organization and guides. Our small group which consisted of 13 people from 7 different nationalities was excellent and we enjoyed one another's company greatly, with many laughs and heartfelt discussions amongst us. Each of the guides provided very relevant information as we covered each of the sites on the tour. My suggestions would be that with so information to absorb, a printed take home sheet with dates, dynasties and information re all the very different buildings would be very useful, particularly at the Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven. I was keen to learn but there was so much history and culture to retain, and my brain couldn't manage it all. If there had been some printed matter available through the guide I would've really appreciated it.

Rose in Beijing was a really informative guide, both on our personal tour to Mutianyu and on the tour. She was friendly but direct, full of information etc, and managed to keep us all together and on time, a real feat I think. She made my husband and I feel very valued as part of the tour. Also Lily in Xian was just as good, making sure that we saw everything we wanted to see and for me personally, organized a wheel chair when it was necessary. On that point, the driver on that part of the tour was also great; lifting the wheel chair, in and out of the bus, and making sure I was comfortable when on the bus.

We have no complaints at all about the guides or the drivers, the cars were excellent, as were the buses, the skill of the drivers through the traffic had us all in awe and the guides were all very obliging in making sure we saw everything.

The accommodation was excellent at all the hotels.

On the River Cruise however, the standard was advertised as 5 stars, and clearly didn't merit that rating. For us it was unimportant, but it was misleading. There was a take it or leave it attitude from the boat management, although the everyday service staff were great. On the original itinerary for the tour we were supposed to go through the five lochs, and there was no explanation from the boat management as to why this didn't happen. My only complaint.

The food was really good at every part of the tour, we never managed to eat it all, and were concerned at the waste involved as we sent away plates hardly touched by any of us, not because of the taste, but because we had already eaten far too much. I think you could provide less food without anyone complaining; certainly this was the feeling amongst our group.

We shared great experiences with our fellow travelers, learned a huge amount about China and have nothing but compliments for the guides, drivers and the company itself for the organization and reliability shown, both before and during the trip.

With thanks

Margaret and Geoff Perry.