8 independent reviews for China highlights tour, tailor made
Reviews for China highlights tour, tailor made
Natraj Balasubramanian review 16 Apr 2026
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Impressions on the river at Yangzhou.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
1. Careful if you are a vegetarian. 2. Remember, they do not let you into any of the palaces and buildings you visit. 3. Be ready to meet kind and helpful locals, even if there is a language challenge.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
1. Train journeys mean less carbon emissions. 2. Huge casts in all the three wonderful shows we saw - acrobatic, musical / dance and the river based Impressions.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Wonderful. Beautifully planned. Excellent guides and hotels who executed perfectly. And China really delivers - much to the annoyance of the West that is unwilling to credit them for their achievements.Susan Holden review 1 Mar 2026
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Harbin Snow and Ice festival was absolutely amazing, Beijing was very busy due to the Chinese New year.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Be prepared for the weather, it's cold. In Beijing, the Chinese new Year celebrations caused a lot of (Chinese families) tourists and long queues.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
On this trip, no it didn't feel like we were helping the locals and certainly not supporting conservation as we visited the Polar Park and Siberian Tiger reserve, both of which were not the best environment for the animals.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Thoroughly enjoyed the trip, but would perhaps have missed out the animal experiences. Would have been nice to see a little more local interaction with the New Year celebrations.Read the operator's response here:
We are so pleased you enjoyed the ice festival. We have reviewed the itinerary, and we will not be offering the animal attractions moving forward as this is against Responsible Travels policies. We have communicated this to all our staff. On this trip we support the local economy by employing local guides and eating in locally ownedl restaurants. We always donate a sum of money to the local charity institutions to help the elders and the orphans every year, whom we visit regularly, enabling them to feel the warmth in the cold winter. Many thanks for your feedback and all the best.
Philippe Norre review 24 Aug 2025
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Just about everything but above all the few great off the beaten track experiences. The early morning walk on the Wall and the peaceful hike through the rice terraces.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Try to book outside the Chinese summer vacations.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Meenu Lakhani review 31 May 2025
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
The ancient and historic sites, the street life, and foods of Shanghai, Beijing and Xi’an.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Treat yourself to this operators punctual, knowledgable and friendly English-speaking Chinese guides. They really help you to enjoy a memorable trip.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
We hope so. China is an amazing country with proud people.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Definitely one of the best vacations we’ve experienced. Never a dull moment. Great memories. And now we want to visit other parts of China too.Yin Trebert review 26 May 2025
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
The 1, 000 year old Ancient Dragon Tree near Dongchuan (where two trees had merged into one massive luxuriant tree standing alone on a hill); Yang Liping's 'Yunnan Dynamic' show in Kunming - enthralling and entrancing (I usually hate 'cultural shows'); Xizhou market (open mornings till 11am), more fun than commercialised and tourist-engorged Dali or even Lijiang; being taught Naxi writing and then make 'ba-ba' by the Naxi shaman; Tiger Leaping Gorge - WOW! look out for the "No Swimming" sign. And not least, the superb X-Peng self-driving people carrier EV that can park itself, drive off, accelerate according to road and traffic conditions - and also controlled by Jack on his mobile phone: 800 km on a single 30-min charge! Also, the totally unexpected - and spectacular - nightly water show at our hotel (like Vegas's erupting volcano).2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Invite your guides and drivers to join you for lunches/dinners; we opted not to include meals other than breakfast so that we could sample more foods recommended by our guides. Not only did we get to know them better informally, they also got to eat dishes they might not normally (get to) enjoy. Especially in Kunming, servings were huge, even when we said we would pay full price for smaller portions to avoid waste because we could never finish, even with the help of our guides and drivers. China is eminently affordable. eSIMs can be occasionally dodgy (the guides agree) and even with a physical China SIM card installed, access remained patchy (I have my own VPN app). It's impossible to pay without internet access and even with, it can be a struggle. But CASH is still accepted pretty much *everywhere* and what I largely relied on.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
We enjoyed local fruits and foods (both with which we were unfamiliar e.g. wax berries, and others we knew well e.g. blueberries, strawbs, apricots, bananas which were invariably larger and sweeter. We spent without excessive bargaining for a win-win exchange.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Five Stars PLUS! Simon planned our itinerary meticulously. We were assigned excellent guides and drivers who were all knowledgeable, willing and kind: Lulu and Jack in Kunming; Jack, especially, rates special mention for his patience, and persistence - because not only is he tech-savvy, sorting out my dodgy internet whenever it crashed, he has wonderful insight and humour because he is sufficiently fluent to exchange banter. Vicky and Alice were also patient and good-humoured guides and Mr Yang was our sweet driver who also guided us briefly for the final stages of our vacation. All were faultless and patient and encouraged us to make the most of our personalised itinerary which was eminently affordable and excellent value.Deborah brautigam review 22 Oct 2024
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Hiking in the Yellow Mountains.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
We stayed in locally owned hotels and ate in local restaurants.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Excellent!!Melissa Else review 19 Oct 2024
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
We were really impressed by both the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Sites can be very busy so I would recommend planning in plenty of coffee/rest breaks to keep your energy up.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
No4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Heidi was excellent in helping arrange our vacation. She was efficient and responsive to all our requests and changes. She kept us well informed throughout the booking process and we felt very supported.Read the operator's response here:
Hi Melissa?
We're thrilled you had impressive experiences at the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army.
During your vacation in China, the local people benefitted from the service of local guides and drivers you used, the meals you had in local restaurants, and the local brand accommodation you stayed in Xian. We appreciate you :). Thank you for your nice feedback on our travel advisor Heidi's service.
Customer-care Team
Richard Poulton review 30 Aug 2024
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Most of the sights lived up to expectations, but Guilin exceeded them and was an unexpected delight.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
It is a busy schedule, but thoroughly worthwhile.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
It is difficult to know if it did or not.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
A great experience and the whole trip from the first quote to returning home was managed brilliantly and ran smoothly.Holiday Reviews
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