# China Tour Operator



## PLL (Dec 15, 2007)

Anyone familiar with the China tour operator Dragon Delight or Chinatourstailor.com?  Their website is www.Chinatourstailor.com.  They are able to customize a tour for us that starts in Quilin and ends in Beijing via Shanghai which would fit our schedule well as we will be in Hong Kong prior to the tour.  Their rates are real good too.  Just wondering if anyone have dealt with them before I hand over the money.


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## PeelBoy (Dec 16, 2007)

I have no experience with this tour operator.  In Canada, there is a famous tour operator run by Chinese Canadians:

http://www.toureast.com/TheAsianExperience/index.asp

Their 10 day tour costs $1690 (Canadian dollars) per person double occupancy.  I find the per diem from Canadian operators is on average from $150 to $180 per person.

Yours is about $120 per person, so a good $30 to $60 cheaper.  The key is the hotel accommodation.  Probably they use cheaper hotels.  In my humble opinion, a 4 star hotel inside the city in China is good enough, and the cost is like 400 to 500 RMB per night.

In addition to business trips, I have done both independent travel and time share (SunIsland in Shanghai), but never joined any tour.

I would budget $150 per day for two people.  $150 is about 1200 rmb: 500 for hotel, 200 for taxi, 200 for food, 200 for sightseeing and 100 for beer or foot message.

China still is a third world country.  Their per diem rate charged by tour operators should not be the same like those in Europe.

Just my 2 cents.


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## PLL (Dec 16, 2007)

Hi PeelBoy:  This is our first trip to China so any advice or info is greatly appreciated.  We've only been to HK where China is concerned and while my husband speaks fluent Cantonese, his Mandarin is almost non-existent.  My Mandarin is basic conversation but I think it will allow us to get around if we plan ahead and get appropriate info.  

I found a few good feedback on this tour operator on www.tripadvisor.com.  They are able to come up with a private land tour package for the 3 of us by flying us to start the tour from Guilin on 5/29 from HK.  Due to  our need to be back in the US by 6/6, they seem to be the best fit, and at a reasonable price.  Their standard package uses 4 star hotel; deluxe is 5 star.

Do you think we need med evac insurance?  We're generally healthy but have read some stories about the medical facilities there in case of accident or sickness.  We've traveled to Bangkok/Phuket and Mexico (tourist spots like Cancun) and never worried about this but since reading about China, I'm wondering if we should.  As mentioned, we will be in Guilin, Shanghai, Beijing.

I'm also wondering about appropriate clothing.  When touring, we usually wear nice shorts and T-shirts/polo shirts because of the heat & humidity of the places we've visited.  Do the Chinese locals wear shorts in town?  I guess when we're site-seeing or in tourist spots, it's o.k but when we go shopping or dining, would we stand out like a sore thumb?  In Bangkok, people stared but good naturedly and it wasn't taboo and we did not feel awkward.  However, we could not wear shorts or sandals to the Grand Palace and didn't know until day before the tour.  That caused a little scrambling.

We are of Chinese descent so we could probably blend in w the locals in China but once we  speak, they'll  be able to tell.  The last time we were in HK (winter of 84) though we were dressed in slacks/shirts and winter jackets,  somehow the locals were able to tell we're not from there - my husband thinks it's our clothing since he speaks fluent Cantonese and was born there.


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## PeelBoy (Dec 16, 2007)

If your husband can read Chinese, your trip to China will be much easier.  I am also a native of Hong Kong, so speak, read, but can't write Chinese.

I never consider evac insurance. If it is affordable, why not?  No matter where I travel, I would bring the directory from IAMAT (http://www.iamat.org/) to locate English speaking doctors approved by IAMAT just in case I need them.  I learned the lesson in Korea when I was hospitalized there. The medical quality there is great, but doctors hardly speak any English.  Once in Paris, I broke my arm.  I was able to locate the American Hospital Paris for English speaking doctors and nurses, and the service was great.

I would trust the hospitals in Shanghai and Beijing.  Don't know about Guilin.  Hmmmm.  Do I trust them? In 2002, I had a very bad flu and a high fever while in Beijing.  Because it was a side trip, my IAMAT was in my luggage in Shenzhen.  The doctor from the local hospital advised me to take anti-biotics by injection.  I refused, kept sleeping and drinking water for a few days and finally took a train all the way back to Hong Kong to find a Canadian doctor.

Shorts? Even jeans or tank tops?  You can wear them for sure in China or in Europe.  However, that's the way for the locals to tell you are an alien.


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## Passepartout (Dec 16, 2007)

*Enjoy the mainland...*

We went to China in 2002 with China Focus www.chinafocus.com for a month. Where you are anticipating going, I would not worry about evac insurance. as long as you exercise due diligence you will be fine. No street food. peel your own fruit. Wash your hands and use Purell or equivalent. We did the tourist boat ride on the river at Guilin, the staff bought fish from fishermen and prepared it on the rear of the boat. Wonderful stuff. Walking at night in Guilin. Felt safe. We were offered a puppy that had been bleached in vertical stripes. They called it a 'Banpo' dog. Cute as could be but phony. Somewhere near there I bought a T-shirt that had the Mandarin characters 'mei yo chen'. Which meant 'no money'. Well, the people had never seen a 'foreigner' who had no money. Shop girls would cover their mouths and point. People would approach us on the street and ask if I knew what the shirt said. I met sooo many regular people wearing my mei yo chen t-shirt that it's one of my treasured travel possessions.

You will be at some disadvantage speaking Cantonese instead of Mandarin, but there are enough similarities that you will be as comfortable as a Mexican Spanish speaker in Italy.

Enjoy your trip. I wish I had gone on the next plane after Nixon came home. I didn't. Oh well.

Looking forward to the next trip....

Jim Ricks


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## PLL (Dec 19, 2007)

Passepartout said:


> We went to China in 2002 with China Focus www.chinafocus.com for a month.
> 
> Jim Ricks



Am getting really excited about going to China though the trip is 5 months away.  My husband can read Chinese and I can speak enough Mandarin to get by.  The website you referenced is actually www.chinafocustravel.com.  Because of our schedule, it looks like we have to do a customized tour and not every tour company could accommodate us and at a reasonable price.  Basically, we want to leave from Hong Kong, spend 2 nights in Guilin, 2 nights in Shanghai, and 3 nights in Beijing.   I am now looking at several tour companies, some China based with offices (or toll free #)  in the U.S.  So far the quotes are around $1,500 pp.  

Chinatourstailor is offering a "private" tour but wants to charge me 6% extra if I pay by credit card, 4.5% if I use paypal or I can wire close to $4,700 to them for the trip.  I feel leery wiring funds direct to them.  I called China Silk Tour in NY and their quote is even better because almost all meals are included but they also want to charge me 4% extra if I pay by credit card.  For those who are experienced with tours, don't you think I'm more protected if I pay by credit card should anything happen to these companies?  This will be our first packaged tour.

Am now analyzing a quote from China Connection Tours at www.china-tour.cn - they will accept payment by credit cards.  Basically same as Chinatourtailor but we take a train to Guanhzhou from HK and then fly to Guilin.   I am also waiting for a quote from successchinatours.com.  They accept credit card payment but there is a statement about a "processing fee" on their website; however no amount is specified.


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