What do you think of this itinerary - is it possible?

Hi everyone who has experience of travelling independently in China

We would like to travel by ourselves, and only do the odd day tour - how easy is this? Who would you recommend we use?

What do you think of the below?

Fly Air China - Heathrow to Beijing a Friday in September

5 nights in Beijing (4 star hotel next to Peninsula Palace if there is one? 鈥?which would you recommend?)

Half day Hutong Tour - can you book just that?

Go on a tour bus to Chengde, with a visit to the Wall on the way - which tour company would you recommend?

2 nights central 4 star hotel in Chengde - which would you recommend?

Can we go to all the sights in Chengde by ourselves, and still get in easily?

Fly from Chengde to Shanghai via Beijing (still Air China?)

6 nights in Shanghai (Westin near the Bund or similar location but cheaper 4 star hotel 鈥?which would you recommend?)

Day tour to Suzhou

Day tour to Hangzhou - again which tour company would you recommend?

Fly to Chengdu, afternoon tour to Dujiangyan Dam (is this possible the same day?)

2 nights central 4 star hotel in Chengdu - which would you recommend?

Day tour to Leshan Buddha - what company should we use?

Morning tour to Chengdu Panda Research Base

Early evening fly direct from Chengdu to Hong Kong (still Air China?)

5 nights in Hong Kong (Sheraton 鈥?unless you prefer another similar located hotel?)

Day tour to Macau - which company would you recommend?

Fly home a Friday 3 weeks later (does Air China fly Hong Kong 鈥?Heathrow?)

We may also want to do some other day trips in the cities, however to save money do you think we could use public transport or taxis to go to the Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Outer Monasteries, Yu Garden etc?

Should we pay for breakfast as part of our hotel rate, or are there lots of cafes in/near the hotels to take a light breakfast, which may be cheaper?

What sort of price do you think the above will cost please?

Thank you very much indeed for your help.

What do you think of this itinerary - is it possible?

Over all, this sound realistic and not too rushed.

In Beijing you could try Park Plaza, Crowne Plaza or Tianlun Dynasty.

You don%26#39;t really need to do a hutong tour--you can just head off to the Houhai area and explore on your own.

You might visit one of the smaller towns on the canals rather than Suzhou.

You don%26#39;t need a tour to visit Hangzhou.

You can certainly visit the Summer Palace, etc. on your own. If you want info, the audio guides at many places in Beijing aren%26#39;t bad.

It is a lot cheaper to get breakfast on your own, but you may have trouble finding things that you think of as good breakfast food. If all else fails, there is always Starbucks.

What do you think of this itinerary - is it possible?

';Go on a tour bus to Chengde, with a visit to the Wall on the way - which tour company would you recommend?

2 nights central 4 star hotel in Chengde - which would you recommend?

Can we go to all the sights in Chengde by ourselves, and still get in easily?';

1 night in chengde is enough. You can take the eaily morning train to chengde from beijing.

Cheers

Thank you both

The reason I would like to go to Chengde for 2 nights is to really see the Monasteries and the Imperial Palace resort, which I think can easily take a full day? The we want to drive straight to Beijing aiport %26amp; fly on to Shanghai, not go back into Beijing.

New question: some tour companies have quoted us around 拢24-32 ($40-$55) for the two of us, for a guide to meet us at the airports %26amp; take us to our hotels in the main cities. Is this really necessary? How much please is a taxi at the airport into central Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu etc? If you get the official taxi rank is there often a problem with them not turning on the meter?

Thank you - any more recommendations really welcome.

It is much cheaper to get a taxi than to have a guide meet you.

You do need to have the name of your hotel in Chinese characters, though. (Either a print out from the hotel web site, or point to the name in a guide book).

I%26#39;ve heard of occasional problems having taxis use the meter in Beijing. The cost should be 80-100 RMB plus 10 RMB for the airport highway toll. The cost does vary a bit depending on the time of day, traffic, and the kind of taxi.

Even when the taxis rip you off, it will usually cost less than a hotel or travel agency pick up--it just leaves makes you feel bad.

You could try

Lee Gardens, next to Peninsula Palace - very spacious and then you can dine out at the Pen if you want to. Stayed there and was totally impressed with the beautiful room. We had a 2 bedroom aparment - enormous, beautiful furniture, laundry, small balcony. If staying there request a room at the front of the building for a view of the Forbidden City (not a perfect view, but a view nevertheless). Breakfast is included in their rate. There is a large shopping centre on the corner at Wangufujing Street if you stay close to the Peninsula/Lee Gardens.

If you are staying at the Pen/Lee gardens area you can walk to the Forbidden city but you will definetely need to taxi to the Temple of Heaven (combine that with a visit to the opposite Pearl market - there is a footbridge from the market to the east gate of the Temple of Heaven).

You will also need to taxi to the Summer Palace (you could combine with the zoo to see pandas (not a nice enclosure though).

Taxi trips are not a problem - get your concierge to write your destinations down for you, buy Lonely Planet and pont to their destinations which are printed bilingually and take a tourist map and hotel card with you. The penisula is known by taxi drivers in English so if you are staying there and loose your card they should get you back to that hotel area.

Day tour to Macau - do it on your own. Pick up a tour when you arrive at the Macau terminal. Offices are located there. Go for a two hour orientation then do the centre of the city in peace on your own.

Hutong tours - they will find you. Believe me. Go to the back lakes for a tour there.

I would book your excursion tours through your concierge. That means they would have vettted the companies for you. If you want to bargain down prices though you can do this but that may rob you of time.

Thank you Xiantraveller

I guess it makes more sense to arrange it when we get there - I am just someone who likes to plan all in advance.

Thank you also for suggestion re Lee Gardens - I had not heard of that one.

Any suggestions in Shanghai or other cities please?

.

Your hotel lin Shanghai looks like it is in a pretty good good location. You would be able to walk to the Bund and Yu Gardens and Nanjing Rd from your hotel. If you stay right next to the Bund you will have to put up with people trying to sell stuff to you.

Re booking tours - you may wish to book your side trip excursions in adavnce, that is, any of the tours where you need to travel outside the city itself.

We used a company called http://www.chinatravelkey.com/. for our excursions.

The Novotel is directly opposite the Pen in Beijing.

Just out of curiousity you don%26#39;t seem to be going to Xian ..... no Terracotta Warriors?

Re transportation to Chengde - I am not familiar - try to reading this link

travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/hebei/chengd鈥?/a>

Crowne Plaza or Novetel Peace hotel close to Penisular hotel both are 4-star hotel.for beijing around downtown by taxi is cheap if you hire a car more expensive.for the Great Wall need hire a car for you.its hard to you get public traffic to Summer Palace as you should change some buses.to the Temple of Heaven take 106 car need about 30 minutes just 1RMB you can get it.and i suggset tour guide Meteor(lnghulyn@126.com) for you in Beijing,kindly and helpful tour guide.CITS or CYTS travel agencies are top two in China,i think its hard do the trip by you own as Panda Zoo and JiuZhaigou is far away the Chengdu city. many cafe shops around your hotel.

Thank you all very much

Xiantraveller - the reason there is no Xian is that I have done a guided tour of China 6 years ago (with CTS Horizons, was excellent) %26amp; have done the Terracotta Warriors, %26amp; didn%26#39;t really like Xian otherwise.

I have never been to Shanghai, Chengde or Chengdu, and am very happy to return to Beijing %26amp; Hong Kong to see how they have changed. This is why I am looking to be more independent now - the tours are great, but you never get quite as long as you would like at a place, I don%26#39;t think.