Recommendation of tours

Hi

I am thinking of visiting China in June 2008,when researching tours arranged by uk tour operators all the tours seem to be whistle stop visits.

Can anybody recommend alternatives covering Beijing and Xian + 1 or 2 other places,stopping in minimum 3 star accommodation with free days.

If there local operators who arrange tours could you advise as i could arrange our own flights to and from Beijing. It would be nice if we could find a operator who covers both the normal tourist spots and the not so normal tourist locations.

thanks

Recommendation of tours

You probably want to arrange a private tour. You can do this directly through the Chinese travel agencies (CITS, CTS, CYTS) or through an international travel company. (The international company might help with communication and add some guarantees, or else just make it cost a bit more.)

You could consider doing it on your own. Get a guidebook, hire a car and driver when needed, and perhaps take hotel-arranged day tours. A tour is not really necessary for Beijing, Shanghai or Xi%26#39;an, though it can be nice to have transport and hotels all pre-arranged.

Or you can look for a high end adventure-travel agency that has more interesting offerings along with the main tourist sites, but these focus on more remote destinations than the cities you are going to. You probably aren%26#39;t doing anything that would warrant the extra cost of this kind of arrangement.

Recommendation of tours

I would recommend that you get and read some guidebooks (Rough Guide, Frommer%26#39;s, Lonely Planet and Let%26#39;s Go are a good start), and then plan your own trip. A good phrasebook (Rough Guide%26#39;s Mandarin is recommended) is invaluable to help combat the language barrier, remember to have lots of patience too.

If you want to discuss ideas for itinerary and how to put together your own trip, feel free to email me at ellyse99@yahoo.com to chat -- please remember to put ';TripAdvisor sapper696'; in the subject line so that I don%26#39;t junk your email by mistake, thanks. I%26#39;m studying in Shanghai and have travelled extensively in mainland China, always organised my own trips and now have fellow classmates who also join me on them.

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