19 Days China Tour with Yangtze River Cruise

Client: Mr.Yazdi Khambatta

Nationality: India

Group Code: TCT-RH-FIT-181019

Pax: 3

Itinerary: Xian-Chongqing-Yangtze River-Yichang-Shanghai-Guilin-Guangzhou-Beijing

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Hi Raylene!

Sorry for the delayed reply. Having returned home after so many days there was lots of work to do.

Thanks once again for making this a memorable trip for us. It was a long cherished dream to come to China & thanks to Top China Travel we got much more than we anticipated!

All the hotels we stayed in were very good, but I'd put the apartment in X'ian at the top! It was a treat staying in such a well furnished place!

The guides were also well informed & went out of their way to help us at all times; If not for them, we would not only have found communication difficult but also missed out on so much extra information. Difficult to name any one guide as better than the rest because all of them were so good!

One of the most memorable experiences was meeting a local family in Shanghai at their home. We got such warm hospitality & came away with fond memories, lots of photos (& oranges plucked from their garden!)

The optional trips/shows were also well chosen & worth the money-the Acrobatic show was the highlight....also the sound n light show in Yangshuo was a treat (tho we did not understand a word!). Wish we could have stayed in Yangshuo also, it was a delightful town! We quite enjoyed the variety of food too.

Now for the part we did not quite enjoy-the train journeys....The train from Yichang to Shanghai was mentioned as 'bullet train', but it made 14 stops on the way & some stops were over 15 minutes! Also there was no tea available on the train & we tea drinkers had to wait till Shanghai to get a cup of tea! The journey from Guilin to Guangzhou was ok but the boarding was traumatic! We were all made to wait in one waiting room (no.4) in Guilin for almost an hour with no place to sit & they opened the gates only 15mins before the train was to leave. By the time we reached the platform (12)there were just 4mins left & we had to walk to coach 3- finally we heard the whistle & jumped into different coaches or we'd have missed the train! The flights were much nicer! 

Another thing we had not anticipated was that the credit cards would not be accepted everywhere. 

Also I could not visit the cemetery in Guangzhou as it falls under the China Shipping area & requires special permission to go in. Our guide did try to arrange permission but as with most government places its not given (same here in India) We did go to another cemetery nearby which was interesting;

But these were minor glitches & anyway not Top China's fault, but just mentioned them as you can be aware of it.

Feedback from TripAdvisor:

Surfing the net I came across Guilin based Top China Travel & read some positive reviews. Sent them an email & got a reply within a few hours! Raylene from TCT then drew up an itinerary for a 12day tour, which we customized & made into a 19 day trip.

Just got back from a thoroughly enjoyable holiday all thanks to Raylene & her team!

Everything went smoothly, the hotels were very good & well located, the guides not only spoke good english but gave us so much information about all the places we visited & were flexible with the day to day itineraries. Without these lovely people, communication might have been a problem at times! (Though most times when we were on our own, smiles & a bit of sign language worked wonders!).

We started with X'ian & then continued with a 3day cruise on the Yangtze on the Victoria Jenna(great way to relax & take in the amazing scenery along the river).Then we went to Shanghai, Guilin, Guangzhou(stayed on Shamian Island there) & finally Beijing with its forbidden city & the Great Wall! Did lots of walking & enjoyed every minute of it! We took 3 internal flights & 2 rail journeys & TCT guides helped us even with airport check in & we were recieved in every city by our guides. The vehicles were very good & spacious (we were a group of 4). Optional shows/tours were worth the money spent & most lunches were included in the itinerary & the guides gave us recommendations for dinner. 

With all the hard work done for us by TCT we could really just relax & enjoy a tension free holiday! Thank you TCT!
 

We will definitely be recommending TCT to people here! Thanks once again for the holiday of a lifetime!!! Will send you some photos in a separate mail;

Best rgds
Shernaz