Small Group Tours Reviews

In general, we enjoyed our trip very much. It included most of the important historic and cultural points we'd like to visit. I'd like to share our feeling about the tour.

1. Meals: Hotel in Beijing provides the best selections and service for breakfast. It is very thoughtful of our guides to introduce the local cuisines to us wherever we happened to be. It is a matter of taste that make a difference in individual cases. In our case, the Peking duck in Beijing and the buffet breakfast at hotel in Shanghai were very good.

2. Guides: Most of the guides are very professional and spoke very good English. We did not have any language difficulties with the guides the team provided. All guides were very pleasant, knowledgeable, helpful and enthusiastic. In particular, I'd like to mention Sissy in Shanghai who went out of the way to help us find our way around Shanghai on our free time. She even wrote down Chinese characters for certain food so we could order our own meals. She helped us get the map, circled where we were and places we wanted to see. She also helped with translation on some personal transactions we did. She made our stay in Shanghai a lot more enjoyable.

3. Cars: All cars were very clean and comfortable. All drivers were very helpful and respectful. We are very pleased with them.

All in all, our trip was very enjoyable. The shows were excellent. The team asked about what we'd put in a space in the testimonial column after the trip, I'd say the aspect that stands out in our trip is that it was very very well organized. Thank you for organizing a very memorable trip for us. We will definitely recommend this team to our friends and relatives who wish to visit China. And of course, if we have a chance for another visit, we will no doubt contact them again.

TCG not only offers an excellent service during the preparation of a trip, but also ensures that the daily supervision is of equally high standard. The excursions with the local guides are informative and well planned and their care of daily needs is comprehensive.
All of the guides were excellent at their job and we appreciated each for this and their personal qualities. Candy gave us a perfect start in Beijing, informing us of Chinese culture that would remain helpful throughout and Ian delivered us promptly to the airport. We were grateful to David for delivering us to the boat and he was informative in the short length of time that we were with him. Judy really used her initiative and sorted out both the best way for us to see Chongquing in the few hours, and how to cope with a change of schedule. Linda was outstanding (Chengdu). Not only did she manage the itinerary adjustments but went out of her way to fulfill our requests, showing us many aspects of Chengdu and the recognition of my birthday with a cake must be one of the most memorable highlights of the trip. Her enthusiasm and that of the driver too, greeting us on our return at the airport and in the surprise with the cake was typical of her delightful manner which made her engaging company. Michael was a perfect host and we enjoyed every moment of being with him and the choices of his meals. Helen was efficient and informative but ensured that we saw the best and used the timings well. Micheal completed our trip with finesse and ensured that it was brilliant right to the end. His dedication in waiting with us until the computer left at the hotel reached us safely at the airport was greatly appreciated.
Overall we wish to thank you for a wonderful trip, an excellent selection of places to visit and the opportunity to see so many traditional shows around China. We appreciate the superb service that the company has given us.

I had a great China vacation thanks to the very well organized tour from TravelChinaGuide.com management, the knowledgeable tour guides, the nice drivers and the nice travel mates that I met during the tour (and that now are my friends!).
I love culture so I would enjoy more time in the Shanghai Museum; in Beijing's Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace; and in Xian's Terracota Warriors and Horses Museum. I think also that some extra time for shopping souvenirs: I recommend time in the Muslim Market in Xian (The prices were good) and more time in the Yu Garden in Shanghai (we had 30 minutes) or the market under the subway station in Shanghai (close to the Science and Technology Museum). Maybe you can arrange an optional "evening" tour to the markets after all cultural things for the day are seen. People not interested in shopping can just stay in the hotel. I had that in other tours (To Egypt) and it worked very well. I would spend less time in the Three Gorges Dam Project place.
I liked the restaurants visited in Xian and Shanghai. I liked the Dumplings Dinner but I know some people were not trilled. I also wanted "Diet Coke" or "healthy coke" since I have sugar problems and it was not very easy to find :(
I think TravelChinaGuide.com provides great value for the price, and are always prompt to respond to any of your questions and inquiries. I highly recommend Travel China Guide to anyone thinking about visiting China for vacation.

I'm 68 years, China is the 57th country I've visited.
I declare, was one of the greatest experiences of my life the 14-day small group tour, organized by TCG. Magical natural environment, rich cultural heritage, the harmony of tradition and modernity, kind, helpful and environmentally friendly people they impressed me. Places, monuments, facilities and cultural attractions along the route are all about themselves. But it was just as great an experience for me: visiting Beijing's old Hutong; In Xian, the host cooked lunch at the home of a local family and Tai Chi morning at City Wall Park; Yangshuo Authentic West Street Market, Guilin for an evening stroll downtown in the shopping district; In Shanghai the Bund in the evening light; an eternal memory 5.5 hours on the Li River, 3 days on the Yangtze River and 1 hour on the Shanghai Huangpu River. The world is not round without China, and if it's China, it's just Travel China Guide! Extremely professional team with excellent guides. If I go to that area again I travel with them again.
On behalf of my 4-person family thank you for everything!

We loved our tour and your company is wonderful. After the tour, we realized how much we got for our money. Tour price was so reasonable and affordable. Not sure how you made much money off of us.
Your office staff, especially Wendy who helped us plan our trip from the beginning, were outstanding. Every email was answered quickly and thoroughly. The greatest asset of your tour company are the people and personal service. We just picked your tour from the Internet and could not have found a better tour company if we had investigated each one. How fortunate for us that we picked you.
The guides were so knowledgeable and well educated on everything in their country, cities and tour sights. I do not think there was one question that they could not answer. Their English was great and very easy to understand. They were so concerned that we were happy with everything. They helped us with many things such as getting cash and other personal concerns that were not really required of them. They each became good friends, especially Jason, J.J. and Lily. We got their email addresses and hope to keep in touch with them, although I am sure ever tour wants to email them. You could not hire any better guides.
Every restaurant was great and each better than the other. The lunch restaurant in Shanghai that we first went to did not look too good but fortunately they could not take us and we went to a great one.
We were a little disappointed in the river boat itself. I had taken a Yangtse River tour before with Victoria cruises and the boat was much nicer, more elegant and had balconies which I thoroughly enjoyed. However, I paid a lot more for that cruise. The people on the cruise were so nice and had such wonderful spa massage services, we had a great time. The tours from the boat were super.
The performances you scheduled were great and we had front seats at each one. I could not pick a favorite. Each was special in its own way.
The vans and drivers were also first class. Driving in China requires a great skill and these drivers were professional. The vans were so clean and spacious. We never had to wait for the driver nor walk anywhere to get to the van. I was impressed with the quality.
The only regret that we had on the tour was that we were not able to go to the panda house. However, you did your best to give us a superb experience.

This China tour was excellent and your organisation was flawless. The tour guides were excellent and very knowledgeable. The cars provided were very comfortable and drivers were very professional. Some improvements could be made with the restaurant choices in Beijing, but overall most of the meals provided were very good. The shows in each city we saw were also very good. The Beijing kung fu show was a lot more enjoyable than expected and the Tang Dynasty Show had very impressive staging and costumes. The best show was the Shanghai Acrobatic show - it was just excellent. Also, one suggestion would be to add on 1 more day for Shanghai. While Shanghai is just a big city and does not have the great history of Beijing and Xian there are still many things to see and do that would just be the perfect finish for the tour of China in the Past - Xian, Present – Beijing and Future - Shanghai. Thanks for your assistance in making it a very enjoyable trip.

This was our first trip to China, and we would definitely recommend Travel China Guide to anyone planning to go to China. Our travel consultant, Kelly Wang, was extremely helpful in helping us plan our trip. She was able to answer all of our questions in a timely manner.

All the hotels were excellent and all provided bottled water. The breakfast buffets offered lots of choices (American and Chinese food). Tour buses were clean, had a/c, and were operated by good drivers. Tour guides had bottled water for us every day. Meals in the restaurants were very good. Lunch with a local family in Xi’an was the best!

One of the highlights of our trip was going up to the observation deck on the 118th floor in the Shanghai Tower. The elevator ride was only 55 seconds! The views at night were fantastic!

Our guides (Cool in Beijing, Celine in Xi’an and Chris in Shanghai) were very knowledgeable, friendly, and spoke English very well. We enjoyed all the places we visited and had a very memorable trip.

My whole trip to China was a memorable experience. The agency organized an excellent tour package according with all my requirements. The quality of the guides in Beijing, Xian and Guilin was above my expectations. The travel coordinators in Xian were quick to make arrangements on time to make our trip smooth as possible. I would recommend the agency services.

China is a beautiful country -- and we had a great time. Their arrangements were excellent -- detailed and accurate. Local guides provided at every location were courteous, knowledgeable and kind. Of all the guides provided by them, Rocky at Beijing was exceptionally good including his language skills and knowledge of the area indicating that he had more years of experience than the rest. Transportation arranged was clean -and all drivers were very good. Meals were also very nice.

Some suggestions:
1) Meals - We would have preferred more option to order Chinese meals "A La Carte" in lieu of fixed menu at the various sites- this way we could have enjoyed the Chinese meals even more and there would not have been wastage. Maybe a good idea also to give option of Western meals on a few days - this way we will enjoy Chinese meals even more.
2) Internal Flights -- if detailed information is given before the trip --it helps us in our planning.
3) Having a step stool handy would have made it easier to get in and out of the van.

Thanks again for a great vacation.

Travel China Guide is indeed a real company. We were first quite worried that it was a bogus company. So we researched the proper newspaper websites as mentioned on the website for the indicated articles. Later we also discovered a link to TravelChinaGuide on the website of the "Consulate General of China" in San Francisco. All other /additional questions we had were always answered promptly. (the same day or maximum the day after.) About 10 days before our departure we got the e-ticket for our first leg of the journey. Once we got our baggage and were on our way a guide promptly picked us up at the airport. It turned out to be a real pleasure traveling in China with TCG. All the guides spoke English very well and the accommodation (5 star hotels) were always very good. We also thoroughly enjoyed the food. Since we like Chinese food we always ate Chinese food even though we had many choices of eating Western food too. Overall, we would recommend Travel China Guide to our family and friends. This tour is going to be a memorable experience for a long time. We think we have seen a good deal of China and learned a lot about its history and people.