2019 Customer Reviews

We, as a group are completely satisfied of the services that we had a privilege to receive. Mrs Susan is very professional and she has the experience, she has a steady pace. She knows what she is doing. Keep her on board, you have a good guide. Mrs Kitty has a different style, way of operating but very easy to get along with. Her pace is different and we got to appreciate her very much. We felt that the customer came first, she did help us very much and again we were always free. She carries well her name. Mr Ocean is very experienced and accommodating. Finally, I don't know why it happened that way but we crossed the gate at the Beijing airport like too fast and Mrs Kitty could not come in. I really did not say bye bye the proper way. I will contact you in about 2 years, because I'm planning a trip to shaolin (which I could not do this trip) and my dreaming Tibet. You will for sure make the arrangement for us. I am anxious to be part of your tour again.

I was slightly nervous about using TCG as I hadn't heard of them before and couldn't find many reviews on line to validate others' experiences of them. Add to that the fact that they were cheaper than other companies i also got quotes from, with better and fuller itineraries, i was a bit sceptical about whether they were genuine!
However, we took the plunge and went with them and were so glad we did.

From the start the pre-tour communications from them were excellent, with all email queries sent fully answered the next working day.

As to the tour itself we did a two city tour which was superb. We were concerned about arriving in China but, as promised, we were met at every city outside arrivals by a guide and driver. The tour in each city were extremely well organised and informative with great guides in each. Special highlights were the lunches that they arranged and were included in the price, which without exception were excellent. I would also mention that we changed our itinerary at late notice to do two cities instead of three, which meant that we split from the original tour group and went to Shanghai on our own. We expected to join another group here but ended up having a private tour with just the two of us as there were no other groups doing Shanghai at the same time.

Top marks to TCG as fas as I am concerned and i cannot recommend them highly enough.

We found the tour well planned and organised, taking away much of the hassle sometimes encountered by visitors who do not speak the language. We were well looked after from the point of arrival at the airport, to transfer to the next city. The cost was very reasonable, as it included well appointed hotels as well as generally two meals per day. Guides were always punctual and obliging. I have already suggested your tour website to an acquaintance in America as a group which would offer good service, who are prepared to adapt an 'off the shelf' tour and vary it depending upon individual requirements.

I have just arrived back in Hong Kong from a 10 days tour which was organised for me and four friends by this travel company. We all had an unforgettable experience and everything went very smoothly. I particularly want to comment on the dedication and professionalism of our tour guide, 'Roger' (I'm sorry but I do not know his Chinese name). Roger's hard work and consistent attention to detail ensured us an antique and relaxing experience. His kindness and good humour was also appreciated by us all. The other 3 guys are also good, but Roger stands out. I will certainly travel in China again with your company and will recommend your services to my colleagues and friends.

On the whole, we were very impressed by the general organisation of our China trip. With regard to meals, all were good, although some were better than others. Some guides either asked what we would like prior to ordering or allowed us to choose from the menu ourselves. We preferred that rather than just having a set menu presented to us. We enjoyed the opportunity to have regional cuisine wherever possible. In Xian, Roger, our guide, noticed that we hadn't eaten much so he went out of his way and arranged an alternative restaurant for dinner on two nights. We appreciated that. The best meal of the tour was undoubtedly the last night dinner in Shanghai. All our guides were fluent in English and were very professional in carrying out their duties. All were knowledgeable about the sites of interest in their areas and were easily able to communicate that knowledge. Personality factors influenced the manner of how they did this, and those guides with an extroverted outgoing personality, or those with a passion for their local culture, or a passion for their job, were able to give that little bit extra. These were the guides who could think on their feet, and where necessary change the itinerary around to adapt to local conditions. We are happy to say that most of the guides were able to do this. The exception was the guide in Shanghai. Whilst he was very professional in his manner, we didn't connect on a personal level. The cars were all in excellent condition and very clean, and the drivers all very skillful. The driver in Beijing, I think it was Mr. Tao, but I may have the name wrong, was very helpful when we had a camera malfunction. He drove around until he found a camera shop that was able to diagnose and correct our problem. We also had a bonus in Shanghai with our driver, Mr Sun. He was much more than a driver, he was really a second guide and a very good one at that! We would not hesitate to recommend TravelChinaGuide to our friends, or use your services again.

On the whole we found the standard of guiding to be excellent. Over all the guides went out of their way to make our visit enjoyable, memorable and on occasions they went above and beyond what could ever be expected. The food we found to be wonderful and a great experience tasting local dishes. The quantity of food was always more than we could normally eat. The Peking duck would have to be the meal we would suggest not to miss. It is very hard to choose the best meal as they were all so wonderful. In all cases the cars and drivers were excellent. The cars were kept exceptionally clean and the drivers were always pleasant and well dressed, always on time and ready to help. We would like to thank you for all your attention to detail with regard to our holiday questions while we were planning this trip. We would also like to thank you for all your suggestions, help and guidance in making this our most memorable holiday and definitely a trip to recommend to our friends and a country we will definitely return to in the future. Everything worked so smoothly and we recommended Travel China Guide to people whilst we were travelling because you were so good and their planned trip was not of your standard.

Travel China Guide is a very professional and organised company, starting with Vera Wu who was our email consultant, to every individual guide in every city. They were pleasant, informative and all went out of their way to make sure every one in the group had everything they needed. From Linda in Beijing, Carol in Xian, Sandy in Guilin and Sophie in Shanghai they were all excellent. We must mention the excellent drivers as well, they were long suffering friendly and very patient. We enjoyed the 5 star accommodation and especially the wonderful lunches and dinners supplied. Our trip was 12 days in all including an extra day that we added on to visit the water town. We flew between each city, if we were to change anything we would make the tour a little bit longer in each city and have more free time to rest and relax and enjoy the company of our fellow travelers. We would also take the high speed train sometimes instead of flying because that is quite tiring as the airports are well out of the city and the traffic is quite heavy. Of course that would mean more accommodation and more work for guides and drivers so understandably the costs would be more. We found the costs of our tour to be very reasonable for the quality of service.

When we walked out of the airport and saw our guide waiting that minor concern was put to rest and from there on the tour organisation was excellent.
We considered the meals provided were exceptional. With the hotel breakfasts and the lunches we found a small snack in the evenings was sufficient for our needs.
The hotels were first class, all had coffee and tea making facilities, TV with a few English channels, and excellent facilities.
Our guides were all great, knowledgeable, friendly and inclusive of all group members.
The tours were well organised and generally the time allocated to each location was adequate. Our tour included three separate museums and all had similar displays, so, in my opinion this could be reduced. In my opinion the museum in Shanghai was the pick of the ones we visited.
Our drivers were generally very good, however the bus drivers should wait for everyone to be seated before starting to move. On more than one occasion passengers were thrown off balance. The traffic being so different to our usual experience was a little concerning at times. All vehicles, including busses were clean and comfortable.
Our tour included a three night two day Yangtze River Cruise which we enjoyed, however the not-included tours were both in the morning and by the time the included tour were started it was late afternoon. We were fortunate to be in one of the first groups to start these tours so we started in daylight but finished in the dark while the later groups actually started in the dark and I heard some complaints about this. Not good.

Thank you Travelchinaguide for a well organised and enjoyable trip.

Starting with our arrival in Beijing, our Guide Candy's smiling face greeted us as we exited the Arrivals Terminal and we quickly became enchanted with both Candy & our Driver-Mr.Wong. They both personally made Beijing our favorite city, because of their sincere interaction with us- never leaving our side from the time they would pick us up at our Hotel, until we returned each evening. Candy's attention to detail-whether it was informing us of the history of a site or making sure that the food we ordered at restaurants was to our liking-was exemplary! And Mr. Wong... what can we say but, "our sincere thanks"! Mr. Wong, an outstanding driver in Beijing's sometimes trying traffic conditions, was always smiling, polite and ever attentive-treating us like royalty each and every moment! We credit Candy, due to her previous experience, with perfectly arranging our visits to the Great Wall & other sites at times of the day when the number of visitors was at it's lowest-resulting in our being able to truly take in the magnificence of each site, without hoards of other tourists. Our departure from Beijing was a bit sad, if only because we were leaving both Candy & Mr. Wong.
In Xian, our Guide Judy & Driver Mr. Chang, also met us at the airport-ensuring a smooth and calm tranfer to our Hotel. Judy's command of the English language was clearly obvious and enabled us to truly appreciate her detailed presentations/explanations of historical facts for each of our "daily adventures" in Xian. Judy also provided us with "first-hand" insight of China's current economic changes and impact on it's citizens.
In Shanghai, our Guide Sean & Driver Mr Chen were also attentive and informative, providing us with a different perspective of Shanghai-a Chinese City which has more "western flavor". Sean also arranged for an additional side trip to Zhouzhuang, "the Venice of China", on our free afternoon.

Regarding the Hotels, we were not disappointed-but very pleased with each selection:
In Beijing, the Pentahotel Beijing was not only beautiful, but the service was impeccable. The location was ideal and allowed us the opportunity to walk to shops and the "famous" Night Market, to see the various "unusual food items" being sold.
In Xian, the Holiday Inn Xi'an Big Goose Pagoda was conveniently located, giving us a "taste" of Old World Xian.

Regarding the food/restaurants included in our package, please note the following:

All 3 Hotel buffet breakfasts, provided unlimited Western & Chinese breakfast choices in foods and were all outstanding.
In Beijing, our favorite restaurant was on day 2 for lunch, on our way to the Temple of Heaven. The atmosphere was amazing (just what a "tourist" would hope that a Chinese dining experience would be)! There was even entertainment during our meal!
In Xian, our family lunch was a new and interesting experience where Abbey met us (a very nice personal touch), was also memorable.
In Shanghai, our most memorable dinner was at the hotel. It was an elegant sampling of Chinese dining.
Overall, we must be honest that we found the food to be "somewhat different" than what we are used to in the United States. We found them to be "cultural differences", to which we quickly adapted on our second day.

In each city:
Beijing-the KungFu show; Xian-the Tang Dynasty Dinner & Show and in Shanghai- the Acrobatic Show were all wonderful! Each provided a bit of diversity and added to our many wonderful memories of our visit to China.

We sincerely wish to extend to you our thanks for preparing an outstanding itinerary for our memorable trip to China!

Thank you for your time and trouble in arranging our excellent vacation. It was well organized and very professional. Whenever we had a question or a small or large problem, you handled it with speed and understanding. Here are my comments on the particulars of the trip:

All the guides were all very good, prompt, courteous and pleasant.
1.) They were all contentious and their service was very good.
2.) Their command of English was excellent. The communications were very good. We were all impressed with their language skills.
John in Shanghai was excellent. His sense of humor was very good. He was prompt, courteous and a delight to be with everyday.
Lily in Xian was very good, she was ill with a cold, but did not neglect her duties in anyway. She took very good care of our group.
Tony in Guilin was fun and very knowledgeable. He loves his city and shows it off very well.
Rocky in Beijing was very good. He was understanding when we changed our minds and changed plans. He arranged a particularly wonderful peking duck lunch for our group, at our request. His English was very good.
Knowledge of history and culture of China, was excellent in all the guides. They have all studied and learned their lesson well.

Cars and Drivers: All very good, the cars were clean and well maintained. The drivers were all very helpful and pleasant. They stayed with the cars and protected any personal items that we left in the cars.

The meals that were arranged were a cross section of the various cuisines of China and were varied, delicious and well prepared. The amount of dishes were more than we could eat at most meals.

Thank Travel China Guide, on behalf of my fellow travelers, for making our China tour so memorable.