very well organised tour. we went to our hotel room after dinner @ 9.30pm but tour guide Ms May called to say that she would come to pick us up at 7.10 am next morning & she was bang on time in a Honda 12 seater ac mini bus but we were only 6 after others were picked from different hotels. the guide May was well dressed. well mannered, spoke perfect english, knew her job very well. the so called included typical chinese lunch was very good but hardly chinese as there were shrimps, chicken, beef etc etc & perfect for all international tourist. we are frequent travellers visited usa/europe /scandinavia etc many times but this tour was as well organised as our Thomas Cook tour. each guest is dropped back to hotel @6pm there was no hank/panky. when abroad one should only select such reputed tour agency...
(Coach Tour) Very nice trip, but the visit to the Great Wall should be first and then the Summer Palace. The temperature after lunch was unbearable, abour 38°C, we couldn\'t stand being at the Great Wall more than 30 minutes it was too hot. We should have gone there in the morning, the Summer Palace at least has more trees and shadow. Lunch was excellent, but we had a bit too much time at the jewerly place. Our guide (Daisy) was very nice, but I think she should have told us more information about the places while we were driving to get there...
This was a good tour and value for money. The Chinese lunch was especially very nice. Our tour guide, her name was Haha, was also very efficient and punctual. The car was clean and everything was very well organised...
This tour was great. Good value for the money. I ended up going alone, but my tour guide, Eva, was wonderful. She took me out to another pass of the Great Wall, because Badaling was clouded over (winter weather was moving in). No extra charge. She gave me a little more than an hour and a half to get to the top of the wall, and was very knowledgeable about the site. Eva walked with me on my tour of Summer Palace, and explained every part of it to me as we walked, helping me with pictures and so on. Eva's English is very good, and she could understand my level of Chinese (somewhat basic). We went to the cloissonne outlet, jade outlet and Dr. Tea, which was a lot of fun. All of these really had great deals, specials, and so on. Dr. Tea was a very informative lesson in learning about Chinese teas, and I did buy the tea cups that change colors from a dragon to the Great Wall or something else. Really a fun trip. Love to do it again. I did tip the driver 50 rmb, and went to tip Eva 100 rmb which she initially refused, but took at my insistance. Why not? They deserve a little extra for the service they gave me. No regrets, and I would love to use ChinaTour.net again, and recommend it to anybody looking to see places in China...
This was the third tour package we booked. Everything worked out great - we were picked up at at 8.10am. Although we booked the budget group tour package, we had a private car and guide instead! The local guide, Jenny, was very helpful and pleasant. She spoke excellent English and was very knowledgeable in explaining to us the history of China. After visiting the Summer Palace which was very lovely, we were brought to the jade factory. We were surprised to be served sumptuous lunch at the posh restaurant in the jade outlet. Although there was a tea ceremony as part of the package, we skipped that as we told her we had visited it the other day. She was nice to bring us to the silk factory instead and we were pleased to see how silk was made! Overall, good value for money and I would truly recommend this to anyone who has not been to the Great Wall and the Summer Palace - both are awesome, be ready for quite a climb at the wall...
This was a very memorable trip. The shuttle arrived exactly on time at the hotel. Everything was well coordinated. Our tour guide Steve was very good, and talked about many interesting facts related to the historical sights. He was also very considerate in accomodating our dietary requirements.and the lunch at the Jade factory was very good. The great wall and summer palace are quite far from Beijing with many toll stations along the way, so this is an excellent value. I would definitely reccomend this company as very good value for money...
I very much liked the places I was taken. As I was the only one on the tour, it made it easier for us to cut short the stays at the locations that were so crowded you couldn\'t move. It was my mistake to try a tour on a national holiday. I would recommend, especially if you are alone on the tour, to make arrangements for your guide to eat with you as sitting in a dining room alone is not aways pleasant. Also, I was told in the ad that the guides were English speaking. Yes my guide was but the driver spoke Chinese...
in my day tour, it was very great.....It was like private tour because only me and 2 others from German who joint this trip. The travel guide, Ms Penny was very good, she knew very well about the history and she could explain everything clearly. We also had unlimited lunch with very good taste. Next time I will come again with my family...
They arrived at my hotel 30 minutes late. They had my local cell phone number and I had talked w/ the tour guide that morning, but still didn\'t get a call saying they\'d be late. That could be a cultural thing.... I also took another tour with them, that tour guide was much better. The tour guide spoke good to excellent English. However, she stayed aloof from all the clients and had us do everything on our own. It was as if she didn\'t really want to be there. In addition, we spent 2 hours at the great wall at a spot that was so very crowded it was difficult to get arms length away from people. And this was on April 8th; a Thursday! I can\'t imagine how crowded it would be on a weekend. At the end of the tour she got off the bus saying she had another client she had to pick up from the airport and left us with the driver to get us back to our respective hotels. I\'d strongly suggest you go to a different section of the Great wall, unless you have specific assurances....
Everything worked out great, I was called the night before as planned and was colected at 8.30am. Although I had booked a group tour I had a private car and guide. They were excellent. We had to visit a pearl factory which was OK but I guess that is part of the deal for the low price of bus tour($32). I also visited a tea ceremony where the girl was very pleasant. The Great Wall and the Summer Palace are both awesome, be ready for quite a climb at the wall...
We had to make our arrangements ourselves the previous night and were picked up by an individual car with our own guide. Emma was very knowledgeable, enthuiastic and genuinely passionate about her country- wec ould not have had a better guide. Did not like the Jade factory- felt the salespeople were quire pushy and the bracelets were about £200 which is hardly an unplanned holiday purchaase. They became quite shirty when we said we didn't want one. The Great Wall was- well great. Quite a physical climb but well worth it at the top. Enjoyed the lunch which was tasty and plentiful and the summer palace was both enjoyable and interesting in the afternoon. Finsijed at the tea factory which we also enjoyed. All this for £22.00 per head- the best value trip I have ever been on..
Everything worked out great, I was called the night before as planned and was colected at 8.30am. Althou-_br_gh I had booked a group tour I had a private car and guide. They were excellent. We had to visit a pearl factory which was OK but I guess that is part of the deal. I also visited a tea ceremony where the girl was very pleasant. Th-_br_e Great Wall and the Summer Palace are both awesome, be ready for quite a climb at the wall. Thanks Lili for the great tour!..
I have used chinatour.net for all the tours and the cruise I done between 2009 september 1 to september 15 in China. During all the time of bookings before the departure they answer quickly to all the questions I had and they uses the visa adequatly. In each city i had a message from chinatour.net when I arrive at the hôtel and a direct phone contact with the guide the day before the tour with her phone number. The guides spoke well english, were very nice with the clients and helps for anything not included in the tour like adress for good restaurants, good taylors, what to see in priority... They told that i can use her phone during all the time i was staying in the city (and it is true). For teh cruse on Yangtze, spontaneously they have proposed an other boat at the same price but with a high level of services. Indeed in the Victoria Princess we have more spacious room, the confort was good, the boat is clean and the quality of the foods is at level of international standards. If you want to use the boat by yourself, book the taxi by the travelagencies or chinatour.net from the airport to the ship gate and do the same from the boat to the airport at the arrival because the shipsgates are difficult to find and the taximen are not speaking english. Every time have with you the destination writed in chinese...
Tour guide and driver took us in a private sedan car to the Summer Palace, Great Wall, lunch and several factories/shops. We enjoyed the private tour (despite the cold weather!!) and our tour guide Samantha was great. It was nice having the private tour so that we could have a little more say in how much time we spent at the Great Wall and such. Probably could have done without the factories, but was overall quite satisfied...
Tour guide and driver took us in a private sedan car to the great wall,summer palace,jade factory and that was ok. Tour guide was too silent she had little dificulties to understand my questions...
One day coach tour of the Great Wall ans Summer palace was definely good value for the money. The tour guide spoke English well and was very knowledgeable about Chinese history. My only real complaint was the allocation of time. We spent, in my opinion, a little too long on the Wall, and then after having to spend time visiting Jade and Pearl factories we had only an hour to walk quickly through the grounds of the Summer Palace. We needed much longer. Again, good value, nice lunch and an educating experience, but two factory tours was a bit much...
We were picked up at 7:00am and were disappointed to find a shuttle bus that could seat around 12+ people. At the time when I booked the tour, the website read 6 people max. (One of the reasons I made the booking.) I asked our tour guide, Mr. Sherman, how many people were on the tour and he said 10. I explained,\"the website read a max of 6 people.\" He said, \"yes, that\'s old information.\" I\'m a little irritated, but try and let it go. We pick up the rest of the tour group and we\'re on our way to the Great Wall. Well, at least that\'s what we all thought. There is a detour to a Jade Market. Ok, onward to the Great Wall. It was amazing! After about 1.5 hours exploring (plenty of time) we are off to lunch. Lunch was pretty tasty. Mr. Sherman was very accommodating in what foods to order for the table. I\'m not a meat eater, and he ordered fish which was very nice. Service at the restaurant was below par for China though. We were given one small bowl of rice for 10 of us and when we asked for more, they took the bowl and never returned it. They also snatched away the tea kettle midway through the lunch. (Note: tea is the only offered beverage that is included in the price of the tour. Soda, beer, juice, etc. are extra.) Since our trip back into Beijing City Centre took place at rush-hour, so it took about double the time to get back to our hotels. We are next to last being dropped at our hotel at 19:00! dropped off an hour and a half later than expected. Although Mr. Sherman and I had a rocky start, overall, he was a great tour guide. He had impeccable English and was sure to explain many happenings going on during our drive to and from the designated stops...
One day tour to Great & Sumer Place was excellent and both myself and my wife enjoyed the trip. The tour guide Jessie (English Name ) took lot of interest and made our tour very informative and enjoyable.We had this trip in a family van along with another couple from Germany. The experience at Great Wall and Summer Place was memorable...
We had a great time! Our tour guide Jennifer was amazing! Great ´Great Wall ´ part.. since it is up, you get amazing pics.. Some tourists don´t like the fact that you have to do three or four stopovers (Jade, Silk factory) but we thought it was okay plus you can tell ALL TOURS do it anyways, it is a way for them to gain an extra comision. Food is okay also.. DO TIP THE TOUR GUIDE AND DRIVER WELL!! So ..WE DO INDEED RECOMEND THIS TOUR VERY MUCH! don´t forget to wear warm clothes since it is getting very cold out there!!..
My mom and I went to the tour of the Great Wall / Summer Palace. We were fortunate enough to have a private car with guide and driver. We were the only 2 that signed up for the tour that day. Value for the money - definately. We requested an additional stop at the silk factory - and were accomodated, also the Olympic venue - we had absolutely no pressure. Our guide was professional and our driver was always ontime and did not drive like he was on fire. We enjoyed our lunch, it was quite nice and fresh. Would I recommend this tour to friends or family? Yes as it was a nice pace and not too many stops...
Tour guide and driver took us in a people carrier to the Great Wall and Summer Palace. My husband and I have been to both before but had a friend visiting from the UK and it was his first time in Beijing. Unlike some tourists we enjoy the stops at the jade and copper factories en route. There is no obligation to buy and it is interesting to learn how traditional Chinese pieces are made. We would have liked to spend more time at the Olympic Stadium but that was our fault as we got along with the other people on the tour so well (J works for FIFA and my men were in their element discussing football!). Despite this, our guide organised us well in a pleasant and friendly manner. Overall it was good value for money and a great day out with two exceptions:- 1) The buffet lunch. We would recommend the dining room on the first floor as the second floor buffet food was quite cool; and more importantly 2) Safety. As per our questionnaire, though we would book with the company again we would request a different driver...
Our tour guide and driver picked us up on time in a van. Our group size was good (6). Tour guide was very personable. Both the Great wall and summer palace were great places and the time we spent at each was good. We got to both of them at the right time to avoid other tour goups. It was still crowded, but not as crowded as it could have been. Stops at the Jade Factory, and the foot massage were very interesting. Prices are a little higher, but you are more confident that you are getting genuine items. Lunch wasn\'t bad, but don\'t expect any western food. I thought it was a very positive experience...
Tour guide and driver took us in a private sedan car to the Great Wall and Summer palace...
