With the help of Charlie from Easy Tour China, JazzDrew made a final decision on the china tour itinerary.
JazzDrew on Feb 28, 11 at 10:18am
Thanks again for all the replies. We decided to use East Tour China. I did lots of research and decided to use a tour agent as opposed to "on our own". I know there are trade-offs and we are ok with this. We chose Easy Tour China based on a combination of price, itinerary and personal phone conversations with others who had used their services recently.
So the devils are in the details, as they say! The next step for us it to coordinate specific flights, land itinerary (Beijing 4 nights, Xi'an 2 nights, Lhasa 4 nights, Chengdu to see hold a panda followed by Guilin 2 nights, Yangshou 1 night, Shanghai 1 night, 7 night cruise to Japan and South Korea, Shanghai 2 nights). I know that we are doing way too much, but we like this sort of travel. Lots of variety. we like to sample a region and choose to come back for longer stays if we really like something.
I will actively continue to monitor this board for all your advise and recommendations. Thanks in advance for helping us with our next adventure!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JazzDrew on Mar 8, 11 at 11:11am
Things are coming together nicely. I spoke to our agent in China (Charlie Chen with East Tour China in Guilin) and have made arrangements. We also booked our cruise at the end of the China tour(Shanghai, Japan and South Korea). We'll stay one more night in Beijing than planned and will stay another night in Shanghai after the cruise. We were able to get the Shanghai JW Marriott with points and am looking forward to that. So....we are officially on our way to China in 3 months!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JazzDrew on Mar 29, 11 at 8:59am
Update: We are all booked and confirmed with Easy Tour China. We have been dealing with Charlie Chen and have found both ETC and Charlie to be professional. We wired our deposit and have made a few tweaks to the itinerary all without issue. It did require a leap of faith to wire money to China but we've done quite a bit of research and feel quite comfortable with our situation. Making deposits and payments are quite similar to our experience when we wired money to Arusha, Tanzania for our African safari a few years ago. We can only hope that things go as well in China!
I certainly enjoy and appreciate these message boards (along with others).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JazzDrew on Jun 12, 11 at 10:05am
We booked with Easy Tour China. Charlie Chen is our agent and so far he (and Easy Tour China) has been great with all of our changes.
We initially booked a private tour and booked a cruise out of Shangahi to Japan and South Korea. The earthquake resulted in our cruise being canceled. We rebook a new cruise out of Hong Kong that went to Sanya and Vietnam. Charlie was able to modify our plans without any issue.
We had booked Tibet, but learned a couple of days ago that Tibet was indeed closed. So in a few short hours Charlie arranged an alternattive to Jiuzhaigou.
As you can see with our new itineray we are on the go all the time - and we want it that way! I figured that we will fly or sail over 18,000 miles in 3 weeks! That is 3/4 the way around the world!! And to start it off our second flight is already 3 1/2 hours late arriving in Beijing at 3am. Oh the adventures we are in for!!
ITINERARY
Day 1-4
June 12–June 16
Arrival in Beijing: AA 187
Accommodations: The Peninsula Beijing, Beijing (4 nights)
Day 5-6
June 16-June 18
Beijing / Xi'an Transfer: by plane– MU2114 (15.05/16.50)
Accommodations: Sofitel Xian on Renmin Square, Xi'an (2 nights)
Day 7-8
June 18–June 20
Xi'an / Jiuzhaigou Transfer: by plane– MU2377 (07.55/19.11)
Accommodations: InterContinental Resort Jiuzhai Paradise (九寨天堂洲际大饭店) (2 nights)
Day 9
June 20-21
Jiuzhai / Chengdu Transfer: by plane– MU3006 12.05/12.41
Accommodations: Chengdu Shangri‐La Hotel (香格里拉大饭店) (1 night)
Day 10-11
June 21–June 23
Chengdu / Guilin Transfer: by plane– CA4323 19.50/21.35
Accommodations: Sheraton Guilin, Guilin (2 nights)
Day 12
June 23-24
Guilin/Yangshuo Transfer: by cruise ship
Accommodations: Greenlotus Hotel, Yangshuo (1 night)
Day 13-15
June 24-26
Yangshuo / Guilin Transfer: by private vehicle
Guilin/Hong Kong Transfer: by plane CZ3031 (17.35 / 18.35)
Accommodations: Langham Place, Mongkok, Hong Kong
Day 15–19
June 26–July 1
Royal Caribbean
Legend of the Seas
(888) 724-SHIP ($7.95 a minute)
Date Port
26-Jun Hong Kong, China
27-Jun Sanya, China
28-Jun Hue/Danang (Chan May Port), Vietnam
29-Jun Hanoi (Halong Bay), Vietnam
30-Jun Cruising
01-Jul Hong Kong, China
Day 20-22
July 1–July 3
Hong Kong / Shanghai Transfer: by plane FM810 (12.30 / 14.50)
JW Marriott Hotel Shanghai at Tomorrow Square
Day 22
July 3
Shanghai departure
Arrive Cedar Rapids 11:05 PM on Sunday, July 3
I'll be glad to offer a quick review when we return to anyone who is interested.
See the original posts on Fodors.com, http://www.fodors.com/community/asia/first-trip-to-china-5-star-hotel-and-tour-company-comment-requests.cfm
JazzDrew on Feb 28, 11 at 10:18am
Thanks again for all the replies. We decided to use East Tour China. I did lots of research and decided to use a tour agent as opposed to "on our own". I know there are trade-offs and we are ok with this. We chose Easy Tour China based on a combination of price, itinerary and personal phone conversations with others who had used their services recently.
So the devils are in the details, as they say! The next step for us it to coordinate specific flights, land itinerary (Beijing 4 nights, Xi'an 2 nights, Lhasa 4 nights, Chengdu to see hold a panda followed by Guilin 2 nights, Yangshou 1 night, Shanghai 1 night, 7 night cruise to Japan and South Korea, Shanghai 2 nights). I know that we are doing way too much, but we like this sort of travel. Lots of variety. we like to sample a region and choose to come back for longer stays if we really like something.
I will actively continue to monitor this board for all your advise and recommendations. Thanks in advance for helping us with our next adventure!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JazzDrew on Mar 8, 11 at 11:11am
Things are coming together nicely. I spoke to our agent in China (Charlie Chen with East Tour China in Guilin) and have made arrangements. We also booked our cruise at the end of the China tour(Shanghai, Japan and South Korea). We'll stay one more night in Beijing than planned and will stay another night in Shanghai after the cruise. We were able to get the Shanghai JW Marriott with points and am looking forward to that. So....we are officially on our way to China in 3 months!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JazzDrew on Mar 29, 11 at 8:59am
Update: We are all booked and confirmed with Easy Tour China. We have been dealing with Charlie Chen and have found both ETC and Charlie to be professional. We wired our deposit and have made a few tweaks to the itinerary all without issue. It did require a leap of faith to wire money to China but we've done quite a bit of research and feel quite comfortable with our situation. Making deposits and payments are quite similar to our experience when we wired money to Arusha, Tanzania for our African safari a few years ago. We can only hope that things go as well in China!
I certainly enjoy and appreciate these message boards (along with others).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JazzDrew on Jun 12, 11 at 10:05am
We booked with Easy Tour China. Charlie Chen is our agent and so far he (and Easy Tour China) has been great with all of our changes.
We initially booked a private tour and booked a cruise out of Shangahi to Japan and South Korea. The earthquake resulted in our cruise being canceled. We rebook a new cruise out of Hong Kong that went to Sanya and Vietnam. Charlie was able to modify our plans without any issue.
We had booked Tibet, but learned a couple of days ago that Tibet was indeed closed. So in a few short hours Charlie arranged an alternattive to Jiuzhaigou.
As you can see with our new itineray we are on the go all the time - and we want it that way! I figured that we will fly or sail over 18,000 miles in 3 weeks! That is 3/4 the way around the world!! And to start it off our second flight is already 3 1/2 hours late arriving in Beijing at 3am. Oh the adventures we are in for!!
ITINERARY
Day 1-4
June 12–June 16
Arrival in Beijing: AA 187
Accommodations: The Peninsula Beijing, Beijing (4 nights)
Day 5-6
June 16-June 18
Beijing / Xi'an Transfer: by plane– MU2114 (15.05/16.50)
Accommodations: Sofitel Xian on Renmin Square, Xi'an (2 nights)
Day 7-8
June 18–June 20
Xi'an / Jiuzhaigou Transfer: by plane– MU2377 (07.55/19.11)
Accommodations: InterContinental Resort Jiuzhai Paradise (九寨天堂洲际大饭店) (2 nights)
Day 9
June 20-21
Jiuzhai / Chengdu Transfer: by plane– MU3006 12.05/12.41
Accommodations: Chengdu Shangri‐La Hotel (香格里拉大饭店) (1 night)
Day 10-11
June 21–June 23
Chengdu / Guilin Transfer: by plane– CA4323 19.50/21.35
Accommodations: Sheraton Guilin, Guilin (2 nights)
Day 12
June 23-24
Guilin/Yangshuo Transfer: by cruise ship
Accommodations: Greenlotus Hotel, Yangshuo (1 night)
Day 13-15
June 24-26
Yangshuo / Guilin Transfer: by private vehicle
Guilin/Hong Kong Transfer: by plane CZ3031 (17.35 / 18.35)
Accommodations: Langham Place, Mongkok, Hong Kong
Day 15–19
June 26–July 1
Royal Caribbean
Legend of the Seas
(888) 724-SHIP ($7.95 a minute)
Date Port
26-Jun Hong Kong, China
27-Jun Sanya, China
28-Jun Hue/Danang (Chan May Port), Vietnam
29-Jun Hanoi (Halong Bay), Vietnam
30-Jun Cruising
01-Jul Hong Kong, China
Day 20-22
July 1–July 3
Hong Kong / Shanghai Transfer: by plane FM810 (12.30 / 14.50)
JW Marriott Hotel Shanghai at Tomorrow Square
Day 22
July 3
Shanghai departure
Arrive Cedar Rapids 11:05 PM on Sunday, July 3
I'll be glad to offer a quick review when we return to anyone who is interested.
See the original posts on Fodors.com, http://www.fodors.com/community/asia/first-trip-to-china-5-star-hotel-and-tour-company-comment-requests.cfm