China Feedback & Testimonials

Below you will find some recent feedback from our China clients. On request we can put you in touch with past clients to discuss their experience of our services.

Ruth & William Thompson : Tailor Made China

Dear Chris, Just to let you know that we had a fabulous trip and would definitely recommend you to anyone travelling to China. We are glad we “took the chance” on using an operator we were not familiar with as the trip exceeded our expectations and experiences of using other agents.

We were impressed with how all our complex logistics worked like clockwork. All the pick-ups and transfers worked seamlessly, given the length of the trip we could see that a lot of organisation had gone into making everything work for us.
We enjoyed reading the travel guides and country notes. It was great to have everything in one place custom made for us.
Your suggestions about the time to spend in each destination was perfect as we felt we spent just the right amount of time in each place. The locations of all our hotels was great, conveniently placed so we could easily wander to see something interesting on our own when we had some free time which added to the enjoyment of our trip.

The local guides were friendly and helpful. We enjoyed having guides of varying ages, from someone who had been guiding for 30 years to some young people, which offered interesting perspectives on how China is changing. In this respect it was much better than having one “tour guide” for the whole journey.

A private tour is a great concept. It gave us the feeling of independence but with the peace of mind knowing that really we had all the help and support we would need.

Thank you again for all your work in making this such a special trip for us.

Regards,
Ruth Thompson

 

 

 

Terry Swait : Tailor Made China

We are now all back home after the delay getting into Heathrow as we had to go to Gatwick to get some fuel and going around terminal 5 2 times good game!

I would like to thank you and your staff for a top quality tour, I must say it was one of the best tours I have ever been on, and everybody thoroughly enjoyed themselves..

I have to complement the 3 tour guides, all of them were great, very knowledgeable and kept us informed on all the sites and any updates. In particular Bruce was the best and was great, a big thank you to him.

If BAES does another trip we will certainly be contact you and your team.

 

Adrian Pittaway : Tailor Made China

I would like to give some feedback on my recent trip to China. It was a great trip, well balanced and full of great stuff to see, thanks. as i am sure you know, China is a fascinating country, full of contrast, natural wonder and rapid development. It was a really good trip and for sure one i would recommend. Here is a quick vid of some of the stuff i saw… https://youtu.be/-ROkkfnn9Yg

 

Paul Hodges : Tailor Made China

I would like to thank you for your hard work in rising to the the challenge of our specialised itinerary. The hotels were first class, the taxi’s and tour guides were excellent, very helpful, very informative. Internal flights and the Bullet Train a good experience. We completed our aviation itinerary in good measure and combined with some very interesting sightseeing this turned a promising trip into a great memorable experience.

 

Annie Ladd : Tailor Made China

First of a big thank you for organising a fantastic trip for us – what an adventure! We had a great time and thought the place was fascinating. The weather in Beijing was fantastic but Pingyao and Xian were incredibly cold and we had heavy snow.
It was perfect to meet up with Will and the hotel was luxury with an amazing breakfast. So thanks again for all your efforts and if there’s anything else you’d like to know please just ask. We would certainly recommend you if any of our friends want a trip to China.

 

Lindsey Myers : Tailor Made Cultural Explorer

I would definitely recommend you and would use you again. Thanks so much for all your help in booking our trip, we thoroughly enjoyed it. Lindsey

 

Roger : Tailor Made China

Can I thank you for your organisation of our trip to China. Apart from a minor glitch at the Maglev station, all the pick-ups/Transfers went flawlessly and my thanks also for assisting in the recovery of the suitcase which went missing at Heathrow – I did in fact send a thank you note at the time asking you to pass these on to Ms Zhou Chen but discovered it unsent in my outbox a week later!- the wifi was a bit hit and miss much of the time!

 

Betsy Edwards : Tailor Made China

Dear Phil, We have just got back from our holiday and what a holiday! All went well and we had some excellent guides. It was certainly a trip of a lifetime. I hope all is well with you.

 

Simon & Helen Randfield : Tailor Made China

Returned to the UK yesterday, completing our 3 weeks in China. Thanks very much for organising our itinerary. Everything went like a dream. being met at each destination was a real boost and each of these guides were extremely helpful. Accommodation was all good and transport/ tickets all went smoothly. Would have been difficult to do this trip without your organisational help. thank you.

 

Ruth Champion : Tailor Made China

We had an amazing time. There were so many highlights I couldn’t pin point one in particular. I’ve completely fallen in love with the country and the people. Thank you for creating such a wonderful itinerary. It was an amazing trip which I will remember as one of the best.

 

Suzanne Allers & Family : Tailor Made China

We returned home from China on Friday and I just wanted to say a huge thank you – we had a fantastic trip, and the itinerary you put together and hotels and guide were so good and a large part of why it was such a success!

The hotels in particular were really excellent (particularly liked the Yangshuo Mountain Retreat – could have stayed for days more! The Double Happiness in Beijing was also really lovely and full of character). In general the guides were also good, perhaps the only one who was less engaged was the guide in Xian who rushed us slightly and seemed to have seen the Terracota Army so many times before that he struggled to convey much enthusiasm! Fortunately it was impressive enough not to really need much more!

It was an amazing holiday – thanks so much, I would highly recommend you to anyone else 🙂

 

Victoria Challacombe : Tailor Made China

The Trip Guidebook was amazing! I have never received something like that before and we were really impressed and what’s more we used and read it loads while we were away.

Without a shadow of a doubt I will recommend you. Happy to do so and looking for opportunities to now use your sister company for the Trans Siberian Railway (and maybe Beijing and Terra-cotta Army)

 

Jeremy Thomas : Tailor Made China

The guides were very informative and great English and also good to be just the 3 of us so could also find out more about our guide and they found out more about us and our European ways. Could not fault a thing from start to finish. Superb

 

Bob Chatterjee : Tailor Made China 2017

I recently travelled (Sept 2017) to China with the China Travel Company. I must say I could not have been more impressed with the service and organisational skills. I was on a mixed business and tourism trip, and despite throwing everything at Mr Stanley and his team including less than 24hrs notice of a change in my lecture slot necessitating changes for train tickets, flights being cancelled and having to change hotel bookings, they dealt with all with aplomb. The guides they sourced for my tourism arrived on time, spoke excellent English and knew how to avoid the queues and find the quieter places to give me more time to wander around. I would have absolutely no hesitation in using them again and will do so on my next trip to China with my family”

Mr Bob Chatterjee
Consultant Spinal Surgeon
President of Orthopaedics at The Royal Society of Medicine

 

 

 

Emma Bond : Tailor Made China

Hi Phil, I just want to say a massive thank you! We got home last night after the most amazing and wonderful trip. It was truly an experience of a lifetime. Our guide was so knowledgeable and extremely helpful. I could not recommend him enough!Thanks again for everything.

 

Eira and Geoff Livesey : Tailored Harbin Ice Festival

All transfers within China by vehicle or train ran like clockwork. Guides were there on time and did their job efficiently and effectively. However, the one issue we had with the flight leaving China from Harbin was dealt with very effectively and professionally by the Harbin guide, Ruby. Once again can we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all the assistance with regards to the flights.

Harbin was our favourite and our Guide Ruby and Driver, Mr Han, we feel need a special mention. We feel they both went beyond what was required of them to give us a fantastic time in the city. They joined us in some activities. For example, interacting with us and the locals at the ice swimming, which was not part of our scheduled itinerary. They looked after our every need.

This was our second trip to China, and both times we have come away immensely impressed with the country. We would not rule out returning sometime in the future. Thank you.

 

Ralph Stubbs : Taste of China and Tibet

Any questions that we had were raised with the tour guide and promptly answered, which gives you the feeling that you are in the hands of a competent and professional tour guide, which indeed we were. 🙂

All transfers went to plan with minimum disruption at any time and all of the tour guides went out of their way to maintain interest, and were able to answer any questions that we had concerning our trip.

The accommodation provided in Beijing, Xian and Shanghai was to an excellent standard. The hotel in Lhasa visually was to die for, with the architecture perfect for this part of our trip.

There was the perfect balance of guided trips and free time, with the day tours providing us with a fantastic tourists view of the country. The contrast between China (and Tibet) was marked and totally awesome.

I would certainly recommend China tours to all. The holiday costs were easily offset with the professional ability of all involved.

 

Helen & Vernon Hockley : China Tailor Made

It was a super itinerary, which we could not have put together ourselves; it all worked and to plan; no hitches at all.
Excellent guides, who spoke very good English, but also had a sufficient command of the language to have really interesting conversations about many other topics; life in china, education, housing, children etc. Thus giving us a peep into Chinese life, which a large tour would never have given us. This we enjoyed and appreciated.

The guides met us as planned, and ensured we were passed on properly from one to the next. On the bullet trains, we asked how many stops, and the estimated arrival time, which helps / comforting, even though the board does come up in English, it’s easy to miss it.

The drivers were good, safe, and obviously accustomed to the Chinese style, which we would have had problems with. Clearly the rules were set in the bicycle era and not changed for cars! Once used to it, we could relax and enjoy!

The hotels were good and in great locations for us (central to the attractions), so that we could walk around and get the feel of the place, without needing transport. All were different, small and quaint ( Pingyao) with excellent service; historic – jade garden; lovely setting – Jinxi west lake; intriguing – Buddhazen chengdu; beautiful setting for a needed R&R -Yangzhou mountain retreat. They were all so different, but appropriate, good service, and very friendly. The YMCA in Hong Kong was also a good recommendation for all the same reasons; it’s not like any YMCA’s we used to know!

A wonderful holiday, which has given us much to think about, many good memories, lots of photos, and material for conversations with family and friends.
Had a day trip to Macau for sentimental reasons of Portuguese language; but a lot of rebuilt old areas, very little official language spoken, very hot and humid! Would not recommend unless for Casinos.

So would certainly recommend you; for this type of holiday.

Many Thanks
Helen and Vernon

 

Malcolm & Angie Liddle : Cultural Explorer

Hi Phil

Just a wee bit feedback on our China trip which was very interesting and generally very enjoyable.

Best bits for us were the Warriors, The Wall – it’s hard to get a real feel for how steep it is from photos, some of the temples – lost track of how many layers of rooms there were. The barriers on the doors to keep the spirits out. Hanging monastery. Mount Taishan, by cable car! Watching all the overloaded bikes, tricycles and scooters and the strange “quilts” they have on their handlebars. The big statues in the caves. For a non-religious country they all seem quite keen on gods of various sorts and there was a lot of bowing and incense in the temples. In general the further through the holiday we got the fewer western tourists there were. Almost none by the time we got to Mount Taishan, but plenty Chinese. We went to the Lama temple on our last day in Beijing and it had a very nice feel to it (as well as enormous Buddha), more of the visitors seemed to be “real” worshippers.

Biggest surprises – the number of high rise buildings in all the towns, the number of tourist – especially Chinese ones, we lost track of the number of times we said “glad we didn’t come in the high season”. The TRAFFIC. The amount of bullet train tracks and the trains themselves. The stations for the bullet trains were easy to get through because they were very like small airports. Size of many of the roads and the amount greenery planted around them. The general amount of manpower about, especially sweeping up and gardening.

Guides – All easy to get on with, very informative, always on time and very caring. They always made sure we had left nothing behind and had our passports, directed us to rest rooms which, for me at least, were generally not required. With the temperature over 30C for much of the time I had difficulty getting enough fluid on board to get me alive without getting rid of any. A couple of them had a bit of an English problem in more general conversation but their info about what we were looking at was always good – and they all insisted that their town was the best! Don’t know when a huge world power like the Chinese are going to get over the need to have a western name but we had some good ones – Rock, Miracle, Star, April.

Drivers – They (and the cars) were all excellent, calm and smooth. You’re aware of what the traffic is like but it was a bit of a shock to the system! No idea how it works but it seems to. I’m going to apply my new Chinese driving tactics with some random lane switching and undertaking on the M6 this weekend.

Hotels – we preferred the traditional ones in Beijing and Pingyao , but all of the others were very good and I suppose were like good hotels anywhere, certainly far better than our normal level of accommodation. Christian’s Hotel was great and very flash, and staff very helpful. We finished in a huge room in the Sheraton in Tai’an with a view to the mountains. Breakfasts were generally “awesome” and I tried a fairly wide range of Chinese stuff but instantly forgot what it was called. A bit of a problem with soup in the morning and the congee remained off limits, plain or flavoured. Fried eggs with chopsticks was a bit of a challenge!

The strangest hotel was probably in Qufu where there was a huge window from the bedroom into the bathroom. They seemed to be living a bit on their past reputation with all of the photos of famous people and it was looking a bit in need of a bit of TLC.

Double Happiness Courtyard – Special mention for everybody here. By far the best English speaking reception staff we came across and very helpful when my wallet went missing. One of the staff came with me to the police station and I don’t think it would got very far without her. And on our first stay we had a very special wedding suite J

Food – Generally very enjoyable. We ate Chinese all the time with chopsticks and I was very annoyed that by the end my stick skills didn’t seem much better. Portions were generally HUGE everywhere so I think when we had our lunches out we could have done with fewer dishes, especially after hotel breakfasts. The easiest eating were big fat cannelloni-shaped noodle in Pingyao – you could just stick your chopstick down the middle J Some of the English translations on the menus were fantastic! We weren’t too adventurous with much street food but, being Scottish, we did try a few cakes and biscuits from little bakeries. Not too impressed.

Hutong experience was very interesting, food was good and the surprise of the day was that they had the same IKEA chair as we have! Disappointment of the day was the cycle rickshaw driver not letting me try to cycle his rickshaw L

Strangest experience was in Tai’an where we couldn’t find much English in the restaurants so we chose one with pictures outside. Took the waiter outside and pointed to what we assumed were 2 noodle dishes. The waiter brought knives and forks and said they didn’t have chopsticks. Then with the help of Google Translate we got some beer. But he brought Budweiser and German beer. Chinese beer we said. He looked surprised and after more conversation via our phones and it turned out we were in a French Restaurant so no local beer! And the noodles we had ordered were in fact spaghetti with pesto and pasta with bolognaise sauce. Then they gave us a complimentary selection of fried snacks with a dipping sauce to finish. Excellent.

I don’t know if you’re a beer drinker but Brewdog is a fairly famous Scottish beer from a trendy young brewery. So the surprise of the holiday was definitely finding a Brewdog sign in a very small bar in the little street that the Double Happiness was on. We didn’t notice it until our very last day so unfortunately didn’t get a chance to go in.

And finally all of your organisation with transport, guides, hotels etc worked liked clockwork, thank you.

Cheers
Malcolm & Angie Liddle

 

Victoria Barrett : Silk Road Explorer

I cannot recommend the China travel company highly enough. I had an amazing holiday in June 2017 travelling the Silk Road from Urumqi down to Beijing… Phil and his team tailor made the itinerary to my requirements, expertly advising me on my trip to get the best out of my time in China; for example, recommending a stay at Pingyao (a beautiful walled city from the Ming Dynasty rather than an extra day in Xi’ian). I took his advice and upon visiting Pingyao it was like stepping back a couple of centuries (but with an air-conditioned hotel!). Basically, they know their stuff and China inside out.

All my transits from city to city were well planned to get the most amount of time in each place. My lovely guides and drivers were very knowledgeable and friendly and were keen to go above and beyond to ensure my trip was memorable, I felt very well taken care of every step of the way yet also had the freedom to explore independently, it really was the best of both worlds.

The accommodations and suggested excursions were also excellent with real care taken to ensure comfort, location and whenever possible a taste of real China.

The China travel company provide the independent traveller with the means to strike out on their own but with the safety net of assistance along the way, their trips are ideal for people that want to go it alone but not totally alone like me!

If you have always had a hankering to visit China and to go off the well-trodden tourist routes then Heads East is the company to book with. I am already planning my next trip with them (Nepal!) as I know I will be safe hands!

Victoria Barrett

 

 

 

Tim Ellis : China Tailor Made

This holiday was one of the best we have had, thanks to everyone who made it possible. I’ve done the google review and no we don’t mind you using our comments on your website, it’s important that people can see how good you are. Many Thanks for your help it was a fantastic holiday.

 

Anil Chohan : China Tailor Made

The help provided by Chris was fantastic and very quick and efficient. Couldn’t have asked for any more. Could not have asked for a better mix of hotels to provide us with comfort and culture. Good transfers, good guides and really made life easier by just being there on time and efficiently. The trip was organised with lots of help. Nice mix of modern luxury and local tradition.

 

Fiona Nicolle : Tailor Made Family Tour

The trip was tailor made and it was great to not only end up with a trip that covered all the places we wanted but get bespoke advice on whether to go and the extent of support we would need. the advice was honest and enthusiastic and it was great to talk to someone with an in-depth knowledge of and love of China!

All the guides were friendly, knowledgeable and happy to tailor the sightseeing to our pace and needs. Many went out of their way to supply us with additional local knowledge. It was a bit like having a local friend.

The trip exceeded my expectations. It was well organised, we felt really well supported, the guides made us feel very welcome and well looked after and we were very pleased with the hotels.

 

 

Kate Dodd : Tailored Family Tour

We had a FANTASTIC time in China! We loved the Great
Wall especially as it was virtually deserted and we had great weather in the
north. The Yellow Mountains were spectacular, not least because of the
thunderstorms and drifting mist/cloud. We really enjoyed the final hotel – the
Mountain Retreat – superb location, service etc. All in all it was an amazing
experience ( a word we uttered frequently every day on the trip!) and one which
has opened our boys’ eyes to a new world. The Chinese people were delightful
and it is in no small part due to them that our trip was such a success. They
were fascinated by our boys who are the same height and they thought they were
twins – lots of lovely requests for photos with them.

Many thanks for organising such a memorable trip for us, it was such a delight
to have everything so well organised. We do have one or two comments so will
complete the feedback form but overall it was a thoroughly enjoyable trip –
thank you!!

 

Jennifer Bentley : China Express

The tailored schedule which your company offered is second to none. We fitted in so much in our 7 days in 3 centres. The Beijing guide and driver were superb – such comfortable driving in Beijing and the outskirts. The countryside tour of the farm and the local school outside Xian was the most memorable trip of our holiday. The Trip guidebook covered all the essentials and more and was very easy to read and highly informative. Having a private guide at each leg of the journey made our holiday run with ease and there was so much more information passed over this way than through the guide books.

 

Yvonne Taylor : China Tailor Made

Many thanks for your patient, prompt and informative responses to our questions, and for facilitating a friend joining a trip at a later date. The Trip Guidebook was very helpful, easy to read and a lovely keepsake. Emergency numbers etc very reassuring. Loved the tip about the Felix Bar which was an adventure to find ! But worth it. Really pleased with everything we got to see and enjoy. Very varied. Overall very impressed by smooth running of the trip, many thanks.

 

Susan Rutherford : China Tailor Made

Phil was extremely helpful, changing some of the options and ensuring we had the hotels that we required. Always available via e-mail or phone to answer any queries or make changes. Nothing too much trouble.

The drivers were always punctual and waiting at each destinations. cars were of a good standard with comfortable seating. Our diver in Guilin ensured we made our internal flight despite a long delay on the road due to an overturned lorry. (lots of weaving through traffic required!). Bullet trains were clean and comfortable, worth paying to upgrade to first class we thought.

Loved our guides! All such different personalities, and all very proud of their home cities. extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Again in Guilin, our guide, Lily, zoomed us through check in and security as we arrived last minute due to the traffic. All were very punctual and happy to arrange evening entertainment, even coming along to make sure we got to the right place, and waiting for us until we were ready to go back to our hotel.

My head is still buzzing with everything we were able to see! Guides were fabulous, making sure we saw everything we wanted. Talking to other travellers, I think we fit as much into our two weeks as they had in three or more. Down to good planning of travel arrangements and definitely worth paying a bit more for.

Our personalised book was the envy of fellow travellers that we met along the way. I have personalised mine even more by adding diary type notes to it.

Absolutely awesome time! loved everything about it. I think we have seen as many of the iconic sights of China that you could possibly fit into 2 weeks and all done in comfort and style. Thank you so much. Especially to Phil.

 

Andrew Shillaber : China Tailor Made

Hello Chris, I wanted to write to say a big thank you for organising everything for our trip. Even before we left it was clear you knew a lot about China and we really appreciated how informative and responsive your email communication was. The choice of hotels was fantastic both in terms of location and service and without fail, all our guides met us at the appointed location and everything matched the itinerary as discussed. It was a great mix of independent travel with guides meeting us along the way as we really didn’t want a full on day in day out guided tour, so this was just what we were looking for. We particularly enjoyed travelling on the bullet trains seeing the countryside roll by. We have lasting memories of the friendliness of the Chinese (despite communication challenges – downloading an offline version of Google Translate really helped us) and how clean it was – no litter anywhere. Even being vegetarian we managed to find some buddhist restaurants along the way but we did gorge when we got to Hong Kong!

There was some confusion about when we should leave the Yangtse river cruise to get picked up by our guide as it was unclear whether we stay on the boat or check out first thing in the morning and which excursions were included but the cruise company called on our behalf to resolve this. It was also surprising that only two of our guides gave us feedback forms and water – the others didn’t for some reason? The tip about carrying a plastic mug for noodles on the train was great as was seeing a ready supply of hot water everywhere!

Thanks again – after doing a Google search, finding your company and not knowing anyone else who had used you was a bit of a gamble but it paid off and would recommend you to others. Please feel free to use this testimonial on your site if that would help.

 

Grant Shaw : China Tailor Made

Easy to book once I had found you and convinced my self that you were safe. I think you need some more Trip adviser comments to provide reassurance about the company. We will do our bit. I am happy to chat more if you wish:)

 

David Parkin : China Tailor Made

Good advice from Phil regarding what was and and wasn’t achievable on the holiday, so easy to tailor holiday. Really good mix of trips, and about the right length to allow us some time to explore by ourselves.

 

Penny George : China Tailor Made

Phil was extremely patient and accommodating of our travel wishes..and built us a fine itinerary which we thoroughly enjoyed.His pre trip advice highlighting special features of the regions, such as live performances in Guilin and also Dali, proved particularly valuable , as these were memorable additions to our trip.

Travel arrangements worked seamlessly. All our guides were extremely pleasant, enthusiastic and knowledgeable, and accommodated our additional requests etc. They conscientiously ensured that drop off and pickup arrangements worked without hitch, gave valuable advise regarding places to eat…booked our performances and imparted much knowledge regarding location , history , geography at each of the cities which we visited.

Excellent choice of accommodation made for us by China Travel. We particularly enjoyed the courtyard hotels in Chengdu , Pinguao, Dali , Luijian, and also Yangshou. Each hotel was unique , centrally located and staff extremely friendly and helpful.

The trip across China was fascinating and we really enjoyed it, having confidence in our guides and the respective travel arrangements. Would love to go again. Thanks for a memorable trip!

 

Julia Holland : China Tailor Made

Hi Chris, Just wanted to send you an email to say thanks for all your help organising our trip in China. We just got back and had an AMAZING time.
The tour guides/drivers were all excellent and it just made such a difference taking all the hassle out of the trip having all the transport and entrance tickets pre-organised. It was really seamless Nothing was too much trouble.

The first class bullet train was definitely the best option and also two of us sharing a 4-berth cabin on the sleeper train was the envy of everyone. It made it so much more enjoyable having our own privacy (and a little extra space).

Being escorted to the platform / door of the train or to checkin/security at the airport was also a godsend, it certainly would have been more stressful without that extra bit of assistance – especially when I needed to open my case at the airport!!!

Walking the Great Wall at Jinshanling was absolutely spectacular and there was hardly anyone else around which made it even more special. (quite the opposite experience for many of my colleagues who did it) Truly amazing. That was my favourite, followed closely by the pandas at Chengdu (could have watched them playing around all day) and the Terracotta army.

The accommodation you recommended was also fabulous – really central which was just what we wanted, as after a tiring day we did not want to go too far, but still wanted to explore a little bit so they were all ideal. The Buddha Zen traditional style hotel was lovely – and we had a great dinner there in the evening as it was pouring with rain so we didnt want to venture out. The Astor House was also great, and we received an upgrade which was nice, so stayed in a particularly spacious high-ceilinged room, albeit for only a few hours before heading home!

Thank you so much for all your help and I wont hesitate to recommend you to others.

Kind regards
Julia Holland

oh – and one thing i didn’t mention – both myself and Carol were really impressed with the personalised travel guide book we received. It didn’t leave our sides for the whole trip and was a really useful reference!

 

Peter Field : China Tailor Made

We LOVED the trip and, apart from your own organisation and expertise, you have managed to gather around you of excellent group of local agents. Couldn’t fault them.

I am whole-heartedly recommending your company to anyone interested in visiting China.

We did alter our itinerary at the end of the trip because we fell in love with Shanghai so wanted to spend another day there. Your local agent couldn’t have been more helpful as it involved quite a lot of travel re-arrangements.

Next on my list of eastern countries to visit is Japan. If you know of any agency you would recommend I would be most grateful. And I would definitely want to stop off in Shanghai on the way there or on return journey.

Just to say thanks for everything and best wishes for future success.

 

Sarah : China Tailor Made

Having just returned from a very enjoyable trip to China organised by yourself, I felt it was appropriate to provide you with some feedback.
All transitions were extremely smooth with all guides being clearly visible on our arrival at different airports and stations. All spoke a good level of English and were able to offer appropriate advice. It was particularly nice to see the passion many of them held for their city, particularly the guide in Chengdu. Those providing the highest standard were the guides in Beijing and Chengdu. They were enthusiastic, knowledgeable and took account of our needs and desires. The Chengdu guide provided excellent advice regarding achieving the most from our visit to the panda base. The young man who met us at the end of our journey in Shanghai to take us to and from Disney also appeared very competent although we spent less time with him.

I have already recommended your company to somebody I know who is hoping to plan a similar trip and will not hesitate to do so again.
Many thanks for using your expertise to provide such a memorable tailor made trip.

 

Ian : China Tailor Made

It really was a tremendous holiday which ticked all our boxes. The highlights for me were the Great Wall and also the Panda Centre in Chengdu. The guide there was exceptional in terms of the way she manipulated the visit so that we maximised the sights at every stage. I particularly appreciated the hotel in Beijing which had a large room, a first class breakfast and an excellent location.

I was amazed that at each of the fifteen to twenty meeting points we had the guides and drivers were always available, always on time, always highly visible, always courteous and always well presented. In many instances they went well beyond the call of duty providing additional help and also sometimes their phone numbers in case of difficulty. We realised how fortunate we were when we met up with a couple on the cruise who used a rival company and missed a connecting flight because their guide had overslept! They experienced other hiccups along the way as well that we avoided thanks to the attention to detail and exceptional service that you, your organisation and your wonderful staff in China provide.

So all in all we can’t endorse you highly enough and would certainly use your services again. Please feel free to use any comments by either Sarah or myself but we would be grateful if you did not identify us by name on your website or in your literature.

 

Stephen Wilkinson : China Tailor Made

This was better than we expected. The driving habits of drivers require nerves of steel even sitting in the passenger seat. our tour drivers were all really good and we felt safe. We would definitely book other tours to China through The China Travel Company

 

Ravi and Kajal : China Tailor Made

We had a brilliant time in China – it surpassed all our expectations and we cant wait to visit again. Thank you for all your help.

 

Yvonne Cook : China Tailor Made

Hi Chris

We had a fantastic time and we were really pleased with our hotels and your services, thanks very much. Only wish it had been longer. I’ll fill in the feedback form shortly.

All the best
Yvonne Cook sep 2016

 

Debbie Shaw : China Family Tour

Phil, we would all like to thank you wholeheartedly for the most AMAZING holiday, a real trip of a lifetime, such a cliche but so true! We absolutely loved it. Your attention to detail made it truly memorable in so many ways. The meet and greet with all of our guides and drivers were seamless, and they were all genuinely knowledgeable, interesting, and importantly, interested in us, and what we required as a family.

There were far too many highlights to list of course, but the Great Wall, Leshan Buddha, Yangshuo and Shanghai were all totally sublime!

Once again, we can’t thank you enough, and we will not hesitate to recommend you at TCTC 100% to anyone that will listen.

Kindest regards
Debbie Shaw.

 

Bob Kelly : China Tailor Made

Chris, Thanks for the email. I had intended to write to say thanks for your excellent organisation but life has been hectic since we returned last week.

The trip was fantastic and gave us a real introduction to China and a few of the many things to see and do there. We both enjoyed the trip immensely and would have no hesitation in recommending your company to our friends and family. Having bumped into a few of the large group tours we were so glad we chose The China Travel Company.

 

Paul Bates : Essential China

The whole trip was a wonderful cultural experience…I would have liked another day in Yangshuo… and we could have done without a level 3 typhoon in Hong Kong which meant the light show was cancelled on both nights, and the big bus tours were cancelled because of black rain!!

 

Elena Stylianou : China Tailor Made

Phil was extremely helpful and accommodating and was able to change and tweak anything that we needed changing. There was a flight cancellation and part of the trip had to slightly change last minute but he refunded us immediately. He was always extremely prompt in replying to all our emails and questions regarding any type of query that we had. Five out of five stars for Phil and customer service. A once in a lifetime experience. Excellent! Would definitely recommend The China Travel Company to friends and family.

 

John Alexander : China Tailor Made

Dear Phil

I am back from my China trip. Thank you for making all the arrangements. All the internal trips went off without a hitch, the hotels were well placed and excellent choices and the guides were well informed and helpful. My daughter and I had an absolutely fantastic time in a very amazing country.

BW
John Alexander

 

Sue Booth : China Tailor Made

Sue wrote us a lovely letter you can read by clicking here.

 

 

Susan Ruth : Harbin Ice and Snow Festival

Phil at The China Travel Company organised our 14 day trip to China with the main aim of visiting Harbin Ice and Snow Festival. We were delighted with the bespoke programme he put together for my husband and I. Phil was a pleasure to deal with before we went ironing out all the details and all the plans went to clockwork, our driver and guides all punctual and with first class English. Our hotels were all in great locations and the Ice and Snow Festival for which we went was out of this world. On our return Phil once again was in contact and listened to how our trip went. He took on board where small tweaks could be made for it to be even better and this is why I believe each time another client books he continually refines the service he offers. I have already passed his details on to a friend as I would have no hesitation in recommending the company to anyone.

 

Jill Morris : Yangtze Highlights

A fantastic, once in a lifetime trip, arranged by real experts – thank you. We saw and experienced so much in the space of a few weeks and have so many memories to look back on. Everything was very well organised and good value for money. The self-guided option was exactly what we were looking for – the time and freedom to explore on our own, whilst having priority access to the ‘must see’ attractions.

 

Robin Key : China Tailor Made

Hi Phil, a note to let you know that we arrived in Taipei this afternoon after a wonderful three plus weeks in China and Hong Kong. The schedule was absolutely spot on and the organisation went like clockwork.

All the people who met us were of the highest calibre and apart from a delay on the Changsha flight, the transport was perfect. We absolutely loved all the bullet train journeys. The hotels were all ideal, and importantly, with the exception of Xiamen, were very well located. In Xiamen we were a long way from the action; we managed to work out the transport, but it would have been preferable to stay in one of the shorefront hotels (of which there were a number of international standard) by the ferry terminal and beach.

The balance of the trip was perfect between interesting cities – Hangzhou, Guangzhou, and in particular Xiamen, and brilliant countryside locations. Hangshan, Zhangjiaje and Wuyishan were all fantastic – and stunning weather – so in the latter two we were in t-shirts for the daytime hiking. Fenghuang was really well worth the cost and effort – it is a one off gem of a place.

We are very much at home in HK, but really appreciated you introducing us to the Salisbury, which we thought was the tops and will use again.

So, thank you for all your work on our behalf. Please pass on our thanks to your in China colleagues; this trip has filled in a lot of gaps of places we wanted to see in China, but don’t rule out us being back to you in the future for more!

Happy 2016.
Robin

 

Amelia & Ross Williams : China Tailor Made

What can we say apart from thank you, the trip went smoothly thanks to your planning and organization and it was a dream.

We were met at every point and our guides were all excellent, and one in particular stood out above the crowd and that was our Chinese Friend QiMin Li or otherwise known as Kim in Shanghai. He was smooth, fun, knowledgeable, friendly and we got a great vibe from him instantly and we had the best fun in Shanghai and Suzhou and have some great memories.

The only part that you did not book for us was the weak link as the BCI convention hotel at the Guangdong Hotel was not a patch on any of the hotels you had booked for us so next time we will ensure to book it all through you.

The bonsai exhibition was incredible though as well as the two field trips where we got to visit other amazing bonsai collections, which was a real privilege.

We had an amazing time in all areas of Hong Kong and China and the timing worked perfectly with just enough time in each location to get to see the highlights of each place.

We loved the bullet train rides and the personalised guidebook was awesome and can in very handy at the start as a quick aide memoire and guide.

We will both follow the link and provide feedback via the website shortly.

Thank you again for all your help to ensure we got the most out of our trip to China and we look forward to planning future holidays with you hopefully.

 

 

 

Rich Beal : China Tailor Made

The trip was marvellous! Everything scheduled got to be seen. Day after day we experienced completely new subject matters, some unplanned, like walking through the town market in Jiuzhou. All worked out perfectly well. Many thanks.

 

Helen Collinson : China Tailor Made

It was an AMAZING trip. We had such a great time, impossible to pick a single highlight as so many fantastic things we saw/ did!! Extremely well organised and there is no way we could have seen and done so much in the 3 weeks without the expertise of the guides and the planning and help from Chris that had gone into this trip. Difficult to have a single highlight as such an amazing country. Have only sampled a bit…The shows we had included were all brilliant, especially the one on Chengdu and the acrobats in Shanghai. Only wish was still there and not back at work!!

Loved the trip, Thank-you very much for your help in the organisation of it!!

Will have to start saving again!!

 

Eileen & Tanya Wing : China Tailor Made

We had a great time in China – thank you so much for putting the trip together for us. It was all we hoped it would be, and more. Looking back, it seems almost like a dream, we really have walked on the Great Wall of China, we stood in Tiananmen Square, we did see the Terracotta Army…!

All the hotels were clean and comfortable, breakfasts were good, with a variety of eastern and western foods. Most of the hotels were pretty standard stuff, and none the worse for that, but the Astor House Hotel in Shanghai was a treat – it retains an air of its former splendour, and a step back into history. Travelling from city to city, whether by air or rail, was pleasant and easy; although the flight to Hong Kong was delayed, it was not a significant problem, and the transfer car was waiting for us.

The lunches included in our days out were also good, more than we could eat, and I felt that both the food and the locations were well chosen.

The tour guides were all good – Tony in Beijing, Lily in Xi’an, Cindy in Shanghai. They all knew their jobs, they all interacted well with both of us, and showed us what we wanted to see. Lily was also great fun, we had a lot of laughs. Of course we’d have liked to linger a bit longer in some places, but if we’d done that we wouldn’t have seen all we wanted to see, and we wanted to squeeze as much as we could into our trip.

So, to sum it up, we had a wonderful time, it really was a dream come true, and we have to say a big thank you to you for organising the perfect trip for us. I shall have no hesitation in recommending HeadsEast 🙂 Thank you once again!

 

Jean Newton : PG-01 Taste of China

Now back and more or less recovered I thought you might like some feedback. This was a very special holiday. The arrangements went very well and I would like to thank you for making it all so smooth. Thank you for your help, Jean.

 

Laurie and Wayne Rushton : China & Tibet Tailor Made

Dear Chris, well we are back home and more or less over the jet lag. Just wanted to say how much we enjoyed the experience of China/Tibet and travelling with your company. All the arrangements mostly went well and the guides on the ground tweaked where necessary. All the guides were very knowledgable with English of a high standard and the drivers were excellent.

We certainly had experiences beyond our expectations (not that we really knew what to expect) and an enormous number of wonderful memories. These guides certainly fit a lot in! And our programme was very busy. There were so many highlights it is hard to chose the best, we did enjoy the acrobatic show where I had to remember to keep shutting my mouth! and the visit to Tibet was something we had both wanted to do.

I must complement you on the hotels we stayed at, even those in Tibet which I was expecting to be of a lesser standard. The variety of hotels was excellent, and the facilities were also good, taking account of where they were. The YMCA in Hong Kong was in a superb location, as were the other hotels. I think Christian’s Hotel in Luoyang must be the star, even if the safe was too technical for us to work!

Finally, thank you for sorting out the few hiccups we had so promptly. Very impressive service all round, we will recommend your company to anyone thinking of visiting China.

 

Mandy Twells – China Tailor Made

Been back in England since Tuesday am just getting over the jet lag. Just an email to say how fantastic the trip was all the hotels were fantastic and different in every way. We even got upgraded to a suite in the Bravo much to our surprise and delight.

 

 

We have some great memories the pandas in Chengdu were the highlight for me and we were lucky enough to get some great video. The guides and drivers were fantastic and very knowledgable and made everything easy. I’ve never been on holiday were I have had to pack for a number of climates including the torrential rain in Hong Kong.

We’ve both had a fantastic time and no doubt there would be much more for us to see. I would be happy for any of your potential clients to contact me if they have any doubt how good this trip is. Beijing to Hong Kong in twelve days. Six fantastic hotels. Numerous tours , hundreds of photos unforgettable memories would we do it again you bet we would. Would we use The China Travel Company again? Absolutely. Can’t thank you enough we will remember this trip for the rest of our lives.

 

Vince Chin : Tailor Made Family Tour

It is the end of an era J I’m still telling people about our trip at work, and the search for the ancestral village. With regard to the hitch in Shenzhen, sometimes things don’t go to plan, and things do go wrong. It’s how the issue is rectified that determines a great company. Thank you for sorting the visit to Shenzen, it was an excellent visit that the whole family will never forget. I won’t repeat what I’ve already updated in TripAdvisor.co.uk so please visit: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/members/Vince2277

 

 

Sorry for the delay getting back to you – I made the TripAdvisor review whilst everything was fresh in my mind so glad you have finally got to see it! Please do use the comments on the site also! It was a brilliant experience and the services you provided made a daunting trip very easy…. Thanks again!

 

Dawn Collins : China Tailor Made

I cannot praise the company and the team enough for the help we got planning this trip – right down to the finer details. Whenever I have emailed I have had a response within the hour. I have never received the customer service of this level from another tour operator, and would have no reservations about recommending your company

All of the Day Tours were well thought out and great value for money – the guides were helpful with taking pictures and advice throughout the trips and answered all our questions, China has many cultural differences and the few times that we ventured out on our own – we really missed our guide. The places that we visited, some of which would not be as well known to visitors were all brilliant. If we completed our tour for the day and had extra time free, our guide always gave us options on other things to do or agreed for free time for ourselves, but each time we were given a telephone number in case of emergency.

I think we are a little too late to book another trip for next year, but we are definitely talking about coming back to China and seeing other not so well known places that we couldn’t fit into this trip’s timescale – I am only just going through the photos and cannot believe that we did so may wonderful things.

You can read a more detailed testimonial from these clients by clicking here.

 

 

 

Sue Bond – China Tailor Made

Thank you for your mail. My trip to China was one big adventure for many reasons. All my flights and pick ups were timed to precision. The Astor House Hotel was an old colonial hotel giving out the old values and courteous customer service. Was met by Japanese soldiers on my floor and was escorted into lift by two men in the suits. Ha ha. Late afternoon all was revealed. Film crew had taken over reception. Shooting 1940 film. The main actor being elderly famous Chinese actor. Shanghai skyline took me into the future. So being there again on my last afternoon was ten cherries on the cake. My suite was the full old colonial luxury feel. Chris. I could go on and on. Simon and I flew to Xian for five days to see the Terracotta army. Awesome and mind boggling. Xian and Muslim quarter an experience not to be missed.

Spoke to other tourists. They are whisked here there and everywhere at silly o’clock times……….methinks I had the better deal.

THANK you once again for helping to make my CHINA ADVENTURE a truly memorable one.

 

Chris & Joe Parry : China Tailor Made

Other Comments: The guides in Beijing and Xian were excellent, very informative and helpful. We enjoyed there company. The guide in Shanghai was good but quiet. All guides were waiting as expected and ensured that we met our onward transfers on time, which took the stress out of trying to find connections. The guide book was excellent and unexpected to be personalised, a lovely souvenir of our holiday. Would thoroughly recommend The China Travel Company to all !

 

Karen and Adam Kaveney – SG-02 China Essentials

All I’ll say now is that we both had the most amazing time. We were absolutely gutted to have to come home…the whole journey was spectacular. Thanks for all your help and hard work. We’re already planning our next trip with you! We’ve fallen in love with China…

 

Alistair Oag : PG-04 Taste of China & Yangtze

Communication leading up to departure was fantastic, visa support was great and the personalised “book” was both informative and very useful leading up to and during the trip. The transfers were generally well organised, very helpful guides and drivers at each transfer. Hotel accommodation quality was better than expectations as were all the guides. The Trip Guidebook was a great help before, during and after the trip as a memento, a very neat idea. There is no question we will use The China Travel Company the next time we visit the region.

 

Phil & Randy Busch : China Tailor Made

Glad u liked the picture. I’ve got about 2k more. We’re on the boat (Yangtze). Went to see the rock carvings…great. We r tired so we skipped some of the sights, ate a great dinner and we’re lying in bed at 7 pm! Speak with u soon.

 

 

 

John Charles & Linda Peel : China Tailor Made

Our China experience was absolutely fantastic from start to finish and exceeded all our expectations.

We have been lucky enough to have travelled quite extensively over recent years including some long haul destinations and we can say categorically that China and the organisation from your company was the best trip we have ever done.

The service was amazing and made the holiday; the guides were exceptional, Whilst all the drivers and guides were brilliant, Lou Lou in Beijing; Mrs Xiu in Shanghai and Amy in Guilin went way beyond excellent and provided us with an unforgettable experience. The drivers made life so easy we felt like “royalty.”

The guide book is a great idea and so useful right throughout the trip. Linda religiously maintained a travel diary with anecdotal comments and experiences to remind us of the trip in years to come.

Philip, thank you so much for providing us with the most amazing trip, we are recommending The China Travel Company to all our friends who are already jealous! if there is anything we can do to add a “formal” testimonial we would be delighted to do so.

Thanks again, John Charles & Linda

 

 

 

James & Christine Copeland : Trans-Siberian & China Tailor Made

Phil’s ability to tailor the trip to our every wish and promptly advise us was much appreciated. The guide book is an excellent addition to the service you provide which sets you apart from other travel organisers. My vocabulary of superlatives is exhausted before we are halfway through the tour. Thanks Phil for arranging an amazing epic trip and allowing us this insight into a country we really knew little about. In 29 days we have still only scratched the surface but everyone who has seen our photos so far are amazed at the beauty of this wonderful country.

 

 

 

Ron & Dianne Morgan and friends : Beijing to Kathmandu

Thank you for a wonderful tour we had a brilliant time and for the most part all worked really well! A mention for the driver’s in Tibet, they were brilliant everyone of them and hopefully they felt justifiably rewarded by our tipping for their efforts. Finally thank you for all your hard work in putting together a brilliant tour and making sure all worked as well as it could!

All the best Ron & Dianne on behalf of the whole party!

 

Rosemary Murrell : China Tailor Made

We are glad that we chose you. Your guidebook was great, and prepared us well for the trip and whilst we were there. Thank you once again.

 

George Hibbert : China Tailor Made

Very helpful and advice and planning from Philip. He personally gave an excellent service. There was a tremendous variety of hotels and we enjoyed all the day tours – wouldn’t have wanted to miss any of them. We could not possibly have done as much under our own steam.

 

Barbara Donnelly : China Tailor Made

Phil was always very helpful but didn’t hassle me which suited. I loved the immediate response to any email queries.

The guides were all very good – helpful and interesting. Perhaps Trevor in Lijiang was a bit casual – 14 year veteran and enjoyed suiting himself but was funny – no complaints – the standard of the guides was very high! They all couldn’t have done any more to make the tours and transfers smooth and interesting.

The hotel were as expected, if not better at times. I wouldn’t actually change any of them – perfect locations! Day tours were wonderful – obviously some more than others but wouldn’t change much – maybe not the Reed Flute cave but then that’s just personal.

We had a wonderful and memorable trip, thank you – and that’s from people that have never been on an organised tour before – made us consider using ‘help’ in future – very stress-free. Thanks and regards, Barbara.

 

Gary Shaw : Private Guided China

Can’t fault the pre-trip service at all. James in Beijing and Allen in Chengdu who were both fantastic guides and did everything they could to make our stay there as great as possible. Summer in Guilin was great also and our guide Hong Kong was fine but we spent very little time with her. All hotels were great. We loved the traditional style hotel in Chengdu. The mountain retreat was our favourite though – absolute bliss. I could’ve stayed there for the full fortnight!!

The trip was absolutely fantastic. We couldn’t pick fault with any part of it. We loved China and the trip really did take us to everything we wanted to see with the right amount of time in each place. The guides were great (a special mention to James and Allen again), the hotels great and the balance of culture, comfort, history etc was perfect too. An amazing holiday we’ll never forget. We’ve certainly recommended you to people we have spoken to about the holiday already and won’t hesitate to continue doing so. Many Thanks!!

 

Gurjeet Uppal : China Tailor Made

PHIL WAS INCREDIBLY KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT ALL ASPECTS OF OUR TRIP AND HELPED PLAN IT WONDERFULLY. THE BEST GUIDE WAS AMY IN GUILIN ,REALLY MADE OUR TRIP ENJOYABLE WITH EXCELLENT ENGLISH,FRIENDLY HELPFUL AND WOULD RECOMMEND UNRESERVEDLY. GREAT HOLIDAY,EVERYTHING WENT SMOOTHLY,WOULD BOOK AND RECOMMEND TCTC

 

Lily O’Hara & Family : China Family Tour

Other Comments: Any other comments about pre-departure aspects of your trip?

Your organisation was friendly, approachable, gave us lots of suggestions re our trip, adapted to our needs and birthday celebrations. Once in China the guides were all brilliant and friendly and knowledgeble re- their areas.

There was a good standard in all our hotels, ranging from traditional to modern hotels. We loved the hotels in Beijing, Yangshuo and Chengdu. More of a traditional feel and relaxed atmosphere. It was also good to be in the modern hotels as well.

The guidebook was well laid out and everything we needed. especially the Chinese terms and addresses of hotels in Chinese.

It was an excellent, well organised trip to many areas of china which we wouldn’t have been able to do without your expertise. Thank you for a trip of a lifetime from myself and my family.

 

Hale Family : China Tailor Made

Hi Phil, We have now arrived back in the UK after relaxing in Bali for a much needed rest following our ‘dash’ round Hong Kong & China !

We all had a fantastic time we would like to thank you for all your help in arranging the trip (I know that I asked many questions !), as well as the guides & drivers who were all so friendly and informative. Ideally we would have liked to have taken the trip a little more leisurely, but alas time did not really permit unfortunately. Nonetheless we had a superb insight to a part of China’s culture which was so fascinating, and of course we saw some of the major sights which were all amazing.

The heat / humidity certainly took its toll at times, as did the huge number of mainly Chinese tourists – we have never seem such large numbers of people trying to achieve the same thing as us, though we did feel a bit like celebrities (especially Emily who has blond hair) at times ! However everywhere the people were so friendly. The local food everywhere was delicious and fresh, and although Jenny was (unfortunately) ill on the Great Wall trip, we think that this was as a result of a (western) fast-food meal at HK airport would you believe ?!

Particular highlights for me were the Forbidden City in Beijing and the beauty of the Yangshuo landscape, yet we all had our different favourite moments. All-in-all a brilliant trip and we would certainly recommend your company to anyone. Thank you all once again, Neil, Jenny, Emily & Will Hale.

 

Joni Wiggins: Tibet

We returned this morning from our trip! We had a great time! Our Tibetan guide and driver were AMAZING! Norbu’s knowledge level was incredible! Dorche (I’m not sure I spelled it correctly) our driver was fantastic!!!! He drove through areas that were dangerous with no problems! Our driver in Kathmandu from the border into the city was also great! MingMar, was not only a great driver but answered our questions and spoke great English. The trip was smooth and well planned, THANKS!

 

Stuart Bates and Family : China & Tibet

I just wanted to email to let you know we had an absolutely incredible time on holiday, the trip you organised was fantastic and everything went really really well. I would not hesitate to recommend your company to any of my friends. It was one of the best tours we have ever experienced. The guides in Beijing Mr Lee and in Tibet Tenzing were really good and if possible please pass our thanks and compliments to them. Once again thank you very much.

 

Jonathan and Susan Crowther : Tailor Made China & Tibet

The Guides were excellent. Very intelligent and informative. We were quite sad to say goodbye to them, especially to Mr Nigma in Tibet. The trip was a revelation. I have even bought a guitar made in China on return which is also amazing!

 

Adrian Maiden : PG-03 Explored China

“Than you for all your help, we had an amazing time and couldn’t find fault anywhere, the guides where very helpful and would of got stuck without them.”

 

 

 

David Russell & Lesley Jones : Lhasa to Kathmandu

“Excellent, clear communication prior to our trip. All documents were given to us in plenty of time and we experienced no problems traveling to and from Tibet. Our guide met us upon arrival with a warm and friendly greeting. In addition our guide made sure that our departure was as smooth as could possibly be and ‘Dorma’ was an absolute star. We could not wish for a more approachable person. She was incredibly punctual every day and made sure that we were as comfortable as we could possibly be. Her knowledge was outstanding and answered all the questions we asked her as honestly as she possibly could.She went the extra mile just for us. We will be recommending her to our friends who wish to travel to Tibet.”

 

 

 

Amanda Paver : SG-02 Discover China

“Sorry not been in touch sooner, back to work and catching up you know how it is. We had an absolutely wonderful time, destinations picked awesome, all the guides brilliant, hotels excellent and just loved the location of them.

So had to let you know this, and to say a huge thank you for all your help in planning this, as having been out there and seeing how they operate I can see some of the frustrations you must have in how things work. But for all these frustrations thank you so much as we had the most amazing holiday, absolutely loved it, and would certainly recommend you to anyone I knew going out to China.

The marathon went well, we completed it with smiles on our faces and enjoyed every minute, just the most amazing achievement and certainly got our holiday off to a bang.”

 

Robert & Teresa Bates: Beijing to Kathmandu

“Thanks for your email and we will complete the feedback form over the weekend. For now I would just like to say we had a fantastic trip which did more than live up to expectations! It was a truly memorable holiday and we very grateful to you for making it possible.

There are two or three outstanding people. One is you, for organising this amazing trip. The second is Nima, our Tibetan guide who was truly amazing, for reasons I will explain in our feedback. In short, he is a lovely man, kind and helpful with an in depth and personal knowledge of the country and its monasteries. He became our friend and took very good care of us. Our driver Dhawa was very good too. We spent a week with him and always felt safe and confident with him driving, despite the rugged terrain!

This was an amazing trip and did more than meet expectation. Thank you for organising it for us.”

 

 

 

David Field : China Tailor Made

“Everything went exactly as planned (travel, transfers, guides, accommodation) and we enjoyed the whole trip from start to finish. It was an excellent introduction to China and we will probably return there at some time in the future. Thanks again for organising our very successful trip.”

 

Janine Rivalland : China Tailor Made

“We are back from our lovely China trip, and just getting over the jet lag. All in all we had a wonderful time, the organisation was excellent and I would be happy to recommend your company to my friends.”

 

Harjit Muddar & Family : PG-01 Taste of China

“Our compliments to you for providing an excellent service regarding our trip to China. The trip exceeded our expectations.”

 

Richard Beal : China Tailor Made

“Michael” was a most wonderful guide. His English was already good and he was constantly taking notes about what we said to learn more. He was full of jokes and stories, to which we were encouraged to reply in kind. I highly recommend him in Shanxi or in Beijing where he was hoping to move.

We lent one copy of your guidebook to an officemate going on a standard & brief Beijing, Shanghai tour and she and the others all found it wonderful & were envious of our tour.”

 

 

 

Jackie Venn : PG-01 Taste of China

“You made it all so easy and answered any queries or concerns straight away, brilliant, best and easiest holiday I have ever booked. I would highly recommend you to anyone wishing to go to China. We packed so much in such a short time.I will try to put some photos on the site when I take them off my camera onto the computer.”

 

Sadie Brown : Private Tour

“Phil and Chris were really helpful and patient in sourcing the right trip for us. They could answer all our questions and put us at ease with some doubt we had

Your Trip Guidebook’s a really good book – we didn’t have to buy any other book. It had all the information we needed and we knew exactly what was happening each day

We had a brilliant time. I would recommend The China Travel Company to anyone – and have done so to about 3 people who want to do the trip and the Trans Siberian.”

 

Jannith Wong & Family : China Tailor Made

“It was extremely easy to make the itinerary we wanted and I felt you understood our needs very well. The only minus point was that we didn’t have longer to spend in China! On that note, the suggested itineraries were a good starting point and the selective number of hotels really helped to speed up the process.

Tony our Beijing guide comes in for special praise. He not only had the facts and figures at his fingertips, but he was also willing to share details of his lifestyle in Beijing. It is often the minutiae of life that is the most interesting.

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip. The ease of planning, all the information on what to do before and during helped immensely. We were extremely lucky with our Beijing guide and I felt he contributed greatly to the quality of the tour.

I have already recommended you to friends as I am very happy with your service.”

 

David and Georgina Morton : China Tailor Made

“Overall our experience in China was absolutely brilliant. The hotels were all very good, the varied forms of transport were interesting to use, we were met by the Guides at all our destinations and they were able to give us lots of relevant information they also always gave us their mobile number as a contact.

The Guide Book was really useful. In fact when we were talking to people, a lot of them had less information and when we showed them the book they were very impressed.

We would very much recommend this tour to anyone. Phil was very helpful through the booking process and answered any questions we had. We also have a personalised guide book as a great souvenir of the trip.”

 

Lorraine McMillan : China & Tibet

“Wow Phil, what a fantastic holiday you put together for us. The guides were considerate, informed, welcoming and made sure that we were very well catered for. It was a delight to see their China through their eyes. So, again thank you for a fantastic holiday. I think we may be back!”

 

Fiona Clements : China Tailor Made

“It was a pleasure working out the details of the itinerary with Phil. He gave good advice about things to include, and – just as important – things that probably wouldn’t be worth my while. The pdf itinerary documents were a great thing to have, especially for showing off to friends.

The guidebook represents a level of service I’ve never heard of from any other company. I used the restaurant recommendations several times, especially in Beijing, and found all of them good.

I chose the China Travel Company largely because you don’t do group travel, so I knew that putting together tailor-made trips was your core business, rather than an occasional experiment. Also, from the prices for your standard trips, you didn’t assume that your customers had an unlimited budget. I was very happy with my choice, on both counts.

I’d decided on the trip a year beforehand, and spent most of 2013 planning and preparing for it. With so much expectation invested in the trip, I was sure when I set off that something was going to disappoint me, somewhere, but in fact every part of the trip met my expectations, and more.”

 

Julie Gibson : PG-02 Essential China

“Well we are back from our China trip. Wanted to let you know how it had all gone.

The tour was so well put together and organised. Loved it all. Paid the extra for up close experience with the pandas. Worth every penny, what an amazing experience. Would highly recommend this.
The trip to the Great Wall was a life long ambition and the part we were taken to was not too crowded so was able to get some amazing photos.

When in Hong Kong a few people asked who our tour was with, I passed on your details and said how fantastic it was.

For anyone looking at the tour and thinking never heard of this company, not sure what to do, do yourself a favour and book NOW for an amazing trip to discover China.

Thanks so much for a wonderful holiday.

Special thanks to Phil who not only arranged a wonderful holiday but answered all my questions, explained how to get a visa, and provided a personalised guide book (have never received anything like that from any other tour operator) and was genuinely interested in us having a wonderful holiday.”

 

Mark Smith : SG-04 Yangtze Express

“Phil was extremely helpful in all aspects of the pre-trip service including obtaining visas. One recommendation for future travellers: We purchased a China Unicom sim with 1GB data for approx £13 from a reputable seller on eBay. This proved to have surprisingly good 3G coverage including the train and Yangtze cruise. It was often better than the WiFi provided in the hotels and was useful in navigating around the cities.”

 

Sue Anne Toms : TT-04 Lhasa to Kathmandu

“Our extremely high level of satisfaction with how well everything went has resulted in my already passing along your name & website to several travellers we met along the way afterwards in Thailand and Laos.”

 

Brian Joyce : PG-01 Taste of China

“Best holiday we’ve been on, the trip was a success, and I really enjoyed the less touristy bits like the train journey – A great success, thank you.”

 

Frances Connelly : China Tailor Made

“First off, what a AMAZING HOLIDAY!!!! We had the time of our lives!!!! We’ve been back just under 2 weeks now and still wish we were still there!.

We are planning on going back next year for 10 days in Chengdu. Also considering a move over there in the coming years. The trip gave us a fabulous insight into china, and the spare time we had, enable us to explore the country on our own.

We conquered the Beijing Metro and used it about 8 times. We have fallen in love with China and really wished we didn’t had to return home. The food was amazing, we ate street food everyday and didn’t get ill once. Cant wait to return!!!.”

 

Christiane Naylor : SG-10 Classic China

“All queries and questions regarding the trip were answered promptly and efficiently.
The trip went extremely well, the weather was perfect, we did not have any disappointment with hotels, travels and tours.The self-guided and the arrangements you made suited us perfectly.We appreciated having our own personal guide and transport.”

 

Penny Millett : China Tailor Made

“We both had a really good time in China and really do appreciate the job you have done organising the trip. Phil put together our trip and I found him both very knowledgable and extremely helpful. On several occassions I wanted to change some details of our trip and Phil was more than accommodating.

Fantastic overall trip, do not think more could have been done. When we encountered any issued they were resolved instantly and we would defo recommend you.”

 

Isabel Meekcomes : PG-01 Taste of China

“Email and telephone conversations with Phil were good and he advised on certain things of the trip. Deluxe Cabin from Beijing to Xian was definitely a VERY GOOD suggestion!

The organisation of this trip was excellent. We didn’t have to worry about anything as the guides and the personal drivers looked after us well. We felt safe and in good hands. They made sure we were OK before leaving us.

The guides we had were FANTASTIC.. also want to give mention to the Drivers we had in each place.

What can I say… Excellent is an understatement. We saw the main parts with a private guide.. what more could we want! We felt like VIPs. I think they were impressed that Gary and I just went with the flow and go go go. They asked whether we wanted breaks but we were just so up to for we did loads. I think in the end we tired them out! Tony – bless him – he didn’t expect that Gary and I wanted to walk a fair bit on the great wall – the look on his face when I said – Can we go further…bless him.

The Trip Guidebook was a great accompaniment to the trip – it gave good advice. The HUGE advice on some people asking you to have a drink with them as they want to practice English was great. This happened to us on the first night in Beijing.. excellent advice as Gary and I knew we had to make a polite quick exit. Very Lucky indeed.T

We really want to THANK YOU for organising such a fantastic trip. It was a holiday of a lifetime and you guys certainly made it VERY SPECIAL. We saw and experienced amazing things and with the assurance that we are taken care of. Not worrying about a thing was certainly a bonus.”

“We really want to THANK YOU for organising such a fantastic trip. It was a holiday of a lifetime and you guys certainly made it VERY SPECIAL.

We saw and experienced amazing things and with the assurance that we are taken care of.

Not worrying about a thing was certainly a bonus.”

 

 

 

Gordon and Anne Ireland : PG-09 Experience China

“Could not fault your organisation and the trip guide book you provided us with is streets ahead of anything we have previously had on other trips with other companies.

The organisation within China was equally faultless. The local guides were always where they were supposed to be at the right time. All internal China travel was also v good, the only problem being one of our own making in that we had failed to inform you that Gordon had a new passport, and hence a different passport number. This caused a few problems at the railway stations but always the local guides sorted it out for us. The internal flights were no problem as our Beijing guide got the flight computer systems changed for us to show the new passport number.

A good variety of accommodation. We particularly loved the Yangshuo Mountain Retreat, and most definitely didn’t want to leave! The hotel in Li Jiang was also lovely, and the lesser standard of facilities was more than made up for by the terrifically friendly staff and the great location.

The trip to China was fantastic! Really, really good!

Many thanks once again for all your organisation. As I have said on the form, the organisation both before and during the trip has been faultless, and your trip guidebook is outstanding. We will certainly recommend you to anyone we hear of planning a trip to China!.”

 

Matthew Woolf : China Tailor Made

“All questions were answered quickly and fully and we were fully assured everything was organized before we went. All guides were easy to find and all cars were an excellent quality. Overall we were very impressed. It was good that we were not taken to tourist traps along the way.”

 

Nicky Kendrick : China Tailor Made

“Phil was helpful and patient in all aspects of booking our holiday. We changed the itinerary on a few occasions and he was always quick to respond and offered helpful advice on any changes we had requested.

We were very happy with the quality of our guides for the trip. Our favourite had to be Angel in Lijiang who went way beyond expectations.

Generally the tours were fantastic. Everything ran so smoothly. There was a good pace to the trip with a good balance of being shown the sights and being able to explore. The Shangri-la day was a very pleasant surprise as we knew little about the area and had a full day of tours and information.

We LOVED the Trip Guidebook and used it every day. Such a great personalised book with relevant information and such a great souvenir. Many of our fellow travellers were jealous!

We were really impressed with the service and the professional planning of the trip. The trip ran so smoothly with all stress taken out of the trip. We would most definitely recommend Phil and the team for anyone travelling to China (& in fact already have!)”

 

Barbara, Laurent & Raphael Conte : SG-03 China Explorer

“We REALLY did enjoy our trip very much and all arrangements were absolutely fine. All the guides were delightful. Many thanks again!”

 

Jerry Tricker : China Tailor Made

“Just a quick note to say that we’re back from our holiday and had a fantastic time. Thanks very much for all your work in getting it sorted out for us, everything ran smoothly, the majority of the hotels were fabulous, the trip guidebook invaluable and we all enjoyed the experience, even if it was a bit exhausting.

We could have happily spent more time everywhere we went and were sorry to have to come home at the end. ”

 

Daniel and Emma Grundy : SG-11 Best of China

“We have just returned from our tour of China and I just wanted to email to say what a fantastic time we had! We also wanted to pay our gratitude because the trip and organisation was everything we could have hoped for.

The hotels were all great in there own way and they were all ideally located, especially the YMCA in Hong Kong.

We were also very impressed with the guidebook as it was refreshingly honest and so we knew what to expect at each part of the trip. The guides were very good and we didn’t have a problem with any of them.

Our highlight was the Forbidden City in Beijing which is just mind blowing in size and the view from Prospect Hill is something truly memorable. Hong Kong was our favourite destination as it is the perfect mix of east and west in so many ways (and they have western
toilets). The skyline is spectacular and we also enjoyed going around the various markets in the city.

Thank you for everything and if we ever travel to China again expect to hear from us.”

 

Jacqueline Hough & Grandchildren: Family Tour Tailored

“Returned yesterday from our very enjoyable tour of China. We all had a wonderful time – experiences and memories to be cherished. The itinerary worked well and my only regret was not arranging an extra day in Guilin. The tour was a great mix of traditional and modern, activities and sights for all of us and probably best of all for the girls, the fantastic day at the Panda Breeding Centre.

Should any of your future clients like to hear about our experience of the Conservation Day or the Panda photo session, I would be happy to supply the information..”

 

Jenny, Julian, Athena (who did have her 18th birthday on the Great Wall) and Freya Thornley : China Tailor Made

“The holiday was absolutely fantastic, better than we thought possible. All your advice about the best schedule and the most effective way of achieving our desires was exactly right.

Please pass on a big thank you to all your guides and drivers who made our stay in China so special.Every guide was in the right place at the right time to make our transfers as simple and painless as possible.

The ladies in Datong and Suzhou deserve a particular mention for excellent knowledge of their subjects and Katy in Beijing for being the most friendly person we met in a country that specialises in being friendly.

The birthday cake on the last night for Athena’s birthday was a very nice touch, much appreciated. All in all you should be very proud of the service you provided.

Best Wishes for the future, if we come to China again (and that is possible) we will start by contacting you.”

 

Alan & Chris Holman : PG-04 Taste of China & Yangtze

“The hotels were really well chosen – they were extremely well located and all different-from luxurious to traditional to historic. We would be happy to stay in any of them again.”

 

Tony Marsh: China Tailor Made

“Despite my nervousness and asking silly questions, you were very patient with me and were happy to guide me through the process, answer my questions and reassure me when I had concerns. In short you made me very relaxed about the whole thing.
My big fear is that nobody would be there or we would not get our tickets. In reality everything worked like clockwork.

The Trip Guidebook was our bible, it was clearly written by people who had do it all before many times. The small details were very helpful too. Invaluable.

I still can’t believe we did it, and I don’t think we could have done without your help. Fantastic trip, thank you so much.”

 

Giedre Daskute: PG-02 Essential China

“Hope you keeping well. Finally got around to writing a few words about our time in China after going through our photos. Chengdu was amazing. Even the rain was heavy at times but it did not stop us enjoying the city. Chengdu Panda base was fantastic and to hold the panda was a dream come true. It was the highlight of all the trip. The tour guide was very friendly and so was the driver. Hotel was very nice and staff were honestly pleasant and polite. The hotel possesses a unique atmosphere and would happily stay there again.

Guilin was quiet and relaxing. The next day our tour guide took us on the river boat cruise. The tour guide and the driver were very friendly during this stage of the trip. Yangshuo is a very beautiful place and hotel location was perfect for a stay here. It was very relaxing after visiting all the major attractions in the different cities. We would recommend everybody who comes to visit China to come there and relax for few days. We also booked a cycling tour with a local guide for 3 hours which also included bamboo boat rafting. Even though it was extremely hot we had a great time to cycle through the small villages and enjoy the amazing countryside. It was nice to see a little bit of the rural side of China.

Hong Kong is a fascinating city and well worth a trip. As time was short , we booked a Big Bus tour through the city. The red route with a stop at the tram station is a must to experience panoramic views of the city. We took the blue route bus tour also, really uninspiring and is to be avoided. At night we sampled the night markets, well worth shopping in the narrow streets looking for a bargain and haggling for the best deal!

Our tour of china was truly memorable, with Chengdu being the highlight by far. Thank you for all your help with organising this special trip.”

 

 

 

Scilla Furey: China Tailor Made

“We were really impressed with all the guides and the help they gave us meeting us at airports, stations and quays, seeing us safely into our hotels and also checking us into our various departure points. You put together a fantastic choices of hotels. Would have loved to stay longer in many of them.

Thank you so much for organising such a fantastic trip for Gill and me. We both really enjoyed the holiday – one of the best holidays we have ever had and since we’d not been on holiday together before, we are talking about a lot of holidays that we have both experienced in the past.”

 

Gino Abrew & Suzan Roberts: SG-07 China & Tibet Express

“Hi Phil, Just a quick email to thank you and your team for the fantastic holiday you arranged for us in China and Tibet. Suzan and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. Even when we encountered a small hiccup, you and the team sorted it out as soon as you were made aware. We would also like to thank our guide Dawa and the management team in Tibet, who were fantastic and pulled out all the stops to make sure our holiday went ahead as planned.

The Tibetan part of our holiday was special and the scenery and culture was amazing. We would also like to thank all our guides in Beijing, Xian, and Shanghai for their professionalism and knowledge of the various tours we visited. We have exchanged email addresses with them all, and will certainly be keeping in touch. They are all welcome to stay with us in Shetland if they get the opportunity to visit Scotland, and of course yourself and Chris.

The hotels were all excellent value and in great locations, especially liked the apartment in Xian and The Astor in Shanghai. All the breakfasts were excellent with plenty of choice, something for everyone.

And finally we would like to thank you personally for all your help you have done for us, in arranging the holiday and the guide book. You made it so easy for us, that we felt confident that the guides would be at the arranged meeting place at each point of our arrival. Hope one day we can do something similar. Kind Regards, Gino and Suzan.”

 

Elizabeth Moyse: China Tailor Made

“Four of us have just come back from an 8 day tour in China organized by China Travel. Everything about it was better than excellent. At the planning stage, we knew we were unlikely to be able to go to China again, and tried to fit as much as we could into our 8 days. Phil couldn’t have been more imaginative, flexible and helpful. It was brilliant that he responded to yet another tweaking email almost immediately and with infinite good humour.

The amazing experience, thanks to him, started before we had even paid the deposit! Once in China, armed with the staggeringly comprehensive trip guide, we were all geared up to face unforeseen problems. There weren’t any. Every single train, plane, car, meet and greet happened just as it was supposed to. All the hotels and the meals ranged from Fine to Outstanding. And that is just the logistical side – our guides in Beijing and Yangshuo, Ken and Amy, were beyond perfect – excellent English, wonderful communication skills, sensitive to our particular interests, very highly developed sense of humour and very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about all aspects of China, ancient and modern.

We learned so much from them and it has completely changed our hitherto rather blinkered view of China and the Chinese. It was the trip of a lifetime which couldn’t have been anything approaching the wonderful experience it was without Phil and The China Travel Company team. We intend to spend the coming months making all our friends jealous.”

 

Kim Frampton: China Tailor Made

“Phil was very helpful with his suggestions regarding our requirements and also provided us with a very helpful text that we could copy onto our mobile regarding my nut allergy, very helpful when eating in China. Varied the trip to our specific requirements. Really fantastic having one to one guide. Would definitely recommend China Travel.”

 

Bev Kerr: China & Tibet Tailor Made

“We were really happy with our trip and thank Phil very much for his excellent organising and flexibility as we changed a few days. The Moondance Hotel was a fantastic place to stay so thanks for that!The Yangtze trip was perfect and the trip up the mountain to the rice fields just amazing. Thanks for all the work Phil – we appreciated it very much.”

 

Garry & Ruth Pibworth: China Tailor Made

“Many thanks again for organising a fantastic trip. I attach a couple of photos. One is the fabulous views at the Great Wall – we were so lucky with having such a clear day so could see for miles. Katy our guide in Beijing was lovely and couldn’t do enough for us. Shirley in Dali and Ali in Lijiang were also great. The drivers were also very friendly although spoke very little English. The second is us in a restaurant with Marcus. All his colleagues (western ones) are Irish and we knew some other parents were going so glad they used you. I am sure we will be in touch again sometime.”

 

 

 

Graham & Lynn Pratt: China & Tibet Tailor Made

“Apologies for the delay in completing our client feedback form. We’re just coming back down after what was a fantastic trip! Our trip was finalised within 2 weeks of our initial contact with Phil. His service was efficient, timely and the itinerary ticked all the boxes for us.

Even though we had a somewhat extended trip, we feel that we have barely scratched the surface of this huge and diverse country. There were many highlights, the Great Wall, the Terracotta Warriors, Luoyang Grotto, Guillin, Huangshan, Mogao Caves, the pandas of Chengdu, Jiuzhaigou, Dali, Lijiang, Datong, Harbin just to name a few. Xinjiang province was particularly interesting. We had to keep reminding ourselves we were in China.

Our stay in Tibet was also a highlight, we’re so glad we saw it now and only wish we had had more time to visit other areas. In addition, there’s nothing like seeing Mt Everest and the Himalayas up close. Whilst we certainly enjoyed “seeing the sights”, chatting to our guides about the social, political and economic situations gave us a small insight into Chinese life.

We have attached a review of our trip, please feel free to use it (or parts) as you wish. Many thanks for organising everything for us.”

 

John Cutmore: China & Tibet Tailor Made

“All 7 guides were very courteous, efficient & helpful & spoke understandable English. I would like to high-light Nyi Ma of Lhasa who showed great knowledge, a high level of English & was a genuinely nice fella. Please see if you can find out if he got our letter to him that we sent from Shanghai. Also Kaya in Guilin was outstandingly good. Eric in Beijing excelled himself in getting us to 2 night shows there.”

 

Julie Warner & Dave Byatt: China Tailor Made

“Talking to other couples on the Yangtze River cruise, we think your travel company offers flexibility and excellent value for money. One specific couple had ‘built their own tour. They told us they had no transfers/guides, did not get to see half as much as we did, and spent more overall. Will recommend to others (have done so already!) and happy to be a reference.”

 

 

 

Simon Lokko: China Tailor Made

“As a traditionally independent traveller/backpacker, I was a tad hesitant in taking an organised tour of sorts. After some initial chats with Phil, he allayed my fears and concerns and we got the process underway. Getting a sense of both my travel style and speed, he put together an ambitious 28-day itinerary in which I saw a huge part of China. Then came my constant programme tinkering and tweaking, all of which was handled adroitly before TCTC’s masterpiece came to life!

What can I say! This was one of the best travel experiences I’ve ever had. China speaks for itself. Logistically, the trip was flawless: expertly planned and executed; vastly knowledgeable, punctual and flexible guides; hugely diverse range of accommodation each with their own unique merits. I could go on…

Not once did I encounter a problem or have to put in a call to an emergency contact. Even the weather was perfect although I’m not sure if TCTC had a hand in that! Loved the meaty guidebook too.

All in all, a fantastic trip and great value for money. Would do it all over again – thanks Phil and TCTC for a truly memorable month.”

 

Virginie & Ken Morrison: China Tailor made

“We can’t thank and recommend Chris enough for his kind and patient advice, which made the whole process so smooth. The transfers were excellent – always a smiling and welcoming face to meet us on time from every transfer. The hotels just got better and better through the trip.

Top marks for Buddha Zen in Chengdu, Yangshuo and the YMCA in HK. The day tours all had great timing, good guidance and fantastic memories. Overall a trip to be remembered and nothing could have been improved upon.”

 

Eric Davies: Part of Maidenhead Synagogue Trip to China

“All our questions were answered speedily and courteously by email and sometimes (when things got complicated) by telephone. We are indebted to Chris for his patience and wisdom.

The selection of tours gave us a valuable insight to China past and present in an easily (and quickly) absorbed form. The Trip Guidebook was an absolutely marvellous guide which enabled us to prepare well for the tour and served as our companion during it. Very comprehensive – it helped us get the most from our trip. A pity more tour operators don’t put as much effort into preparing a guide like this.

 

John Dunston: Part of Maidenhead Synagogue Trip to China

“The planning process was extraordinarily helpful and imaginative, enabling us to construct exactly the tour that we had hoped for. All pre-tour questions, from any participant, were answered promptly and comprehensively, which gave us all great confidence during the year or more of planning.

With regard to the guides, Eric in Harbin, Chu in Shanghai and Helen in Hong Kong were superb, fully informed, well briefed, constant flow of fascinating facts and other information, even when coach stuck in traffic, quick to understand out group, thoughtful, sensitive, excellent English – everything one could wish for: imaginative, flexible, full of good ideas, ready to help us make the most of our brief stays. And Ken was brilliant. He really made the tour, indefatigable in looking after some of the more wayward members of our party, incredible knowledge, soul of discretion and diplomacy, great sense of humour and a terrific farewell speech on the bus to Shanghai airport which was a highlight of the tour. We cannot speak highly enough of Ken.

Absolutely outstanding. All agreed it was by a long way the best such document ever provided on a tour, and I would agree – a model of its kind that really sets a gold standard for such booklets. It not only had stacks of invaluable information in accessible form, but the personalised sections on the Jewish history of each of the cities we were visiting were excellent preparation, especially the long article on Harbin.

You looked after all our needs during the year of preparation, but more than that: helped with ideas, overcame problems, dealt with individual needs of specific participants and quirky responses of others, while calmly and instantly responding to all questions. Excellent guidance on visas, travel, everything. We felt totally confident that we were in safe hands with TCTC and this confidence was not misplaced; if anything, it was considerably enhanced by the trip itself – so much that could have gone wrong simply didn’t! We would recommend the company without hesitation, and indeed will take every opportunity to do so to other organisations and/or synagogues within the Jewish community. We could not have been better served. Thank you!”

 

Carol Shaw & friends: SG-02 China Essentials

“Just to let you know we had the most fabulous time in China. It was one of the best (if not the best) holiday any of us have ever had. Each guide was excellent – knowledgeable, friendly and fluent in English. It felt a real adventure and yet was never uncomfortable. So many memories and experiences that will stay with us always.

Thank you so much for organising the trip. A fantastic experience and a real adventure. Many treasured memories to bore friends and family for years to come. It was beautifully done.”

 

Richard & Julie Mycroft: Tailor Made China

“Pre trip advice and guidance/ suggestions exceptionally good helping us plan what has proved to be a fantastic& memorable life experience. Phil was brilliant at understanding our constraints, our aspirations and therefore a really comprehensive program which ensured we got the most out of our time in China.

Standout accommodation was Yangshuo Mountain Retreat (pictured), Chengdu Buddhazen, Beijing Jade Garden.

The tours were all brilliant. And flexible & sensitive to what we wanted to do. Helen ( Xian) and Amy ( Beijing) deserve special praise on all factors. Amy switched the planned itinerary round after consulting us to avoid a trip to the Wall to miss the huge traffic problems envisaged on the first day of the holiday to honour ancestors. Helen organised a lovely meal/cultural evening. Thanks to both.

We would not hesitate to recommend TCTC for every aspect of the service in UK and China. Many many many thanks to you personally for all your advice suggestions and the administration of the trip which was flawless.”

 

 

 

Derek Davis: China Tailor Made

“All worked extremely well. Michael (Beijing) and “Angela” (Xian) were outstanding. Li (Chengdu) and “Lisa” (Kunming) were well-organised and very helpful. We had fun with Lobsang (Zhongdian). “Sharon” (Lijiang) was enthusiastic. This was our first visit to China. We came away feeling we had had a good conspectus overview. It was more intensive than would have been sensible for a stand-alone holiday but worked well in conjunction with follow-on R&R in India.”

 

Megan Rollie: Harbin Ice Festival Tour

“Chris was amazing. There isn’t a better word I can think of to describe him. He was accommodating and willing to work with you for what your trip preferences are from half way across the world. He was punctual and communicated very well over email to make sure you have your visas taken care of in a timely manner before you leave on your trip.

Each guide my friends and I had in Beijing, Harbin, Xi’an, and Shanghai all spoke great English. There was no issue in communication with our guides. Each hotel we stayed at had good amenities and accommodations. I was very happy with the Hotels Chris booked. Every trip was great. The thing that was awesome is each guide was fantastic in being flexible to add in other things we wanted to do.

This was a trip of a life time. The China Travel Company made the planning process seamless and painless.”

Chris Harris : Tailor Made – October 2012

“The trip as a whole was absolutely amazing. It was fantastic to experience all the different cultures, cuisines, landscapes and incredible chinese history.

We have been to quite a few places across the world over the last few years but without doubt the excellent places visited makes this one of our best ever holidays – we took more photos than ever before!

The guides really add value as well, teaching you all about the incredible history.

Thank you very much for organising a perfect trip and I will gladly recommend you to anyone considering China as a destination.”

 

Eppey Skelton : Tailor Made – October 2012

“Overall it was all I had hoped for, and more! A great itinerary and super guide book. I have already recommended you to anyone who expressed interest! Thank you for making my ‘big adventure’ truly…epic :)”

 

Maureen Baker : Tailor Made – October 2012

“Chris initially suggested a very interesting trip taking into account our wishes re places to visit, hotel accommodation, mode of travel etc. We were sent detailed information with the initial plan that helped us to make informative decisions.

We spent a lot of time discussion and re-drafting until we had a trip planned exactly to our requirements. Chris was extremely helpful and gave lots of good advice. Nothing was too much trouble for him.

When the trip was planned we were then sent a brilliant, personalised guide book that provided invaluable information about everything to do with the trip.”

This trip exceeded our expectations and we had an absolutely brilliant time.”

 

Michael Thomas : Tailor Made – October 2012

“Excellent value for money, with a wonderful variety of experiences and places to see in just two weeks in China. We can most highly recommend the China Travel Company to anyone who wants a personal service at a reasonable cost to see the wonderful experiences that China has to offer..”

 

Angy Khosla : China Tailor made – September 2012

“The entire trip was flawless from planning to execution. We felt safe, looked after and were really able to explore the various places and spend time enjoying ourselves vs worrying about basic logistics. Our Guides were knowledgeable and very flexible in tailoring based on our needs, be it furniture shopping, visiting additional temples, changing the order of visits to ensure we got the most out of our time.

We had a problem with one of the flights, and it is reassuring that we were able to contact the emergency contact, and all alternatives were organised smoothly. Also being able to speak to Chris really helped.

Thank you for the support and advise in a really stressful moment.”

 

Doug Armstrong: SG-02 China Essentials – September 2012

“We had an amazing time and the trip provided the perfect combination of independence and time to do our own thing together with the comfort of knowing everything was booked, we would be met in most places and this trips to the big sites were arranged. Very impressed by flexibility of the trip and the ease with which different options were considered. We have already recommended you to friends.”

 

Michael Saunders: PG-02 Essential China – September 2012

“I must say your organisation was first rate and all the hotels met the required standard. China makes a good impression on the whole as do the people.Your company did very well for us and we rate the holiday as an outstanding success.

Would definitely use you again and will recommend you if anyone asks about a trip. You have the best web site of any travel company I have come across and with your standard of service you rate as A1 in my book.”

 

Amanda Weall & Ben Heaver: China Tailor Made – September 2012

“This is just a quick note to say we LOVED our honeymoon trip to China and everything about the tour. The trip was more than excellent!

We absolutely loved China and I have no doubt that choosing The China Travel Company to tour with made our holiday. I would say The China Travel Company made our honeymoon perfect!

Thank you so much and we will (and already have) recommend you to our friends and family.

I expect you may also hear from Ben and I again, as we loved the country and really feel you guys give people the experience of a lifetime. THANK YOU!!!”

 

Chris & Pamela Wall: China Tailor Made September 2012

“We had a brilliant time. If I were to book the same holiday again, I would make sure we always had a minimum stay in each hotel of 2 days. One night stop overs were a bit too hectic, especially late night arrivals with early morning departures. We didn’t go to Tibet as it was shut to tourists) but were very happy especially with Shangri la and also with Lijiang and Dali.”

 

Philip & Shirley Threadgold: China Tailor Made – September 2012

“We chose to travel in our small party as opposed to a large group, and we were delighted with the trip. We would like to thank you and all those involved in making our holiday to China so memorable. The trip was a great success and we will be recommending The China Travel Company to friends and relatives.”

 

Bryan & Nadia Davies: China Tailor Made – September 2012

“We have traveled widely in the last 10 years, mostly on an independent basis. I doubt this trip would have been possible without your help. Thank you for helping to make our holiday so memorable. We will certainly recommend the China Travel Company to anyone contemplating a visit to China as great value for money.”

 

Alison Lillystone: China Tailor Made – August 2012

“It was great being able to discuss our particular requirements and preferences, when Chris is so knowledgeable and can give detailed advice on everything.

All guides and drivers on time, helpful, cheerful etc. It was invaluable having the transfers arranged by you, getting from A to B for trains/ planes/ hotels would have been a worry I was very happy to do without.

The trip you put together was excellent, and we had a good balance of days guided and not guided. The advice and handbook were invaluable.

Note also that the weather was pretty good for our whole trip – not too hot, not cold, so I’m happy we went at this time.”

 

Pauline and John Grimshaw: China Tailor Made – August 2012

“Finally back in UK and over our jet lag after our 17 days in North Korea on top of the China trip with you. It was good to be able to compare the two parts of our trip which were both fascinating in very different ways, but no cabbage or kimchi for a few weeks! All-in all a successful and very well organised trip. We’ll put some photo’s on flickr in the next few days and as we’re still interested in Tibet can you let us know when you’ve been able to get visitors in and we could consider it for early next summer.”

 

Leon & Jean Dallow: China Tailor Made – August 2012

“We just wanted to say a big thank you for organising a fantastic holiday for us. Everything ran like clockwork except for Typhoon Kai Tak enforcing an extra night in Sanya. All of our guides and drivers were excellent – efficient, helpful and friendly – imparting the right amount of information to keep it interesting without overdoing it. Despite delays on nearly every flight they were all waiting with a big smile at the arrival gate ready to take us to our hotel.

The individual trip book was really useful and was the envy of a number of other travelers we met on our holiday

The hotels were all great – we especially loved the one in Yangshuo. It was in a fabulous location with wonderful food and staff with stunning views from our gorgeous room and balcony. We highly recommend a bamboo raft trip down the Yulong River – including tasty beer on the bars in the middle of the river. The scenery on the Li river cruise was equally stunning.

The Panda’s at Chengdu were fantastic – being volunteers for the day was not to be missed with the absolute highlight cuddling a one year old panda cub – awesome!!! All the places we visited were fascinating – Great Wall, Terra cotta Warriors, Temples etc with some interesting food and toilets!

We have been very impressed with the organisation, help and information provided in the planning and logistics of the whole holiday. We will be more than happy to highly recommend you and if in the future decide to revisit China we will certainly enlist you again. Many thanks for a job very well done which has left us with some fabulous memories.”

 

Steve Hunter: China Tailor Made – August 2012

“We were a bit apprehensive about going to China but found everyone we met extremely friendly. We would definitely go back again but on a less hectic schedule next time so that we can enjoy each place a bit more.”

 

Gareth Hayes & family: China Tailor Made – July 2012

“Each day we had new highs so many times we said this will be the holiday highlight. Look out for us again next year! Have recommended and will continue to do so. Please find enclosed our favourite family photo – kindly taken by Roy (Beijing guide). You’ll undoubtedly recognise the setting!”

 

 

 

Martin Plowman – Dreams Come True: – July 2012

“Thank you also for the arrangements for Chantel’s dream they had the time of their lives – helped by the fact that Chantel and Gary were adaptable and just went for everything.”

 

 

 

Frances Kelly & Simon Cox: China Tailor Made – July 2012

“The trip was an excellent experience. We enjoyed China and although it is a country that you feel many things are quite controlled, it was so interesting for us. Good to end with a rest in Hong Kong, as sometimes it felt like we were working hard at it… but no complaints at all about the trip, we felt supported when we were able to email if we were not sure about stuff and so it gave us confidence that if we needed help, it was on hand.

The trains are an experience that we would not have missed for the world… Xian train station by ourselves a real experience but not unmanageable for us as we did not have big luggage…. lots of stairs though. The guides were always there waiting for us, even when it was the middle of the night, if a plane or train was late.”

 

Andy Seebold: China Tailor Made – July 2012

“We had an absolutely awesome trip. The sights you arranged for us surpassed our expectations. Michelle’s child hood dream to walk on the great wall was fulfilled and she loved every minute. Datong was brilliant as was Xian and we adored Yangshuo.

Michelle was invited into a pre-school, after I got us lost on bikes, and chatted with the children and staff. Michelle’s Mandarin stood up well despite a few variations in provincial dialects.

We managed to get out and see some of the real China which was amazing. Missing Tibet was unfortunate but more than made up for in seeing Chengde and the incredible hanging monastery in Datong.

So thanks Phil for all your hard work in making the trip a success. It was a fantastic honeymoon. We have the bug and will return in the future.”

 

Sarah Shekleton and Family: China Tailor Made – July 2012

“Many thanks for organising a superb trip for us. You were great in helping us design the trip and when in China everything worked perfectly in terms of the organisation. All the guides were excellent. We would not hesitate to recommend you to anyone. We enjoyed the whole trip with highlights for me being the pandas, cycling and river drifting (hardly drifting, it was very exciting white water!) in Yangshou and the Shanghai experience. Huge thanks, it was brilliant.”

 

James Maloney: SG-02 China Essentials – June 2012

“Thanks Phil. We have filled in the feedback form but I also wanted to emphasize just what a brilliant holiday we had.

Highlights included not only the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Terra cotta Warriors, Giant Pandas and the spectacular River Li but also all the wonderful sights, sounds and experiences we had travelling across this extraordinary country, and the people we met (particularly our guides in Beijing and Chengdu, and the fantastic staff at the Hotel in Yangshuo).

Train journeys were a wonderful experience and gave us an interesting perspective on China. The trip guidebook was absolutely superb. It was full of information about the destinations and more generally about travel in China. We would have struggled without it!

Memories we will treasure for a very long time! Thank you so much for all your help in arranging the holiday.”

 

Charles Lister-James: PG-02 Essential China – June 2012

“A great selection of hotels. All were as expected and/ or exceeded expectations. I would like to highlight how pleasant and nice the Yangshuo hotel’s staff were.

All the tours were great! I really enjoyed each one. I would have to say the Pandas was one of the best highlights of the trip – I paid for the photo with the Panda and recommend it to anyone for the future. These tours can sometimes be once in a lifetime so why not take the opportunities provided.

This was a great trip. It is exactly what I was looking for. It ticked all the boxes and gave me a great first look at China. Every aspect was well organised and fluid. I enjoyed myself and will be recommending you to anyone interested in going to China! I had a great time and can’t thank you enough for making this such a great experience!”

 

Michael Pilling: PG-02 Essential China – June 2012

“A brief email to report back on our China trip. It was excellent!

Xian was an essential place to visit and lived up to expectations. Chengdu exceeded them. Lijiang was wonderful – frustrating because we didn’t have time to walk more in the mountains, but that is inevitable in a short trip where one wants to see many places. We are very glad we went there.

The Li River and Yangshuo provided probably the most spectacular scenery. Shanghai was just amazing – the rate of change is immense. (We persuaded our guide to fit in the City Planning museum, which shows planned developments over the next 10 years or so. It was well worth while).

So – many thanks, Phil. My teaching there provided the opportunity for the trip and you helped to make it a truly memorable one.”

 

Annie Thiessen: China & Tibet Tailor Made – June 2012

“We had a great trip! As always, we were thrilled to see more of our great world and relished every experience.

Tibet was amazing and memorable and we are ever so thankful to have had the opportunity to see it.

Our guide in Tibet, Dolma was sent straight from heaven!!!! A rare gem, we could not have tailor-made a more delightful, funny, tough, and intelligent guide had we been given the opportunity.

Always going above and beyond ANY expectation, she gave 200% every single moment of our trip with EVERYTHING. She will hold a special place in our hearts forever.

Many thanks for making our trip possible, Chris.”

 

Richard Casten: Tailor Made Tibet – May 2012

“Our Guide in Tibet, Ala, was excellent. Knowledgeable, flexible, helpful. If he didn’t know an answer he didn’t guess- he found out. The temples in and around Lhasa, and elsewhere were amazing. Of course, Potala Palace was beyond superlatives. The Sera temple – seeing the debates with their sound effects was a highlight.

The mountains – what came I say !!!!! Incredible (Note: we have seen and hiked high mountains in the US, Canada, Alaska, Switzerland, Peru. Ecuador, Chile, Norway, New Zealand, Japan, etc so our “standards” are pretty high). It was nice that you arranged (!) the two perfect weather days for the time we saw Everest and Namtso lake. Both just spectacular !!!! And not only the mountains but the yak-culture. Everest was mind-boggling !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In fact all the scenery was magnificent – well, way beyond magnificent. Best, thanks, we will recommend you to others.”

 

 

 

Stephen Smith & Karla Miller: China Tailor Made May 2012

“We were extremely happy with the trip overall, and honestly aren’t put off by a few problems here and there. But this happens when you travel, right? And above all, it was wonderful that you were so quick to sort things out while we were there! Honestly, we’ve had nothing but glowing things to say about your outfit, and China overall. It really is a complex place, impossible to have a simple reaction to it, but it was fantastic to get the full range of those experiences. BTW, the personalized guide books were fantastic and really innovative! We used them a lot.”

 

 

 

John Cunliffe: PG-05 Yangtze Discovery – May 2012

“We felt very reassured through the booking period where we needed to customize one of the original trip programs. The speed of responses to emails was appreciated.

All the guides English language skills were great. We also enjoyed their “offline” chats about real life in China.

We also appreciated the “free time”, it was just the right balance. Thank you so much!

This trip totally exceeded our expectations! The choice of accommodation was very considered and imaginative, the guides were knowledgeable, flexible and friendly.

We really enjoyed the food provided enroute. We have already recommended the China Travel Company to friends!”

 

Simon Llewellyn: Tibet Tailor Made – May 2012

“The trip was spectacular, particularly the train trip from Lhasa to Shanghai. Nyima was our fantastic guide in Tibet. Very knowledgeable, especially about Buddhism and very friendly. Thank you very much for all your organizational work, extremely professional and diligent. I would recommend you without hesitation to others.”

 

Stuart & Helen Lane: SG-06 Beijing to Kathmandu – May 2012

“I never got the opportunity to write to you and thank you for organising our recent holiday in Tibet. We had a great time and everything went very smoothly. We could not have asked for anything better. All the guides met us promptly, were courteous and had a good standard of English. Our main guide in Tibet and the driver were particularly memorable and we will always be grateful to them. We always felt safe and surprisingly well-informed.

The train trip itself was brilliant. Having to change trains in Xian added an extra dimensional and he gave us the opportunity to see what a more normal Chinese train was like.

You needn’t have worried about the standard of hotels in Gyantse and Shigatse were both were fine. They were both clean, had flatscreen TVs which allowed us to watch the BBC World Service and more importantly for my wife both had hairdryers. Having been used to teahouses on the Nepal side of the border it was quite a change. It took a long time to sink in that you could simply drive through the countryside and indeed drive right to base camp. The armies of porters we are so familiar with must be a thing of the past on the Tibetan side.

We stayed in the tented village at base camp. It was far more developed than I had imagined and slept on comfortable benches The central stove kept the tent toasty and warm. We must thank you in particular for arranging the weather over Everest. We arrived to clear blue skies and a stunning view of Everest. A little cloud came in the evening but this was trivial. By morning all trace of cloud had disappeared including the classic plume from the summit. It is a truly magical place.

I just wanted to say thank you as all went so well. Needless to say we will recommend you and your company to our friends unreservedly. Brilliant holiday, well-organised. I will undoubtedly travel with you again.”

 

Howard Brenton: PG-03 China Explored – May 2012

“The hotels were great. The one in Shanghai was wonderful. Excellent choice throughout though. Could see the thought you’d put into the itinerary – much appreciated.. It was a great trip and we’d certainly recommend your company to friends.”

 

Michael English: China Tailor Made – May 2012

“We met an Australian couple whose tour operator had let them down continually in fact they had not booked them on the cruise boat.they could not believe the service we had received from your Company, they asked for your e mail address! Everything you had promised happened. Thank You.”

 

Natalie & David Percival: SG-08 China taster – May 2012

“Very satisfied with the trip and the service we received from your representatives in China. After our 29 hour train journey from Xi’an to Guilin we could not face the 20 hour trip from Guilin to Shanghai and so amended our itinerary to a late night flight to, and thus extra night in, Shanghai. For us this was an excellent decision and was handled flawlessly by your staff in China.

Your recommendation to take the extra night in Yangshuo was spot on – we loved it there!

We were a bit apprehensive about China but this self guided tour took all the stress out of the planning in an unknown destination and allowed us to just relax and enjoy the trip. I would recommend you very highly. The Trip Guidebook you gave us was a lovely personalised touch which also introduced us to other China Travel Co. travellers along the way who had the same!!!!”

 

Robert Knapp: China Tailor Made and Yangtze – May 2012

“The trip was a superb experience, Chris was helpful and very knowledgeable, it was clear he was keen to meet the exact specification we required. We were met at ALL our transfer and arrival points. The staff in China were knowledgeable and understanding, and all very helpful and professional An excellent tick sums up our guides who were approachable and very thorough. We had no problems whatever in this regard.”

 

Shehan Gunasekera: SG-01 China Express – May 2012

“The trip was fabulous. Thank you so much for some great memories.”

 

Kate Starkie: SG-08 China Taster May 2012

“The trip exceeded our expectations and has definitely given us a taste to do more long haul travel to unique destinations in the future where we can experience local culture and see amazing sights. We had an amazing time!

Thank you so much for all your help in planning our trip! Excellent service delivered by Phil. He was always contactable and answered all questions that I had prior to the trip beginning.

Transfers were excellent. All pick ups were on time and comfortable. All guides had extensive knowledge of each area and we very friendly and made you feel comfortable to be around.”

 

Peter Mallinson: Tailor Made – May 2012

“Phil, we arrived back from our China trip on Monday and we would like to thank you for the excellent service and organisation that you provided.

Everything worked like clockwork, even when there were unexpected changes to our itinerary. All the guides were very knowledgeable and friendly.

Once again, thanks very much for your contribution to a wonderful China experience.

Please let us know whether and where we could give our input on the net – Trip Advisor?”

 

Robert & Teresa Bates: Tailor Made – April 2012

“We had a brilliant holiday and a truly memorable experience! I will of course complete the feedback form but meanwhile, would like to thank you for organising this trip for us.

The choice of accommodation was excellent. The hotels were very comfortable and we were very well looked after throughout. The guides varied a bit but overall were excellent too. We were met promptly at each arrival point and the organisation was seamless.

The guide book you produced for us was excellent and a really nice touch personalizing it in that way. Thank you once again for organising this trip for us. It was all we had hoped for and even more! We would certainly recommend you.”

 

 

 

Frankie Harper: SG-14 Cultural China April 2012

“I wish you did world wide travel not just China…..it was so much fun and hassle free. Thank you so much Phil it was amazing and the service very personal – any questions we had were answered quickly and efficiently.”

 

Christine & Chris Lloyd-Staples: China Tailor Made – April 2012

“This was a superb trip and we were both very impressed with all aspects of the organisation, and the way that Chris helped us to plan a perfect itinerary for the time and budget we had available.

We had initially assumed that just a two-centre holiday would be possible in 9 days available (Beijing and Xi’an) but Chris’ suggestion to include Pingyao on the overnight sleepers was an excellent idea, and the timings and overall balance of the holiday worked out really well because we’d had the opportunity to bounce ideas back and forth by e-mail in advance with him.

We felt totally confident in the organisation and back-up of ‘The China Travel Company’, and that all the arrangements we made in our tailor-made holiday regarding transfers and pick-up of tickets etc would go according to plan.

Very best wishes – I wish there were more companies like yours, as the blend of being able to tailor-make a trip, combined with the security of back-up and local knowledge suited us really well…! ”

 

 

 

Stolasz Family: China Family Tour – April 2012

“Hey there Chris! Our trip was fantastic! The planning process was one of the best parts of the trip! It was a fun, stress-free process full of fun choices and great feedback.

All our questions were answered within hours and our Chris our planner very quickly figured out what our family is like and how we wanted to tour. Best thing was in the places we stayed 3 nights the hotels were historic and funky-cool. In the places where we were just crashing for a night they were clean, nice and functional. It was perfect.

I have recommended your company to so many people already. You guys planned and executed a fabulous trip for us. Thanks!!

P.S. I’m also writing our whole trip up so the grandparents can see what we did. It’s at www.teamstolasz.blogspot.com Thanks again for such a great trip!”

 

Maureen Forsyth: China Tailor Made – April 2012

“The tours were well-balanced. Our highlight was the trip to the pandas, but we also thoroughly enjoyed the trip to the Ming tombs and the Great Wall. We read our Trip guidebook avidly and it became an essential source of advice and information. In Beijing, our guide Wu treated the guide book as gospel and we had to use it as evidence as to the meals which were to be provided. We used the language section quite a lot when, for example, needing directions to a railway station, and also when ‘talking’ to Chinese fellow passengers on the trains. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip.”

 

Michael & Katherine Golding: China Tailor Made – April 2012

“The trip was fantastic, and China is such an incredible place to visit with all the palaces pagoda’s people and temples, to the city life and stunning variety of food. Best place Yangshou on the Yulong river.

Kay and myself met up with our son after Yangshou and were shown another side of Chinese life which proved remarkable and every bit as fascinating as the first half of the tour,back street markets, everyday existence of poorer people and their way of life.

Nearly 2000 photo’s and 3 weeks to try and digest all we did and saw and i don’t think i could begin to describe China properly to anyone who hasn’t been there.

Finally just to say a big thanks to Chris for not only a great holiday but an experience never to forget.”

 

Susie Lickman: China Tailor Made – April 2012

“We are now back from an amazing time in China. I will certainly complete the feedback forms, but just wanted to thank you for all your help to make our trip so successful and your patience in dealing with me and Ellen!!
Chris was really helpful and responded quickly to our enquiries. He was very patient with our questions and in dealing with arrangements when our daughter’s lost passport took ages to replace. He helped us out with our visas, which we hadn’t really expected. His suggestions for our trip were great.”

 

Nick & Jane Dampney: China Tailor Made – April 2012

“Chris, The feedback form is being completed but I would just like to put on record my thanks for organising a wonderful trip. As promised, we were met at each airport by the guides and safely delivered to the next transfer at the end of each trip.

The provision of a wheelchair was an added bonus which we used as and when required. The whole trip was thoroughly enjoyable even though a few bits were very tiring, but everything was organised with my mobility issues in mind.

Once again many thanks for the trip and we wouldn’t hesitate recommending you to others who would like to experience China.

PS. I didn’t buy a warrior. (Well not full size.)”

 

David and Pam Seymour: China Tailor Made – April 2012

“Hi Phil, Safely back in England after a wonderful trip. Accommodation, travel arrangements and guides were all first class. We enjoyed everything about the trip – full of wonderful experiences. The boat trip from Guilin to Yangshuo on the Li River and staying at the Li River Retreat were certainly highlights (the Li River Retreat must be one of the best located hotels in the world with such friendly and smiley young staff.

Local people were invariably friendly and helpful – our blond daughter had so many photographs taken with locals and, indeed, so did I and my wife. Extra excursions like the Kung Fu show in Beijing, the Light show in Yangshuo and the cable car ride up a mountain in Guilin were all spectacular and experiences not to be missed.

The train journey from Beijing to Xian was packed and we were glad we paid extra for two-berth deluxe cabins with toilets which made the journey so much more comfortable and relaxing, an upgrade I would certainly recommend. Xian turned out to be an unexpected delight – the Terra cotta Warrior site lived up to expectations but the Muslim quarter and the Han tombs were also delightful.

We are looking at whether our Easter holidays are the same next year and if so would like to explore more of China together. We thought we would like to go to Chengdu, Guilin, Yangshuo (Room 303 at the Li River Retreat!), the rice terraces and minority people nearby and then back to Shanghai. Pam and I would then like to spend a few days in Hong Kong before returning home from there.

So, thank you again for your excellent organisation of a wonderful trip. We will complete the online feedback later but I just wanted to send you this personal response first. Hopefully, we will return for another trip to China this time next year.”

 

Julian Ronnie & Family: China Tailor Made – March 2012

“II just wanted to thank you on behalf of all the family for organising such a FANTASTIC holiday. It was really AMAZING!

Just the right amount of stuff to do, places to see, combined with enough free days, great hotels (with character – not just 5 star clones) helpful guides… I can’t rave enough! It was BRILLIANT!

If a future customer needs a recommendation, please feel free to forward my email address and I’ll happily oblige. What do you reckon? Tibet next year? Or is there something else you’d suggest? Thanks again.”

 

Neil Donaldson: China Tailor Made – March 2012

“Just wanted to drop you a quick note to thank you for organising such a fantastic trip for us. I’ll come back to you soon with something more effusive but wanted to let you know in the meantime that everything went seamlessly.”

 

Judith & Mark Smith : Tailored SG-01 China Express – March 2012

“We thoroughly enjoyed our 7 day tour of China. A big thank you to Chris who helped us through initial booking process as we had some problems in the early stages with changing booking details which he quickly sorted out. From then on everything went smoothly we were happy when we realized that we had our own private tour guide and driver. Our tour guides were always courteous and professional. It was a great holiday and we would recommend China Travel Company to our friends back home.”

John & Becky Walsh: China Tailor Made – December 2011

“Thanks for the email, Merry Christmas and what a trip we’ve had! It was an awesome adventure and faultless in the execution without losing the feel of still being in the real China – thank you!!

A very flexible and professional service, everything thought of and made to feel like your only customer throughout the whole experience.

The trip was like backpacking without any of the hassle and more luxury yet still experiencing the real China.

We would both thoroughly recommend China Travel Company with no hesitation to anyone who asked, an extremely memorable adventure of a lifetime!”

 

Katherine Moore: China Tailor Made – November 2011

“The trip was very well put together, and all questions etc were handled very quickly and personally. It was great to have a pick up, really takes the worry out of finding your way around, and the drivers were really good and safe – which is a always a nice thing in China!!

All of the guides were very good; very knowledgable and were very obliging. They were great and answering any questions and to fit in any requests such as finding ATMs or taking breaks along the way. Lexie in Chengdu had to wait a very long time for us due to the delayed flight, and it was much appreciated. All the hotels were excellent – all in excellent locations and with great service. Great tours; good speed so that we saw a lot but were not ever rushed.

An excellent trip; I have self publish a book about the trip we took with you which you can preview here: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/3030084”

 

Elizabeth Nicholas: PG-10 Essence of China – November 2011

“Everything was well arranged before we left and we felt comfortable and well cared for while there. There was a lot fitted in but at no point did we feel exhausted but just keen to explore more. This was fantastically arranged apart from a few minor things which did not spoil our trip in the slightest.”

 

Su Mei Liu: PG-10 Essence of China – November 2011

“This was the second time I have had a tour of China (first one was in a large group, more coach trip like and visited slightly different cities) and it was much better by way of hotel choices and the transfers. Some of the guides were better than before and it was much easier to communicate with them and felt we had more time to take in the sights. Thank you very much again for arranging a great trip!”

 

Mark Bennett & Maureen Coyne: China & Tibet Tailor Made – November 2011

“I was really impressed with the speed of response to my questions, willingness to change the itinerary and the destination advice. We loved the holiday, especially Tibet, I’ve always wanted to go to the Himalayas and see Mount Everest. The view as we reached the top of Pang La was amazing, a perfectly clear blue sky with a blanket of clouds sitting low in the valley. The tented camp at Everest was gone so we stayed at Rombuk, that was fine as we had a room to ourselves so we took the blankets from the spare beds to keep us warm! The tibet guide Lukdhar was brilliant, he couldn’t do enough for us.

The trip was amazing, thank you for making it go smoothly and you support while we were in China. I would definitely recommend you to friends and family. Anyway, back to sorting and editing the 1300+ photos I took!”

 

Eugene Salegui and Geneieve Blanchard – China & Tibet Tailor Made – October 2011

“Trip planning was effortless (for us). Our several request for changes were met with a seasoned, professional acceptance. Easy and welcoming.

Our Beijing transfer guide, Cici, coddled us from the hotel to the railway car, and wouldn’t leave the train until we confirmed that we were comfortably installed.

In Lhasa, we were met by Namgyal who did the transfer and became our tour guide. He immediately adopted us and never! let go. He even went so far as to direct the Railway Police to help with my brother’s bags, because he wasn’t allowed into the area. They followed his direction (!!) He was prompt and cheery, smart and amusing.

When we visited Potala Palace, we expressed concern that my brother, who suffers with Parkinson’s, might not be able to do the stairs. Namgyal was undaunted and pronounced that we would go slowly. He held Eugene’s hand all the way, like honorable grandfather, and we made the complete tour.

Although not assigned to take us to departing flight, he arrived at our hotel on departure day, and insured that the transfer guide, Nobu, knew how to take care of us. Above and beyond!!!! A special adventure. We will be boring our friends for months.

We always felt secure because of the diligence of the local guides and knowing you were mothering us remotely. Worry free. A fascinating experience in a far-removed world, figuratively and literally.”

 

 

 

David Benson: China & Tibet Tailor Made – October 2011

“We are back in Oregon after a fantastic trip….literally a “once in a lifetime experience”. We were very thankful we had transfers. Getting to and from the train stations and airports would be very challenging without assistance. All our tickets, etc. were available at every stop. A great trip and we are very happy we did it. You were excellent in planning the trip and provided us with great help.”

 

Mick and Heather Mundy: China Tailor Made – October 2011

“I will complete the feedback – you are without doubt the King. We had a fabulous time in a fabulous country – we are already providing PR for you!! Everything worked perfectly (except a slight hiccup in Pingyao – not really a problem – part of the experience). What a trip!!! We loved the personalised book and used it as a diary to add our own comments and to let us know what day it was – easy to lose track of time. We showed it to people on our travels – all v. impressed as were we. Thanks for everything – our next big trip is Central America – Costa Rica et al.”

 

Ludovic Fiquet: China Tailor Made – October 2011

“Very impressed with the personalised guide, which had loads of interesting information, useful recommendations for restaurant. Having the chinese written names for hotels, restaurants, museum made a huge difference when using taxis. It will be a very nice memento of our tour. We had a great time, have been pleasantly surprised by China and would happily go again.”

 

Andrew and Lorraine Haizelden: China Tailor Made – October 2011

“The willingness to ensure our trip was the best we could have was evident in the changes you pushed through for us.

All the guides were knowledgeable and better still tailored the amount of information they fed us to what we wanted-there was no information overload but questions were always answered.

In Beijing, Han in particular went out of his way, even lending us his camera and organising getting the photos transferred to our card.

The Trip Guidebook you gave us caused a few raised eyebrows amongst the travellers we met along the way. One couple had 4 x A4 sheets of single sided paper for a trip twice as long, they were not amused.”

 

Stephen Nash: China Tailor Made – October 2011

“We had a great time in China and will fill in your feedback form soon. So much to look back on although we are still in the middle of the adventure at the moment. Jakarta was quite a culture shock after the organisation of Shanghai. Last night on the Bund was great and we also experienced a great Chinese restaurant. Well done on the way the tour is organised. Unforgettable experience which lived up to our hopes and expectations. Always interesting and exciting. I particularly like the way it can be tailored to what you want and is flexible.”

 

Trish & Mick: Tailored Garden Tour – October 2011

“The holiday was great and more than what we expected in so many ways. I was going to come back to you as soon as we got back but what with jet lag and a full week back to work – it just didn’t happen! We were really pleased with the service you provided to us from the start and the guidebook was invaluable. The trip lived up to our expectations and we would have no hesitation recommending you to friends – thanks again.”

 

Michael Carty: China Tailor Made – October 2011

“Accommodation was above and beyond what I expected in all places that we stayed, even including the sleeper trains which were surprisingly comfortable. The whole trip was fantastic and gave a great insight to various provinces around China. A perfect way to see the country with not a minute wasted, would highly recommend.”

 

Fiona Stephens: China Tailor Made – October 2011

“I’m a bit of a worrier/control freak, and since I was going with 6 boys, I had questions about everything!! I just want to say an extra THANK YOU to yourself for all your hard work and dedication in planning this trip for us, with all my incessant emails and changes of plans which were out of your control. All handled quickly, smoothly with immense patience and always in our favour! Faultless!!! Having come back, I realised there is no way we could have done any of what we did without you! Two days in each place was the perfect amount of time to experience the highlights. If money was no object, it would have been nicer to stay longer in Beijing, perhaps a week, as it was much more spread out than the other cities with so much to see. We had an amazing time, and we owe that to your fantastic company and tour guides who work for you. Again, Wu was just fantastic! He made our trip to Beijing spectacular! I really can’t praise him enough!!

Many thanks again Chris, I will have no hesitation in recommending your company to anyone wanting to travel to this wonderful part of the world. We saw a lot of larger companies, with large crowds (around 50 per tour guide) and the had to follow a flag, or a teddy on a stick! We blended in a lot more with our tour guides, none of whom thankfully carried flags or teddies!! Very embarrassing, and impersonal! Ours in comparison were far better.”

 

Alan Henry: SG-06 Beijing to Kathmandu – October 2011

“Sorry for delay, just back yesterday from Nepal. Everything went very well thanks, we were very please how things were organised. Your Customer service was superb – every email was replied to almost immediately and always in good detail. Thanks again you were very helpful in arranging all. Really enjoyed the trip.”

 

Rachel Web: China Tailor Made – September 2011

“You gave excellent advise and added suggestions that really helped me make my mind up about what to include/exclude in our tailor made holiday. It was a great trip that ran really smoothly. Thanks for all your help!”

 

Ken & Monica Watt: China Tailor Made – September 2011

“We had a fabulous time thanks to the superb service we received from The China Travel Company. All events and transfers went like clockwork. Without exception, our guides were friendly, cordial, respectful, flexible, knowledgeable and extremely helpful, frequently going out of their way to ensure that our experience was enjoyable, comfortable and memorable.

BTW. Do you offer similar services for other countries in the Far East? We are thinking Japan, Korea and Vietnam? Thanks again for your great service. Highly! recommended and we will spread the word. Bravo!!”

 

William Skinner: Tailored Self-Guided Adventure – September 2011

“We had the most amazing trip and can’t thank you enough for your help in organising it. We will try and get around to providing you some more feedback in due course and filling out your feedback form.”

 

Alasdair Mac Allister: Tailored Self-Guided China – September 2011

“Just back from our unforgettable trip thank you. Fantastic, the guides where 1st class, particularly Mr Wu in Beijing and Wie Liang Liang in Guilin. I just wish I had more time especially in Guilin, what amazing countryside, we cycled for over 9 hours and I could have happily spent the whole two weeks there. The subway in Beijing is brilliant and so cheap and Shanghai must be the perfect shopping centre.

I could go on and on about how great the hotels where, how pleasant, happy and gentle the people are, the sights, sounds and smells so different to our own but just to say I would highly recommend your company to anyone travelling to China a great job well done, thanks again.”

 

Miranda White: PG-01 Taste of China – September 2011

“Our trip exceeded all expectations! China is a fascinating country and we learnt so much from our guides – Jack in Beijing, Lisa in Xian and Lulu in Shanghai. There were all extremely knowledgeable and always willing to go the extra mile to look after us.

We would definitely use The China Travel Company to book a return trip, as the customer service we have received went well beyond the level of service we could have expected from a larger travel company. You were always quick to respond to our (many!) questions before we travelled and all the trip arrangements went very smoothly.

The hotels were also excellent and well chosen, in particular in Beijing and Shanghai the hotels were excellently located to explore on foot in our free time.”

 

Kate & Brian Partington: China Tailor Made – September 2011

“We are back home now – a little jaded but not too bad considering our 29 hour journey home from Yangshou. What a totally amazing trip. We have travelled extensively on 4 continents and always independently, but needed to have this trip organised because of the Tibet segment. After considerable research, reviewing the website and reading other clients’ reviews we selected The China Travel Company.

Our trip included Tibet and a Yangtze cruise as well as the usual highlights of China. From the beginning Chris impressed us with his fast response to our questions and the way he worked with us preparing our perfect itinerary. We were extremely impressed with the personalised trip guidebook and read it several times. The organisation of the guides and drivers was superb and they were always on time and very knowledgeable.

We do have to single out our guide in Tibet-“Sting” who was fantastic and took us on some really interesting hill walks in addition to the regular tourist sites.

The 3 and 4 star hotels were situated in excellent locations so that we could get out on our own when we had free time. For anyone including Shanghai in their itinerary the Chinese Acrobat show is not to be missed.

We can unreservedly recommend Chris and The China Travel Company. We only wish you covered other countries but realise that would not be easy given the extreme detail you put into the planning of each trip. Thanks so much for making this vacation such a wonderful experience.”

 

 

 

Caroline Orr: PG-07 Taste of China & Tibet – September 2011

“We were delighted with your service. You were always punctual with your replies to our various requests and although we were initially disappointed not to get a reservation on the train from Beijing to Lhasa it all turned out well as we had two additional days in Tibet. You were right, it would have been a great shame to have missed going there. It was the best and most memorable part of the trip for me. The trip was exactly what I had hoped – especially wonderful to experience Tibet with my daughter.”

 

Robin Creswell & Family: China Family Tour – August 2011

“A warm and heartfelt “thank you” from all the family. This was the trip of a lifetime, a surprise around every corner, experiences we could not have imagined, and enough going on day in and day out to keep everyone enthralled. Although demanding, for a family with a sense of adventure this is an outstanding family holiday and it really is an adventure. I am keen to promote travel to China, it’s the only way people here can really grasp what is going on there and how China will influence our lives in the future. It has really focused our children’s thoughts on their education and the need to be competitive beyond these shores.

I cannot fault this trip, it was OUTSTANDING, especially for a family. There was plenty of the “real China” and “Old China” to see and we certainly got under the surface of the country. It was appropriately challenging in parts, demanding, and rewarding. I think every day there were surprises and our expectations were exceeded so often, for example the shows we went to see, which might have disappointed, were excellent. We covered much ground, but with a young family this worked well, there was no time to get bored!”

 

Nisa Patel: China Tibet & Nepal Tailor Made – August 2011

“I would like to say a massive thank you to you for everything you did for Hamel and I, we had an amazing trip, apart from the Chengdu transfer issue everything went according to plan. When you plan a big trip you expect issues, we were both very surprised at how minimal they were.

I would and have already recommended your company to friends, family who plan a trip to China and Tibet. Please let me know if you decide to expand on other parts of the world!”

 

Dagmar Bailey: China Tailor Made – August 2011

“We’ve returned a few days ago from China and I wanted to say thank you for organising this trip for us. It all worked very smoothly and we thoroughly enjoyed our time. During the booking process our requirements and suggestions were taken into consideration when the agenda was put together. I really appreciated the proposed variations.

I liked that all received payments were confirmed, we were kept appraised of all changes and the trip guide book arrived as promised (which by the way was praised by the various guides). I felt that Chris behaved in a very professional and friendly manner. All together I can’t think of a single thing which could be improved.

I will highly recommend your services and have no hesitation to use you again.”

 

Sarah & Steve Fisher: SG-08 Taste of China – August 2011

“I’m just sending this email to say how much we enjoyed our trip to China. The guides were very good, particularly Sam in Guilin/ Yangshuo who was exemplary, as was Mr Wu in Beijing. We are definitely going to go again to visit some of the other parts of China that we didn’t have time for this time.”

 

Ness Norman & Family: China Family Tour – August 2011

“Thank you so much for coordinating such a fabulous holiday. It all went really well and we had great guides and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.”

 

Martyn Proctor: China Tailor Made – August 2011

“Thanks for organising this trip – it went perfectly, not one hitch, and we thoroughly enjoyed it and now have a glimpse of how this amazing country moved from thousands of years of autocratic Emperors through communism to this state monitored sort of capitalism driving wealth inwards and changing lives so quickly. Brilliant.

If you’re interested, photos highlights can be seen on facebook here

If it helps, I’m happy to speak to people (preferably via email at first) on our experience: I did research first, discussed trips with 3-4 specialists, selected yourselves and was very pleased and would recommend you to others: even the guides thought your A5 itinerary book was excellent!”

 

 

 

Claire Alderson: Eastern Explorer – July 2011

“You were was really helpful with the booking and answering “silly” questions about trains. Out of the 6 trips I’ve booked this summer this was the easiest and had the least problems (none in fact). Really enjoyed the trip and the arrangements all worked like clockwork. Thanks very much!”

 

Milly Serpell & Family: Tailored China Family Tour – July 2011

“I did try and fill in the online comments but failed miserably. We had the best time and loved all the guides and hotels trip and train rides – highlight has to be Great Wall, Forbidden City and Pandas. Loved it all but only wish we had more time in places as we were exhausted at the end of it! Thank you for all your assistance it was a wonderful family holiday.”

 

Louise Hemming: SG-07 China Tibet Express – July 2011

“Sadly I’m back at work today but just wanted to drop you a quick email to say thank you so much for organising such a great trip to China and Tibet. We felt very special and well looked after whilst retaining a good level of independence.

The trip was excellent and very well organised.It covered all the places we wanted to see. Even though the Chinese authorities kept the Tibet border closed longer than originally notified, Chris re organised flights and hotels so that we still made it there.

It was all amazing and we were able to see all the things we wanted to, as well as chill out in Yangshuo. Also wanted to say an extra thanks for making the necessary adjustments and ensuring that we could go to Tibet. It was possibly the highlight of the trip although it really is difficult to pick out one thing as everywhere was amazing in it’s own way.

The major trauma for me is that the memory card in my camera crashed on the last night in Tibet and so far I have been unable to find a camera shop who can access any of the photos. I am consoling myself that I have the memories in my mind’s eye. Thanks again for all your fantastic organisation.”

 

Dubravka Pokrajac: PG-05 Yangtze Discovery – July 2011

“The response to all our requests and questions was incredibly fast, and very professional. It is very good because one then expects similarly smooth running of the trip itself. This is how it worked for us. All the guides were very professional, spoke good English, and were very interesting people to meet. Having the opportunity to have direct, almost one-to-one conversation with the guides is one of the best aspects of the private guided tour, I greatly enjoyed it.

The trip was amazing, it covered many different aspects of China. It was also entirely hassle free, we did not need to worry about anything. This is ideal way to travel if one has little time and wants to remain relaxed while travelling.”

 

Catherine Walker: PG-05 Yangtze Discovery – July 2011

“Last minute booking as another travel company had cancelled our trip. Extremely quick and efficient service. Personalised booklet arrived and had invaluable information we used to prepare for our trip and used during our trip too. All the transfers were efficient and we could relax knowing it had all been taken care of for us.

We had excellent English speaking guides throughout. We learned so much about China from them. All were pretty flexible with us and no pressure if we decided to do our own thing now and then.

I thought the trip was very good value considering this was a private tour. A holiday we will always remember.”

 

Michael Carbutt: China Tailor Made – July 2011

“Service provided during booking was very prompt and professional. This was my first introduction to China, and it was a fascinating experience. Generally the trip went well and easily, with no problems of any significance. Thanks for putting together my holiday – I had a great experience of China, and will go back some time!”

 

Inga and Ben Voss: China Tailor Made – June 2011

“We received good advice during the booking Process and service coverage before and during the Trip was good. The accommodation chosen for us was great. My husband particularly liked the Chinese Style Hotels. There was no need to upgrade in any of the places we stayed in and we were pleased by the services provided in each location. The Hotel in Shanghai was ideally located for such a big city.”

 

Gerard Higham: China Tailor Made – June 2011

“It was good for my wife and daughter that most guides were female and could chat about other things besides the various trips. If any family or friend said they were thinking of visiting China I would strongly recommend your company.”

 

Joao and Joana Tome: Silk Road Explorer – May 2011

“Preparation of our tailor made trip for about 3 weeks in China Far West went very smoothly and we always received suggestions to what we intended to do. We will no doubt recommend The China Travel Company to our friends! Travelling in this remote part of China is not easy and the small problems we encountered were promptly resolved by Chris back in UK and or Lin in Beijing.”

 

Robert MacWhannell: SG-08 China Taster – May 2011

“Trip of a lifetime – wonderful itinerary, well paced so that it felt like an adventure but still comfortable. Will be recommending you to any friends that want a trip around China! Thanks again for a fantastic trip.”

 

Bruce Bromage: SG-01 China Express – May 2011

“An ideal one week itinerary which was very well organized and definitely exceeded our expectations. We will certainly recommend it to friends.”

 

Barbara Jankowiak & Charles Gauci: Beijing & Xian Tailor Made – May 2011

“Hello! Just back from China. It was a fantastic experience; everything went smoothly; the hotels, travel arrangements & guides were excellent; the guides went out of their way to help us and nothing was too much trouble for them. Please let them know that we were very happy with their services.

Our guides were great. Amy in Xian and Ken in Beijing. They attitude showed to us how much “CAN DO” nation Chinese people are. The Trip Guidebook was very helpful, it will remain as one of many souvenirs of this trip.”

 

Ian Bennet & Family: PG-04 taste of China & Yangtze – April 2011

“I was a little apprehensive about booking such an expensive holiday on-line from a company that I had not heard of before. But everything exceeded my expectations. Having the guides take us all the way to the next transfer really helped. Especially the train stations. Particular credit to Cookie in! Beijing, she worked really hard and felt like part of the family.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from 3 and 4 star ratings in China, they were all very good and the locations were outstanding. The whole experience was excellent and several people I know are interested in trying it out for themselves! Thank you.”

 

Hilary Lawrence: SG-08 China Taster – April 2011

“Having left our holiday plans until the last minute we were stunned at how quickly and how well it was all put together.

The guides were just brilliant. Knowledgeable and friendly. But a special mention has to be made for Julie in Guilin/Yangshuo. She was so enthusiastic and went out of her way to ensure we got everything we wanted from the area. We spent our free time with her, she’s an absolute treasure and while she may not be the most knowledgeable yet, if she continues to care about her clients the way she does then she can only be a great asset to your company. I’d like to add that I’m a crotchety old sort and don’t take to many people, just in case you thought I might be a soft-hearted type!

All the tours were excellent. We have been blown away by China as a whole but that is partly due to the fact that we had our own guide for each one and each guide had a passion for their own areas. It made it all really special. The fabulous book you gave us became our Bible!! So much useful information, we used it every day and we read and used every single page.

I really don’t know how to evaluate the trip overall. It was the best holiday I’ve ever had and I’ve had a fair few. Doing it by train was fantastic and we met some brilliant people from all around the world. The sights of China are ones you will never forget. The scenery is dramatic and beautiful, the food is fresh and mouthwatering, the people are helpful and humorous, the things you see take your breath away and you just know that one day you’ll have to go back for more. Oh….the beer’s good too.

We’ve laughed with people even when we couldn’t speak each others language and we’ve cried at the beauty of things such as the Impression show by Sanjie Liu in Yangshuo. I could go on but how do you describe the indescribable??? THANK YOU SO MUCH.”

 

Katherine Sage: China & Tibet – April 2011

“We had the most fantastic time – Lhasa was a particular highlight. The China Travel Company made it really easy and everything worked like clockwork. Thank you Chris. We have already recommended your services!”

 

Hugh & Alison Durell: China Tailor Made – April 2011

“The best holiday we have ever had in our lives. It is definitely the way to see and learn about the proper China. A careful balance of seeing the people and sights and local but comfortable hotels with good facilities and we would recommend you to anyone – a beautifully thought out tour.”

 

Bella Lisovitskaya & Family: China Family Tour – April 2011

“The quality of your website is very good. That was the 1st reason why I chose your company at the very beginning while searching through the many options on the Internet. The customer service, information provided, feedback, everything before the trip was above the expectations. I always had a feeling that a person who knows China, who is really professional works with me.

All the transfers were on time, the guides were always waiting for us in the airport. The cars, the drivers, the service, etc. were excellent. The vehicles were always clean. All the guides were very friendly, were trying to provide as much information as they possibly could. We always felt very safe and secure. Thank you.

We enjoyed our trip from the moment we started to plan it till the very end. During the whole trip we didn’t have a chance to complain even once. It was a real tailor made trip and we felt that we were treated this way. You have done a fantastic job and we all very much appreciate and are thankful for that. We’ll definitely recommend your company to our friends.”

 

Ray & Judith: China Tailor Made – April 2011

“Just arrived back after our holiday and a quick note to thank you and The China Travel Company for a fantastic holiday with an excellent itinerary and perfectly executed throughout. We have really enjoyed the time and packed such a lot in, seeing such a variety of places.”

 

Marija Bichan & Family: China Family Tour – April 2011

“We had an amazing time. The children loved it and we learned so much from the guides. It just made it so stress free. Everything was incredibly well organised and it made it so much easier to travel around. Thank you !!

We were picked up at each airport/train station on time and the drivers and cars were of an v good quality. Most impressed. Not late for anything. SO WELL ORGANISED. I could not fault any of the guides. They were very professional, knowledgeable and friendly. They had v good suggestions for other things to do and visit. Oliver was just the best.

I think this holiday ranks as one of the best holidays we have ever had and there are so many special memories we now have (some of them just hilarious). The guides were particularly good. Thank you so very much.

I had been initially concerned, as I could not find any independent reviews on the internet, so I posted the one on trip advisor just now.”

 

Janet and David Milburn: PG-04 taste of China & Yangtze – April 2011

“Apologies for not writing sooner but I have had a very busy time since returning from our fabulous holiday in China. I’d like to send you a huge thank you for organising it all so well. Everything went without a hitch – we were met at every station/airport punctually and by extremely lovely and interesting people.

Guides that stand out as very special and who enhanced our experience were Wu in Beijing – he was so welcoming and intelligent and informed. He obviously works hard to bring additional interest and knowledge to the job which in turn made our experience far more enjoyable. The other guide was Jim – who met us in Chengdu and took us to see the Pandas. It was obvious that he really enjoyed doing this trip himself and was keen to photograph the Pandas as much as we were – which was great for us as sometimes the guides can get tired of seeing the same thing in their line of work! To us, it was our first encounter of Pandas and he made it very special.

The personalised handbook was excellent,including relevant and useful information, for example the guidance on tipping.

All the hotels were great and everything went without a hitch. We would have gladly stayed out there for much longer. We have already recommended you and your company to others interested in travelling to China. Once again, we send you a huge thanks.”

 

Áine Dowling & Mum! : China Tailor Made – March 2011

“Just a huge thanks for answering all my questions so well. And also the advice about doing multiple days on the wall, it was a tough 2 days and we really looked forward to our sleep in the next day.

All of our guides were really lovely people. The two ladies we had in Xi’an(Li) and Chengdu(Susan) were fantastic and we had a really nice time with them. Didn’t think I’d like it being a solo traveller but it was a treat to be collected and still have our own time to see what we wanted. Really enjoyed it (except the food but that’s a family joke not sure why Mum agreed to come!) and would definitely tell her friends. She loved the private driver and guides and everything was at her pace. Thanks so much for making the trip easier for me :-D”

 

Vicky & Simon White: China Tailor Made – March 2011

“The best pre-trip support we had on our 3 month trip around the world, Chris listened to what we asked for and provided a tour tailored to our every request. Despite our numerous requests to re-work the itinerary he responded promptly and nothing was ever too much trouble.

We were always met promptly upon our arrival at a location, even if it was 5am! and the transport to and from each airport or train station was always comfortable and clean. The guides were always there to help, and attended to any request we made of them. Their English was excellent. Every tour exceeded our expectations, we have nothing but good things to say about the amazing things we saw and did.

The Trip Guidebook you gave us is best idea ever! Great reference material for reading on long train journeys, and a good point and smile tool for communication!

Thank you so much for what you did, not just booking the trip, but in your advice and guidance in the preparation phases. China was always the heart of why we went away for 3 months, and everything we did and saw exceeded our expectations. It was without doubt the highlight of our 3 month 10 country tour, and has left us keen to return and explore everything else we have now discovered. Not only would we recommend you, we will use you again.”

 

 

 

Owen & Cathy Finnie: China Tailor Made – March 2011

“Just a quick e-mail to say we had a fantastic trip that surpassed our expectations. A truly memorable experience. Lee did a great job on Cathy’s birthday, arranging a surprise cake and champagne that made my wife’s day. From the start very helpful correspondence – all questions and queries answered promptly. Excellent advice and service that took into consideration our particular circumstances. Also the guides were outstanding. They were flexible, provided a friendly and very professional service and really brought our trip to life. An excellent service. Overall a trip of a lifetime! We loved it. Thanks for all your assistance! ”

 

Clifford Bowles Family: China Family Tour – February 2011

“I just wanted to thank you for organising such a memorable trip for us all. The advice on the places to go was perfect for us all and in particular the children who loved their time in China. Booking with you was unusually easy. A superb trip & would (have!) already recommended others to use you…! think my colleague’s family already in touch with you & about to send ! others to you i think. really good thanks for a superb holiday! Thank you again.”

 

Laura Brocklesby: SG-01 China Express – January 2011

“The booking process was easy, and the booklet we received relating to the trip was really useful. The transfers at each stage of the trip were very easy, and everything ran very smoothly. Overall we had a fantastic time. The logistics were so smooth that we never had to worry about anything so we just enjoyed our time even more. We came away feeling that we had seen everything that we wanted to see without feeling rushed, and feeling that we had had time to experience each location.”

 

Andrew Gregory: China Tailor Made – December 2010

“I was a little worried at first travelling alone, but soon realized everything was 100% perfect. Very helpful team, lots of information. For the transfer I had good, clean vehicles, friendly drivers. Always parked as close as possible to entrances and exits to Train stations and so on, which made it easy to carry luggage to and from. Good english speaking guides, good knowledge of their individual cities, very friendly and caring – some I have still contact with and built great friendship’s with. The hotels were all excellent choices in terms of location and comfort. Will definitely book again with friends, hopefully this year. loved every minute of it.”

 

Jamie Webb: SG-01 China Express – December 2010

“I Can’t praise the guides enough. I’ve made some great new friends in Wu and Crystal! I learned so much and felt very lucky that my short stay was handled so professionally. My guide in Xian was even kind enough to take me to karaoke after the actual tour which is quite popular over there apparently and understandably hilarious! I really felt like I got to see the major highlights of China and the tours were the main reason for this.

Despite travelling alone, I would have to say that this was my single most favourite time abroad. I saw some breathtaking things and fully immersed myself in the experience. I never would have been able to arrange it all on my own, even know what to visit and spend the time I had in the right way. I’m so thankful! I can’t wait to go back and would never dream of not using this website in which to book a return trip.”

 

David Shelmerdine – SG-02 China Essentials – November 2010

“Although, my traveling partner did all liaising I observed that all queries sent via e-mail were responded to with great haste and the information conveyed answered all questions. Some of the best customer serviced we have experienced.

The guides met us promptly at the airport and all train stations, clearly holding signs with our names and with waiting vehicles to transfer us to the hotel. No problems at all! All the guides were very pleasant and happy to take into account if we wanted to vary the days activities. All spoke very good English and had good knowledge of the area and places we visited.

By the time we had returned I had read the Trip Guide book your gave us from cover to cover (it was my bible), reading all the information about the next place we were to visit the night before. The ‘where to eat’ section about each place was very useful. This book brought a lot of joy and went hand in hand with the trip perfectly.

For us the trip was perfect and gave a great balance of free time with a couple of organised tours and travel on the trains was up to us to get ourselves there. I thought the trip was fantastic, some great food (Chinese is much tastier than Cantonese), and China as a place is so much different from I had imagined, a very pleasant place to go with very nice people.”

 

Nuria Garcia-Ines and Family: Tailored FT-01 Family Tour – November 2010

“We did lots in 9 days, we also enjoyed the shows, and we had a great time.

I thought the service you provided was the best I have experienced from a travel agent.

You managed to do everything with a very short notice, and it was great.”

 

Angela and Dave Andrews: China Tailor Made – October 2010

“Chris was very helpful with my many phone calls and emails. I had not done much research on China but was happy to tell chris the areas we wanted to go to and felt confident from his experience he would “sort the rest”

Wherever we went, airport or train station, there was always our names on a board being held by our guide which was always very reassuring.

The hotels you selected were all absolutely great the best was BuddhaZen in chengdu, seemed more to us like a 4*+ really peaceful, best lookout was Bell tower in Xian. Most surprising YMCA in Hong Kong absolutely brill again like a 4*+. Great location as were all the hotels we went to.

The Trip guidebook was very helpful we were very impressed as were any guides that looked at it. It included just about everything we needed to know it was like our little bible.

We felt it was a fantastic trip, we did at some time during it feel we had tried to do too much as traveling was very tiring, saying this we slept very well on the long train journeys we did. Once we got to the more rural Guilin and Yangshou however we totally relaxed, got bikes out and went for long leisurely walks and just felt like we were so lucky to be able to be in such a brilliant place. Cities are always busy places we know!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH CHRIS, WE WILL DEFINITELY RECOMMEND YOU TO EVERYONE WE KNOW!”

 

Geoffrey Wilson: China Tailor Made – October 2010

“So glad I found your company. Exactly what I was looking for and would have got hopelessly “lost” without much of the advice or guides. Thank you so much.”

 

Chris Ward: China Photography trip – October 2010

“We had a truly wonderful time and are 100% committed to visit China again. No problems with weather – in fact in Beijing we got 4 days of glorious clear blue skies which made the Wall visit truly unbelievable. We had no problems anywhere at all which is a very good sign the holiday was well organised so thanks for that – we’ve already been recommending you.”

 

Stephen Irecki & Family: SG-02 China Essentials – September 2010

“The trip was very well organised and we would definitely recommend The China Travel Company to others.

The whole family thought it was a very successful trip so thank you again for putting it all together.

The two weeks went way too fast though! 😉
Thanks again for all your work.”

 

Anthony & Fiona Collins: China Tailor Made – September 2010

“An unforgettable holiday. Well done and thank you. All the transfers went without a hitch. Always met on time and safely delivered to the airports and stations. Our guides took great care to watch over us and always took great care to ensure that we did not trip on unguarded edges etc.

Our trip was to see the main tourist spots in China and to trace my wife’s great uncles grave in Shenyang (he was a medical missionary and died out in Shenyang in 1910 one hundred years ago). We think we found the area.”

 

Lesley Evans: China Tailor Made – September 2010

“Thank your to all your excellent organisation I had a perfect holiday, with no technical hitches, and I shall be recommending your services to all my friends whenever possible. It’s spoiled me for any other type of travel. The personal service and high level of satisfactory organisation were great. Travelling on one’s own is an enormous leap of faith, especially in a country where the language is difficult to learn, but I had no hesitation in taking this trip as it was so efficiently organised beforehand. I was very impressed with my personal tour booklet and all the information it contained. I almost had nothing else to do in preparation for my trip.

In another life I’m a mystery shopper and you should be proud of your organisation if a few meals is all I can find to criticize on a two week tour. Everybody got the basics right every time, most did the basics brilliantly and some, particularly Wu in Beijing, provided some wow moments that made my trip especially memorable. He was such a gentleman, eager for me to know that both he and driver were professional guides, explained it was his duty to show me the best that China could offer and nothing which I asked for was too much. He really took care of me, offered me an arm on steps and rough places and generally made me feel cared for. I cannot praise him enough.”

 

Angela & Steven Allard: China Tailor Made – September 2010

“You were extremely accommodating including providing advice to ensure we arranged the bespoke trip we wanted. All guides and drivers there to meet us upon arrival. Chengdu guide Tracey had had to wait 2-3 hours due to the train delay but this was not a problem. We found the tailor made trip met our needs to a very high standard at a good price and thank you for the hotel and day trip recommendations. For a country that is particularly challenging to navigate we really appreciate the support in establishing the itinerary and the invaluable Trip Guidebook you gave us.

We had a great time and a real China experience and feel it was certainly the right way to see the country.”

 

Claudine Weiher: Beijing to Kathmandu – September 2010

“A wonderful trip and many praises are due. Your company did an outstanding job for us.
The night at Everest? Unforgettable. When we arrived, the mountain was all clouded up and we were rather down and disappointed. After all, we had come half way around the world to view this mountain. At midnight the clouds had begun to disperse and you could begin to see the crest.. At about 6:00 AM one of the drivers excitedly motioned to us with his camera, pointing out the door of the tent, and there was Everest in full and clear glory! No one should miss the tent experience.
I will be thinking about it in the old age home. Thanks again for planning a wonderful trip.”

 

Pauline Dunn & family: China Family Tour – August 2010

“We’re back home and settled in now. Thanks for helping to organise a great trip – we’ll definitely visit China again, although after about 1.3 billion photos, the kids might take a few more years before they’ll allow anyone to ever take their photos again…! Emmanuelle has since decided that she has no desire to be Hannah Montana, and Sebastian no longer wants to be a professional footballer, so it’s good to sort out those things early on! It’s a shame that only 7 of the 8 porcelain paintings survived the last flight after having endured 5 internal flights but then I probably wasn’t expecting any to make it. And I’ll definitely value those 7 all the more for having lugged it across China for 2 1/2 weeks!
You’re welcome to use any comments on your website and we’ve recommended you to Steve’s parents.”

 

Tim & Juliana Hughes: Silk Road & Tibet – August 2010

“I got back home rather late last night and am still getting sorted out but just I want to say a very big ‘Thank You’ for all your help and support in the planning and arranging, and then throughout our trip. We were very impressed with the itinerary and loved the places we visited, it really did live up to our expectations and we always felt in very good hands with The China Travel Company. We have many great memories (and I hope some great photos) of our travels. We certainly had a few laughs, met some lovely people, saw some amazing sights, travelled a lot of miles, learned a few new words, and tasted a multitude of new tastes (some we would prefer to forget!!!) We enjoyed the trip enormously and want to thank you for all the help you gave us in planning and executing it.

Would we use the ‘The China Travel Company’ again, Certainly!! Would we recommend to others, Absolutely!! We thoroughly enjoyed the trip, we thought it was well priced and well planned. Many thanks to all those who helped make it a memorable experience.”

 

Julia Sandelson & Rosie Chester: China Tailor Made – August 2010

“Thank you, you went out of his way to provide extra information for us. We were always met at airports, stations and hotels on time by guides and drivers.

We found your guidebook extremely helpful and useful. We read all the history and information on each place the night before we went there which helped particularly when the guide did not speak good English! We used the section on restaurants etc., we used the section on vocabulary translation and liked the various warnings and hints supplied in it. The book helped us feel as though we had some control and structure over each day as well.

We rate the trip as ‘very good’. We learnt so much about the country, history, politics, social structure etc. which really stimulated us. It was extremely well and efficiently organised and enabled us to have some experience of China and its people.

Without the sort of security of your organisation of the trip it was not the sort of trip we would have been able to make ourselves or indeed may not have made at all and generally we felt we covered huge areas of China in a short period of time that would have been impossible had we been travelling independently. Thank you for making it so worthwhile.

We have already recommended you to some friends and other people.”

 

Jenny Muirhead & family: China Tailor Made – August 2010

“We think that the you provided an exceptionally high level of service and we would definitely recommend you to anyone planning a trip such as ours. It has given us a taste for where we will return to and explore further.

Particularly ADORED the trains (isn’t Shanghai train station amazing….) and will spend much more time next time using this transportation method of travelling though China.

Thank you for the extremely prompt response to any of our questions/suggestions and the strong personalized flavour- e.g. helping with the mandarin translations to assist in explaining our son’s allergies- hugely appreciated.”

 

Patrick Jenkins, Laura Strong and Sukie: China Family Tour – August 2010

“Everything was perfectly organised, everything we asked for and mentioned was taken into account. All transfers were extremely smooth, no problems at all. On one transfer – from Chengdu to Guilin – our Guilin guide (Macy) and driver waited till 1am (four hours later than scheduled arrival) to meet us!
All guides were really friendly, helpful and left us to ourselves enough of the time to do our own thing.

The hotels were a lovely mix of Chinese character hotels (we loved the BuddhaZen in Chengdu) and modern international style.

The tours were fab – really interesting and well-organised, and guides did well in accommodating our wishes. The way the trip was organised made the whole holiday much easier – and therefore much more enjoyable – than we could ever have hoped! It was the trip of a lifetime and The China Travel Company really made it the best possible holiday. Thank you!”

 

Jackie Hopfinger: China Tibet Tailor Made – August 2010

“All the hotels were good, clean, air con, pleasant. I personally liked the hotel in Lhasa because it was more traditional. We saw so much, I loved all of it. Lobsang, our guide in Tibet was great, he was really helpful, good knowledge, great fun, adaptable and we very much enjoyed spending time with him. Caddie, our guide in Xian, was fantastic, her English was brilliant, her knowledge was superb and she is a lovely person.

I loved the trip, we saw so many fantastic places, I thought the Chinese people were lovely and friendly and helpful and proud of their cities and culture. My favourite was Tibet but I have wanted to see the Potala Palace for years. We had fun with the guides and also on our free days. One of my best holidays, so thank you so much.”

 

Susan Harris & family: Self-guided Adventure China Essentials – August 2010

“All the guides were excellent but in different ways. All were well informed and went with our pace. We were just blown away by the Forbidden city, the Summer Palace, well, all the things we saw – the craftsmanship was just unbelievable … We had just about the right number of tours to rest days.
We loved receiving our own personalised book – it is now very dogeared as it had a lot of use! The info it contained about sights to see, restaurants and for us the shopping tips were tremendously helpful.
It really was a trip of a lifetime and you made all that possible so thank you for creating the itinerary especially for us just making it so easy!”

 

Brian Foglia: Self-guided Adventure China Essentials – July 2010

“Booking with you was as easy as could be. The trip was magnificent. It was the single greatest experience of our lives. Everything about the trip ran smoothly. The guides were smart and helpful, and always on top of things. All of the guides maintained admirable professionalism and commitment despite the sweltering heat and humidity. Mike and I could sometimes fire off a thousand questions a minute and the guides were very patient, curious, and helpful. We traveled to China to experience a foreign culture and we learned more than we ever imagined we could.

Thanks for all your hard work. You’ll definitely get my recommendation if anyone I know expresses interest in traveling to China. Thanks!”

 

Katie Beharrell: China Tailor Made – July 2010

“The China trip was an incredible journey, and I can’t thank you enough for organising especially with such short notice.

Jessica, the guide in Guilin and Yangshou was incredible and went beyond the call of duty – organising an evening photoshoot with a Cormorant fisherman, hiring a tandem bicycle so I could sit on the back taking photos as we weaved through Yangshou’s town and lotus field strewn countryside – no mean feat in the heat and traffic, and a trip to the Dragon’s Backbone rice terraces – she was also kind enough to refuse to leave until she’d put me on the train, 9pm on a Saturday night, which was a great help. The landscape was breathtaking, the people were amazing and I’m looking forward to returning.”

 

Rachel Diston: China Tailor Made – June 2010

“Our trip was amazing! Thank you very much indeed for your part in it!

All the guides met us perfectly either on the platform – or more usually at the exit of the station (at the ticket barrier). All the guides were very easy to find and all had a clear sign with our name on it – and it was even spelt correctly – something many English people struggle to get right! An extremely well organised trip – with every transfer and ticket delivered efficiently and on time.
I have already recommended you to others who may wish to travel to China. I will definitely use you to book our hotels and trains again when I next go. It saved me a lot ! of hassle and time – leaving me free to enjoy China.

But goodness me how things have changed in China since 1982! I knew they had but actually seeing it for myself was something else. My old stamping grounds in Shanghai were almost unrecognisable – indeed we walked right past where i used to live in Jiaotong University before I eventually recognised it. The campus had not changed hugely – a few high rise blocks have been built and the statue of Chairman Mao in the centre of the green has been replaced by a weird obelisk (a significant change). I even found my old room on the campus that I used to live in – now an office.

Thanks again for all your help in putting this trip together – it was brilliant”

 

Vania Braha: China Tailor Made – June 2010

“Thank you for planning such a wonderful trip! It was great to be met at the airports and train stations by polite and knowledgeable English speakers.

The guides were very good particularly Amy in Guilin!
China is a beautiful country. There is lots to see. The three weeks just flew by! It was once in a life time trip! Well, not everyday our son gets married in China! The wedding was unbelievable! Thanks again.”

 

Alexandra Robinson: China Tailor Made – June 2010

“The whole trip was great. We had such limited time in each place that it really helped having someone pick us up and drop us off everywhere otherwise I think we would have wasted a lot of time with this. The Guides were excellent. We had Sally in Xian who really was fantastic and very informative. Jim in Chengdu was lovely. His english wasn’t as good but he was charming and loved his pandas!!
Again thank you so much for everything. I will definitely be recommending you to any of my friends who are thinking to explore China. We had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed it all thank you so much for all your help.”

 

Parmjit & Charanjit Jagait: China Tailor Made – June 2010

Parmjit: “I had very limited time to organise the trip and needed someone who could do all the work for me, which is what you did! The whole booking process was made so easy. Chris was so helpful and prompt with getting back to us and accommodated all our requirements in a very helpful manner. He made the whole process easy and pain free which is exactly what I needed! It was so good that the transfers were organized for us! We encountered no problems and were surprised that no matter how short or long the journey, you got fed! We enjoyed all our day tours. Again the Guides were all very friendly and enthusiastic.
Overall we had an excellent trip and The China Travel Company made the whole process so easy. Our trip was problem free and I enjoyed it thoroughly. We love the personalised guidebook that we received. Thank you.”

Charanjit: “I have not had the chance to complete the online form yet, but I too would like to add that the trip was indeed very well organized and a real relief for me personally after working on the World Congress of Cardiology in Beijing, I did not want to think about logistics and planning so it was so nice to sit back and relax and have the work done for me. We were very impressed and grateful for your prompt service and you made our lives so easy, which is always a good thing :O) I have to admit I did not want to sing your praises until the visit was over to see if our first impressions of you were actually reflected in the delivery and we certainly were not disappointed and you proved a born skeptic wrong! I have already mentioned to friends and colleagues if ever they plan to go back to China then I definitely know of a great agency to help them. That’s all for now but thanks once again for what could have been a nightmare but ended up working like a dream.”

 

Megan Hudson: China Essentials – May 2010

“This trip was incredible from start to finish. Your company does a meticulous job, and that we greatly appreciated. Every detail of the trip had attention payed to it, and the ease of it all made it that much more enjoyable. We felt like we got to spend just the right amount of time in each location, and feel like we got to see even more then we had expected. Traveling by sleeper train was a perfect way to see China. It really made us feel like we were able to maximize the time we had in China. The guides all went above and beyond. All of them were very knowledgeable, attentive, and welcoming. It was such a great experience, and we are so glad we booked a trip through you guys. We all sing your praises and will continue to pass the word around that you guys are the company to go through!”

 

Mita Solanky: Tailor Made China – May 2010

“Chris was very helpful in helping me organise my itinerary, always prompt and helpful, fantastic service. The transfer cars and drivers were all great. The transfer guides were always pleasant and helpful and all had very good english and answered any questions I had about the place and helped out when i needed anything, from finding vegetarian food, to picking up climbing books in Yangshuo for me. The hotels were all of a very good standard and all the hotels provided had excellent locations. Thanks again for helping me organise an amazing trip.”

 

Priscilla Dawson: Tailored China Essentials – May 2010

“All the personal help during booking was very good, all questions answered fully and promptly, very friendly and efficient communication. The tour guidebook was really brilliant and really helpful. Everything went really smoothly and we always felt really well looked after.

All guides were brilliant. Bruce in Xian was particularly good as he had to help us with an emergency hospital visit, and then he re-arranged our itinerary so we could still keep all elements of the tour in, even though it meant he had to give up a day of his own time. We really appreciated that. Please pass on our high compliments about all our guides.

Drivers were great, everything went as planned, everything just perfect. Guides really helpful, friendly and informative. All locations were thoroughly explored.

This is the best holiday I have ever had – and I’m quite a traveller! The company’s bespoke planning included the perfect blend of ‘hands-on’ and ‘hands-off’ to maximise the ideal balance of comfort and adventure. We were treated as individuals at all times, and never felt part of a herd or like ‘wallets on legs’ as can often happen on a poor holiday. All in all a wonderful experience from start to finish.”

 

Maggie Lockett: Tailor Made China – May 2010

“My daughter organised the whole thing and she said she was very happy about the way alterations and suggestions were made. An intelligent and thoughtful approach was evident in all aspects of the programme planning. We would not have changed any of the programme. For first time visitors we had a full and broad taste of China and the culture/history. Also the horticultural and garden emphasis was well met. The advice re loo paper and taking a lidded cup was very apt and should be stressed to others. Having hot water for tea everywhere on tap was brilliant, and we soon invested in our own tea bottles!The local guides were very precise in timings and ensuring we met our deadlines.

This was a really special trip for me, given as a birthday present. your organisation is brilliant – I particularly love the personalised guide book with its very thoughtful and practical details and advice. I have told everyone I’ve met about your company. Do you cover India? – we are thinking of going there next! Very best wishes for success for your company.”

 

Angela Hollingshead: Tailored China Essentials – May 2010

“During the decision making and booking process I felt that nothing was ever too much trouble and that we were receiving good advice from the word go.

On the trip everything went like clockwork! We felt that all the guides were extremely helpful – the 4 girls were particularly friendly. We would like you to let their bosses know what excellent ambassadors for China they all are! It was a brilliant trip – never to be forgotten!

 

Michael Farquhar & Family: Tailor Made China – April 2010

“Fantastic service to help organise our trip. Chris listened to our requirements and built an excellent preliminary itinerary. We then had the ability to tweak various aspects, particularly to include some activities relevant to our children, before finalising arrangements. At all times nothing was too much trouble. An incredible (and somewhat challenging) country. The sights and the contrasts are amazing. Chris – you did a terrific job of organising for us which took away a lot of the hassle-factor. Many thanks!!”

 

Ian & Margaret Gray: Tailor Made China – March 2010

“It was a fairly last minute decision to go to China, and the speed at which arrangements were made was excellent. Queries via email were answered virtually immediately, and many useful suggestions made.

Thanks very much for the Trip Guidebooks. They were really comprehensive and we used them a lot. All the accommodation was excellent. You were right when you suggested a comfy base would be a good idea.

The guides were all good, and gave a really good insight into Chinese culture and history.

We’ve found China a fascinating country, full of contrast in every aspect. Your service removed any potential annoying hindrances to our enjoyment.”

 

Manoj Patel: Tailor Made China – March 2010

“From the day I booked my family’s trip to China, you did look after us. One word boils down about your efficient service is your honesty and sincerity.

About China, we found people helpful and friendly. We shall remember our China tour forever. The guides and drivers were helpful and friendly. Again credit goes to you for organising the tour for us.

Overall the trip exceeded my expectations. We learnt about the culture. The guides allowed me to take photos at my pace. In fact all of them encourage me to spend more time in taking photos. We shall treasure our memories of China forever.”

 

Chris Wright: SG-01 China Express – November 2009

“We had a great time… the balance of activities was good – we appreciated the free time to do our own thing and the smooth booking for all flights, trains and hotels (which gave us more time to enjoy China compared to other travelers we met who spent much of their time negotiating travel, permits and the like!) Personal page on website was a very nice touch. Even though we booked late, Chris was very helpful and sorted out everything quickly – excellent customer service.”

 

Lori & Rob Marjerison: Tailor Made Tibet – October 2009

“We had an excellent trip with good support in considering many options we had open for this itinerary. Everything went according to plan (as on prior trip with you).

The Guides were excellent, very helpful, informative and took care of all the local details for us.

As you know, this was our 2nd trip with The China Travel Company and we are very pleased and are more than happy to recommend you to others.”

 

Tracy White & Giselle Rouillard: Self-Guided Adventure Beijing Kathmandu September 2009

“We would like to thank Chris, and The China Travel Company, for being exceptionally responsive to our plans for touring Tibet.

Our trip was an amazing adventure made more special by the understated manner in which Tibetans showcase their marvelous national treasures.

We love surprises, and TCTC and Tibet offer these with great style and uniqueness

Thank you again for making our trip so special and exceptional, a memory which will stay with us forever.”

 

Neil Duncan: Self-Guided Adventure China Express – September 2009

“We have just returned from our trip and it was outstanding.
We just wanted to mention that our guide in Beijing, Johnny and our guide in XIAN Jessica could not have done more to make the trip for us.”

Marvellous trip wonderful value.”

 

Nick Rutherford: Tailor Made China – August 2009

“Just a quick note to say we’ve arrived with our friend in Zuhai and have finished our itinerary with China Travel Company. We’ll write in more detail when we return and post comments on your website, but just wanted to say we’ve had an amazing time, and can’t believe how smoothly and well everything has gone. It really has been a once in a lifetime trip and we’ll certainly recommend you to everyone we know who says they want to go to China!

Thanks for everything.”

 

Zach Kroh: Self-Guided Adventure Beijing to Kathmandu – July 2009

“The trip was exciting and well worth it. Our guides in Beijing, Tibet, and Nepal were all excellent. They were very friendly and spoke English very well. And everyone on the trip had a great time. I felt our contact at The China Travel Co. Chris, was very helpful and did a great job providing us with all of the information and changing the trip to suit our needs. Overall everything was great. Thanks.”

 

Philippe Chauffard & family: Tailor Made China – July 2009

“We have had an outstanding Trip ! Unforgettable experience. Everything went smoothly. Itinerary was great. Guides ranged from good to excellent. Excellent service and customization of our trip according to our specific wishes.

I will definitely recommend your services to any of my friends considering China, and I am sure that we will also go back.

PS – One great thing you also provided was the customized trip guide. Never had that before, but truly useful and excellent recommendations.”

 

Jean Short: Tailor Made Tibet – July 2009

“Tibet was quite a trip for all of us to undertake…please advise people to go soon as it is bound to change and to go when they are young and not pushing 70 like we all are!!!!

It was well worth everything…all the hotels were great and we think you did a good job with of us asking you so many questions. Thanks again for everything.

If you ever need me to be a reference for your future bookers, please do not hesitate to give out my email address….”

 

Kathie Peron-Matthews: Tailor Made China – June 2009

“…I haven’t stopped since I got home from China. Yes, our trip was wonderful–everything that you did for us was perfect. The tour guides were great–very helpful, and very knowledgeable & always right there for us. I can’t say enough good about all of them.

The Yangtze River Cruise was also awesome–very beautiful scenery and our room was great as was the food and everyone was very nice and accomodating.

I have no regrets or issues about anything. Thank you for all your help – if I ever know anyone else who is planning a trip to China, I will definitely give them your name.”

 

Jean Willoughby: Tailor Made China – June 2009

“I just want you to know that your service and continued service throughout our tour was fabulous. The driver’s and tour guides were so very accommodating. Everyone wanted us to have the best. The River Cruise was wonderful and a real eye opener to the many life styles of the people of China.

I have to say, I was so impressed with all of our travels. Thank you again for always being there to answer questions. Please give each of those tour guides and driver’s a real bonus if you can……They really deserve it.”

 

John Fisher & Lynne Rogerson: China Explorer – May 2009

“Had a fantastic time. The whole trip was stress free and the mix of trips to free time worked brilliantly for us. That coupled with the culture, landscape, scenery and city skylines made the whole trip more than we expected.

The service by The China Travel Company always felt personal and the organisation of the trip demonstrated this.

The personalised guide was a good touch. Thank you.”

 

Farhat & Cisca Jah: Xinjiang Explorer – August 2008

“We took your Xinjiang trip in August and had a fantastic time. The organisation went without a hitch and we were very happy you suggested taking the train to Urumqi to start the trip rather than flying. Kashgar was amazing but the highlight was the Karakorum Highway from Karakul Lake to Tashkurgan. We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend your company to others and hope to be able to plan another trip with yourselves in the future.”