Travel agencies and tours - Wudaokou/ Haidian area

[ningp]

Hey guys,

I'm currently studying mandarin for 3 months in Beijing and am looking at doing some travelling during my time here - particularly around Xian, Shanghai and Guilin. I have picked up (or been thrown at, rather) several brochures on travel agencies around the Wudaokou/ Haidian that offer tours around China, specifically catering to foreign students.

A few travel agencies are:

1. ShoDu Travel Agency Overseas Students Companies - located at Huaqing Garden
   
2. Beijing Happy Vacation Travek Service - Huanqing Garden
   
3. Good Holday International Travel Service - located inside BLCU Conference Centre
   
4. SG (CHina Jianghe International Travel Service) - Huaqing commercial building
   
5. Beijing Youth Travel Service Co, Ltd - Haishend building
   

I'm unsure whether I want to go via a tour agency or arrange the trip myself. I don't particularly think the tours are that badly priced and wouldn't mind the convenience of an arranged trip. However, I am not looking for a "hop on the bus, snap photos for 5 mins and back on the bus to the next 10 sites in one day" kind of tour, which I have heard down the grapevine is sometimes the case (not sure which companies these were though).

Does anyone have any experience with any of these tour companies or other good companies they can recommend? Did they include any meals or entrance fees into attractions and an English speaking guide? Good or bad, I'd like to hear!

Many thanks!

[jbradfor]

Someone told me a saying about Chinese tours: 上車睡覺，下車拍照 (or 上車睡覺，下車尿尿，停車拍照, take your pick ). The other issue with tours is that they inevitably include a forced stop at some store; personally, I don't want to waste my previous vacation time like that.

After studying for 3 months, I would consider this your "final exam": touring around on your own. I think you will learn a lot more geography, learn some Chinese, and have a much better tour.

If you don't know where to go, you could do a lot worse than use the same itinerary the tours do, only do it on your own.

[ningp]

Hmm, that was what I was afraid of. I would normally prefer to arrange my own travels, having travelled solo in Europe, however I'm not sure how safe solo travelling around China is for a female, which is why I'm considering the organised tour option.

Has anyone been on any tours arranged through the above companies?? I'm keen to book something asap for the May holiday break.

[roddy]

To be honest, assuming you're on a fairly normal tourist route (and Xi'an, Guilin and Shanghai are fairly normal tourist destinations) and you're staying in hostels or hotels catering mainly to tourists, you're going to be constantly hooking up with other foreign folk anyway. And having spent a few months in China, you will be treated as a Chinese-speaking guru and they will be only too happy to join up and do stuff together.

I think if you've got some solo travel experience and you can speak some Chinese, there's no reason not to do that trip independently.

As for the travel agencies - look at their itineraries. If they all seem very similar, it's probably because they're putting all their customers into one big group anyway. That's very common, and it means that it's the trip you need to asking about, rather than the agency.