Grand Tour of China
This is not a holiday, it is an interesting, educational, cultural experience!
On 6th April 2024 we became part of” Ivy’s family “of fourteen. Four English, one New Zealander and the rest Australian (4 singles and 5 couples), a great combination. Due to jet lag we decided to fly to Beijing two days before the tour started-good idea.
Very few people had any English at all, even in the hotels. They did use translation app’s, to varying degrees of success. Downloading your own before you get to China is a good idea (wish we had).
Ivy, our national tour guide was with us throughout the 26 days. How she got us all from Beijing to Shanghai via three domestic flights (enormous airports with very tight security), three train journeys (gigantic stations) and all the tours without losing anyone was a mystery to us all. She made us all feel safe in an environment alien to ours. Forests of sky-high, tower blocks as far as you could see, cars, bikes, scooters and people everywhere. You couldn’t read anything or communicate.
When we arrived in a place we were met by a local guide, so had two looking after us most of the time.
Food was ordered for us by the local guides and Ivy depending on the area we were in and any group likes and dislikes of food. All dishes were put on a lazy Susan (always plenty, you won’t starve) for everyone to try. We practised with chopsticks before going- good idea, some restaurants provided full cutlery, some hunted round for forks and one had to give extra little china spoons (normally for soup) only thing they had apart from chopsticks!
On this trip you don’t need a scarf for temples or clothes for sleeping overnight on a train. You need layers as temperatures differ. A cotton cardigan was the most useful item. Thin plastic mac, sunhat, lipsil, sun block, mosquito repellent in some areas and a good pair of trainers.
All the hotels had toilet paper. Just remember to take some with you when out and about as few public loos (which are abundant and free) have paper. Some have paper you collect before going into the cubicle. Look out for disabled toilet or potty toilet or pedestal, otherwise you’re in the squat!
We averaged 12,000 steps a day (ranging from 6,000 to 19,000) at a moderate pace. Not all due to the tour, we preferred to walk round rather than sit with a coffee during free time.
Go on every optional shows/tour they offer, as they were all exceptional experiences!
Goggle and WhatsApp (blocked in China) TV in English if you’re lucky. Free Wi-Fi in most hotels.
Thank you to all the Wendy Wu staff for all your excellent organisation. All the local guides (especially Max and Bell) who introduced us to their home areas. Our very special thanks to Ivy.
May 09, 2024
Journey through Jordan
Excellent guide- friendly and knowledgeable. Lovely food. Everything interesting but Petra and Dead Sea were highlights.
Administration from Wendy Wu excellent with pre guide information being detailed. All logistics went smoothly. Very professional.
May 09, 2024
Ancient China
First time using Wendy Wu and didn’t know what to…. They turned out to be brilliant and exceeded all expectations. National guide couldn’t do enough for us.
May 09, 2024
Dreams of Nature
Excellent tour of China with super guides
May 08, 2024
Magnificent China
Overall a good tour with two seats per person in coach.
Hotels: Good except the one in Chengdu. No aircon was at times hard to sleep as you couldn't open window in rooms and it was rather hot and airless.
Food: Plenty and tasty but no fish to speak of and no desert but just a slice of watermelon.
Guide: Penny was throughout excellent except in Xian, her hometown. There she made us dressed up with cheap chinese sort of shirts and a cheap fan and took us to the main street to stroll with the locals. All was OK until the following day when she told us that the "experience which we couldn't miss" was Y280/each! and she made us be part of the spectacle... it was not proper. She should have told us the short coach transfer and her fees BEFORE she said we couldn't miss it. It was disappointing and many of us weren't happy. The experience was definitely NOT worth the cost.
I bought pyjamas for my granddaughters. a 4 generation jade Ball for myself.
2 silk pillows. 2 fans.
May 08, 2024
Wonders of China
A very helpful service.
Quick and simple process and Julia got back to me swiftly with answers to my queries.
Excellent service, can’t wait for the holiday now 😁
May 07, 2024
Japan Uncovered
Picture perfect cherry blossom, lots of tasty food and lovely people which made for a very good trip, fitted so much into the two week holiday. Our guide Koi was great, very organised and kept everyone informed of timings and meeting places.
May 06, 2024
Japan Uncovered
EXCELLENT
Guide (Carrie)
Itinerary
Hotels
Restaurants
The group of 17 (from UK and Australia)
NOT SO GOOD
Initial welcome to Japan at Osaka Airport
May 06, 2024
Discover Japan
Had a great time and saw lots of amazing sights; this was my first tour group and will definitely weigh pro's & con's before booking another. On this occasion was part of a good group which made the holiday but in future would book a tour with a more flexible itinerary - especially for meals as felt we missed out on local experience as too many hotel meals. Size of group made it hard for tour guide and didn't feel operation was as slick as expected or enhancing to overall experience.
May 06, 2024
Himalayan Kingdoms
A most interesting tour which delivered what the brochure promised. The Wendy Wu pre-tour information, however, was out of date with reference to some tour experiences, eg. no food available on the 9 hour train journey north from Kolkata - we were provided with lunch boxes and food could be purchased from vendors who walked through the carriages. Our national guides were very informative, though the India guide was lax in his management style - however, he did put in extra visits which we all appreciated and enjoyed.
May 06, 2024