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Hey, I live in Beijing and my parents came to visit me last month. They wanted to go to Xi’an, but I had already been there so I helped them find a tour group. Check out this site http://www.tour-beijing.com/xian_tours/. My parents were very pleased with friendliness, english ability, and overall quality of the trip and guide. They picked them up from my home and drove them to the airport to fly to xian then show them around the city to see the main cool spots, spend the night and see a show, then the next day fly back to Beijing. For a tour company in Beijing….. I’ve never had to use one. You should check out the site immersionguides.com thats where I went and got the insiders guide to beijing book and it helps me a bunch, AND IT HAS CHINESE ADDRESS OF ALL THE PLACES
))))))!!!!! its a lot less of a hassle then a tour guide, I think. the tour-beijing.com tours were fairly priced and there are different levels of comfort you can choose. my parents got the deluxe tour for only like $30-$40 more a person.Anyone tried Beijing Xinhua International Tours? Found this local tour company on the web, reasonable tour prices and very prompt response to email queries. Has anyone used them before for tours in Beijing? Any comments on quality of service?
millim (Apr 15, 2008 1:30 AM):
Yes we did try them in Sep 06. Very pleased with their prompt and efficient service. As promised the tour guide calls the evening before the tour to confirm pick-up time. We were placed with small groups on each tour, less than 6 to a van, so we didn’t waste time waiting for folks which can happen in large groups. We were especially pleased with their tour guide named Betty – speaks good English, spices her commentary with humor, cheerfully snapped our photos, punctual and efficient.
Anyone heard of or have an opinion on the Beijing Xinhua tour company… I am trying to negotiate a private tour with them for my family (2 adults, 1 teenage girl and a 9 year old girl). Is this tour company based in Beijing? If whatever problem comes up, will their manager be available only during THEIR office hours (which is 13 hrs different)? If there is a dispute, are you going to sue them in China?
They are Beijing based and list their 24 Hour Hotline number and 24 Hour Mobile number. They do list their License number, and are on the list of the Chinese National Tourism Authority, for whatever that is worth. Through the email they have been very flexible. For example I requested no shopping stops, and they agreed, and I asked about what would happen if I don’t like the guide/driver… they can be changed. I also was impressed in that I asked them to book tickets for the puppet theater. They tried but said that when they contacted the theater they were told that the March shows were not planned yet, so the agent replied and suggested that I book myself when I get there because he couldn’t guarantee the quality. I also asked for a specific theater for the Acrobatic show (Wansheng), and they suggested another, but I insistent on my choice, and they agreed (not that I would be able to tell the difference!)
My wife and I are traveling to Shanghai for business in June 2007 and wish to take side trips to Beijing and Xian. We will probably arrange the air travel ourlselves but would like to arrange a local guide/hotel/meals package. I have picked a couple off the internet and I like what they have to offer:
tour-beijing.com and travelchinaguide.com, but I have no idea if these are real companies and if they are real, are they reputable. They will need paying up front and I don’t want to end up arriving and being disappointed. Can anyone please help with these companies or suggest a good tour guide or agency company? Thanks.
I am currently negotiating with tour-beijing.com who’s company is Beijing Xinhua Tours. These are listed among the “approved” agencies by the Official Tourist Authority. So far they have been very flexible with our needs… I am trying to arrange a private driver and guide tour. We are a family of 4 with 2 kids and will be in Beijing March 11-18th. According to most opinions and travel guide books, it is cheaper to arrange the tours yourself by just getting Taxis etc., but for us because of the 2 kids I don’t want the small hastle. I will likely go with them, and I’ll post my experience afterwards. They are arranging tours, many meals but not all, airport pick-up and back, acrobatics and Peking Opera shows (I shows the venue ie., theater I wanted). The price quote was $345 per person for a 7 day type tour with 1 day of car and guide to do whatever I wish. After comparing a lot of different options, this is about average cost, unless you do everything yourself. We will be staying at the Peninsula ( I arranged it myself).
I have booked a customized 5-day private tour with Xinhua Tours in Beijing. They are providing a private tour guide, car and driver and my 12 year old son (who will turn 13 during our trip) and I have a fully packed itinerary. Has anyone had any experiences with this tour group? Also, I opted not to attend a Peking Opera because I know my son would not be able to last a 2 or 3 hour performance but I am somewhat hesitant to miss a major cultural experience. Any suggestions?
Baltimore (Jun 23, 2007 11:19 PM)
We took a private tour with them in March with 4 of us, my wife and myself, and 2 girls 10 and 15. We had a pretty good time with them. I pre-negotiated EVERYTHING, and asked for no “shopping stops” and actually chose certain venues myself including which Beijing duck restaurant and which Beijing opera venue (The old Huguang Huigan) show an hour I think worth it, and acrobatics at the Peking Acrobatics group… young, local audience, and fun.
We also had the translator and driver for a 1 day shopping trip… we chose the stores and malls and actually showed them a store or two. We also asked for a non-smoking driver and guide. What we got were a wonderful guide who spoke good English and was very effervescent, and a very kind and good driver… non smoking, and we got a clean almost new mercedes van. We took what was booked as a luxury private tour. The Restaurants that we went to were average not too touristy (we observed quite a few locals).
There were 2 touristy Restaurants one was a “Friendship store/restaurant” on the way back from the Wall and Ming tombs… the food wasn’t bad, we enjoyed “window shopping” knowing very well that we had a day or 2 to shop so we held ourselves back and knew that this was touristy. Another was a southern chinese place that also had a floor show… food wasn’t bad either.
The tours which included the Wall, Tianenmen Sq., Forbidden city, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Lama Temple, Panda Zoo (our choice), Hutong, Prince Gong Palace (great place) were very good… unhurried because we were a private tour. To me one of the highlights were the Hutong tour which included a lunch with a “local” family… I am sure the family makes this their business, but hey why not. They were very gracious and of modest means but the food was great and tasted very home cooked.
The shopping trip was great because my wife did some great bargaining. As far as shopping stops, we did stop at a couple of places… one was the Friendship restaurant/shop, another was a Silk factory/company specializing in silk beddings and comforters… which are really nice and reasonably priced by chance that store was recommended in Frommer’s Beijing 2007) we didn’t buy any as we were not looking for that, and finally a Tea ceremony/store… we enjoyed the sampling, but didn’t buy (prices were not cheap and wasn’t sure about US Customs and Tea. By the way we had booked our own hotel (Grand Hyatt… great see my review dated March 17th?).
Of course they did pick us up from the airport and drove us back. To compare the depth of tours, we did take a Chinese culture club tour of the Forbidden city (chinesecultureclub.net ?) This is definitely a recommended place for in depth non-commercial tours of China). The guide’s English (I think he is part owner) was a bit better than our guide’s but no much, but he went into more history and conservation… kids got bored I didn’t).
Out of 10 I would rate or Xinhua tour to be 7.5… again I had moderate expectations not super high ones. I would recommend them for a first time hassle-free tour of the area (they had us sample all the different Chinese cuisine… forgot to mention that). You can post more Qs on this post or PM me for more info. And yes, we did tip the guide and driver at the end.
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