|
Date/
Term |
Planes & trains and Private Car |
English Tour-guide |
Sightseeing
|
Hotel
|
|
21 Feb
Beijing |
Arrive in Beijing and take by taxi to hostel |
Benny pick in you from Airport
Best
pickup was on time and very welcoming and we got to the hostel cheaply and efficiently. It was pleasure to finally meet Benny. |
Look around the street near the hostel |
Beijing International
Youth Hostel
Better
Hostel was better than expected and the location was particularly good. Food was expensive in the hostel but cheap local food nearby. Hostel staff could speak very good English and were helpful. |
|
22 Feb
in Beijing |
Walk |
Carol, our guide was great as her local knowledge was top notch and her English sophisticated. |
Tiananmen Square and City Tower, Forbidden City and Beihai Park.
Best
Tour was excellent as not too many tourists. |
Beijing International Youth Hostel
Better
Hostel was better than expected and the location was particularly good. |
|
23 Feb
in Beijing |
Subway |
Carol, our guide was great as her local knowledge was top notch and her English sophisticated. |
Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace and Hutongs
Better another great day tour with Carol our guide. Was very cold so walking all day was tough but worth it. |
Beijing International Youth Hostel
Better
Hostel was better than expected and the location was particularly good. |
|
24 Feb
Beijing to Luoyang |
Private Car
Best
Taxi ride was smooth and comfortable getting us to the great wall with the minimum of hassle.
By train to Luoyang
Best
Benny took us to the station with ease and plenty of time. The train itself was comfortable and we all slept well. I love travelling by train so it was a great experience which I recommend. |
Carol, our guide was great as her local knowledge was top notch and her English sophisticated. |
Mutianyu Great Wall, Bird’s Nest Water Cube
Best Undoubtedly the highlight of our trip in China. Benny chose the perfect location for us to trek on the Great Wall and we had perfect conditions, blue sky, crisp air and a light suting of snow which made the views truly breathtaking. The biggest bonus was that for the first 2 hours we saw not a single other soul ans had it all to ourselves!! |
Stay soft sleeper on the train |
|
25 Feb
Luoyang |
By shuttle bus to Shaolin Temple
Best
Benny wisely saved us from a tourist trap here and we managed to get a local bus for RMB1.50 which was a total bargain and dropped us right at the temple. Benny saved us from getting ripped off so that was a job well done! |
Good
The guide was friendly but her English was not so good. I thought Carol was a better guide. |
Shaolin Temple
Better
Amazing place to visit if you like martial arts. It snowed as we arrived so looked awesome. The show was very impressive but too touristy. |
Luoyang Mingyuan International Youth Hostel
Bad
This hostel was undergoing renovations so looked pretty shabby and the room was freezing cold and the heating didn't work although it was spacious. Would suggest that after the work has been done it would be a good hostel. |
|
26 Feb
Luoyang to Xian |
By public bus to Longmen
Good
Bus was cheap and exactly what we asked for.
By train to Xian
Better getting onto the hard sleeper train was one of the best experiences in China as was a crazy push and shove frenzy but Benny managed to get us seats amazingly. Would recommended soft seat unless you want to get involved with local elbows! |
No English Tour Guide
SELF-TOUR |
Longmen Grottoes
Good
A good attraction but definitely too expensive for what you see. |
Xian Bell Tower International Youth Hostel
Best
Very good hostel with a great room and facilities. The best hostel we stayed in China and in a fantastic location and a bar downstairs. |
|
27 Feb
In Xian |
Private Car
Best
Mr Du was a great driver and the people carrier was luxurious and a real treat. |
Yes.
Best
George was our Absolutely excellent guide and we would definitely use him again as had very good English and a detailed local knowledge and took us to great restaurants. He even came to meet us at the train station and drove us to the hostel! The best guide we had I thought. |
Banpo, Terracotta, Huaqing, City Wall
Better
Banpo could be missed out unless you really like archaeology. The warriors were mind blowing and we were very lucky to have few tourists there. Hotsprings and city wall were interesting but nothing compared to the warriors. |
Xian Bell Tower International Youth Hostel |
|
28 Feb
Fly from Xian to Guilin |
Private Car,
by flight to Guilin
Best
Flight was smooth, easy and cheap and we even got food on board! |
Yes.
George was our Absolutely excellent guide |
Grand Mosque, Stone Tablets, Goose Pagoda, Shaanxi Museum
Best
A great day tour which I would highly recommend. |
Guilin Flowers
International Youth Hostel
Bad
room was cold, location not great and shared bathroom not good. Would not stay there again. |
|
1 March
in Guilin |
Private Car
Best
handy to have another luxurious ride for our stay in Guilin. |
Yes.
Best
Emily was like a ray of sunshine and so pleased to meet us and full of energy. |
Longji Ping’an Rice Terrace
Bad Unfortunately the clouds rolled in so we saw little and was very touristy compared to a place like Sapa in Vietnam. None of this was the fault of the organisation or guide though. |
Guilin Flowers
International Youth Hostel
Bad
room was cold, location not great and shared bathroom not good. |
|
2 March
Guilin to Yangshuo |
Private Car,
Walk to Hostel |
English Guide by boat
Ok
I don't really remember a guide apart from the guy on the microphone. |
Lijiang River on the boat
Good
Still impressive but rained the whole way. |
Yangshuo Flowers
International Youth Hostel
Good
nice enough hostel would stay there againa nd good location. |
|
3 March
in Yangshuo |
By bicycle |
No
English Tour Guide
SELF-TOUR |
Rent bicycle through Yangshuo
Good
got a cheap, basic mountain bike from the hostel. Had a fantastic day touring but would recommend going out on own and not following locals to the ever hassling bamboo raft wharfs unless you want to go rafting. Epic countryside and views. |
Yangshuo Flowers
International Youth Hostel
Good
nice enough hostel would stay there againa nd good location. |
|
4March
Yangshuo to Guilin |
Private Car from Yangshuo to Guilin,
Best
car was handy again.
By public bus to Flute Caves
Better
cheap and easy to find the caves. |
No
English Tour Guide
SELF-TOUR |
Flute Caves
Best
amazing and defo worth the money. Would go back there and got some amazing pics. |
Guilin Backstreet International Youth Hostel
Better
Much better than the previous hostel in Guilin so glad Benny moved us. Much better location. |
|
5 March
Fly from Guilin to Shanghai |
Take by taxi to airport
and by airplane from Guilin to Shanghai
Better
All smooth and easy and well organised at the best price. |
|
|
Shanghai Ming Town Hiker Youth Hostel
Better
great hostel would defo recommend it although dorm sleeping can mean someone snoring all night or worse but that's the same everywhere you go. They had china lonely planet's we could borrow and good facilities. |
|
6March
in Shanghai |
|
|
|
Shanghai Ming Town Hiker Youth Hostel |
|
7 March
in Shanghai |
|
|
|
Shanghai Ming Town Hiker Youth Hostel |
|
8 March
Fly from Shanghai to New Zealand |
|
|
|
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