Frequently asked questions

Our trips suit first-time visitors, families with children and travellers over 60 who want a fixed pace; about 70% of our guests are visiting China for the first time. Every departure is private, so we slow down or push on without negotiating with a group.

Send an enquiry and we reply within 12 hours with a draft itinerary; you then pay a 20% deposit to confirm. The balance is due 21 days before departure. Everything is confirmed in writing, including hotel names and your guide's mobile number.

A 20% deposit confirms your booking and the remaining 80% falls due 21 days before departure. Bookings made inside 21 days are payable in full. We quote in US dollars and lock the price at confirmation, so currency moves are ours.

We accept Visa, Mastercard, bank transfer, and Alipay or WeChat Pay for on-trip extras. Card payments carry a 3% processing fee; bank transfers carry none. All prices are quoted in US dollars and confirmed in writing before you pay.

Change your dates free of charge up to 30 days before departure; between 30 and 14 days there is a 10% rebooking fee. Inside 14 days we treat it as a cancellation, because hotels and train tickets are already committed.

Children under 3 travel free if they share a bed; ages 3 to 11 pay 70% of the adult price for their own bed; 12 and over pay the full rate. Every family day includes one hard stop, a playground and a non-spicy meal option.

A single room supplement applies only if you want your own room: typically US$45 to US$90 per night, depending on city and hotel grade. Travellers happy to share, or travelling as three in one room, avoid the supplement entirely.

Travel insurance is not included but we require it, and we ask for your policy number before departure. Our own cover handles guide liability; yours should cover medical evacuation, because private hospitals in China ask for payment up front.

Southern China reaches 30–35°C at 80% humidity in summer, so we start days at 08:00 and build in a midday break. Above 3,000 m we add a rest day, keep walks short and carry oxygen. Declare heart or lung conditions before booking.

We are a licensed inbound operator based in China, not a reseller: we hold our own licence, employ 10 guides directly and run about 400 private departures a year. You deal with one planner from the first email to the airport drop-off.

A private 8-day trip costs US$1,600–2,600 per person for two travellers, roughly US$200–325 per day, including hotels, guide, transport and most meals. A 14-day journey runs US$3,200–5,400. International flights are not included.

Included are 4- and 5-star hotels with breakfast, a private vehicle and driver, a licensed guide, all entrance tickets, domestic flights or high-speed rail, and one main meal daily. Not included are international flights, visas and drinks.

Our departures are private: just your party, usually 2 to 8 people, in a vehicle sized to fit. We never merge strangers into a group. Larger families of 9 to 16 travel in a minibus with a second guide from day four.

Yes; most itineraries absorb one extra city without changing shape, because high-speed rail covers Beijing–Xi'an in 4.5 hours and Shanghai–Hangzhou in 1 hour. Adding a city costs roughly US$220–380 per person per day.

Peak season is April–May and September–October; low season is January–February and late November. The same itinerary can differ by 15–25% between the two, almost entirely hotel rates. National holidays in early May and early October add 10–20%.

Most days involve 4 to 7 km of walking on flat, paved ground at your own pace. Two itineraries are genuinely strenuous: the Great Wall ridge walks and Zhangjiajie's 5- to 6-hour mountain days. We grade every route and offer a shorter alternative.

Breakfast is included daily; we arrange one main meal a day, chosen with you, and leave the rest open. Allergy and dietary notes go to the restaurant in Chinese before you sit down. Vegetarian, halal and gluten-free are all workable.

Yes. About one traveller in six is solo and pays the single supplement plus a solo rate roughly 30–40% above the per-person price for two. We never add strangers to your vehicle, your room or your restaurant table.

Your guide meets you in your hotel lobby at the confirmed time, holding a card with your name. We collect from central hotels free; hotels beyond the city centre cost US$20–40 extra, or we switch to a metro-station meeting point.

City days depart at 08:00 and Great Wall trips at 07:00, timed to arrive 30–45 minutes ahead of the main crowds. Sunrise and evening departures are available on request at no extra charge, subject to site opening hours.

All day tours include lunch, chosen on the day from two or three nearby restaurants we have already tested. Drinks and alcohol are not included. Tell us about allergies when booking and the kitchen will be briefed in Chinese in advance.

Children under 1.2 m enter most sites free; 1.2 to 1.4 m pays around half price. Under-3s join our day tours free. Child seats are available on request at US$15 each, and we recommend one for any child under six.

Cancel 48 hours or more before pickup for a full refund; within 48 hours we refund 50%, because tickets and the vehicle are already committed. No-shows are not refunded. Cancellations we make for weather are refunded in full.

Yes. Our vehicles take up to four large suitcases plus hand luggage, and we routinely build airport or station transfers into a day tour. Tell us the bag count at booking so we send the right vehicle rather than a sedan.