Hi
ive just booked a RTW trip and travel agent infomred me I would need to purchase a tour priced £1200 for china as it would be too difficult for us to travel around given language barrier. also told us it would be difficult to get trains etc. from reading this forum it seems people have travelled it alone albeit with some difficulties. We are first time travellers and although I would like to travel it alone would like to get best expereince.
Can anyone help shed some light on this? any advice would be appreciated
Reply to this Hi Stephanie, you can do it on your own but you need to be well prepared. There are basically two difficulties - the size of the country and of the big cities, you can spend a lot of time just getting from one place to the next, even within a city. Secondly, the language barrier, although there it is improving don't expect to find many people speaking English. A tip - young well dressed women usually know at least some English and most Chinese people are friendly and helpful. Have all addresses written in Chinese. Get the Lonely Planet or Rough Guide on China, search the web for the places you are planning to visit. Find the sites for train and flight information to get an idea of the travel time between places. An idea may be to get a tour from a Chinese company for the first two-three days to get an introduction, there are many companies that have short tours at all price levels, and t then continue on your own. You can also buy local tours at your hotel/hostel in case you find it overwhelming to travel on buses/trains/motorcycle taxis. Train tickets is indeed a problem but usually hotels/hostels/travel agents can get them for you at a service fee, but you can't book in advance (though there is a website which can provide some tickets). Overland bus is also fine but do check how many hours the trip is lasting. Be aware of scams in the popular cities (Beijing, Xian, Shanghai), "students" approaching you, hawkers selling fake goods, taxi drivers approaching you (go to the taxi queue although it may be long, instead). In general though you feel very safe as a tourist in China, although people may be (too) curious. However, it probably helps to have some experience of traveling on your own in foreign countries, though I am sure that with a bit of adventure spirit you can do it.
have a nice trip
Inga
Reply to this Hi Stephanie, four weeks in China by yourself is quite fun. You can travel from Beijing, Xian, Guilin to Shanghai. Round Shanghai you can go the nearby cities and water towns like Huangshan, Zhouzhuang. The express train is convenient. You don't need to book the train ticket, but go to the station and buy the ticket directly. Young guys are friendly and helpful and many of them know English. Go to local travel agencies or company, and join Seat-in-coach tour is also a good choice. SIC tour only one or two days, within a city or nearby.
Reply to this Hi, I was also told by the travel agent that independent travel in China was difficult. I was quoted £949 for a 18 day trip from Beijing to Hong Kong. This includes all travel and accommodation.
I think that this is a very good deal and think i will take the tour.
Reply to this Guys, go independent....it's alot more fun! China is one of this places, like Vietnam where many people are afraid to travel on their own.
But you will gain a lot more, experience a lot more and have a lot more fun by travelling on your own.
More and more people speak english in China. I've lived there for years, and because of some laziness and alos du to the fact that I travel my fair share, never got on with the language. In tourist sites, it is never a problem.
Go independent, you'll love it!
Reply to this We agree with the above responses - independent travel in China is not difficult and is so much more enjoyable than the rushed and inflexible schedule of an organized - and more expensive - tour. My wife and I are "Seasoned Citizens" and recently spent 5 weeks traveling around China on our own without a problem.
We researched travel agents and hotels before we left and made a list. When it was time to move to the next city we hit an internet cafe and booked a hotel for our distination. Likewise for our flights.
Language is universal - pointing, pantomime, Lonely Planet, etc. whatever works. Look for the "Point-it" book which has hundreds of photos to refer to when everything else fails.
When we returned I gave a presentation at our local outfitter stores and prepared a list of the agencies, hotels, guides, etc. that we used. Contact me and I can send it to you.
Travel independently to China - you can do it! Enjoy
Roy
Reply to this The only difficulty travelling in China on your own is trying to organise the trains - you cannot prebook in advance, and you can only purchase them from the city of departure. However, it is possible to book internal flights from abroad from any destination.
To give you an idea on prices if you are backpacking in a private room - look at about $20-30 in most of the country per night, but double that for places such as Beijing and Shanghai. Food is very cheap compared to Western prices.
To support what Inga said about hawkers causing you problems - I have a rule when travelling throughout Asia and that is to be very wary of anyone who approaches you for any reason (unless you are obviously looking lost or befuddled by a train ticket machine). I would ignore anyone who approaches you for the reasons of taxi rides, tours, artwork, shops or anything else. Like most of the world, it is not the cultural norm to approach a visitor in that way to offer assistance - and if it does occurs, just say no.
As for the language, you will find that locals who are learning English will jump at the opportunity to practice it on you - so don't be too fearful of the language barrier - just bring a good phrase book and point to the relevant words if you need to.
Reply to this Hello Stephanie 😊
For sure there will be the language difficulty, but you can still travel independently in China. Get a copy of a guide book like the Rough Guide. Dont take the Lonely Planet guide book, because I heard the Chinese authorities are confiscating it from people entering China with it.
For the language difficulties, ask the people in your hotel or hostel to write down what you want, when you are going to buy train tickets etc, or else point out the name of the place in Chinese in your guidebook or on a map to the train ticket seller. As regards the language difficulty others things are not too bad. Say the name of the hotel you are going to when you get to someplace, and somebody will know it. And buying things is easy. The vendor will usually show you the price on a calculator. If you dont like the price, you can name a different one, on the same calculor.
Mel
Reply to this I would add two suggestions to Mel's excellent advice.
When you check into a hotel grab their business card and make sure everyone in your group keeps it on them at all times. They are in Chinese and English so can be shown to a taxi driver when returning to the hotel.
Also when booking most hotels online they will provide a printable form with their address in Chinese to use for directing the taxi driver. If you purchase a map, say Beijing, get one that has English and Chinese descriptions.
Go for it and have fun.
Roy
Reply to this short comment - don't expect to be able to pronounce Chinese words and people will understand, believe me they will not as the Chinese language is a tonal language correct pronounciation is impossible for us Westerners. So, have all addresses and other important information written down and you will be fine.
Reply to this Another note on the language barrier, one good thing about the Chinese is they really want to understand/help you. So they wont just give up on you or ignore you like some Europeans can do. I swear some times I found it easier using signs to explain a Beijing taxi driver where I was going than ordering an ice cream in Rome...
But yea get that card from the hotel/hostel/wherever you stay to show the taxi when you wanna get back to your bed and get the staff where you live to write down where you wanna go in Chinese. Pointing at a map can work, but a lot of the taxi drivers are not familiar with maps it seems so writing it down is really the way to go.
As for the price of that tour, I think that is more than I spent for a 17 days trip to China including the plane tickets...
Edit:
Never took the train, but getting bus tickets was always easy. Just show up at the station, look confused and someone will point you in the right direction 😊
Reply to this Im currently in Beijing and I have travelled from Hong Kong to Xi'an, Beijing and I'm tonight off to Shanghai.. Most travel has been done by overnight sleeper trains.. This is the best way to travel I think.. Ive been using the Lonely Planet guide to find hostels and hotels which can be booked via the internet. Train ticket terminals usually have an english speaking person working in it (ok basic english.. but you can get by). The train stations can be difficult as only the train number and time are in English.. so you will need to flag someone english speaking to find where the trains go from. In short.. you can get around.. but it takes a bit of work ! I'm not an overly experienced traveller.. this has been my most challenging trip.. but its also been the best experience.. so I would say go for it. The organised tours are massively overpriced..and you can organise everything that you get in that tour by using the lonely planet guide..
hope this is helpful.. my advice.. just go for it! China is an amazing country.. and if you can get used to the staring, grunting, spitting and smog.. you will be fine !!
Chris
Reply to this Go on your own if you are a very experienced traveller. If you are not, China is not only tough to get around or it can even become very fustrating, but also you will miss a lot good stuff. My best advice is do group tour for your first trip and go back on your own. Yes, China is worth going back a few times since it is so big and so many cool spots to see. Not to mention the food!!! You always need to know a local to find the best food.
Reply to this If you have 4 weeks, and are not a very experienced traveller, you might consider a SHORT tour with an outfit like Intrepid or GAP for part of the time. I did this when I first started to travel and it was very helpful - lots of free time, pretty informal, and essentially they cover your transport and accommodation, plus a bit of a comfort level when arriving in a place where the alphabet is unrecognizable! I looked at it as providing me with a soft landing and that is exactly what it was - I then went on to travel on my own in the country. Price for these were very reasonable at the time - not sure about today.
Anyway, it can definitely be done on your own, no question. But if you want to maximize your time, or you are relatively new to travel, hooking up with a small group tour for a short period of time can be good value. I am not talking about an "on the bus, off the bus" large group package tour here though - no no no.
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