Hi Polly,

Yes, we used China Holidays for our trip to China in Sept 06 and I can't recommend them highly enough. It's a family business and their reps regularly visit China. This is a link to my trip report to give you an idea of what we did - http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=85325

Rather than go on one of their packages we had them tailor make a trip for us. We had a dedicated rep who helped us plan our trip and sort our visa. We weren't part of a group and had a private guide and car in each city except Hong Kong. This worked really well for us as we could go at our own pace, weren't rushed around anywhere and could avoid those factory trips.
Give me a shout if have any specific questions.

My cousin went on Archers 22 day tour to China last September.She swears by this company and has been all over the world with them.We were going to go with them but unfortunately is clashed with my daughters "big" birthday.

Thanks for the replies.

As a result of a reply on another website, we're now questioning whether we really do want to include a Yangtze cruise so I'll look at these companies again and see what alternative tours they offer.

For info:
I got 2 positive views on Archers and one on VJV (as well as these 2).

Thanks again
Polly

My brother did a tour of China and Tibet with Travelsphere 4 or 5 years ago and said they were excellent.

However they were the only ones in the party that didnt' have their travel dates changed by TS.

luci

The first time I went to China was with Kuoni. The tour was very extensive, I thoroughly enjoyed it and everything went smoothly and although it was getting on for twenty years ago I would imagine that Kuoni's tours still run to the same high standard.

Polly, we had a day cruising the Li River fromn Guilin so that may be an option for you instead of the Yangtze

Hi Puddleduck
We'd already got Guilin planned in addition to the Yangtze cruise (which is looking increasingly dubious).
The more I dug into it the less we were sure that we really wanted to do the cruise.
I got some negative comments about it from other websites, and I read that when the Dam is completed it will only raise the water levels by an extra 25 metres than it currently is (apparently it's already been raised by 150 metres).
So, I think we'll miss that out and if in a few years time we get chance to go back to China, we may do the cruise then as it seems that the biggest change in water levels has already happened.
A lot of people have said that 4 nights cruise is too much as part of a tour.
Did you do the Yangtze cruise? If so, when and what did you think about it?

Regards

PrettyPollyCat

I wouldn't do both Guillin and the Yangtze on the same trip,choose one or the other and I would say Guillin.. My first holiday in China included Guillin. The second time I went some years later was just a few days in Beijing and the four night Yangtze cruise and looking back I'm glad I didn't do both on the first trip. I did enjoy the cruise but I think it works better as part of a not too extensive tour.

Hi Polly - no we only did the day on the Li River (which was beautiful)

Miya - I'm not sure but I dont think mods allow advertising like this on here so may remove your post.