Reviews

This was an enjoyable, informative, interesting and, sometimes, extremely beautiful experience. However, I was denied the spoken commentary, and sometimes important information, unless in transit on the coach; because the 'Whisper' system is not compatible with hearing aids, and I am hearing impaired. Although, I find the total dependence on such systems (given poor signals and inferior sound quality) is a very mixed 'blessing'. Our guide, who, in all other regards was exemplary; intended, I believe, to offer me brief summaries or other assistance, but mostly either forgot or was too busy, which is understandable in the circumstances. Constructively, I would urge a greater awareness of hearing impaired travellers' needs. The only other improvements I might suggest would be a more traditional setting for the tea ceremony experience, and serious consideration regarding the purpose of driving to the 5th Station on Mount Fuji which seemed to be a waste of, always precious, time.

Grand Tour of China - April 2025
This was an exceptional tour, with a wide variety of sight seeing to suit all tastes - cultural, natural, historical, shopping and so much more.
Our group of 15 ranged from early 50's to 80 and all managed the level of activity because there were options at each site based on ability. That said there are quite a few steps wherever you go in China.
We really felt that we'd been able to experience the culture (and sub cultures of each province) on this tour and it very much lived up to expectations. If you can take the time out to do this - absolutely would recommend.
It was very well organised and our national guide - Ryan - was brilliant, and the local guides (one in each location) added local flavour and information.

Some hints & tips if you're thinking about booking this trip
* Flights - If you can, upgrade to Premium Economy, it's worth it for the long flight. Also, check the flight times you're provided and make sure they're suitable. We ended up with a midnight flight home, and the tour officially finishes at breakfast on the last day, so we arranged a visit to the zoo ourselves, but otherwise we would have been hanging around at the hotel until collection at 7pm
* Packing - get out what you think you need then reduce by at least a third. All the hotels have laundry service and one even had self-service free washers/dryers and detergent provided. It's very casual, and sometimes you go straight to dinner from touring so you don't need clothes to change for dinner. If you can pack in a medium case (instead of large) you'll find it easier when you're moving around between locations, and packing cubes are a god send.
* Internal transfers - these were smooth, flights, trains and coaches. Train stations in China are like airport terminals, you're scanned on the way in (and your bags are too). Also don't get caught out like we did - on trains you're not allowed any pressurised containers over 150ml (and they will pick you up on it), so think deodorant, hair spray, shaving gel - travel size is best
* Staying connected - we used an unlimited data e-sim from Holafly, £60 each for 30 days. Worked like a dream. Some others used VPNs but these were patchy. Without either of these, even with hotel wifi you won't be able to connect to Google, What's App, Facebook etc
* Food & drink - We never went hungry. Breakfasts are mainly asian, but also some western options (fried/boiled eggs, toast, croissants). Lunch and dinner are all chinese, family service. You will eat a lot of rice, noddles. There was lots of fresh veg as well, and a fish eating veggie in our group was well catered for. There is limited choice for drinks, most of our group had local beers (about £1.50 on average per 500ml bottle), soft drinks you could have coke or sprite (or coconut milk/water). These again were about £1 for a 330ml can. Don't expect diet alternatives.
* Mindset - don't think of this as a "holiday" that is restful. Think of it as an adventure. Some days we walked over 20,000 steps, other days only 4,500. Some mornings we met in reception as early as 7am, others not til 9.30am. One flight meant leaving the hotel at 4.30am (as it was the only flight from that city to the next - one flight a day)! Temperatures ranged from early 30's to mid teens, and we were blessed with only two drizzly days. Some locations have high humidity. You also need to be ready to be considered unusual - a spectacle - by the locals. Not all the places visit have lots of western tourists. I don't think I've had my photo taken by as many people in my entire life as I did in these 4 weeks. From school children in a museum being fascinated with us, to adults in the street wanting selfies (or trying to take them on the sly) - go with the flow and you'll enjoy it.
* Crowds - some of the places we visit are very crowded (partly due to the increase in domestic tourism in China), and they don't have the same culture of queuing/patience as we might have in the UK. They travel in large groups, and are often very noisy (large tour groups using loud speakers), Our guides and the timings we had for visits made the most of trying to avoid this, but you do need to think differently when in a crowd if you want to get to "the front" to see something!
* Optional extras - the night tour in Xian is an absolute MUST, we did some of the evening shows and not others depending on how tired we were. If you're a train fan, the optional trip on the MagLev in Shanghai was worth it.

I’ve had the pleasure of dealing with Natasha, she has been more than helpful and patient with me while I’ve thought about the new tours I’ve wanted to book ! Always a pleasure and can’t wait for 2026 adventures and 5 Wendy Wu Tours to tick off the bucket list

Our tour guide George Pu added such value to our trip. His knowledge was invaluable. The content of the tour was excellent. The split flight home was not good.

Our guide George made our holiday a success. He was desperate to make sure we were all happy and did everything he could to help from carrying our bags to buying from the vending machine on our behalf when it only accepted Alipay. George was always on hand and tried his best to ensure we had a great time. His instructions were sometimes confusing, telling different people different times to meet. On a few occasions George would say he would wait for people or with the bags but he left.
Our best local guide was Jasper in Chengdu.
It was frustrating that we had no free time to explore Chongqing as George got lost.
The food was very plentiful and tasty but it was very difficult to identify vegetarian options.
George was poorly for several days but soldiered on, making sure it didn’t spoil our trip, however he had no idea of personal space which was very uncomfortable, especially when he was clearly unwell.
The optional excursions were not explained very well in the Wendy Wu literature and it was difficult to decide which to go on.
George’s lesson in Mah-jong on the boat was an added bonus.
Having done just one excursion with ‘young George’ I found him to be more informative and willing to talk about real life in China.
I was disappointed not to spend longer with the pandas. We did not need an hour and a half for lunch, we would have been happy with a sandwich at the train station.
The trip is very intense with so many amazing things to do, when travelling from Xian to Beijing with had no activities at all and I know the group would have preferred a later train with the opportunity for a lie in.
In Xian we were deposited at a pottery and lacquer shop for nearly an hour to be sold to and similarly I would have liked longer at the Wall and to have skipped the Jade hard sell. At the Terracotta soldiers we were told to stay together and that there was no time to visit the gift shop or the market but then proceeded to stand around for at least 15min waiting for something? It would have been nice to be treated like adults a little more, be given a time and location to meet and spend our time as we wished. This happed at the Great Wall and everyone got to do what they wanted.
Whilst the hotels selected were generally fabulous their locations always seemed to be a long way from any life (shops & bars) so we were a bit stuck in our rooms when not on excursions.
These are all areas I think the tour could be improved but it was still a once in a lifetime experience!
Well that really was amazing. Phenomenal sites including the Terracotta Warriors, the Great Wall, 3 Gorges Dam and Giant Pandas old and young. We met loads of locals who love to meet a ‘big nose’ foreigner and have a photo. I ate my own body weight in boiled rice! We made some new friends and have some. Very special memories.

been with them before

Wendy Wu Tours provide excellent tours. The staff when booking are extremely helpful and courteous. The tour packages are good value with exceptional guiding provided. Itineraries are packed and the transportation within the country is always clean, hotels are excellent and the food is varied giving you a chance to experience the different cuisines throughout the country. I personally cannot fault Wendy Wu Tours.

A first class holiday featuring an itinerary that includes an interesting mix of cultural sites, with a top class guide (giving us detailed information on the sites we are about to visit, and personal insights into the life of the locals, the current political & economic situation of the country) and staying in excellent hotels.
The food was all good, with most meals featuring a buffet with a mix of Western and Sri Lankan dishes.
All transport was in a good coach (with the necessary first-class driver and driver's helper), which had air-conditioning

An excellent holiday, where the food was always plentiful and of very high quality, the places and events were all world class and stunning in their beauty.
The organisation was always perfect and explanations were always on hand. The value felt unbeatable and the single bad thing is, all my future holidays could end up being disappointing compared to this one.

The buildings and cities were wonderful as was the guide, his knowledge of the history of Uzbekistan was amazing.
I personally found the detailed descriptions of every where we went a bit excessive but my wife thought it amazing

Busy tour of many historic and picturesque sights of Honshu. Travelling mainly by bus - but plenty of spare seats so not crowded - which has the advantage of being able to go through and stop in the mountains which wouldn't be so easy with a rail tour. Excellent guide - knowledgeable and entertaining. Hotels were mainly big international tourist branded chains - mostly good with a couple more average. Breakfasts catered for just about every nationality and taste. Food was mainly Japanese - deliberately as varied as they could make it but it helps if you like fish - with the occasional western style meal. Many of the stops had large tourist shops and there were other opportunities for shopping and wandering around on one's own. I recommend adding a day before and/or after the tour and also Tokyo National Museum where we went on our last day. Altogether memorable.

We went to so many of the most iconic, and deservedly so, places in this stunning country. Everything was perfectly arranged and managed day-to-day by our in-country guide, Coco, to give us the very best experience. So many wonderful memories - no downsides anywhere in the whole 18 days.