Reviews

I could not be more complementary or positive about the service I had from Cheryl. I initially made contact with a view to discussing options and found Cheryl incredibly helpful and customer focused. She talked me through the options and even suggested a slightly different tour might fit our needs more once I highlighted what we were looking for from the tour. There was no pressure selling or chasing me to make a booking which I appreciated as I wanted time to reflect.
When I contacted Cheryl for the second time to confirm our booking (the one she recommended) she again was very thorough, professional, courteous and efficient and made the booking process very simple. Thank you Cheryl for all your help, you are a great ambassador for Wendy Wu Tours.

A fantastic holiday experience with Wendy Wu which far exceeded our expectations. Our National Guide was an expert who was totally professional & ensured that we had a totally immersive experience free from any worries. The value for money was incredible and we enjoyed quality accommodation and travel arrangements. We learnt so much about China - its history, peoples, geography, etc.

Very well organised tour with excellent guide however the food was very disappointing for our vegetarian daughter. She was fed up of being served pasta and salad. She was looking forward to sampling ramen and cucumber sushi however this was never on the menu. It’s a shame as Japan is a paradise for foodies.

I did two adventures back-to-back with a two-day break in between. I loved both tours - quite different in terms of style. China we had a national guide travelling with us and local guides taking us around the sites. For Japan, we had a national guide that doubled as our local guide. All the guides spoke exceptional English and were friendly and professional and extremely knowledgeable. The days are quite busy - most starts were around 8.30/9.00am and often finished by 5.00pm. I loved it all - I enjoy walking and experiencing/seeing different activities, temples, cultures etc. Be prepared for stairs and needing to take shoes off at temples. Not a whole lot of free time, but it is factored in. One thing for sure - you will NEVER go hungry on a WW tour! Bring elasticised pants with you! The hotels were fabulous - largish rooms, good amenities, bottled/filtered water available. Many had in-house washers and dryers. Swimming in hotel pools is difficult - in China one of the hotels required me to wear a swim cap and in Japan, the pools are Onsen and male and female are separate, and you need to bathe nude - something I was not aware of. Some of the hotels are located a fair way out from the CBD/main city areas so not much to do or shop at in the evenings. The transport was great - modern, clean buses with professional drivers. Bullet train experiences were great. We did a metro ride in Japan. Everything is taken care of - all you need to do is be at the meeting spots on time and the rest is taken care of. Definitely get what you pay for - service, professionalism and a good time!

friendly, informed staff. professional presentation. very enjoyable experience

Service that could not be faulted

Very helpful and happy to spend as much time as you need to sort out your trip away how best it works for you.

Julia handled booking our reservation professionally and courteously, this made the whole process easy to do. Julia answered all our questions in a polite and professional manner, which is always reassuring when booking.

Overall well plan itinerary. Room for improvement:
Too busy n full back to back schedule for the 9 days experience.
Suggestions:
Include 1 day free time for rest or self activity out of the 9 days.
Food:
Excellent 3 meals.
Observe that meals are cooked differently in Shanghai, Xian, Beijing. But is all similar. For example: eggplant nearly every day , but cook differently!

Peking duck is supposed to be the Highlight in Beijing.
But the skin is very ‘fatty’n not crispy at all. I did not enjoy the Peking duck dinner.
Excessive chillies added on the last dinner in Beijing will then lead to pple not enjoying the dinners due to over spicy taste.
Would be good to plan for 1 or 2 “no lunches”included days to reduce cost and allow for everyone to explore snacks and street food. Tour guides can recommend local foods like in Nanjing road as an example.

Too much detailed histories from some guides.On very hot days, show consideration to elderly people. Too detailed histories n information at ‘forbidden city’ n ‘Tiananmen’ on a day with high temperatures.
Terracotta Army visit was interesting and knowledgeable for me.

One recommendation:
Optional itinerary for foot or body massage to help with relaxation and promote western knowledge of Chinese ancient therapy on healing thru massages.

The groups leader, Mr Hoffman, was extraordinarily good. He was helpful, knowledgeable with a fine sense of humour. Mr Hoffman clearly loved his country and shared this passion with us.
Mr Hoffman was able to navigate areas of high tourist interest with skill, allowing us to see the beautiful sights of China in relative peace, away from the usual tourist hustle and bustle, even though this often meant early mornings. Mr Hoffman is a skilled tour guide. He was so responsive to personal needs, finding information and responding to guest’s personal needs. His skills really made the trip for us.
The use of Bullet trains gave us a wonderful opportunity to see China as it moves forward.
The trip, although fast and furious gave us an amazing insight into China, with all the sights we wanted to see.
The trip gives a great taster, leaving us wanting more.
When you go, look out for the amazing toilets, with heated seats and other ‘options’ for personal hygiene!!

The online booking process is straightforward and intuitive and all the information you need is readily to hand. Once the booking has been made, the relevant documentation is sent immediately to your inbox, and the next stages are clearly set out. Further management of your booking is facilitated my means of a useful Customer Portal. I have previously had two superbly organised and enriching adventures with Wendy Wu and am looking forward to this one.

Joe Day very helpful & knowledgeable.

Mongolia is a beautiful country and its people are wonderful, cheerful, and very friendly to tourists.
My fellow travelers were a mix of Brits and Aussies - always a happy, friendly, inclusive crowd.
Wendy Wu's itinerary is great.
Our Mongolian tour guide was cheerful, had good English, was very attentive, and was VERY knowledgeable about Mongolia and its history.
The accommodation is good, but one must bear in mind that in the areas we traveled outside the capital, Ulaanbaatar, hotels (let alone high quality ones) are not available, and when chatting with travelers on other companies' tours, it became clear that Wendy Wu's selection of yurt accommodation was aimed at the best available in the area. All yurts (called "gers" in Mongolia) except one, had en-suite toilet, washbasin, and shower.
Mongolian food is basic (not much can grow on the steppe except grass), but for those who wanted to try the local food, this was often available, otherwise European-style food was available. Wendy Wu documentation does encourage you to bring your favourite snacks with you.
Beer is available at most of the places we stopped at, and wine was also available, but less frequently. Bottles of water were provided, free, throughout the tour.
Mongolia only has one major city, its capital. Roads quickly petered out beyond the region of the capital. Wendy Wu drove us around in a fleet of Lexus 4-wheel drive vehicles, which are probably as good as you are going to get. These vehicles took a hammering when driving over the dirt tracks of the steppe [as seen on the latest series of the BBC program "Race across the world"], but luckily the Lexus shielded its occupants from the worst of this. Nevertheless, I would advise people who suffer from travel sickness not to come to Mongolia until the network of roads is extended a lot further. Note that if you are staying only in Ulaanbaatar then the roads are fine.
This is a holiday/tour I can recommend to all adventurous, experienced travelers who want to go somewhere really different.