Tour reviews and feedbacks from our former clients in July, 2009.
Mr. Michael 's China Tour Review
Dear Ivy and Tracy,
Thank you so much for organizing our wonderful trip to China. The guide service was excellent. Their English was outstanding – sometimes had to ask them to repeat what they said and then we told them how to say it properly. They all liked us to correct their speech and we all had a good laugh. We really loved Cindy in Beijing. She was just like our own daughters. She shared her life and family experiences with us which was really special for us. We were sad to say goodbye to her. All the guides were very knowledgeable not just about their own city but past and current China and neighbouring countries as well. Nick in Chongqing stands out in our mind too. He talked about his own son and his love of Australian animals and how he has started to teach his 5 year old son English. All the guides took us to the places we wanted to see even if they had to arrange their planned schedule eg. In Guilin, because of the heat we did not go on bicycle tour but went to Tea University instead. We loved this excursion and bought some good tea. We have been to many factories over the years in Asia so we have seen so many factories already. The guides never forced us to go any shops but they did suggest them to us.
All the drivers were very nice and helpful with our luggage and opening and closing doors. Their English was not very good but they conversed well with the guides so we did not have to speak with them very much anyhow. All the vehicles were comfortable and very clean and air con was always on for us when we returned to car. Water was available for us in the vehicles as well.
Everything was very well organized. Restaurants were good. Even though we love Chinese food and go to a Beijing restaurant in Brisbane, we are not used to so much Chinese food however. We might eat it once a week at home but certainly not twice a day. This is why we enjoyed going to the dumpling restaurant in Beijing because it was different food. Most of the dishes served to us were the same in each city. We would have enjoyed a hot pot meal if it had been offered to us. We understand that meals are difficult to order because of the language barrier, but would be nice to have experienced a greater variety. The meals were very large as well. We would not normally eat so much especially for lunch and we were embarrassed to leave so much on the table uneaten.
The hotels were good. Some were better than others. In Beijing the hotel was a good 3 star hotel with a view over the crossroads and cathedral and located very close to subway which was excellent. Free internet using the flat screen TV was a nice bonus. We used the subway every day. The overnight train to Xi’an was very clean and cabins were small but nice. We were happy that we purchased 4 tickets so that we did not have to share cabin. I think the cabins are too small to share! There is nowhere to store your luggage. In Xi’an the hotel was a little small, old and dark with no view but had a fantastic location and free internet. The Guilin hotel was very good and perhaps our favorite. The location was fantastic and our room was large with a fine view of the bridge, streets and rivers and free internet. Maybe we were just lucky to get that room. I would have said that it was more like a 4 star hotel. The President 4 cruise boat cabin was nice too. However, we were offered an upgrade for 800 yuan to a deluxe suite so we took that. This suite was bigger (separate sitting area) with a free bottle of wine, fruit basket everyday, large balcony and free water. The towels were changed twice a day was good too. They even straightened your bed for you at the end of the day! Your laundry was collected everyday to be washed and ironed for 160 yuan for the entire cruise. The hotel in Shanghai was also very nice in a good location at the beginning of The Bund. This hotel was 4 stars but we had to pay 50 yuan for internet every day but that was okay. This hotel also had the best TV stations for overseas visitors. (HBO). We used the swimming pool as well. This was the only hotel that had a pool but you must wear a swimming cap which is foreign to us! They also have a fantastic outdoor deck and restaurant on the 26th floor with great views of Shanghai especially at night. However, the walk to the subway was a little far. We used the subway everyday and just hailed a taxi or three wheel bike to transfer to and from the hotel. It was very hot to walk but in winter I think it would be okay.
We did appreciate the water given to us during the day. Sometimes the guides gave them to us separately and sometimes all at once. We loved the guides who purchased the water cold for us during the day as we needed it. In Australia we all drink our water icy cold!!
We would love to share some of our 696 photos with you. We have many beautiful photos of China and its special places.
You have our permission to use us as a reference for future clients. You may post any of our comments on the website as well. Please feel free to change our wording if that suits your purpose. Please give our email to potential clients as well if they would like to contact us personally. We have no hesitation in recommending your travel company to any potential future clients. I have already posted excellent comments and contact details for your company on Facebook in Australia. It is a shame that you do not have this website in China. It is an excellent no cost way of advertising! I am planning to email details about your company to the Travel Editor of our major weekend Brisbane newspaper this week as well. This newspaper has a lift-out section on travel and invites people to email their travel experiences both good and bad and is very popular reading for Queenslanders.
Thank you so much for organizing the return of my wallet left in the hotel room by mistake in Shanghai. Best wishes to the cleaning staff who found my wallet and handed it in to hotel staff for safe keeping. Thank you for your phone call to Australia to let me know that the wallet was found and to confirm my forwarding address.
My husband and myself are both in our mid 50’s and have travelled the world and Asia extensively. We are fairly adventurous and normally do not travel on a tour as such. We never go on bus tours. We always travel independently. However, on good advice from my Chinese school teacher friends, we were advised to not travel China without some sort of help. This is when I decided to surf the web and find a company that offered tours with minimal intervention. www.chinatouronline.com was the answer I was looking for. The balance of private tours (driver, guide, myself and husband) and our own independent travel was perfect. China is not an easy country to travel in without some help due to the language barrier and the sheer size and population of the country. While we made our way around independently on most days, it was very nice to be given train tickets in our hands, given a map with points of interest circled on the map and the nearest subway located by the guide, being told the day before what airline to catch (E ticketing) and basically being taken from A to B. We would recommend that future travellers (on limited time) to China who ‘like to do their own thing’ travel on a private guided tour as organized by chinatouronline.com.
Best Regards,
Michael
Customer's information:
Name: Mr. Michael
Nationality: Australia
Itinerary: 14 Days China Highlights Tour with Yangtze Cruise
Updated: Tuesday,Jul 27,2010
Sam's China Tour Review
Dear Cindy Chang & Sophia Sun
Sorry for delay but we were very busy when we came to Prague... We would like to thank you for arrangement of marvellous holiday which was one of the best in our live. We will never forget China and nice people living there as well as breath taking historical sights or technological achievements.
We were satisfied with the guide’s service, the best one was guider in Lhasa. But it doesn’t mean that others were bad. We received water every day in all destination, and vehicle clean and equipped with air-conditioners.
We did shop twice in Beijing, once in Lhasa nad XIAN. We undertand your question and it is clear that guiders in all the world are motivated to take customers to special shops or restaurant. But we did not oppose guider’s suggeston to visit these shops, moreover during the visit we were informed about some Chinese tradition and finally we enjoyd it. We didn’t feel presssed to buy anything so that we bought only what we were impressed with.
All lunches and dinners were delicious. Moreover in cooperation with guider we had a chance to exclude what we don’t like so much (like fish).
All hotels are well located (public transportation, shops, centre of the city, interesting points) and equiped with good services. For our sort of travelers (budget) it is suitable selection.
Many greetings from Jan. I am convinced that celebration of his 13th birthday will stay in his memory for ever.
Best regards
Sam
Customer's information:
Name: Sam
Nationality: Czech
Itinerary: Beijing-Lhasa-Xian-Shanghai Tour
Updated: Thursday,Jul 15,2010
Mrs. Denise's China Tour Review
Dear Chinatouronline,
Thank You so much for every thing you have done to make our vacation so memoriable.We enjoyed every minute and our grandson had an awsome time as well.Your company was the only one that was willing to work with us on including him on our vacation.
As far as the tour and cruise was concerned the tour guides were very polite and knowledgable, Jason being the best.Jason also spoke english and his understanding of english was the best of all the tour guides.
All the Hotels were beautiful and all 5 stars. We Have nothing bad to say of the hotels.
The Cruise Ship was perfect and we had no complaints.
The drivers were polite and kind.
The bottle water provided should be cold or on ice for very warm days, western people enjoy ice cold beverages.
We will send pictures and photos soon for you to use and yes you may use my comments.
Thank you very much
Denise
Customer's information:
Name: Mrs. Denise
Nationality: United States
Itinerary: Beijing-Xian-Chongqin-Yangzte River Cruise-Yichang-Shanghai
Updated: Wednesday,Jul 14,2010
Mr. Roy Hirst & Mrs. Denise Hirst's China Tour Review
Dear Ivy and Tracy,
We had a wonderful tour and thank you for your excellent arrangements. I cannot thank you both enough. The saddest part of the tour was when I had to say goodbye. As I have said before, I will definitely use CTO again.
I will also be sending you more detailed reviews of the separate stages in our tour and hope that they will be useful. I must also thank you both personally, not only for the excellent arrangements but also for the personal interest you showed during the compilation of the itinerary and later by meeting us and providing us with a very memorable evening. The saddest part of our whole tour was having to say goodbye. I sincerely hope we will meet again and that we will be able to spend more time with you both. I will write to you both personally later this week.
Here I would like to review my trip as below:
All vehicles were clean and tidy. All had air conditioning. We had five different vehicles during the tour and there were no problems at all.
We felt that all drivers were excellent, drove carefully and considerately and were polite and courteous. Some had limited English but this never presented any problem.
Generally speaking, all guides spoke clearly and were polite and were able to be understood. Naturally there were differences and some were better than others, but there were no serious problems with any of the guides. I have given more detail in my separate stage by stage reviews.
We received at least two bottles of water per day. In some sections the amount varied and was not always two bottles per person per day but we always had sufficient.
We had no complaints about any particular restaurant. We were happy with all the food and service. Naturally some stood out as better than others and the guides had different methods of instructing the waiters as to what was required, some being better than others. Most guides returned to the table during the meal to check that everything was satisfactory. All restaurants were generally clean and tidy but some stood out as considerably better than others. All the food we were offered was good and there were always sufficient dishes to ensure that there would always be something we found suited our taste. There were no problems with any of the waiters or waitresses, all were polite and considerate and as would be expected, some were better than others. The restaurant which stood out as being most memorable as that in Yichang.
I would like to praise Ivy Lu and Tracy Liu for their unceasing patience and understanding whilst planning this tour and CTO for their kind consideration when I had initial difficulties in arranging payment.
I would also praise Linda in Yichang and Judy in Chongqing as being outstanding, each in their own way.
Customer's information:
Name: Mr. Roy Hirst & Mrs. Denise Hirst
Nationality: United Kingdom
Itinerary: 14 Days China Essence Tour with Yangtze Cruise
Updated: Wednesday,Jul 22,2009
Mr John OMeara and Mrs Lynne OMeara's China Tour Review
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| Our clients in Yuyuan Garden |
Dear Tracy and Ivy,
Sorry that we have not replied in time - we are still traveling and are currently in Thailand. We really loved our trip with your company and have been telling everyone about your business. You really ensured that we were well taken care of! Thank you very much for all the time and trouble you went to ensure that our holiday was so good. We would like to come back to China one day to do another trip and to revisit some areas - your company will certainly be the first place we shall contact.
All tour guides spoke excellent English and we had no problems with communication. Their knowledge of China was excellent and we found them all very friendly and attentive and that every one of them ensured that all our travel needs were attended to.
All the restaurants were very good and we found our meals of a very high quality and suited to our tastes. We were particularly impressed with the restaurants where we were given private rooms - these seemed to have particularly sumptuous banquets. Most restaurants gave us two free drinks and most gave unlimited tea. If we had to pick one out as better than the others, we would probably say the restaurant in Chongqing. A private room and food that was really fantastic. The staffs there were exceptional.
We would like to give a special thank you to yourselves, we were very impressed with the attention to detail that was shown us when planning the trip and also for how quickly and thoroughly any queries were addressed. Your attention to the details meant that we embarked on our journey, confident that all would be well taken care of, and it was!
Thank you to all our guides and drivers. They were wonderful and we had nothing to worry about what so ever throughout the whole journey as every little detail was attended to.
It certainly was a tour to remember!
Customer's information:
Name: Mr John OMeara and Mrs Lynne OMeara
Nationality: Australia
Itinerary: 13 Days China Discovery Tour with Yangtze River Cruise(Budget)
Updated: Wednesday,Jul 22,2009
