Contiki China Adventure Tour Review
Well, my Contiki days are over now but after traveling with 8 Contiki Tours (Italian Espresso, Eastern Mediterranean Cruise, Greece & Italy, Middle Europe, Spanish Spree, Big Indochina, Thai Island Hopper, and China Adventure, whew!), I feel confident saying that the China Adventure is the very best Contiki has to offer. I loved all my experiences, but this one was especially top notch.
Why? See all the very best of China in one trip, go on and off the beaten path, stay in four-star hotels, and make great friends – all with excellent local guides and the best Tour Manager ever: Luke!
Luke was very knowledgable, professional, fun, and just an all around good guy with lots of positive energy. He made a point to take us away from the crowd at the Great Wall so we felt we had it all to ourselves (a priceless “wow moment”) and also took us to some other places, like a local art district, that don’t attract many tourists.
The trip was action packed with all the sites you want to see: forbidden city, Great Wall, terra-cotta warriors, etc., and even though the group demographic was slightly older and better traveled than you’ll find on a European Contiki tour, there was still plenty of opportunity to explore the Shanghai and Hong Kong night life.
You will even get the chance to relax a bit with a leisurely bike ride along the Xian city wall, a Chinese acrobatic performance, a bamboo raft ride and some spa treatments in Yangzhou. All the optionals were well worth it!
I don’t usually like going to the super touristy shopping areas. I did, however, do a lot more shopping than usual and got some really great items – like my silk comforter that I can’t live without & my pearls that I’m wearing right now! I shipped everything home from Hong Kong to make for easier travel.
Three out of the five hotels were WAY nicer than the standard Contiki tour and much better than my budget usually allows, so this was a special treat – oh, and the breakfast spreads were out of this world, especially in Hong Kong!
I value the friendships I formed on this trip, and I even got to visit a few friends in other world travel excursions.
In sum, just do it!
~ LiAnn