China family tours, Great Wall & Warriors
| country: | China |
| location: | Great Wall, Terracotta Warriors |
| departures: | 2008: 27 Dec 2009: 3 Jan, 21 Mar, 28 Mar, 11 Apr, 13 Jun, 27 Jun |
| price: | From £845 (10 days) per adult and £798 per child including domestic flights only, as per the itinerary. We can arrange flights from the UK |
the amazing things you'll be doing
The first stop on this fantastic adventure is China's most famous landmark - the Great Wall. We travel to a quiet section of the wall and walk along this mighty fortification, which stretches for miles towards the horizon. Back in Beijing we explore the Forbidden City and also what as the local kids do - fly kites in Tiananmen Square. Travelling south by train, we visit the Terracotta Warriors of Xian. Buried for 2,000 years, each one has a different costume, height and even facial expression! The spectacular limestone karsts of Yangshuo are best explored by bike; we cycle amongst lush paddy fields, before stopping for lunch at a local family's home.
After cruising down the Li River, we board a ferry bound for the shimmering skyscrapers and bright lights of Hong Kong. Includes: tour leader, arrival and departure transfers, accomodation (7 nights comfortable hotel, 2 nights overnight rail), some meals (9 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 3 dinners), transport, sightseeing and entrance fees.
For nearly 30 years we have led the field in adventure travel. Our family adventures have heaps of highlights, innovative itineraries with just the right mix of culture, activities and relaxation, will get you off the beaten track and engage both adults and children. They are carefully planned to keep the kids' interest levels up and their exhaustion levels down.
Enjoy a diverse range of activities - boat cruising, cooking, fishing, bike riding, snorkelling or an overnight stay with a local family for example, as well as enough free time for you and your children to make your own discoveries. The activities chosen are not strenuous, accommodation comfortable and authentic, we keep out of the heat of the day wherever possible and there are no long traveling days. A minimum age, which varies from one adventure to another (being as low as 4 years of age), is recommended to ensure that the holiday is suitable for your family.
Our family trips also align with school holidays so it’s easy to find the right time to travel. You’ll be travelling in a small group with two or three other families. Your holiday will be stress-free and safe, and your kids will have the opportunity to interact with other children. An experienced, English-speaking and locally born and raised leader will escort your group, ensuring you see the must-see tourist sights as well as get a true insight into the heart and soul of their homeland. Once you’ve travelled with a local leader, you’ll understand that there is simply no better way!
After cruising down the Li River, we board a ferry bound for the shimmering skyscrapers and bright lights of Hong Kong. Includes: tour leader, arrival and departure transfers, accomodation (7 nights comfortable hotel, 2 nights overnight rail), some meals (9 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 3 dinners), transport, sightseeing and entrance fees.
For nearly 30 years we have led the field in adventure travel. Our family adventures have heaps of highlights, innovative itineraries with just the right mix of culture, activities and relaxation, will get you off the beaten track and engage both adults and children. They are carefully planned to keep the kids' interest levels up and their exhaustion levels down.
Enjoy a diverse range of activities - boat cruising, cooking, fishing, bike riding, snorkelling or an overnight stay with a local family for example, as well as enough free time for you and your children to make your own discoveries. The activities chosen are not strenuous, accommodation comfortable and authentic, we keep out of the heat of the day wherever possible and there are no long traveling days. A minimum age, which varies from one adventure to another (being as low as 4 years of age), is recommended to ensure that the holiday is suitable for your family.
Our family trips also align with school holidays so it’s easy to find the right time to travel. You’ll be travelling in a small group with two or three other families. Your holiday will be stress-free and safe, and your kids will have the opportunity to interact with other children. An experienced, English-speaking and locally born and raised leader will escort your group, ensuring you see the must-see tourist sights as well as get a true insight into the heart and soul of their homeland. Once you’ve travelled with a local leader, you’ll understand that there is simply no better way!
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrive in Beijing and transfer to hotel. |
| Day 2: | Day trip to Great Wall at Mutianyu, a remote section of the Great Wall, which is not crowded with hordes of other tourists. Return to Beijing in the afternoon. |
| Day 3: | Fly kites in Tiananmen Square; children and adults alike will enjoy this fun filled activity. Tour the Forbidden City, built more than 500 years ago, it is a truly amazing place. Explore the sights of Beijing. Overnight train to Xian. |
| Day 4: | Half-day tour to the Terracotta Warriors, considered one of the most important archaeological finds of the 20th century. |
| Day 5: | Free day to explore Xian. The city has a wonderful Muslim quarter and your day can easily be spent wandering the narrow streets, where we find quaint shops, lively markets, and groups of white-bearded men in skull caps sipping tea in dimply lit cafes. The Great Mosque here is one of the most important in China. |
| Day 6: | Fly to Guilin, travel to Yangshuo. On arrival in Yangshuo we partake in a Chinese cooking class. We will head out into the markets and buy our fresh produce to take back and cook up for lunch or dinner. |
| Day 7: | Ride bikes in Yangshuo, stopping for lunch at a local family's home. |
| Day 8: | Boat cruise down Li River, where we get the opportunity to view the spectacular and beautiful scenery for which the area is famous. Overnight train to Guangzhou, a former fishing village which has given way to a metropolis of gleaming glass skyscrapers. |
| Day 9: | Board ferry and travel to Hong Kong. It is only a short walk from the hotel to Hong Kong harbour. |
| Day 10: | Trip ends in Hong Kong this morning. |
small group family holiday
This is a 'small group family adventure' - typically you will join several other families and travel in a group of approx. 16 people. The trips are great value and a great way for you and your children to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of time to yourselves. Most adventure kids tend to be aged between 7 and 15, but some are younger (minimum age is usually 5) and some older (perhaps travelling as part of a larger family group). Please check with the operator to confirm the minimum age for this trip highly commended
This tourism business was Highly Commended in our 2007 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards - the largest awards of their kind in the world, and organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Times, World Travel Market and Geographical Magazine, of the Royal Geographical Society.Since 2004, the Awards has recognised individuals, companies and organisations in travel making a big commitment to the culture and economies of local communities and helping to conserve biodiversity.
how this holiday makes a difference
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See China through the eyes of a local, as your Chinese tour leader gives you a first-hand insight into the exotic and colourful tapestry that makes up this diverse country. Wandering around famous historic sites and visiting archaeological treasure-troves, pagodas and former palaces gives travellers an awareness of these cultural relics and the importance of them being preserved and protected, so that they can be enjoyed and appreciated by future generations. Flying kites in Tiananmen Square and enjoying a home-cooked lunch with a Chinese family near Yangshuo enables our travellers to interact closely with local people and hopefully leading to better cross-cultural understanding. Equally important your Chinese tour leader helps you to understand the traditions of these proud people, ensuring you don’t commit any cultural ‘faux pas’.
To support tour programs in China this operator is training their tour leaders on a variety of issues, from environmental awareness to First Aid. This not only assists in the conduct of a tour but also provides leaders with important life skills. By only employing tour leaders born and bred in the regions they visit, they are supporting local economies. Through offering employment and steady revenue, tourism can ultimately make a real positive difference to local communities. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |