Overland group tour to Asia

country:	China, Thailand, Vietnam
departures:	2008: 17 Dec, 23 Dec 2009: 26 Feb, 4 Mar, 16 Mar, 22 Mar, 18 Apr, 24 Apr, 21 May, 27 May, 15 Jun, 21 Jun
price:	From £2435 - £2665 (22 days) including UK flights & from £1715 (22 days) exluding flights. Price includes full board accommodation (except 2 lunches & 5 dinners), transport including domestic flight. 16 & 18 day options available, see below
vouchers:	Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday

China holidays

Asia overland tours

the amazing things you'll be doing

Our highly original Yunnan tour takes you to China by train through the mountains of Northern Vietnam and returns to Thailand by way of a cruise down the Mekong River between Burma and Laos.

When a Yunnanese Prince crossed the cloud covered mountains of Sichuan Province to visit the imperial Chinese court he informed the emperor that his kingdom lay ‘south of the clouds’ and the Mandarin translation – Yunnan – has stuck to the present day. Yunnan is without doubt China’s most diverse and fascinating region, both culturally and scenically, bordering Burma, Laos and Vietnam. This remote, borderland province includes everything from wild elephants and tropical jungles in the far south to yaks and snow-capped mountains of the Tibetan Plateau in the north, and is home to over 25 different ethnic minorities.

For 2 weeks in between we’ll cover our regular mixture of essential sites and hidden gems; - cultural highlights and historic towns, the awesome scenery of Yuanyang, the Yangtze’s Tiger Leaping Gorge and the dramatic mountains of Eastern Tibet as well as leaving plenty of time to explore the exotic markets and meet the local people, in China’s friendliest province.

18 day tour: For those with less time it is possible on day 17 to fly to Bangkok, via Kunming for an evening return flight to London.

Extensions: For those with more time, why not make it a round trip and connect to our new Chiang Mai to Hanoi tour? Please contact us for details.

day-by-day itinerary

Day 1:	Departure from London for Hanoi via Bangkok.
Day 2:	Arrival in Hanoi and check-in to a downtown hotel. Afternoon free to relax or explore the city before an evening performance of the highly original water-puppets.
Day 3:	Day tour of some of the city’s sites, including Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum, the 11th century University, Hoan Kiem Lake and a walking tour of the narrow streets of Hanoi’s bustling old commercial quarter. Evening departure by sleeper train for Lao Cai in the far north.
Day 4:	Morning arrival and transfer to nearby Sapa. This picturesque old French hill-station overlooking a spectacular valley, lies in the shadow of the mist shrouded Fansipan Mountain – at over 9,500 ft the highest summit in mainland SE Asia. Afternoon at leisure to explore the town or roam the bustling hill-tribe market.
Day 5:	Day hike through the area’s incredible scenery – known to the French as the Tonkinese Alps – Hmong and Dzao minority villages, lush forest, towering peaks and crystal clear waterfalls.
Day 6:	Crossing the Chinese border into Yunnan Province, we’ll follow the scenic Red River Valley North West into the Ailao Ranges and the small mountain top town of Yuanyang. Afternoon visit to the region’s famous rice terraces - carved out of the mountain sides over thousands of years by the local Hani and Yi minorities - a truly spectacular site.
Day 7:	Optional dawn visit to the terraces, with the morning to explore Yuanyuang’s lively market, a trading centre for the myriad local minority peoples. Afternoon drive to historic Jianshui and a visit to some of the Town’s famous sites including the 14th Century Chaoyang Tower and Confucian Temple, the second largest in China, and the amazing ‘Zhu Family Garden’ mansion, a complex of 42 courtyards and 250 rooms.
Day 8:	Morning trip to the fascinating village of Tuanshan, one of the very few remaining medieval, fortified villages in SW China. This Ming dynasty village receives very few visitors and is now on the World Monument Fund’s most endangered list. Leaving Jianshui district we’ll continue north, via the picturesque Fuxian Lake, to the Province’s capital, Kunming.
Day 9:	Free morning in Kunming, relax in one of the local coffee shops, or check-out the city’s famous ‘Bamboo Temple’, before an afternoon trip to the spectacular karst formations known as the Stone Forest.
Day 10:	Morning drive along the route of the old Burma Road, to Weishan Town – one of the oldest and best preserved towns in Yunnan yet one of the least visited – before arriving at our day’s destination, Dali.
Day 11:	Day at leisure to explore this scenic old walled town, former capital of the ethnic Bai people and beautifully situated between the slopes of the Azure Mountains and the shores of Lake Erhai.
Day 12:	Early departure to catch the bustling morning market in the lakeside, Bai village of Xizhou, before continuing north to Lijiang by way of the superb cave temples of sacred Shibao Mountain.
Day 13:	Discover the ancient centre of the ethnic Naxi Culture and now World Heritage Site of Lijiang - wander the beautifully preserved cobbled streets that line the streams running through the picturesque old town – dramatically situated beneath the towering peaks of the 5,500m Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.
Day 14:	Day hike along the famous and picturesque Tiger Leaping Gorge to the village of Walnut Grove for our overnight stay in a local family run guesthouse.
Day 15:	Head up to the Tibetan Plateau itself and the town of Zhongdian – now officially renamed Shangri La by the Chinese Government. Afternoon visit to the monastery and an evening stroll around the old streets of Shangri La with a chance to catch some traditional Tibetan dancing in the town square. Accommodation in a renovated Tibetan house at the foot of the 400 year old Songzanlin monastery.
Day 16:	A journey up the Tibet Road: spectacular drive through dramatic mountain scenery, including views of the first bend of the Yangtze and a stop at the remote Dongzhulin Monastery containing, amongst other wonders, the preserved body of the 5th living Buddha himself, before reaching our destination - the awesome views of Bai Ma Snow Mountain Pass and National Reserve situated at 4,250 m.
Day 17:	Free morning and afternoon transfer to Lijiang for a flight to Jinghong Town in the Xishuangpanna Autonomous Dai region of Southern Yunnan. Situated on the Mekong and lying close to Burma and Lao this region has a subtropical climate and vegetation.
Day 18:	Day tour following the Mekong Valley south to the small town of Ganlanba and its bustling morning market for the surrounding ethnic Dai villages. The Dai are linguistically and culturally related to the Thai and Lao people, and indeed the region of Xishuangpanna (a Thai word meaning land of twelve thousand rice fields), is considered by the Thais to be their original homeland, before they migrated south over a thousand years ago. Continuing down the valley we’ll visit the magnificent Botanical Gardens of Menglun – the largest in China.
Day 19:	A day’s leisurely hiking in the hills around Jinghong to visit both Aini and Jinuo minority villages and admire the lush tropical mountain scenery.
Day 20:	Time for us to migrate south with a memorable boat cruise, down what is one of the least spoilt, most picturesque, yet least visited stretches of the Mekong River. Heading south from Jinhong we’ll pass, between Burma and Laos, where for some 300 kms the river forms the border between the two countries, to our destination, the Golden Triangle River port of Chiang Saen at the junction of Thailand, Laos and Burma.
Day 21:	The last leg of our tour takes us on a scenic mountain drive to the Northern Thai capital, Chiang Mai. Afternoon free to relax by the hotel pool or explore the quiet lanes and temples of the city’s old town.
Day 22:	Morning departure for London, via Bangkok and evening arrival.

small group family holiday

This is a 'small group adventure' - you will be sharing your experiences with like minded people. Group sizes are limited to a maximum of 9 persons, a genuinely small group. Experience has taught us that smaller groups are less intrusive to local cultures and environments whilst allowing more interaction with local people. Furthermore it means greater flexibility on a day to day basis and on a social level it proves to be fun. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends/family its good value, and a great way to meet new people! The intention is to travel as a group of friends rather than a typical tour group, so don't expect stick-on name badges or any following the umbrella.

how this holiday makes a difference

As a tour operator, we are committed to responsible tourism as follows:

Information: Providing suitable, relevant information for our customers; to help them to gain a wider understanding of our style of tourism that focuses on learning, genuine interaction with the local communities, reciprocity and cultural exchange processes. To be aware of the potential impact of tourism on the local society, culture and environment, and to behave and dress appropriately with a respect and appreciation for local customs, mores and traditions and a respect for the ecology of areas visited. Our guides and leaders thus facilitate communication of our values to both travellers and local communities, educating them in sustainable tourism practices

Group sizes: By limiting groups to small sizes we aim to reduce the impact on both local communities and the environment whilst allowing for greater genuine interaction with said communities. It also results in a higher guide/customer ratio thus greater facility for supervision and individual assistance and allows us to use smaller hotels and restaurants and employ the services of more genuinely ‘local’ operators perhaps not otherwise well equipped for larger groups.

Destinations: We combine the well known tourist sites with many off-the-beaten-track, rarely visited destinations thus diverting tourist revenue and contact with responsible tourism into areas not usually benefiting as well as providing a more authentic view of the region visited.

Local products: As much as possible we aim to employ local personnel, (guides, drivers, agents etc), use local restaurants and smaller privately owned accommodation. Customers are also encouraged to buy and use local products and services as much as possible in order to support and stimulate the local economy.

Local awareness: By explaining our methods and the reasons behind them local agents, guides and hotels are encouraged by us to adopt further responsible tourism practices themselves and guides and drivers are provided with additional training in this respect.

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.