Hong Kong Reviews - What Our Customers Say about Hong Kong Tours

Hi Leo,

This is a very short customised arrangement during which the China border is not fully opened yet.

China Discovery charges a premium though, but it delivered without fail.

The VOA is very new to even the custom officers who were on duty when I cleared the immigration check at Shenzhen as well as the HK side. I must say that the agent did his professional service by always on the call to allow on-site changes of my arrival time because immigration clearance was so unpredictable. I can be assured that someone is just outside the arrival hall to pick me up and, I could tell the immigration officer that my local contact person is just waiting outside to pick me once I am cleared with this new procedure.

It is always safer to have a local contact to guide you and make arrangements for your local transfer when language ( Cantonese instead of Mandarin) is a problem in China .

Thx for the service . Thx to Matt too.

Rgds

Hi Vivien,

Thank you for your kind letter. I hope that you and your family are well. 

I can imagine how difficult it is for travel industry to go through this crisis. 

How long Wuhan has been under the lockdown? Are there any effective medication against the virus? 

We are now in a total lockdown. We’ll see how the UK will be effected by that. It is difficult for everyone. 

Stay well and healthy.

Best wishes, 

Nana

Dear Wing,

So sweet of you to get in touch. It's a very difficult time for everyone. I'm glad you are returning to some normality in China. We are so lucky to have taken and enjoyed our trip last year.

Wishing you continued good health and luck for the coming year.

Kind regards

Tamesha

Hi wonder,

Just wanted to thank you very much for the great service. I had a great time in my first visit to China. Next time I go I will contact you to visit Chengdu to spend time with the pandas.

Hi Wonder

We are now back in South Africa after one of our very best holidays,ever so again very many thanks for making it so.

Listed below are responses to your appraisal--

1)Wonder was incredibly quick at answering our e-mails and super efficient when dealing with any queries I had both before and after the tour.Nothing was ever too much for him.

2)Tour arrangements were fantastic! Drivers were always available to meet us at train stations or airports to take us to our hotels. Also guides often arrived earlier than planned in the morning for our daily tours. Guides also very helpful and informative. (Minor point but Guilin Hotel was a bit out of town and did not offer facilities of the others—Chengdu hotel was magnificent)

3)I certainly am very willing to speak to anyone who is interested in travelling with you in the future

And recommending your company.

4)General opinion—10 out of 10—it couldn’t be better

5)I think overall the tour was very well organised-maybe the guides could promote evening events more in the different cities.I did attend a Sichuan opera eve.in Chengdu which was good.

6)Have lots of photos which I can send—let me know-panda cubs attached

Please use any of my comments on your web site

7)Certainly –future/potential customers can contact me for advice

OVERALL A SUPERB HOLIDAY—MANY,MANY THANKS

Very best wishes

Ken and Perola Noble

Jack,

Below is a copy of a review I have submitted to Trip Advisor - my wife and I had a fantastic time in China and your company delivered everything promised at a great price, and the guides were fantastic.

I'm a meticulous vacation planner and while the pre-planned packages available from various tour companies were good, none specifically met what my wife and wanted to do on vacation. I did some research on where to go and what to see and we originally were going to do 12-13 days to include some trips into the rural areas to see some scenery, etc. We ended up limiting the trip to the three big cities and received bids from multiple tour companies based in China. China Discovery stood out in the quality and completeness of their responses and had the most competitive pricing. The reviews on Trip Advisor were also very positive and helpful. 

We ended up booking 8 days in China with visits to Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing. We had a list of everything we wanted to see and China Discovery made it happen -- an advantage of booking a private tour is that you can go and see what you alone want to do. (We booked our own air travel to and from China using miles earned on an airline)

In Hong Kong I was not able to find a private guide -- they are all group tours. The buses are designed for around 30 people and we had 10 in our group one day on a Lantau Island tour (fantastic) and just the two of us the next day (Victoria's Peak, Aberdeen Fishing Village/Stanley Market -- avoid it, just find a way to go to Victoria's Peak). 

In mainland China private tours are the only way to go. Why? You are only as fast as the slowest people in your group. And when it was just the three of us (us plus guide/driver) we were much more nimble at getting through crowds and we were in a car or minivan, not a bus, for driving around. The tour company gets the tickets for everywhere you are going so you don't have to wait in line. And we were able to customize portions -- like no Shanghai Museum, but add Tongli water town and a night cruise in Shanghai. Add high-speed train instead of plane between Shanghai and Beijing ... with first class tickets. 

I read reviews of the hotels they had chosen to put us up at and all got good to great reviews -- and they lived up to expectations. Note: you can ask for different hotels if you want higher quality or different location -- a China four-star is Western three-star, etc. The Regal Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong was 2 1/2-3 star compared to the other two hotels. Food was average -- I had to teach the cook how to do Over Easy Eggs. The Yangtze Boutique Shanghai was fantastic -- huge room and great service -- 4-4.5 stars! Beijing hotel was the Ramada Park Plaza Wangfujing that was also great ... 4 stars. Food was great at both Shanghai and Beijing hotels. Breakfast at the hotels was included every day and lunch on most days which was in local Chinese restaurants. Extra expenses were tips for our guides and drivers, dinner, snacks, souvenirs, taxis -- we ended up spending much less than anticipated in this regard.

We had different guides each day in Hong Kong because they were group tours, then a guide + driver for the Shanghai area and guide + driver for the Beijing area. All of them spoke English well and were able to answer questions that we had. They were all very knowledgable about the subjects of each tour and even got into nitty gritty details. We were VERY impressed. At meals we would talk about all sorts of things -- especially about how we all lived and family, things like that. The guides had no problem taking photos of us with our phones and never hurried us along if we wanted to take additional photos or video. 

We happened to encounter an annual holiday when we were in Shanghai -- with millions of people pouring into the city to celebrate -- and then rehearsals for a 70th anniversary of the PRC parade and celebration in Beijing shut some roads and attractions. Both could have really thrown a monkey wrench into our plans, but the guides were adept at rearranging the schedule to our advantage to avoid crowds and juggle going to sights that were open.

What did we see? Each line is what we did in a day
Hong Kong -- Lantau Island tour (4 sights to see) .... rating A
Hong Kong -- HK Island tour ... rating C (avoid as Aberdeen Fishing Village doesn't exist, Stanley Market is OK if you want to shop for clothes, artwork and souvenirs, and you are forced to do a Jewelry Factory Tour that is really a way to try and get you to buy some jewelry, only Victoria's Peak was good on that tour)
Shanghai -- Yu Garden, the Bund, Nanjing Road (shopping), World Financial Center (100th floor observatory), nighttime cruise ... rating A
Shanghai -- Tongli Water Town (has canals like Venice) ... rating B (very touristy, but still interesting)
Beijing -- The Mutianyu Great Wall, the Ming Tombs ... rating A
Beijing -- Hutong Tour/Rickshaw Ride, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven ... rating A
Beijing -- Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City ... rating A (the Square is kind of meh, but the Forbidden City more than made up for it)

One piece of advice save the Forbidden City for last ... it is so impressive it may make other sights seem much less interesting. 

Everything China Discovery promised, they delivered at a reasonable price.

Dear Johnson:

I am writing to sincerely thank you for organising such a wonderful trip to China for my wife, Robyn, and I.

We returned from our trip a couple of weeks ago and we both have wonderful memories of your beautiful country and we feel so privileged to have had the opportunity to see the wide and diverse aspects of China from the towering cities, the scenic rivers to the small villages and farms. We were so impressed at the friendliness of people and their willingness to help us even though we couldn’t speak any Chinese.

The tour was comprehensive and it included all the key sights that were on our “to do” list and we thank you for collating such a wonderful tour.  We found all the arrangements from hotels, planes, sights and bullet trains to be organised so well that it was a seamless operation and we had no problems at all.

All the Hotels in which we stayed were excellent and more than met our expectations. The locations of the Hotels were very good and quite central to main roads and sights; they all were very comfortable and the breakfasts provided were, once again, very good.

The lunches provided as part of the tour were also very good and we always had plenty to eat and the service in these restaurants was excellent.

The transport – planes and bullet trains – were very comfortable and easy to navigate especially with the assistance of our Guides.  We were thankful that we upgraded to First Class on the bullet trains as our luggage was no longer a problem. The vehicle transport in each city was excellent.  The vehicles were generally quite new, roomy, very clean and comfortable.  All the Drivers were excellent and very skilled in driving and they often assisted my wife in getting in and out of the vehicle and with our luggage and this was greatly appreciated.  We also appreciated the access to bottled water which was always available.

We would like to make a special mention and thank you to all of our Guides.  We remember each and everyone of them – Mary and Becky in Hong Kong; Summer in Guilin and Yangshuo; Tina and Melody in Shanghai; Nancy in Yichang; David in Chongqing; Vivian in X’ian and lastly Lindsay in Beijing.  To each and every one of them we wish to say ‘thank you’ for making our trip to China so wonderful.  Without our Guides we would not have had all the information and history about the cities and the sights – they all have a comprehensive knowledge of their area and they were able to present this to us.  Their command of English was excellent and they were always ready to answer the many questions we had.  We are also very grateful for their attentiveness to my wife’s special needs and we know that without their help my wife would not have been able to enjoy the sights and the trip.  Each Guide we had would go out of their way to ensure that our holiday was special and one we would remember.

And lastly, many thanks to you, Johnson, for the excellent service you provided in organising our tour of China.  From our very first contact with you by email, we found that you were very responsive to all our queries and issues.  There was never any delays in responding to our emails and your answers were always comprehensive and covered all the issues.  Your organisation of the tour was excellent and we felt very confident in dealing with you via the emails. You and your company provided an excellent service in arranging our visit to China and we would not hesitate to recommend the China Discovery Tour Company to our family and friends when they are planning their China trip. We would also be happy if you wish to share this email with your future customers or on your website.

Once again, many thanks for all of your hard work in ensuring that our trip to China was wonderful and it will be remembered for many years.

Regards

Dear Ms. Riley,

After our journey I will give you a personal feedback.

We are happy that you organized our tour.

When we had any question, we could be shure to get immediately a correct answer.

All facts and parts have been well prepared. All the guids where just in time at the location to collect us from the train.

Even by the problems we had in Hongkong at the frontier I could contact you and you immediately did all you could do to help us. Thank you for that support.

We had well orgenized days in China. And we have a good feeling on account of your reliability.

In fact we can absolutely recommend China Discovery.

Till next time.

Best regards.

Hi Tracy

Just want to thank you very much for organizing such a wonderful holiday for us.  Everything went according to plan and our guides were all excellent. A special thank you to Laura in Shanghai who ensured that we got a connecting flight to Hong Kong when our original flight was delayed. The highlights, of course, were the pandas followed by the terracotta warriors. The weather was great with only one day of rain in Chengdu. We will certainly recommend your company to our friends and relatives and hope that we may return to China one day.

Kindest regards and with grateful thanks,

David and Hellen

Hello, Ian,

We enjoyed a great tour of Mainland China and of Hong Kong. I thought you did an excellent job of making our tour arrangements and assigning tour guides. 

For me and my children, our trip highlights were climbing the Great Wall, cycling the ancient walls in Xi'an, sharing lunch with Angela and her family, visiting the Panda Research center, rafting on the Hongkou River, cycling through the Yangshuo villages, visiting the Urban Planning Museum in Shanghai and walking on the Bund.

I was very pleased with the quality of guides and drivers you selected. The children adored Mr. Jong (Beijing driver). He has a very warm and funny personality, and he was so accommodating, taking us to and from the Kung Fu Theater and out to the Olympic Village at night. Bruce in Xian is a truly exceptional guide. If you can give me the names of the owners of China Discovery, I would like to write them a letter regarding Bruce. Penny in Chengdu really did a great job for us at the Panda Research Center and also the rafting trip. My youngest Natalie just loved Candace in Guilin.  At the Guilin airport Natalie looked sadly at me and said, "Mom, I'm really going to miss Candace." Since she's been home, Natalie has mentioned Candace several times . . . .she made a tremendous impression on Natalie, and the rest of us enjoyed her very much, too.

Tim and Frank were very capable guides, too. Tim has peaked my interest in future travel to Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan. Frank is very knowledgeable about Shanghai and accommodating. I appreciated that Candace was able to attend the Impressions show with my daughters and me.  Without her there to explain each of the seven impressions, we would not have understood the beauty unfolding before our eyes.

I have tasked my middle child Lauren (14) with putting together a Shutter fly book.  She's just settling into school, so it may be a week or two before she starts.  Once she has selected her favorites photos from among nearly 800 we took on the trip, I will ask her to pick out her top ten favorites from mainland China and send them to you.  We'll add a brief explanation to each photo.

Ian, we enjoyed a marvelous trip. Our travel went incredibly smoothly, and I thank you and all the guides and drivers for ensuring a smooth, safe, and hassle free trip.

I am sure to return to China, but I intend to wait for the rapid (bullet) train to reach more destinations. I am incredibly impressed with the train service from Beijing to Luoyang and to Xian.  I look forward to the day when I can travel to all my destinations via the rapid train. 

I have given your name and email address to several friends contemplating trips to China. I will continue to refer you when the opportunity presents.

Best wishes, Ian.

Jeanne

Hi,

The trip was brilliant. I will write a glowing recommendation on tripadvisor. And answer your questions below later on.

Ray

Comments on TripAdvisor by Ray:

"My family (3 children ages 19, 18, 14) and wife wanted to visited China so after searching the internet we found this company China Discovery (Chengdu). Who put a proposal together for a 10 day (12 nights with flights from and to London).

At first when I got the responses back I was a bit dubious due to the need to pay via paypal, bank transfer or western Union. I couldn't have been further from the truth. I booked a trip that would take me around Beijing, Xian, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Two plane journey's, 1 bullet train journey, daily private car (large people carrier), etc. with all events, hotel and Lunch paid.

I would say I have contacted Rita about 100 times!! including several changes during the holiday itself (e.g. I wanted to cut down on the amount of temples I had seen, etc) and all answered promptly.

All my guides (we had one per city) spoke very good English and had great knowledge about the various locations we visited. We had Lisa, Lee, Laura and Matthew.

The holiday was totally flexible e.g. we were tired on some days and just requested that we started later on certain days or we wanted to change the section of the wall we visit, or cut out another museum, etc, etc. We were in complete control of the itinerary.

What can I say. I rate this 10 out of 5!!!! By far the best travel agency we have been with, value was brilliant as you can suggest changes for better or more economical alternatives.

Last don't believe what people say about China (if bad) as the place was clean, people dressed immaculately, food was great, people were the friendliest we have met on a holiday. We must have had photos with 50 plus people!!

I may sound like Im working for the company... I do not. This holiday cost me lots (with 5 adults) so I would definitely complain if anything was wrong. If I go back to China (as this was an epic journey in itself) I will 100% choose China Discovery again."

Hi Tiger !

We just spent 2 nights and one whole day in Yanshuo more precisely so we had not much time to visit, but now we arrived in Sanya for a little rest and I have also more time to answer your mail !

We had a wonderful time in Yunnan. Everything went perfectly, from the moment we landed in Kunming to thé one when we left for Guilin.

The guides were great - especially the one in Lijiang (Anna, a Naxhi woman) and in Shangri-La (a Tibetan). Reliable, nice, open-minded and smart. Great people !

Visits were great. Although low season, the potatso park was beautiful ! 

While we were again in Kunming on our own, we visited the Bamboo temple and it was a fantastic place. Quiet, peaceful and beautiful. Also the Golden temple was worth a visit.

We appreciated you calling to make sure everything was alright !

I will keep your contact for a next trip to China ! Why not Sichuan and Lhassa ?!? We'll see.

Thank you for everything!

We stay in Sanya til Thursday before we fly back to Hong Kong for 24 hours and then back to Switzerland.

Kindest regards and have a nice week-end !

Michèle

Hi Olivia,

I just wanted to let you know that I tried to submit a review to TripAdvisor but they did not approve it - I'm not sure exactly why. If you read my review below it is not really any different than any of your other outstanding reviews on TripAdvisor.  Please advise.

My review - 

"We had a wonderful time travelling on a 2 week tour of China.  We worked with Olivia for over a week planning and customizing our 13 day tour.  China Discovery handles all of the logistics of travelling throughout China - including domestic flights, airport transfers, hotel accommodations, and of course our awesome tour guides and drivers.

They really make it easy for first time travelers to China as we didn't speak any Mandarin or Cantonese (Hong Kong).  Their guides really make a difference as they not only pick you up from the airport, but they also help check you into your hotel and also into your next flight when they drop you off.  The guides and drivers were extremely professional and were always on time and courteous, even when a couple of our flights were delayed by 2-3 hour.

Our tour began in Hong Kong with an extra day in Macau and then continued on to Shanghai, Guilin, Xian, and Beijing.  Hong Kong and Shanghai gave us a glimpse of the city life in the bustling Chinese metropolis.  Guilin was definitely a favorite spot as the majesty of the Li River scenery made us awe struck for the entire 4 hour cruise.  The city of Guilin is beautiful and definitely understand why it's one of the most popular domestic tourist destinations in China.  Xian was amazing - so much history yet so much city and population growth.  You've got to see the Terracotta Warriors of course but don't miss out on the Muslim quarter.  Its chaotic bliss in the Muslim quarter as you're surrounded tuk tuk scooters and awesome street food.  Beijing was magnificent as we spent the Lunar New Year there and was fortunate to see it snow in the Forbidden City.  It was certainly an amazing and memorable time to be there.

This tour was just an appetizer and with a 10 year visa, I definitely plan on coming back and plan another tour with China Discovery.  I highly recommend them!"

- Dave