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phiota
Raver
Joined: Nov 01, 2005
Posts: 479
Status: Offline
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 Posted:
May 15, 2007 - 07:44 PM |
 
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| Post subject: Travel tour to Beijing use hotel or find own? |
Going to Beijing in a week. Should I use the tour group day trip (Forbidden Palace, Great Wall....) from the hotel or find my own through newspaper/online/travel agency?
P.S. I know mandarin so language/communication should not be an issue.
thanks,
John |
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janlynn
Wonder Wit
Joined: July 19, 2005
Posts: 3593
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May 15, 2007 - 08:01 PM |
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forbidden city is easy to get to from almost anywhere. can probably find public bus to wall. Summer Palace is also on public bus line. I found tours limiting. Taxi to Wall was 200 rmb by meter last summer. got cab to wall and summer palace and tomb for 400 set price from qianmen jianguo hotel downtown. didnt wait at summer palace, but I knew that. I do believe i could have done better if I knew Mandarin. |
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Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead |
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MIexpat
Reacher
Joined: July 30, 2004
Posts: 324
Location: dongbei
Status: Offline
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May 15, 2007 - 10:06 PM |
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unless you want to spend time shopping at predetermined stores and eating crappy food in predetermined restaurants above those stores avoid a tour group |
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mswp
Rocker
Joined: Mar 06, 2005
Posts: 725
Status: Offline
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May 15, 2007 - 10:40 PM |
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A couple of non-mandarin speaking friends just went to Beijing and paid 1000rmb for a day, with a driver and English speaking guide. They went to the Great Wall, Badaling, and then the guide took them for Beijing duck at that hugely famous restaurant and then arrange for them to go somewhere in the evening, opera probably, and met them when it was over. I think they had to do a factory tour - or eat at a specific restaurant for lunch, but they were really pleased with the day.
If I were going alone, I'd do it myself - there are definitely cheaper alternatives if you don't need some handholding. Tour groups tend to control your time too tightly, and if it's a Chinese tour, than the day probably includes about 3 more destinations then I think make for a comfortable day out. |
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shanghaiceltic
Board Royalty
Joined: Sep 20, 2005
Posts: 7617
Location: Perth WA
Status: Offline
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May 16, 2007 - 06:25 AM |
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Do it yourself, you can arrnage a taxi via the concierge at many hotels. As has been pointed out you will avoid being dragged to shops where the tour guides get commission, hence their interest in you shopping. |
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phiota
Raver
Joined: Nov 01, 2005
Posts: 479
Status: Offline
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May 16, 2007 - 08:17 AM |
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Has anyone found any difference in the quality and price of the tours in finding them via hotels vs travel agents/online?
John |
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g-force
Barker
Joined: Apr 07, 2007
Posts: 127
Location: Shanghai
Status: Offline
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May 16, 2007 - 08:33 AM |
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If you speak Mandarin, you will probably want to have a different experience than all the other laowais. You can check with the hotel concierge first. They will usually show you several programs. This will give you an idea on the order of attractions to visit, distance between attractions and the amount of time you'd need to reserve for each attraction. Then you can go to the streets and negotiate with the taxis yourself on the same routes. You will find the price is about >70% cheaper than the hotel rate. If you take the taxi from the airport, you can ask the driver for information. Usually he will offer some deals for you, don't take it yet, just get his number and do some comparisons with other taxi drivers.
Major tourist attractions, such as the Forbidden City, offer tapes and recorders that can guide you through the park. Some also offer official tour guides. So you can either rent tapes, hire an official guide or just follow some of the tour groups. They all tell you the same stories anyway. There are a lot of local guides hanging around park entrances, personally I've never dealt with them. But some people actually have good experiences with them. |
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