Hi Friends,
My Ma and Pa are coming to visit in September and I will take them to the Three Gorges. Has anyone taken a cruise from Chongqing to Yichang? Should we book in advance or do you need to just see what is available on the day? I do not really want to take one of the luxury tourist cruises.

Thanks for your help!

I took it in 2002 before they flooded the old towns... did a lot of net shopping and ended up on the President One for the best itinerary... and the particular web site offered the best prices for that ship... I'll try to dig up the info for you but have to warn you that most of the sites to visit along the way have changed or are no longer... e.g. there is no way you can now be pulled along by trackers in a stream where you can see the pebbles in the river bed...

Suggest you do lots of net research with keywords in simplified Chinese as the operators are mostly Chinese... except the Princess Cruise (even which didn't go to the best spots)... then call them and bargain as much as you can...

I boarded at Wuhan and got off at Chongqing... it was a most memorable trip... for an urbanite to see the simple life "out there"... the strong bond between land and man... and appreciate the hard life that a large percentage of the country's population live... it was humbling as well as awe-inspiring for me... all the touristy sourvenir-selling and so-so food were worth it...

Good luck... bring lots of film / memory cards...

We help lots of foreign friends to explore Chengdu and Chongqing and the three Gorges together.

The trip arrangement can be very flexible depends how many days you have.

Usually we have basic trips like the following.

Day One
Shanghai to Chengdu (flight)
Then go to see the Wolong National Park where the Panda Garden is)

Day Two
Chengdu to Chongqing(aircon bus)
Stay one night to explore the city (all friends say chongqing is much better then chengdu)

Day three
Get on the cruise boat at 7pm

Day 4, 5 6
Crusie throught Yangzi River where you will stop three or four times to explore the three gorges.

Day 7

YiChang back to Shanghai (flight)

Contact us for more detailed information at feelshanghaiclub@hotmail.com, your personal travel, culture and daily life consultant service provider in Shanghai and China!!!

President cruises, Victoria Cruises, Oriental cruises, Princess...are all so called luxury cruises. You can search with Google. The other option would be to go on a Chinese ship but I wouldn't recommend it if you're bringing your parents. Food, accomodation...they won't enjoy it.

Better book in advance as September is high season. If you're independent travellers - meaning you don't join a group - be flexible on your dates. They sometimes do overbook people and you might have to wait the next ship.

As for the 3 Gorges, there's not much less to see. No more twirling water, archeological sites flooded, brand new villages built (but you won't have time to visit them). Although the Daning river is now closed you can still go on the Shennong stream - a tributary of the Yanztze - and be pulled by trackers. Two other site of interest are the Shibaozai pagoda and the 3 Gorges Dam.

Just keep in mind that it's a cruise. This means that you will spend most of the time sailing. You only go on-shore 2 hours a day and in pre- arranged groups (even if you're independent travellers).

For those who have done it before, it's absolutely no more interest to do it again. You will be tempted to compare before/after and end up very disappointed.
But if it's your fisrt time you might like it. It's a very relaxing way to travel.

if you have questions feel free to ask. I'm a Yangtze expert having worked for one of the cruise line for 2 years !

Thanks for your post aloha. Seems like going in September is the wrong idea. All of the "luxury"cruises are around US$360 - US$600. I found a "budget" chinese boat for US$180 but with no pictures or any details, this could be quite rough. I dont think my parents will mind roughing it, they are really easy going.

I dont think it is worth it to pay US$360 and up for a 2/3 day cruise. I could spend a lot more time in Yangshuo or somewhere else nice for that much. What sort of price range woudl you normally expect on the Chinese style boats?

I have heard that you can sometimes go to the boat terminal at Chongqing and just bargain with the local operators. What do you think?

As you say, it is peak season so may be difficult to just turn up and expect a vacancy. We cant really afford to wait around too much either, woudl need either same or next day departure.

Any advice?

Thanks!

There is a Chinese-language weekly newspaper I think is called Shanghai Times. Ask a Chinese friend to scan one for you...it often has domestic-travel bargains. These include non-luxury, lower-priced Three Gorges cruises without all those tatty foreigners about, whining about the smell from the bathrooms.

Playing something like this by ear might be a great adventure if at least one of you speaks fluent Chinese and you are all prepared to accept the consequences of things not working out. Otherwise, booking in advance can't possibly be recommended strongly enough.

Well it seems that this year the business on the cruise line is low which means that you can still find cabins in September and at a decent price.
Going to the boat terminal at Chongqing and just bargain doesn't always work and they are more likely to charge you full price. You get a better chance by going to one of the numerous travel agencies along the pier and book a cruise. But be flexible on your dates. And remember to ask clearly if the ship will not pass any interesting sites at ...night. Happens more than often.