Other Options...

[Calfan]

The Thomson Family Adventures looks promising. We will most likely be on expat assignment in India for the next 3 years, so returning to China for a shorter separate Hong Kong trip would be doable.

I also ran across the National Geographic Private expedition to China. It looked pretty nice (their premium level) and started at only $4k, so seemed like a relatively good deal. Does anyone have experience with that trip or have opinions on Natl Geo vs. Thomson?

No experience with that trip or a Nat Geo private trip, but I have done 4 Nat Geo trips overall (3 hiking adventures and a family trip to Peru), and they have all been fantastic. FYI that there is a relationship between Nat Geo and Thomson, at least for some of Nat Geo’s trips. Thomson actually ran our Nat Geo Peru family trip. We are doing Japan with Thomson in 2020.

 

[aggiedog]

I'm pretty sure we're going to try the new NatGeo Family Journeys trip to Japan in 2020. At $5,700 for 9 days, it feels like a bargain. There is some OYO time and only 2 dinners are included, but my family likes adventuresome eating, so that's no problem.

 

[dolewhipdreams]

I agree with you, but that's the price you pay squeezing China into 12 days. It's still an excellent trip. Would you rather have the extra days in Xi'an or Hong Kong? I could argue either side, but I'd probably land on Hong Kong. Touring China is like touring the United States. You have to compromise somewhere unless you're backpacking for 3 months or know you'll return. Most of these itineraries that I've seen cut Beijing too short IMO. The one advantage of ABD now is that it begins and ends in HK and Shanghai (my 2 favorites in China) which allows extra days to be easily added on both ends.

The start/end in HK and Shanghai is part of the major draw to ABD for us, since our major reason for visiting China is to see the two Disney parks there, and visiting them is easier with the itinerary set up that way. I haven't found many trips that include HK at all and several have Shanghai right in the middle. Will definitely check out Nat Geo as others have mentioned.

 

[sun_seekin]

China has been on my radar for quite some time and while the ABD version is highest in the running, i’ve also been scoping out the websites for Wild China (recommended by 1000 Places to See Before You Die) and Catherine Lu tours. I have no experience with any of these other tour companies though.

 

[kaseyC]

The start/end in HK and Shanghai is part of the major draw to ABD for us, since our major reason for visiting China is to see the two Disney parks there, and visiting them is easier with the itinerary set up that way. I haven't found many trips that include HK at all and several have Shanghai right in the middle. Will definitely check out Nat Geo as others have mentioned.

That's one of the main reason we chose ABD over a few others we were considering, Disney parks and Hong Kong.

China has been on my radar for quite some time and while the ABD version is highest in the running, i’ve also been scoping out the websites for Wild China (recommended by 1000 Places to See Before You Die) and Catherine Lu tours. I have no experience with any of these other tour companies though.

Wild China is the tour company that is the host of ABD in China. Learned that when I needed additional information from ABD for our Visas and the information came directly from Wild China. So I guess you can say in a way that many on this board have had experience with Wild China. lol

 

[AquaDame]

China has been on my radar for quite some time and while the ABD version is highest in the running, i’ve also been scoping out the websites for Wild China (recommended by 1000 Places to See Before You Die) and Catherine Lu tours. I have no experience with any of these other tour companies though.

We used Catherine Lu for our November trip last year - it was nice if you would rather have a private guide. In retrospect I would have preferred a small group as I'm a bit of an introvert and having to chat with guides every day all day was a little tiring. Another family or two to come up with questions and chat so I could have more downtime on the drives would have been nice. As the only real negative I can come up with though, that says a lot about the quality of the people she engages! It was also far cheaper and tailored 100% to what we wanted to do over the ABD.

 

[aggiedog]

So I called today to put a deposit down for the NatGeo Family Journey to Japan, and found out that because we are a family group of 8, we can book a private trip for the same cost as the regular trip. Sweet! Same itinerary, same guides, just more flexibility on meals and the focus of some of the tours. When I asked what the difference was between the two, the first example he gave was "if you're foodies, we can tailor the food experience so you can try new things and make the most out of the cuisine." Boom. That sold me. We love to eat. It does have to start +/- 3 days from a "public" trip, but that actually works better for us. I'm super excited.

 

[SirDuff]

Just booked my third Backroads trip (hiking in Peru).

Aggiedog - I think Backgrounds does something similar with private trips (though the minimum number may be different)

 

[BluesTraveler]

Just booked my third Backroads trip (hiking in Peru).

Aggiedog - I think Backgrounds does something similar with private trips (though the minimum number may be different)

Please report back on the Backroads Peru trip, that one is high on my list. We are going to the Galapagos with them in February. Yes, Backroads also does private trips. Am pretty sure the number is 10 - we were trying to coordinate a private Vietnam trip with some friends but couldn't quite get the dates over Christmas to work out.

 

[SirDuff]

Please report back on the Backroads Peru trip, that one is high on my list. We are going to the Galapagos with them in February. Yes, Backroads also does private trips. Am pretty sure the number is 10 - we were trying to coordinate a private Vietnam trip with some friends but couldn't quite get the dates over Christmas to work out.

Will do. I'm not going until September though (it's the lodge-to-lodge trekking one).

And, yes, I think it is 10 people for the private group. You can do it with fewer, but there is a surcharge. On the other hand, a private tour can actually work out cheaper since everyone gets the original/lowest price whereas, with a normal tour, prices go up as more people join.

 

[aggiedog]

Just found out that while we will have one guide for the 8 of us, if we add friends/family up to 10, then we get 2 guides.

 

[Rapunzellover]

So I am currently on my Tauck Portugal tour. Right now, I am not sure how it rates against ABD. I am enjoying, but feels really slower paced so far. Am interested to see exactly how I'll feel when all is said and done.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

So I am currently on my Tauck Portugal tour. Right now, I am not sure how it rates against ABD. I am enjoying, but feels really slower paced so far. Am interested to see exactly how I'll feel when all is said and done.

What was the pace and activity ratings?

 

[Rapunzellover]

What was the pace and activity ratings?

2 and 2... so I wasn't expecting an intensive trip. I'm just wondering if slower paced itineraries are for me.

 

[Candycane83]

Hi all! I was directed here for more information on Tauck... my family is looking to go to Europe next year with my six year old... I noticed that Tauck offers a similar tour to ABD for the same dates. The only difference is touring Rome instead of Florence I think. The Tauck tour does not really specify a recommended age for kids. Anyone knows this info or have any insights on this tour? It will be part of a longer trip that will basically be planned by me, lol! We’re probably going to do Barcelona and one other place on our own besides this. Thanks!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

2 and 2... so I wasn't expecting an intensive trip. I'm just wondering if slower paced itineraries are for me.

My first tour with them was a 3/3 which we enjoyed. Our next is a 3/2 but it’s a 13 night so I’m hoping the pace being lower doesn’t bother us too much.

 

[sayhello]

Hi all! I was directed here for more information on Tauck... my family is looking to go to Europe next year with my six year old... I noticed that Tauck offers a similar tour to ABD for the same dates. The only difference is touring Rome instead of Florence I think. The Tauck tour does not really specify a recommended age for kids. Anyone knows this info or have any insights on this tour? It will be part of a longer trip that will basically be planned by me, lol! We’re probably going to do Barcelona and one other place on our own besides this. Thanks!

Make sure you're looking at Tauck *Bridges* which are their family tours. The regular Tauck trips aren't really family oriented, and skew older.

Sayhello

 

[Candycane83]

Make sure you're looking at Tauck *Bridges* which are their family tours. The regular Tauck trips aren't really family oriented, and skew older.

Sayhello

Thanks I’ll double check! I went to their main site and looked for Family Journeys. I found the tour The Sweet Life: Rome and Sorrento. Hopefully that’s right.

 

[nemofans]

Yes Sweet Life: Rome & Sorrento is Tauck Bridges and we are going on that soon. You should call and ask about age though. The youngest on our tour is 10 yrs old. I think 8 may be the minimum.

 

[laceltris3]

Yes Sweet Life: Rome & Sorrento is Tauck Bridges and we are going on that soon. You should call and ask about age though. The youngest on our tour is 10 yrs old. I think 8 may be the minimum.

Usually the "recommended" age for TB is not the real minimum. We did TB Costa Rica when my youngest was 4 and he ziplined with a guide. It used to be more clear, but I you can definitely go below the "recommended" age. He was a good traveler though, and had already done several DCL, including Alaska, so we had a sense of how he would be with the flights and excursions.