Ultimate China
Nov 09, 2024
Booking Experience for Wonders of China
Efficient & Personable
Nov 09, 2024
Kerala & the Southern Highlights
An excellent taster of the culture, sights, food and people.
The bus was very well driven by Anand, especially around the narrow mountain passes. Our guide Ramesh, was also very personable.
The accommodation was very good, especially The Residency Hotels. Just a couple of pointers: Worth maybe spending 2 days in places like Mysore, as the first week was hectic being on the move every day. The itinery needs to make us aware that there is no alcohol served in Munnar or Thekkady, as most of the group liked to relax in the evenings with a drink. Also we were not made aware of an overnight bag for the houseboat trip. The tour was very special with a lovely group and I would highly recommend it.
Nov 09, 2024
India by Rail
We saw some wonderful sights and enjoyed our adventure. You have to “embrace” India, it is very, very busy and lots of honking of horns!
We would rate the physical aspect of the tour higher than 2, at Jama Masjid in Delhi there were over 20 very steep steps to get into the Mosque, at Varansi the steps at the ghat again are very steep and you have to be able to get on and off a small boat onto mud banks, there is also a lot of walking. In addition you have to be able to get on and off very busy trains with your luggage that only stops at the station for a few minutes. Hemal our guide was brilliant with some less physically able guests and on two occasions sorted out for our luggage to be driven to the next hotel.
It is a non stop tour, lots of very early starts and late back to the hotel in the evening but we booked this tour as we wanted to see a lot of India and it didn’t disappoint.
Nov 08, 2024
Scenic South Korea
A comprehensive overview of S Korea packed into less than 2 weeks. Excellent logistics and many enjoyable and informative things included.
Nov 08, 2024
Vietnam & Cambodia Discovery
An absolutely amazing adventure with a great group of people and an amazing guide in Vietnam - Kim !
This was my first solo holiday and I would not hesitate to go on another Wendy Wu tour but this will take some beating !
We saw Vietnam essentially from top to bottom . From the bustle of Hanoi to the peace of the Panhou retreat just 30km from the Chinese border to the majesty of Halong Bay . Then onto Hoi An and Hue both so different but both equally memorable . Then Saigon - a Vespa tour is an essential for everyone - and the time to reflect on what we saw in the Cu chi tunnels and the war remnants museum . And then onto the Mekong delta for an overnight stop in Ben tre
The walking in Hoang Su Phi was not as challenging as the itinerary might have suggested and I chickened out of the cycling ! The hotels were all well situated and all of a more than acceptable standard - the most important part was the beds as certainly needed good nights sleep to keep up with the adventure .
The group was sad to leave Vietnam and Kim who as I have already said was amazing at looking after us and was full of amazing stories and shared his experiences with us .
However we still had Cambodia to visit and I guess my only criticism of the whole trip was it should have been slightly longer to give us a bit more time in Cambodia . The Angkor Wat complex was amazing as was the visit the following day to the village on stilts . Our guide Chet obviously had a hard act to follow but again he was great !
My highlights - the retreat , walking in the mountains , Halong bay , the bamboo circus in Hoi An and the mad ride on coracle boats , the Vespa tour ,eating and drinking fresh coconut in the Mekong the Angkor complex and the Phare Circus !
A truly amazing adventure
Nov 08, 2024
Ultimate China
The tour guide Jason was top class.
Couldn't do enough to help everyone on the tour. He helped me solve various issues.
The itinerary is also excellent. That's why I picked this trip.
I do feel they could vary the style of eating more often or even reduce the amount of included dinners. Because every meal was included it almost became monotonous than something special. Several In the group chose to skip included meals at times.
Hotels were excellent apart from in Shangri-la. That one was so hot in the room and temperature couldn't be adjusted. But that was the exception, all other hotels were excellent.
They delivered what I hoped for and they were very good with the visa service too.
Nov 08, 2024
Glories of China
This was a fabulous trip, with everything meticulously organised and covering all of the China highlights we wished to visit and experience. All hotels were excellent although the one in Yangshuo offered a relatively limited breakfast and terrible coffee. The range of food items on offer in the other 4 hotels was magnificent. The trip included all meals, basically 2 main meals a day as lunch and dinner were virtually indistinguishable, except for the 2 days when we a had packed lunch. Activities came thick and fast, but virtually all were given adequate time given the full schedule. Our itinerary included 2 internal flights and a connection by bullet train, all flawlessly organised. We had 4 different local guides, all attentive to individual needs. Our only recommendation would be that guides be less cautious about the willingness of clients to have a truly Chinese experience - guides should be encouraged to quickly assess the degree to which clients are willing to try genuinely local cuisine and then choose restaurants and meal courses accordingly.
In conclusion, the trip fulfilled our hopes and felt value for money.
Nov 07, 2024
China by Rail
Well organised and managed
Good hotels and guides
Did exactly what brochure said it would
Nov 07, 2024
Japan Uncovered
Our guide Kumiko was excellent. Vert knowledgeable, very friendly and great fun. The schedule was a bit hectic but we saw so much of Japan.the lovely countryside and gardens, the castles, temples and shrines as well as the cities. Kumi helped to bring the history alive.
We also went to a miss brewery., a was wasabi farm, a paper making factory and watched a tea ceremony and made and drank our own macha tea! We travelled on the bullet train and also had several boat trips. There are so many marvellous memories. Our group of 28 got on very well aided by the lively Australians.
It was my first experience of Japanese food which I thoroughly enjoyed. Everyone was so friendly and courteous and everywhere was so clean. My granddaughter didn't want to leave and wants to return to Japan in the future.
Nov 06, 2024