SNA Tours Questions & Answers

Hi Anton, have you tried sending them an email to this email address :- [email protected]
Did you get an automated reply saying their offices are closed until 31st May,2020? Also you could try sending them a message on their Facebook page, you may get a reply, here is the link :- https://www.facebook.com/snaasiagroup, where it says "send message" click on it and then type your message. Did you deal with SNA Tours directly? I purchased an offer through Luxury Escapes so had to deal with them separately. Just try these two actions and see if you receive a reply. All the best.

Also depending on any response you receive, write another review on this site and also write a review on Trust Pilot and on SNA's facebook page, that often gets a response.
There is a petition that I have signed :- https://www.change.org/p/luxury-escapes-tell-luxury-escapes-to-offer-refunds-amidst-covid-19-pandemic
It has gained a lot of response from various people with complaints etc. See what you think.

To Diana S and Gra of Sydney : Please consider signing the petition that many disgruntled Luxury Escapes customers have signed, it is all about trying to get refunds for various travel/accommodation etc. Alson consider the Slater & Gordon class action expression of interest to hold the travel agencies accountable. Here is the link if you are interested :
https://www.change.org/p/luxury-escapes-tell-luxury-escapes-to-offer-refunds-amidst-covid-19-pandemic
Thanks

Hi Lyn,
SNA tour has just agreed to change my date of travel to next year.
You need to give them a call regarding Vietnam.
Regards

Hi I have booked for same tour.. in March.
They can't guarantee a date that will be free of the disease. If you cancel you will lose 350 straight up. If another date option you will lose the visa and insurance money. You will have to buy it again. So more money.
They are being deliberately unco operative. They can call it what they like. The contract I signed for no longer exists..moving the date is a new contract that I refuse to enter into.
So as it stands now I stand to lose half of the payments made for this trip

We received our itinerary about week before we left, and flights about 3 weeks before we left, we just returned from China

How did you find it and any advice, would be grear,Ta

We exchanged our Aust dollars at our bank to YUAN, less chance getting fake notes, do Google search on YouTube see how to tell if fake, the holiday is fast pace, we are fit but did get to us, runners are needed, swimming caps a must for pools, toilets are mostly squatting, look for potty toilet on doors at larger places, take hand sanitiser, paper, we did cable car extra tour. Panda zoo and some temples

Yes, Joy. Credit is fine. You will love the cruise but be prepared for lots of walking and climbing stairs. Tests the fitness.

Thank you. We are trying to get into lots of practice

For our SNA Tour to China in June my friend and I only had the flu vaccination

Thank you

I'd firstly ask a qualified Doctor (not Product Review) which vaccinations are required for China... We received 1 combined dose of Typhoid and Hepatitis A ($149.00 each) plus Flu injections. Our Tetanus vaccine was up to date and not required.

It's also important to be vaccinated 4-6 weeks prior to travel, to give the vaccine time to work in your system, too be protected.

Happy healthy holiday to you :)

Our tour guides were able to exchange money for us and also our hotels. We also exchanged some before we left Australia.

Thankyou

Just ask them to organise visas as we called about visas after we booked the holiday. We paid for the visas 3 months early (when we called). They sent the Visa to us 1 week before we left. I wouldn't organise it myself as you can't apply for visa until about 2 weeks before you leave. You get paperwork for whole tour quickly after you've booked and paid for it.

Enjoy it, you will see so much. My this tour was my dad's second time in China and he said he saw so much more than he did in his first tour and it was a much better deal. Also if you do Yangtze River Cruise in your tour definitely do vip dining you get more food options for all meals and better quality and less people. Drinks package is not worth it if you don't drink alot of alcohol as fellow tour people were getting heavily drunk each night to make the drink package worth it not to mention hangover the next days and there is a food shop on the ship so don't buy soft drinks from waiters and get charged $7 a can if 250ml coke. Go to the shop and buy 500ml bottles of soft drink for only $1-$2 and put them in the bar fridge in your room. You can take them anywhere on the ship, except dining but they have soft drink on tap anyways for free. Anyways enjoy the trip it was a really wonderful experience for us.

We received our e tickets approximately 2 1/2 months prior to our departure and our visas about 1 week before our trip. SNA tours handled our visas for us which was really hassle free.

We travelled Singapore Airlines with a change in Singapore our luggage was transferred directly to Beijing. Others coming in different directions did not mention problems with luggage so am assuming also direct transfer to Beijing

I travelled from Perth to Beijing and our luggage got sent straight through. I think I would have preferred to pay a little extra and get a straight flight there as we left Perth at 9.20 am on Thursday and didn't arrive in Beijing until 6 the next morning. Very tiring

Yes I believe this is the case with flights so we are preparing ourselves for the long haul

On the trip we did, no that wasn’t an option. We only got to see the pandas in at the zoo. Perhaps with other tours you can but not SNA.

Hi. With our tour March 2022, we flew into Chengdu at 7 am and a tour was available to see the Pandas and a Hot Pot Dinner that afternoon as an optional tour. We did not take up the offer as we have seen the Pandas in Beijing and did not think the Hot Pot Dinner at the "Chengdu Holiday Inn High-Tech Center" was worth the money. The hotel by the way was brilliant. I would call SNA and ask them what the cost would be. We found SNA in Sydney Australia very helpful. Depending on if you are going to Chengdu and how long you have there you could do it yourself. The subway is easy to navigate and you can buy subway tickets, the station staff spoke English. The actual tickets into the Park are only USD8.20 and you can check this on google. You check the website but looking at the pictures, they are down below, doesn't look like you can get get that close to them. You can email them: [email protected] . I hope this helps.

Lynda,
100 a day should be plenty (as in some days you will not need any...and you might spend more than a 100 on others.) .... You can get money out of ATMS (but not all of our cards worked).
Have fun and remember it is a budget trip...great value... but don't expect perfection!)

I agree. Probably $100 for 2 people as a minimum. We enjoyed buying souvenirs and lots of things from markets. We also spent money on extras like a night cruise, acrobats show and bullet train. So maybe take $1500 to be safe. And be careful with cards. One of our travel cards was compromised and we couldn’t use it. CBA informed us of the dodgy transaction. China likes to use cash. Even the hotels sometimes wouldn’t take visa or MasterCard. But the trip was a lifetime memory and excellent value for money. We met lots of nice people and had a great time. Have fun.

Withdraw a couple of hundred Chinese RMB from the ATM machines when you are there. Chinese ATMs accept Visa and Mastercards.
If arriving on a tour there is no need to have RMB for your arrival as you are picked up in a coach.
Once at your hotel, ask reception staff where the best place is for getting out some money.
I was charged by my bank an additional overseas transaction fee of $4.00.

let SNA do it.

I applied online for my Visa...very easy and much less expensive.

I agree with karenk, apply online for the visa, simple and cheaper.

When I went to China most hotels had laundry service. I do not remember laundry service on the river. I did my own and all were tolerant of hanging clothes from a line if you were not causing damage. You should not use their wooden hangers. You can email each for correct information. Have a good trip!

Hi Marcie, I haven't been to China yet (hope to go next year) but all the hotels we stayed at in Vietnam had a laundry service and the guides were most helpful in arranging this service. I assume the same will apply in China. Unsure of arrangements on river cruise. In Vietnam everything came back neatly pressed and tidy same day and very reasonably priced. Have great holiday.

China: I went in September (before the festival) and April. Spring winds make the air better but both were excellent. If you go on the Y. river, u may need a light jacket (make it rain proof, just in case), but do not worry about bringing formal clothing. I brought a dress I picked-up in Kauai and slippers.
Vietnam: go before April as it is getting hotter [late March]. I am not sure of the fall time. You can google that. Be sure to check for average temps/humidity of the average month.. Bring bug spray and get your shots...the water has sewage and plants are fertilized with human waste. Not all speak English.

Dress In layers with wick clothing. Wear good, supportive shoes as you will walk/climb. Bring a hat and sunglasses. Bring only one carryon [expandable for purchases] and a backpack for day. Be sure to get your visa. China may have an online one now. Vietnam/Cambodia--do it online with their official site

We went in mid August

I don't remember when we received the pack exactly, but it was about 2 weeks before we were due to travel.
I assume you have arranged visas through SNA already.

I received mine about a month before leaving for Vietnam. I did not receive my packet until 2 days after I left (containing tags, badge, etc.). They responded to few of my emails. A flight was canceled and I did not know it until I checked into the flight. They refuse to pay for the flight I needed at the last minute. (Vancouver office) The China tour which I took several years ago was excellent. I was totally prepared. My plane arrived late in the afternoon, but do expect wait times due to traffic. Expect to be asked to tip even though you paid for all tips. Do you have a visa? Online is cheaper than going with SNA. You may be able to go online and download the visa (I did that with both Vietnam and Cambodia) My China tickets came several months before my tour. I wonder if management has changed. Enjoy China. I have been there twice. Hope you did Xian and the cruise.

Bottled water is provided. We didn't have to carry on board. Although good idea to have your bottle to slurp on until the water bearer comes around. Have a good trip. They are very professional