Wendy Wu Tours Questions & Answers (page 5 of 5)

Thank you. Will do

Hi, as far as I am aware, the largest group they will take is 30. Ours was 29, but according to guide, this was one of his largest. My understanding is all dates are guaranteed departures. We had a good mix of Aussies, Kiwi's & Brits on our tour. Hope this helps. April

Thanks April. That sounds good.
Lee

That's me too!! Not big on shopping at all.... Mainly souvenirs for grand children (2) I did buy a silk doona which was my biggest purchase.....all up in 16 days....I just added it up today actually......I spent $700AUD....
If you have any other queries email me [email protected]. We had a wonderful time.....
Cheers

Jan Holmes

Hi Norelle, All of your shopping will be in YUAN, so I suggest you get say $500AUD and get that converted at airport or your bank. When you stay at hotels they all have
ATM's or the old Credit Card comes in handy. You will need to pay tips this is approx. $65 US per person, to tour guide. If you are doing cruise, you need to pay another $100US tips. There is not a lot of time to shop, so take advantage of any market you pass, even though they don't recommend. I wish I had stopped at more. Remember to negotiate. eg. I purchased a satin bath robe at market, asking price $800YUAN, picked it up for $200YUAN, if that helps. We had a great time!
April

I did the Wendy Wu Wonders of China Tour so cannot comment on your's. Our tour was pretty full on and we did not have much free time.

Hi, Kiara. Just finished a Wendy Wu tour in China. We had very little free time. They keep you on the go seeing all the great sites. All meal are included & our tour guide looked after as very well. On our tour one person wanted to go to a Chemist to get some medication for a sore throat & our guide insisted on going with them to interpret & make sure they didn't get lost. They take their role very seriously. You best bet would be to add on a couple of days at the end of your tour if you want to go it alone. Have fun & enjoy

We didn't have a lot of free time as most of the free time you were able to go on optional tours & all the meals were included As suggested just add a few days on the end if the tour doesn't cover all your needs Cheers

Sorry we have not done it yet.

Hi Viv, Looks like I must cut my answer to you very short. email me at [email protected]
My name is Ken and I have just returned from the Vietnam Trails tour with Wendy Wu. I am 64 and loved it. Um! the train to Sapa was quite an experience. There is only one train that goes to Sapa and it leaves Hanoi in the evening. Our train was full and must have had 16 carriages. Our carriage on the way up to Sapa was an older type and was a little dirty. The carriages are airconditioned. However, they turned the aircon off in the early hours of the morning.The rooms on the train are quite small with bunk beds. Two up and two down. There is a foot bracket on the wall to help you to the top bunk but you must stand on the lower bunk to get up or down. It is a bit tricky. The mattresses are thin and not very comfortable. The top mattress is thicker than the lower one which is about 1.5 ins thick.

Vietnamese and Chinese trains can be a bit rustic to other standards. The word "Soft" in the description does not refer to the bed. Getting into the top bunk requires the skills of Sir Edmund Hillary. The compartments are small and could be claustrophobic to some but the trains generally run on time and with minimal delays.
Best to a) take a lot of snacks and your ereader or book and b) a lightweight inflatable mattress and pillow will make the journey a lot more comfortable and c) regard your excursion as an "adventure" rather than a train trip...

No only for India to varansi which was very disappointing to say the least.Singapore is very easy to get around, we had a deal with Singapore airlines as part of our fare which entitled us to free entry to places like Singapore flyer. If you get a hop on hop off pass that takes you to all the main city attractions .

I did a Wendy Wu tour to Varanasi. Do not use them to go to Varanasi especially by train which was the most frightening travel experience I have ever had. I can't comment on the golden triangle with them but I went with Cosmos for the golden triangle tour and it was excellent

I would recommend COSMOS tour it was great, we did a varansi tour with them wendy Wu and the logistical aspect of the tour was very disappointing for what we paid. Dont use them for India especially if it's train travel !

Hi
I have been on 3 tours with wendy wu.
all the motels they stay in are very clean with western toilets .you may encounter squats outside the motels but generally u can find a western toilet
I hope this helps
stuart
ps enjoy your trip

We did the Wonders of China Tour in May. Honestly the best holiday we have had I would rate Wendy Wu a 10 out of 10. Clean hotels no squat toilets in hotels. We always had the option at tour stops of squats or a short queue for the western toilet. Loved China. So much cleaner than Cambodia or Vietnam. Hope this helps. Ps the food was also great

I did the Grand Tour of China. All hotel rooms we had were clean and very comfortable. Beijing the beds were quite firm, but still comfortable. Got softer the closer we got to Shanghai. A couple of people of the tour had small issues and our tour guide was brilliant, fixed the issue straight away. All western toilets in the hotels. They are 3 - 4 star. The air-cons blow air, but not cold, circulates only. Food was good and plenty of it. If you want Maccas etc, you will have to buy in your free time, but don't expect it for a meal! Could not fault Wendy Wu and having a fantastic tour guide was the key as well. Enjoy, get out and about in free time, make the most of it.

Can I take days of if necessary? I have just read reviews that the tours are strenuous compared to others

Hi Megsie. I suspect this tour could be difficult for a 67 year old with a knee replacement. The tour I did had a lot of walking. Perhaps you should change to a shorter medium paced tour, or look for a tour with a slower pace. The tour I was on did not have days off, and we were travelling a lot which would have made it difficult to spend days in the hotel. Wendy Wu are an excellent company, and China is a fantastic destination, so I hope you find something that suits you.

Unfortunately no.... But I really fancy that as our next trip! We did Vietnam Highlights & have friends doing the Grand Indochina tour in a couple of months. Whilst we were on tour we met someone who had done several Wendy Woo tours & had never been disappointed. We certainly weren't & neither were any other members of our group. Fabulous time. Go for it!

Thanks Maddy, we have booked an independent tour as Wendy wu price for 2014 have gone up hugely!!! Almost identical but private tour in car and guide and flexible. Much cheaper see more and stay in same places.
We did grand tour of China with ww and was great but the India tour is too EXSPENSIVE now.

Yes, my husband and I did the Golden Triangle tour May 2013. We were not disappointed. We found the hotels to be of a good standard.The meals that were provided were fantastic.The driver we had for the trip was good and honest. At Each town we were meet by a different Wendy Wu adviser who checked all was ok.
Also the guides for each site were different and full of knowledge. Not your normal guy hanging around the entrance, these were mature men, some with university degrees.
We even extended the normal trip by having a few days spare in the middle to our selves, dont think this is normally allowed but they agreed and let us.
This was a great trip.
At the time of booking last year in Feb 2013 the cost for 7 days/6 nights, Superior, twin share, per person, was $920 Aus ( Think based on low season)