China is as big as it is diverse, and a vacation to this East Asian nation is guaranteed to be a many-splendored one. Immerse yourself in the buzz of sprawling modern cities, the gentle pace of picturesque rural landscapes, and absorb the rich history of this ancient civilization.
Touristy though they may be, begin your tour with China’s iconic sites: the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, and Tiananmen Square in Beijing; the Bund and Shanghai Museum in Shanghai; the sea of terracotta warriors at the tomb of Qin Shi Huang in Xi’an. If you can, walk a section of one of the great wonders of the world, the Great Wall, which winds some 13,000 miles through mountains.
China’s treasures also include natural wonders and great cultural experiences. Guilin and Yangshuo have ethereal karst mountains and gorgeous countryside. Similarly, the tall sandstone pinnacles of Zhangjiajie National Forest, made famous by the movie Avatar, are extraordinary to witness. Lijiang and Dali in the Yunnan province promise heritage sites and cultural insights into some of China’s ethnic minorities. Take a luxury cruise on the Yangtze River between Chongqing and Yichang, past gorges, pagodas, and the magnificent Three Gorges Dam. In Chengdu, you can meet cuddly, but endangered giant pandas in their natural bamboo forest habitat. Chengdu is also a UNESCO city of gastronomy, birthplace of the ever-popular Szechuan Cuisine.
With at least eight unique regional cuisines, food is undoubtedly at the center of any trip to China. All of it very different from the Chinese food in your home country. Grilled street fare rules in Yunnan, while Jiangsu cuisine is dominated by seafood. For lighter flavors turn to Shandong and Zhejiang cuisine, but if you appreciate bold, spicy food make a beeline for specialties from Hunan and Szechuan. Every city has an unending variety of must-try dishes—Beijing’s famous roasted Peking duck, Shanghai’s hairy crab, various hotpots, steamed buns, century eggs, moon cakes, smoky roasted meats, and a thousand types of noodle dishes and dumplings. Always washed down with the ubiquitous Chinese tea.
There are so many gems in this vast and unique land. From Hangzhou to Pingyao, China’s heritage and culture is staggering. When you need a break, go shopping at omnipresent street markets, boutiques, or upmarket malls. To wind down, end your China trip with a white-sand beach escape in Sanya, in a charming water town like Tongli, or at the hill resort of Moganshan.
Breathtaking as it is, China is not an easy country to navigate. A private, tailor-made tour is the perfect way to discover its range of UNESCO sites, its manmade and natural marvels. With an Enchanting Travels consultant by your side, take heart, every logistical detail will be taken care of, and you’re ensured a journey that is smooth as Chinese silk.
Given that it’s the third-largest country in the world, China’s vast expanse naturally means tremendous diversity in temperatures and weather. From the best time to visit China to month by month highlights, plan your China tour just right with tips from our experts.
Where else can you find a country that has both great lakes and a desert, cutting edge technology and architecture, and towns where life has gone unchanged for centuries? To help you navigate the vast expanse, here is our list of the top things to do in China.
In general, there is very little crime and violence in China. Nevertheless, there are still a few things worth noting down before you jet off on a China vacation. Our destination experts share an overview on the top tips for safe and seamless travel in China.
Katie planned an AMAZING honeymoon to Thailand for us and it was more than we could have every asked for. During the initial planning phase, my fiance and I knew we wanted to get the full Thailand experience, but really didn’t know what we wanted to see, where we wanted to stay, or what kinds of excursions we wanted to do. Katie listened to our ideas, likes / dislikes, and asked questions about our budget. She really tailored our honeymoon to fit our desire to experience the culture of Thailand … while still relaxing and being “on vacation.”
The actual trip itself went off without a hitch, thanks for the detailed communication between the app and our trip concierge, Rahul. Having a dedicated guide and driver for each leg of the trip gave us the “hand holding” that we wanted for our honeymoon – just being able to relax and enjoy without worrying about the logistics. Also, the fact that everything was private made it that much better – we could really appreciate the romantic honeymoon and spend time with each other, without any distractions.
All of our accommodations were top tier … without the top tier price. One of my biggest fears when traveling is that a hotel is not as great as advertised, or is in a shady area, etc. But I totally trusted Katie’s knowledge and experience and never once had those worries on this trip. I love how Katie was able to find us luxurious hotels that fit within our budget. Every hotel knew it was our honeymoon, thanks to Enchanting Travels, and provided a little something special at welcome.
I highly recommend Enchanting Travels (and Katie!) and 100% would book another vacation again with them. I am usually a “DIY” type of traveler, but this trip now has me spoiled.
Rating 5/5
Rating 5 out of 5 stars
Travis and Rebecca Guy
USA
I had an amazing trip to Thailand with Enchanting travels … well organized , great tours and guides , contact with my agent almost daily … I recommend this company highly
Rating 5/5
Rating 5 out of 5 stars
Victor Hugo Gonzalez-Quintero
USA
Kate helped plan our trip to Thailand. Every aspect was amazing from the locations we visited, to the hotels, to the activities that we did. Top notch service and would highly recommend to anyone!
Rating 5/5
Rating 5 out of 5 stars
Bryan Walsh
Canada
My husband and I recently returned from a 3 week customized and private vacation in Southern India and Sri Lanka put together by Enchanting Travels. This is our second trip with Enchanting Travels and once again this experience exceeded our expectations. Anita Sahi was a joy to work with, she really listened to what we wanted our trip to look like and helped us plan activities, tours, hikes, and special places to visit. We chose what hotels we wanted and she recommended excellent accommodations to choose from. Once we were in India, our trip manager Sugufta Sumbul worked closely with us to ensure everything was going as planned. We stayed in contact with her through WhatsApp and any question nor concerns we had she was on top of it. All our drivers and guides were excellent with good knowledge and good English skills. A special shout out to our driver/guide Numal in Sri Lanka. We felt like we were traveling with a good friend. He really shared his knowledge of his beautiful country, answering all our questions, taking us to his favorite spots and recommending food and handicraft shops. We wished we had more time in Sri Lanka. We would highly recommend Enchanting Travels. They made the trip so enjoyable and most of all stress free, which is priceless.
Rating 5/5
Rating 5 out of 5 stars
Robert S Cole
USA
We just came back from Vietnam, Cambodia,Laos,and Thailand. From the time we first called and spoke to Kate who helped us set up our itinerary,to the time we got to all our stops,we were met by guides and drivers who were all wonderful. Knowing we had a concierge that we could call at anytime this trip was 45 days from Feb 6- March 20. This trip was a trip of a lifetime and very grateful that we found Enchanting Tours. I recommend them highly. Ed Pino Liz Baum
Rating 5/5
Rating 5 out of 5 stars
Ed Pino
USA
Enchanting Travels did an amazing job curating a memorable trip for our family to Japan. Every detail was taken care of including transportation from the airport and even taking us to each train platform. The classes we know took were also excellent including the sushi making class, the bento box making class, and the calligraphy. We had an issue with our flight coming into Japan and our trip coordinator. Anchal took care of communicating with the hotel. She was even able to get us a refund for the night we missed. Anchal was always available and ensure that every detail of our trip went smoothly. Everything was professional and done in a first class manner. I would give them my highest recommendation without hesitation.
