Hello,
I think this is one of my first posts so please be kind.
I found this deal which is incredibly cheap. $500 per person, twin share to China….it includes a LOT!!!
Claims 4 star hotels too.
Hope you find this useful!
via Iknowthepilot
Departure City Surcharges: *Brisbane: $600 (for 2 people), *Adelaide or *Perth: $800 (for 2 people)
The return flight is optional at their discretion.
Driver/tour guide fees/tips, visas, departure cities such as Brisbane carry a $600 surcharge? Wtf.
This deal should be $500* per person trip
*Denotes you will pay double in some sort of fees.
Nope, just booked. Works out to be about $150 in fees for a couple
Please share your experience when you finish the tool, hope you come back in one piece.
I read it as:
$10per person per day
+
$150 for the second person
+
35 + 45 (80) per person for tour leaders.
.=
approx 500 additional (assuming $10 on every days)
@battler: In the important info:
$80 per personx2 = $160
$150 2nd person = $150
My take is Total = $310
@Coops1: and this:
A mandatory service fee is not included in the tour price, and is required for the services of the tour leader (when available) and driver throughout the tour. The mandatory service fee for the tour leader and driver is $10 AUD per person/per day where tour or transfer services are provided, which will be collected whilst on tour
@battler: That’s the $80. 8 days in China. 3.5 days at $10, 4.5 days at $10. It’s the same fee, your counting it twice.
I'm guessing because the flights are really from Melbourne and Sydney, thus other cities have to fly there first, then to China?
Departure City Surcharges: *Brisbane: $600 (for 2 people), *Adelaide or *Perth: $800 (for 2 people)
it's a good deal, but something to be aware of is that some of these packages expect you spend a certain amount at specific locations and have been known to get quite aggressive about it (locked in stores, check receipts, intimidation etc). Saying that, if you are ok with spending money on souvenirs etc then it's a great deal.
buy a stick of gum at each store?
heheheh good Ozbargain response. :)
Again, not saying this offer is one of those tours, but there are reports of tour guides demanding minimum spends of between $50 - $100 per stop.
demanding minimum spends of between $50 - $100 per stop.
This sounds like more of a SCAM than a bargain…
you wish, they bring you to the tea shop which sell 300% more than a normal shop.
The attitude when you go into those "museums" is "how much are you going to buy?" not "is there anything I can help you with?"
Second that, we got locked down in one of tea shop because no one was buying and they get really aggressive and make you stay in motel
Report it to Current Affair!
They wouldn't do Jack. It's a money maker scheme in China. Just be careful when signing these trip as your costs including tips and other extra charges could involve and prepare to buy things that you don't need
I've been on this exact trip with Tripadeal - think it might be too late but I can confirm that this is not the case. They didn't force a thing on us.
I booked it thinking the same thing and got scammed 200 dollars from this very trip.
124 posts and this is "one of your first"?!
They're forum posts haha - not deals
They're forum posts haha - not deals
You didn't say deals, you said: "I think this is one of my first posts so please be kind."
Looks like you caught me. Darn it.
Yeah with neg comments like that, I can see why
Please explain why my comment was negative and would cause distress
The catch is you require to spend in there shop, if you did not buy enough they first educate you that you need to spend money to support your low-cost tour fee, then if still no one spend they threaten to stay in the shop until the quota met, they will dump you in the middle of nowhere and keep educating you..
This is my experience if you are tightass and you should pray that the rest of the tourist in your tour will spend.
Never got pressured into buying.
I spent nothing at most of the "factories" we visited.
Did people in the same tour spend?
yeah, of course.
Our guide was up front telling us that the whole tour is subsidised by the airline, and by the 'factories' we visited.
I've done 3 of these cheap tours to China and not once have I felt pressured to buy.
Sounds like fun
they will dump you in the middle of nowhere and keep educating you
Yeah that sounds about right for China. Although I think it's "re-education".
There are about $350 in fees to be paid once in china.
They will offer you additional tours and attractions not included in the base price for a fee
Same deal offered by tripadeal, subcontracted to intrepid tours
I've just come back from the tripadeal version.
Overall really couldn't complain.
Hotels were all nice.
Most of the meal stops were at locations where you could grab western food, or eat like a local (cheaply)
You'll be able to buy beer on the bus. 500ml can of Tsing Tao for 10 yuan (about $2.10)
Did you visit many places? Did you have a great time? Would you go back?
Might want to check the "IMPORTANT INFO" on this page
tripadeal.com.au/deals/3291-9-day-2-for-1-china?utm_source=iktp&utm_medium=banner&utm_content=3291&utm_campaign=iktp31oct2019
Just a snipit
" Beijing: $35 per person total payable to your Beijing based guide prior to departing Beijing for services provided on days 3, 4, 5 & half of day 6 of the tour."
It's still wayyyy cheaper than anything else comparable.
I agree, but still important people know what the total price is going to be!
9 days is pretty rushed to visit all those places. Shanghai alone will take more than 9 days to explore properly.
As everyone mentioned, they hope you spend at each area but won't force you or lock you up. I've never had anyone lock me in or yell at me to spend. You go in, have a look around and maybe wait 2 hours for everyone. Most of those places have some pretty unique goods so the time goes by fairly quickly.
Regardless of how they treat you on the tours, getting 7 nights accomo and flights for 500 is pretty damn good.
It's going to cost you a lot more than that.
Dodgy stuff, Deals like these bring you to heavily touristy areas where everything is inflated in pricing
You will regret it. These cheap China tours are no fun at all. Hope you like eating horrible food, dirty out of the way hotels and being taken to government run factories each day, and 6+ hours spent on the bus each day.
If you look hard enough you can get the ones where they pay you to fly and stay there.
They'll go ham at you during the shopping tours though, e.g. the jade scam which my mum fell for lol.
dont forget you need to add $109 for visa.
Do not do this if you're actually interested in visiting the country.
This is a massive time waster. 80% of your time is spent on a bus going from factory to factory to hotel to factory.
You have at most 2 hours a day to actually be a tourist. The rest of the time you're treated like cattle with wallets.
The worst was when they forced us to stay at a factory in the middle of nowhere for 6 hours.
Agree with this entirely. As talismansa says, these tours are cheap because you are basically just a wallet carrier. The focus is on getting you to spend at much as possible, not on giving you the best experience.
If you're OK with that, then great, but I prefer overseas holidays that emphasise the experience.
We've done a tripadeal last year and this is a really great price.
My advice would be add the terracotta warriors if it's something you want to see.
We went to the jade factory, pearl factory, porcelain factory and chinese medicine.
Didn't buy a thing and there was no hard sell apart from the Chinese medicine who flounced off when we didn't share our medical problems or express any interest in a consultation. We did get a free foot massage though.
I think TAD has a reputation of being cheapskates as we got pretty well ignored while they concentrated on the Americans.
There is a daily tip that is dropped in a plastic shopping bag as the guide walks down the aisle of the bus.
The traffic in Beijing is horrific but a friend on a Wendy Wu tour wasted the same amount of time as we did for very much more.
The hotels were a reasonable standard. No nasty surprises
The Beijing zoo wasn't worth the visit. Our Adelaide pandas look a lot happier!
We vistited the temple of heaven on our own as we seemed to be the only one interested, our taxi was a lot cheaper than the excursion.
We went to the Golden Mask show. Totally amazing. Best show I've ever seen.
I'd grab this and go back if the dates suited but it only seems to be offering March or May.
Hi @nissa
We just booked a trip a deal trip to china and i hope this is not too intrusive, but i was wondering if you can share any insights on some of the optional tours that the team at trip a deal offer. From what i can gather, the Golden Mask show seems like a must do, but what about the rest of the optional activities? They seem quite expensive per person, so I am wondering if they are worth the effort and provide good value for money, or if we are better off just organising our own experiences through trip adviser or something like that. If you have any recommendations, or advice on anything to do and anything to steer clear of, i would be very appreciative. Feel free to PM me, thanks in advance, Josh
I also have the same view as yourself.
The optional tours seem expensive, when you multiply by two.
Cheaper to grab a cab & see some of the sights yourself & other sights in that area.
Why pay someone.. A walking tour of the town, you walk for free & Google to read what the place is about
JoshyC There weren't many optional extras on our tour. It was only 8 days.
We did the hutongs tour which took you on the lake and through the alleyways for dinner in a private house.
No one wanted to do the temple of heaven so we just caught a cab from the hotel and did it on our own. You don't get the explanations but sometimes these can be longwinded and we just like to wander.
There was a kungfu tour from Zheng Zhou. It was another long day on the bus so we didn't bother and were happy to explore Zheng Zhou.
A couple on our tour did more of their own thing and actually organised a private trip to the terracotta warriors from Zheng Zhou but I hadn't thought of this option earlier and it's not something to sort on the run.
The zoo, the wall and the forbidden city were all included.
We also found the great firewall an amazing pain until we got our VPN working so that maybe something you'll be ready for.
I was lost without google maps etc and facebook
thanks so much for the info. yeah our tour includes most things like the zoo, the GW, the terracotta warriors, etc, but there are other options available for each day - sounds like the VPN is a must for maps and translator.
really appreciate your advice.
I do not get the whole negativity everyone is displaying.
I was on a TAD earlier this year in March to China for 12 days.
The tour guides were friendly and knowledgeable.
I went to the places that I had wanted to experience, Great Wall, Forbidden Palace and enjoyed others which were not on my radar.
The first hotel we stayed out was surprisingly classy considering the price we paid, the next two we standard with only a single issue to do with a shower curtain.
We never were felt like we were forced to buy anything, and the buffet breakfast every morning was delicious.
It is a shame some people have had a negative experience, but personally I think it was just enough of China for me personally to be satisfied in such an easy and organised way.
Also as Nissa said, the Golden Mask show was the best show my partner and I had ever seen.
Hi @Dswal,
same comment as above to @nissa, any insights you could share would be greatly appreciated.
thanks
Hey Joshy, I can't quite remember exactly what optionals there was as they change depending on which tour you are doing.
I do remember going to each of the available ones on our tour.The must do is the Golden Mask Dynasty.
The huangpu night cruise was lovely. Pay the extra like 50-100 Yuan on board to get "VIP" level. Basically its a floor just to you, with as much green tea as you like and a lot less crowded then the rest of the boat.
The locals were quite friendly on our trip, just be prepared to say no as everyone is generally quite persistent.
The stores you go to will always have a huge markup price, you can generally reduce the prices by up to 50% but seeming interested and then just walking away or not agreeing with the prices.
You get supplied with up to 2 water bottles per person a day on the bus and you'll usually have 2 sitting in the hotel each day. So you will have plenty of water to drink (and to use for brushing your teeth as their standard water is not suitable).
The toilets you will go to when not at the hotel are squat toilets. There will generally be a 'western' toilet at each place, but for obvious reasons you'll be waiting a long time in your tour groups. I'm lucky I go once a day and can wait for the hotel. My partner though, she learnt quickly. Haha!
There is the great firewall of china, so I had a VPN so I could access Facebook + google when in hotel rooms on the wifi. Also so I could download google translate/maps for offline use.
If you ever feel unsafe (which we never did) just stick with the group.
Edit: On another note with Toilets. Taking a roll of toilet paper with you is a good idea. I remember in Shanghai (at least for the females) there was a place we went to that supplied toilet paper via facial recognition so people wouldn't waste toilets. (Or to track you depending on your tin foil hat level)
thanks so much for the info, thats all great to know. the options available to us are as follows:
i think i am going to really struggle without google translator lol
@JoshyC: With google translator you can download the language so you can use it offline before you travel over.
Ah yes! I can remember them all now.
9 Day Package
February: 27
March: 3, 5, 10, 12, 14, 17, 19*, 21*, 24*
May: 5*, 7*, 9*, 12, 14, 16, 19, 21, 23, 26, 30
June: 2, 4, 9, 11
11 Day Package
February: 25
March: 1, 3, 8, 10, 12, 15, 17*, 19*, 22*
May: 3*, 5*, 7*, 10, 12, 14, 17, 19, 21, 24, 28, 31
June: 2, 7, 9
Unobtainable deal as advertised.
went on one early this year with WebJet, apparently it is a promotion by the chinese govt to encourage tourism, but some tour agencies like this one, you have to pay compulsory tipping. the one that i book via webjet, its says included, and also got 1 extra day/night in shanghai as the airline that were used didn't fly to melbourne on my end of tour day.
imo, read the fine print.
You'll stay in hotels in remote locations, visit touristy gift shops where the tour operator gets 50% kickback on sales, and ditto for restaurants.
Try to deviate always from one of the "recommended" stores you'll be taken down like a lion takes down a gazelle.
Ive spent many months in China over 5 visits, whilst I've never taken a trip long tour I have taken a couple of 2 night side trips, and this is precisely what happens!
Our tour operator would have been pretty disappointed with the kickbacks.
Very few of us bought anything. I was happy to just be taken to the top sights for next nothing.
I'm never interested in shopping and find it pretty easy not to buy anything.
these comments remind me of my time in india where a taxi offered to take us around the city for free. We were like wow yeah cool (because we were young and dumb) and he took us to this dingy little silk shop. He told us to have a look around while he talked to the owner. We were like wtf.. this stuff is cool I guess… then we got back in the taxi and next shop, repeat - until one of us twigged what was going on, this taxi guy was getting kickbacks for bringing tourists into the shops. We told him bye and got another taxi, he was pissed.
It’s easy enough to diy. Cost a bit more but you can stay in a nice hotel in a central location, go to places you want to go etc
My friend is chinese and did one of these tours. She paid extra to avoid factories but the places they took them to eat with kickbacks was not good n hotels in remote location. There was nothing to do in the vicinity of the hotel at night.
If DIY, you can spend a night in a water village avoiding all the tourists n crowds, you could stay at a 5 star hotel over looking the Bund and within walking distance to Yu Garden, markets and eateries, cafe hop in Xintiandi and browse the arts market in Tianzifang. Wonder and get lost in the alleys along the canals in Suzhou.
I highly recommend you spend a bit more and do a free and easy diy tour at your own pace. China is well connected by high speed trains and it’s so cheap. Taxis also plenty and so cheap. Need to download app though. DIY means you can plan attractions when it’s likely to be less busy. China is very populated and some attractions is crazy busy that all you can see is heads. You are also not rushed. The food is amazing.. but you have to get recommendations. Likely none of the tour stops have good food.
I think from reading the comments, that your holiday experience is highly dependant on which tour company in China they subcontract to.
I've done 3 of these cheap China tours. 1 with SNA via webjet, 1 with SNA directly and 1 with Intrepid Tours via TripADeal.
SNA seem to use some of the more out of the way hotels.
They are all subsidised in some way by the airlines and kickbacks from the 'shopping' component of the tour.
If you go into it expecting a cheap highlights tour of China you'll be fine.
Once you've been and had a taster tour, as sal78 said, go back and create your own customised experience
DO NOT BOOK. IS A SCAM. I booked this trip, and had my booking cancelled and 200 dollars taken. Apparently I didn't fill out some form I never even received.
They email you a warning 2 hours prior to it being cancelled, which is virtually no time for anyone to react. I called them ab hour after they cancelled it and they deferred me to wait til tomorrow which by that time was too late.
They still charge you 200 dollars, they had my phone number but never bothered to seek an alternate way of contacting me when 1000 dollars was on the line. Theft in broad daylight.
What form Is this? When were you due to fly out?
Next year March. I know right, you'd expect some breathing space.
I have no idea. They emailed me a "HIGH RISK OF BEING OFFLOAD" just 2 hours before I received another email saying my trip is cancelled and they will take 200 dollars from the trip for " ADMIN FEES"
Apparently they sent me a confirmation with a LINK to a form that I'm supposed to fill within 72 hours. Never got that email. You'd expect them to send atleast another email or a text when you spent 1,000 dollars. Nope. Now they cancelled the trip, took 200 dollars. We already booked our annual leaves. Just devasting and not a shred of sympathy.
Oh my goodness! Thats horrible!
We've paid and booked for March also.
Haven't got any such email?
The only form we had to fill was just the standard form which outlines your passport details, emergency contact and details of traveller etc ?
Have you filled that form?
what's the catch?