



It was overall a fantastic experience. I would highly recommend using Odynovo for your next trip!
This was my second trip to China with Odynovo. I visited last Fall and enjoyed it so much I wanted to come back and explore other areas. We did the 20 day tour of Yunnan area. Because we had already seen some of the major attractions in Beijing, Shanghai, and Xian in our prior trip, our tour consultant John Hu did an great job of customizing the tour to allow us to see different sites and attractions in Beijing and Shanghai. And instead of Xian, we visited Chongqing instead. I like that they take care of all the planning: the hotels, the transportation including trains and domestic flights between the cites. All the tour guides spoke English very well and did a great job also of sharing their knowledge of the different sites. In Beijing we saw so many new places: the Confucius temple, the Summer Palace, the National Museum of China, which is very hard to get tickets for, a boat ride of Kunming lake, an acrobatics show, the Ming Tombs, and underground palace and a Peking Opera at the Liyuan Theatre. Our Beijing tour guide, Mr. Edward, was excellent: Very attentive, patient, knowledgeable, friendly, and slowed down his pace to match ours when necessary. He and his driver were always so pleasant and welcoming. They went above and beyond to make sure we always had what we needed. In Chongqing we visited the Three Gorges Museum, The People's Square, Eling Park, the Great Hall of the People, Raffles City and watched a train go through a building. There was a minor issue with the tour guide's schedule and our itinerary. However, John Hu, our Odynovo travel consultant, responded very quickly and apologized for the mix up and we were treated to a lovely dinner in a beautify restaurant inside a cave in Guilin. It was a most memorable experience, and I really appreciate Odynovo's quick response to resolve the issue.Jianshui and Yuanyang were also excellent: We especially enjoyed the beautiful and spa like Oness Resort in Yuanyang. Excellent accommodations and service! Our tour guide Rosemary did a great job, and our driver Mrs. Gao did a fantastic job often driving us very long distances to get to our different sites. And always pleasant and with a welcoming smile to greet us.Lijiang was very beautiful and cozy. The Bivou Lijiang hotel had excellent accommodations and service. They also serve a diverse food menu in their restaurant for those who may be craving some western style dishes. Louise our tour guide did a great job of explaining the culture and history of the region. The Jade Dragon Stone Mountain and the Tiger Leaping Gorge are spectacular.In Guilin, we cruised the gorgeous Li River and watched the amazing Show of Impression in Yangshuo. A special shout out to Sharon our Guilin tour guide. She is so warm, patient, and welcoming. Always making sure we were well taken care of and ready to help/adapt as needed, whenever possible, for any requests or changes. We only stayed in the Bravo hotel for one night but it was excellent. Very large comfy rooms and excellent breakfast and dinner buffets with a large assortment of delicious Chinese and Western style food. The Yangshuo Li River Resort hotel is a very modern but cozy small boutique style hotel with excellent accommodations and a beautiful balcony view of the Limestone mountains.Our last leg of the trip was in Shanghai. Sophie did a great job of explaining the culture and history. We visited Suzhou and heard some beautiful opera singers and musicians in an outside concert setting (tea and opera music). The Humble Administrators garden was beautiful but also extremely crowded: shoulder to shoulder in some cases; So just be aware if you don't like crowds. but I would say it's still worth it. In the ancient town of Tongli, we took a leisurely boat ride in historic alleyways. Lots of great photo opportunities. Definitely would recommend this. Also visited the ancient Zhujiajiao water town, which was also lovely. This was an amazing trip. If I were to do it again, I would schedule to arrive a few days ahead of when the tour actually begins. There is a lot packed in and a lot of walking so bring good walking shoes or comfortable sneakers to get up and down all the steps sometimes required to get to certain sites. And bring some sunscreen and a sun hat. Some of the areas we visited were quite sunny and warm: t shirt like weather. Also plan for some night viewing as many places are beautifully lit up in the evening, especially along the water. If you are staying in Shanghai or Chongqing, there are several excellent upscale malls that serve many different types of food if you are craving something other than local Chinese food, which is also very good. For Shanghai Sunrise on the Bund hotel, there is the SMP Mall and the Raffles city mall. about a 5 minute walk from the hotel. For Chongqing there is also an upscale mall inside the international hotel building (can't remember the name.)