My family just finished an amazing 21-day tour of China, and we couldn't be happier with Odynovo. From the very first contact with our outstanding travel agent Joy, who always responded to my many requests as quickly as possible and adjusted the itinerary several times to account for our specific interests, to the very last train station drop-off, it was a perfectly planned and executed trip. Odynovo selected a delightfully enriching variety of activities for our private group, everything from must-see historical site visits and walks through breathtaking landscapes to personalized intimate experiences with locals (two highlights were a cooking class in local lady's home in Xi'an and a private fan-making class in a real fan artist's beautiful workshop in Yangshuo). We truly got a feel for Chinese culture and the special flavors of each of the many regions we visited. In addition, the logistics of the trip were coordinated so seamlessly that we hardly noticed all the work that must have gone into it. We had a different guide waiting for us in every city (Rooney in Shanghai, Kurt in Beijing, Shannon in Xi'an, Henry in Chengdu, Michelle in Zhangjiajie, and Heidi in Guilin). That meant they had specialized knowledge only a local would have, about local customs, culture, restaurants, shopping, shortcuts in busy areas, and everything in between--much better than traveling with the same guide around the whole country. Our guides were ALL exceptional, spoke great English, and were true teachers of Chinese history and culture. More importantly, they were warm, kind, patient, and friendly people who were passionate about their work, loved sharing their cities with us, and went out of their way to make our experience in China special. We never had to worry about anything. They were all so professional, detail-oriented and personable that we fully trusted them and their leadership; it's extremely easy to travel with that kind of support, especially in a country where very few people speak English. The drivers selected for our trip were also superb, always punctual, always helpful and friendly, and every one of their cars was spacious and comfortable for our group of three. We loved discovering China with Odynovo and can't wait to return one day and explore even more of this wondrous country's regions. One piece of advice I would offer to future groups is to do as we did and pay a little extra for the upgrade to first class on the trains (it's not a huge price difference and the comfort level is much higher). Also, do NOT purchase the hot food on the trains... After trying and enjoying all sorts of foods all over the country, the only issue we had was with the hot train food on the very last train. Finally, we opted to book the hotels ourselves, and we are glad we did. I'm sure Odynovo would also pick great hotels, but this way we had a little more control over the experiences we would have in our down time after the day's planned activities. With a little research and some sifting through reviews and ratings, locations, pictures, etc, you can find great affordable hotels on China's main hotel reservation app and even some western apps. I would recommend this company without hesitation, especially the travel agent Joy and every guide chosen for our group. Just to wrap up, I'll mention one last example of their excellence... Before the trip, I told Joy one of our goals and priorities was to try local food at great local restaurants, where local people like to go, and not tourist traps. We were in China for three weeks, and at every stop our guides seemed to know that was our wish and made a point of taking us to eat at great local spots. A piece of information, which could have easily been ignored or missed by another, less careful and attentive agent or company, became one of the themes of our trip and one of the reasons we have fallen in love with China.

We had a wonderful trip around China. It was a very well organized trip for 11 day tour. We had a private van and a different tour guide for each city. We visited Shanghai, Zhangjaijae, Xi'an and Beijing. The trip was full of history, rich in culture, very organized, very safe and fun. It was nice to relax on the van and take a nap on the way to the next destination too. Our favourite tour guide was Bonnie at Shanghai, she was wonderful and we felt very taken care of. Rocky and driver zhou from Beijing was also great, they were very attentative. Joy from Odynovo helped me plan the whole trip and was amazing from the beginning to the end. She was always checking up on us, before, during and after the trip. She made the whole process easy but taking care of everything, planning everything, booking everything, and preparing the many documents we need to get to China. Joy was incredible. All in all we had fantastic trip and I am so grateful.