We traveled with China Spree in October 2007--18 days in Beijing, Xian, Guilin & Shanghai. It was a wonderful trip, top-notch all the way. A group of only 14, a knowledgeable and caring guide, fabulous accommodations. We highly recommend this company.

In response to csantistevan

First of all we did not, unfortunately, have a lot of China Spree tours in August, due to the fear of Swine Flu quarantine.

Secondly, none of the groups in August exceeded 20 people (the average group size is 14 people in August). China Spree is the only tour operator on the market that sells comprehensive vacation packages at budget prices but intentionally keeps the group size small. On average, our group size is 10-16 people and the maximum is 24, which is rarely reached because any group that large is usually split into smaller subgroups.

Thirdly, we did not have a lot of seniors in China Spree groups in August in particular. According to our accurate calculation performed today, 91% of China Spree tour members in August 2009 were under 60 years old. Actually, China Spree travelers are younger than other tour company's. They are active travelers, because China Spree tours have more included features than any other tour operator, and that requires our tour participants to be dynamic travelers. We actually work our clients hard—they are on tour from 8 am to 8 pm almost every day.

China Spree tours are very well organized and surely our clients know how to navigate efficiently. As a matter of fact, China Spree clients are mostly smart and seasoned travelers; they shop and compare hard, and can tell the difference between China Spree tours and all others, and eventually choose China Spree knowing we offer the best value for their travel dollar. This is backed by hundreds of reviews on China Spree tours on Frommers China Forum and on Trip Advisor.

For the 10-Day “China’s Golden Triangle” we don’t have that many included features as we do for all other tours because it is a shorter version of our popular 12-Day “The Middle Kingdom” tour and it is competitively priced for those who want a shorter vacation and who are looking for more flexibility in their travel schedule. We have included all the “must-see” highlights; meanwhile offer affordable optional excursions to other attractions. We intentionally exclude all dinners so our clients can try the real Chinese food on their own. Directions and recommendations of the good local Chinese restaurants will be given to our clients as part of our service.

By doing so we hope our clients can “experience the unique flavor and activity of that city. Walk about at your own speed, interact with the merchants and other persons you meet, attempt to gauge and experience the human elements of the city, order a coffee, browse a bookstore, tour a museum or other famous sight on your own, have a meal.”

Happy Travel!


Wilson Wu
China Spree Travel
www.chinaspree.com

Regarding csantistevan's comment regarding China Spree tours consisting of large, unorganized groups of seniors is a total falsehood. We took the China Spree 15 day tour of China and Hong Kong, and our group only had 10 people in it. We met other people on our trip who were travelling with China Spree, and they didn't have big groups either. We ran into a couple of other tours that had over 40 people on their tours, (not China Spree) Their rule is a limit of 24 people per tour, plus the fast pace of these tours would necessitate the participants to be in very good physical shape or they would not be able to keep up. The activity level is very high from morning until evening, and every minute was accounted for and super organized at all times. I seriously doubt that the Friendly Planet tour saw any more than any China Spree tour did. In fact, we were taken to places that we didn't see any other tourists and got to mingle with local people doing their every day activities in the morning exercising and we played mah jong in the local tea house, much to the amusement of the locals. Our guide always took our requests into consideration into planning the day and changed things to fit our plans. We were very happy with our tour.