Beijing Travel Forum

Is it better for a middle aged English speaking couple to travel independantly or go with an organized tour in China?

ya, join a tour group if you don't speak English and are not adventurous type.
English speaking people are not common on the streets of China and
most signboards are also in Chinese.

It also depends on where you are going. If you only stay in Beijing, Shanghai then there is no need for tour group. If you are also going to other places, then I think it's better to go with a tour group.

What are YOU like? Are you adventurous and intrepid enough? What do you need a tour to help you with, or do for you? Tons of travellers visit a vast amount of places in China every year without any knowledge of Chinese, and they do fine. So you won't be the first nor the last, and hopefully not the exception either.

we found no need for a tour at all... infact the people in them looked like they are getting ripped off. you can do anything by having your hotel write things or arrange things in chinese, or by pointing. we had absolutly not a single instance of trouble.

pj

It depends on how adventurous you are and what you want to see. It is more difficult to travel independently in China then Europe but can be done. I met many people, including people in their 50s traveling independently on my last trip. I even met middle age independent travelers in Tibet! I think you will have no problems if you just go to the big cities.

My first Mainland China trip was a cross China bike TOUR in 1989. Only 9 people in the group. China had almost no tourist at that time because of Tiananmen Square. But, believe it or not, we met some people traveling independently. They had some interesting stories about problems they had.

I traveled independently on my second China trip during May/June 2006. China changed a lot in those 17 years. I kick myself for not taking pictures of Pu Don, Shanghai in 1989. It only had the TV tower and one building back then.

I just returned from a independent tour of China. The only problems I encountered were my attempts to book a train ticket at the station. No English there. Best to do this at the hotel if possible. Only in the off beat places is China really difficult to travel in independently. Personally I found that this is the best way to experience the real China. I tend to think that tour groups get sheltered from alot of the pros and cons of China or any place for that matter.

I totally agree with all the postings. The signs outside (as well as in many of the sites) are in english as well. Even the airport was no trouble.
We've recomended several people to travel independantly and they've had no trouble! We went throughout Beijing, Xian, Guilin/Yangshuo, Shenzhen and eventually Hong Kong. I understand that these places are more tourist traveled than perhaps other places in China but, the truth is, even in some remote ocassions when language was a difficulty (such as taking our laundry to a laundry mat), the people are so genuinely willing to help and friendly that if they coldn't get the point across through hand signals, they'd run us over to a friend who spoke the language and we'd soon get the message across.
Good luck, enjoy this amazing place and it's people.

We went to China in April with a very small tour (12 of us in total). It was absolutely wonderful. However, before we went we booked the tour because we thought the only way to do (i.e. manage) China was in a tour. We are planning on returning to China and will go independently, as we realised that this country is perfectly manageable to travel in independently. I would advise that you are prepared to be flexible and to allow extra time.

my wife and I have recently returned from beijing. for us the tour was the way to go. five star hotel, inlcuding breakfast, 6 days five nights with four day tours, including lunch, and dinner, was $600 aud.per.person. we left hotel 8.am in morning returned 8.pm at night. no way could you do this on your own. very little english was spoken. i took 4 taxi rides. none of the drivers spoke english. the guide spoke perfect english.you learn more from thees guides its impossible to learn the culture of the chineese on your own.we spent very little money in beijing as all the entry to the wall forbidden city winter and summer palace and other venues was included. look up cits on the net great company. i think its china internatiol travel service. if you live in ozy i will give you agents name. have fun check out best time for weather. grumphy

Research, research, research. If one is the type that would rather travel with the comfort of having everything "done for them" then yes, tours are the way to go.
As to the all 5 star hotels (www.Asiarooms.com) offers all levels of hotels, including 4 and 5 star hotels which include breakfast). One pays a per room fee, based on double occupancy which tour companys take advantage of but charge the person a per person charge! (In essence, they make their money on the mark up).
As to no one speaking english, although not fluent, you'll find many have found ingenious ways of communicating, including and especially taxi drivers. We never once had a problem. Having said that, ALL the guide books, and most members on here tell you: Best to have your hotel name and address written down in chinese characters (downloadable by googling the hotel itself) and presenting that to your driver.
As to the 'impossible to learn chinese culture" - Guides will be (In our opinion) very biased and only give you generalized history lessons or "important" tidbits. Although again, if you're after only this, yes, it would be sufficient for you. My favorite part of the trip? The incredible culture, the wonderful people and the history. How I learned about it? Reading, asking on the forum, watching programs and downloading on the internet research prior to going to China.
I'm not disagreeing wth previous poster that tours are an option, I just wouldn't generalize it that there is "no way you could do with out it".