China - Asia Highlights - recommendations welcome

We have a group of friends who wish to travel to Asia. I have shopped tours and cruises and can't seem to find a realistic itinerary for a 14 day inclusive vacation (coming and going from US included). Surely the Flyertalk community can give me suggestions. The prospect of flying on small Chinese airlines doesn't appeal to us. Should we just wait 15 years until we retire and go then?
The idea of cruising into or out of Hong Kong sounds romantic. Everyone keeps waiting for me to make the arrangements. I can't find a travel agent who's been to China. It seems most cruise lines have a World Cruise itinerary (one way). Most high end tour companies seem to have more that 14 day plans. Any suggestions? Thanks

1. Are you looking for a suggested itinerary or a group tour, like a cruise?
2. Chinese domestic airlines are not small affairs and in fact offer quite standard service. Their safety records are by and large good. Do not confuse China Air (Taiwan), bad record, with Air China (PRC international carrier), good record. (http://www.planecrashinfo.com/rates.htm) Airlines such as China Eastern (codeshares with AA) have mostly new Boeing and Airbus aircraft.
3. There is so much to China, you really should decide some focus. A whirlwind 14-day tour is possible with the resulting "If this is Tuesday, it must be Belgium" syndrome.
4. Hong Kong is a unique entity unlike any other in Asia. It provides little insight to the history and culture of the region. Hong Kong is a very successful commercial enterprise.

You can find good advice here and at the forums at Frommers.com, TripAdvisor.com, among others.

My preference is you limit yourself to four cities, five at the most, and spend some time in each area to visit the local culture. A group tour, high above the street in an a/c coach bus, going from place to place with every other group tour (resulting in tourist site overload), and eating at carefully selected American-Chinese restaurants is just not a way to connect with the country. You tend to connect with the other westerners on the tour and meet few, if any, Asians.

It is hard work to plan a trip well. Best domestic Chinese airfare rates are apt to be at ctrip.com and elong.com, with the lowest rates coming within a month of departure.

Likewise, hotels tend to discount more close to the check-in date. One rule to remember is that virtually every price in China is negotiable. Fixed prices three months out will be the most expensive for everything.

Good luck!

Yes, we would like to find a good China itinerary. Do you know of any travel agents that have experience?

Do you know of any travel agents that have experience?

Perhaps the only cases in which I could possibly recommend using an agent to book a China tour are those that essentially offer air+hotel for the same price that you would otherwise pay for air alone because it makes economic sense. But, even this approach has significant drawbacks. In particular, junket hotels, as a general rule, tend to be undesirable. Second, no matter how hard you resist, there's a good chance that you'll be roped into a handful of organized tours that constitute a waste of time.

The better way to do it is to pick up a tour book or two, develop an intinerary that suits your interests, and deal with the hotel issue on a case-by-case basis (i.e. use points for some, take advantage of specials for others, and take care of the rest after you touch down).

Traveling in China really is easy. Plus, there isn't much danger of being fleeced for big bucks due to improper planning.

While I realize that travel agents provide a certain sense of comfort that is difficult to attain from a guide book, I also believe that a quick read of a guidebook will put you on (close to) even footing with them. And, of course, don't hesitate to ask us for advice here (after you get a slightly better feel for what you hope to accomplish).

The only tour that I have seen that was appealing was a Viking river cruise that spent several days in Beijing, three or four day river cruise and there or four days in Shanghai. Not sure how to incorporate Hong Kong in there.

As a rule, us Flyertalkers don't do organized tours, and cruising hasn't really taken off in a big way in China (or anywhere in Asia) yet. It really would be best if you ditched the idea of finding something completely prepackaged and came up with your own, in which case most FTers will be happy to offer suggestions -- but if you can't or really, really don't want to, then you'll have better luck asking elsewhere.

I didn't expect anyone to do a tour, just recommend reputable Chinese travel agents. Our little group of friends would not be comfortable trying to speak Chinese all around the country, although I would try. Some of us are more mobile than others in the group and we are trying to be polite. Thanks.

I didn't expect anyone to do a tour, just recommend reputable Chinese travel agents. Our little group of friends would not be comfortable trying to speak Chinese all around the country, although I would try. Some of us are more mobile than others in the group and we are trying to be polite. Thanks.

I suggest you try to overcome this hurdle. Like many others that frequent this forum, I speak Chinese so travel in China is easy for me. However, this was not the case 12 years ago and I still managed just fine. Botttom line: 1) getting around is a cakewalk; 2) tour guides aren't all that knowledgable.

Of course, if you require an agent for comfort sake, you should go with that option.... and I (at least) won't look down on you.

But, if you were to pick an LP and complete step 1, the rest of us would be happy to help with step 2.

What is an LP?

Is it better to fly into Beijing or Shanghai from US (any direct flights) and how would Hong Kong be incorporated (at beginning or end of trip). Thanks Asian Flyertalkers.

Many people fly into Beijing and work their way down to Hong Kong. It makes sense as you'll need all your energy for Beijing in the beginning. By the time you get to Hong Kong, you'll be tired and you want good Western food - which you can find there.

What is an LP?

LP=Lonely Planet

While any book will do, I have a slight preference for LP because IMO those guys do a better job at explaining pratical matters than Frommer's, Fodor's, etc. I suggest you head down to your local Border's and do a side by side comparison.