China Travel Service International (REVIEW)

First off - BE CAREFUL as there are dozens of agencies called China Travel Service so don t get confused. The company I am reviewing is China Travel Services International based in San Francisco, CA (also in Los Angeles. New York and Beijing ) and their website is www.intertrips.com (so you don t get confused).

After searching the Internet and talking to local travel agents, we decided to go with CTSI and worked with Alex Wang in the SF office.

We read some horror stories about poor quality food, hotels, airlines and high-pressure sales at factory stores so were obviously concerned when we booked, especially given CTSI was quite a bit cheaper then the other online travel agencies.

Well, we just completed a 21+ day tour from SF to Beijing, Shanghai. Xian, Guilin, Yangshuo, Hangzhou, a cruise on the Yangtze River /Three Gorges. Hong Kong and a custom side trip to Canton.

Here s are feedback on each of the important criteria:

Itinerary: The itinerary was perfectly planned, not only allowing us to visit a variety of cities/provinces, but also experiencing the broad spectrum of local cultures throughout China. We experienced the busy cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, but also relaxed in Hangzhou, Yangshuo and of course the cruise on the Yangtze River – none of which we would have enjoyed if not recommended by your company. We originally had concerns with 21 packed days of travel (esp. with young children and seniors with us) but everything down to the daily itinerary (including shows/entertainment) was perfectly orchestrated.

Food/Accommodations: This is the area we were most concerned with because of reviews on the Internet but was NEVER a problem on our tour. EVERY meal was colorfully prepared in local tradition and served in banquet style, dish after dish! Accommodations were all first class – both clean and functional and centrally located. Even the domestic and international flights were as good if not better than domestic flights in the US.

Local/National Tour guides: The local and national CTSI tour guides were what really transformed a 21-day tour into a memorable experience of a lifetime. They were ALWAYS there to educate us on the local sights and customs, assist us in every aspect of our stay, and constantly making us laugh. We especially want to thank David (Hangqing) Huang our national guide in Beijing/Xian/Guilin/Shanghai who was more like an ambassador to us than a tour guide and Andy in Guilin who “joined” our family during our stay.

Price Value: We searched every online and offline travel company specializing in China Travel (many with the similar names) but narrowed down to CTSI/Intertrips. We were a bit concerned that we would be getting less quality than other more expensive tours, but upon our return, now know we just got the best value!

Caveats: So not to paint our travel as perfect (although darn close) some things to consider. Food was high quality and plentiful (banquet style - dish after dish) but contains more oil and less salt than Chinese food we have in US. As you get closer to Hong Kong, you will find food more similar to that in US. We did take at least one break from Chinese food (25 days!!) and ate at local Mc Donalds which had a more diverse menu than US!

Shopping is great everywhere but sales people can be aggressive and be prepared to negotiate. Weather was hot and humid, but we survived.

We found the people very nice and courteous (except at markets and trains) and surprisingly very clean - more so than Chinatowns in the US.

We considered booking our own itinerary, but the cost was not only more expensive, but the language barrier and lack of experience would have been a big mistake.

Hope you all enjoy as much we did!

8 places mentioned in this post