A China trip built around your dates, not a fixed departure
Tell us when you can travel, who is coming and what you want from the trip. We send back a day-by-day plan with named hotels — free, and within one working day.
The short answer
Custom China travel means we build the itinerary around your dates rather than selling you a departure date that already exists. We start from a written brief — dates, party size, budget band and what you want to see — and send a day-by-day draft with named hotels and the transport between cities within one working day. You change it as many times as you like, and there is no deposit until you confirm.
- The draft is free and arrives within one working day — no deposit, no obligation
- Every element is named: the hotel, the train, the guide, not “4-star or similar”
- Change anything, as often as you like, before you pay anything
- 20% deposit confirms the booking; the balance is not due until closer to travel
What “custom” actually changes
The itinerary is not the only thing that moves. On a custom trip you choose the pace — three sights a day or one — the hotel grade and district, whether the guide is private or shared, and how much of the trip is by high-speed rail rather than plane.
It also means we can build around constraints that fixed tours handle badly: a traveller who cannot manage long staircases, a child who needs an afternoon nap, a vegetarian who wants to eat properly rather than pick at rice, a family arriving on two different flights.
How the planning works, step by step
It is a short loop and it usually takes two or three exchanges to get to something you would actually book.
- 1. Send a brief. Dates (a range is fine), how many of you, ages of any children, budget band per person, and anything you already know you want. Three sentences is enough to start.
- 2. We send a draft. A day-by-day plan with named hotels, the transport between cities and an all-in price for your dates, within one working day.
- 3. You push back. Too fast, too slow, wrong hotels, wrong city order — say so and we rewrite it. There is no charge and no limit while you are deciding.
- 4. You confirm. A 20% deposit holds the hotels, trains and guides. We then send the full documentation, including what to do about visas and what happens on arrival.
What moves the price
We do not publish a price list, because the same eleven days can differ by a factor of three depending on four things. Knowing them helps you direct the brief.
- When you travel. The first week of October and Chinese New Year are the two spikes; late November and early March are the two dips.
- Hotel grade and district. A courtyard hotel inside the old city of Xi'an costs more than a business hotel 20 minutes out, and is worth it once.
- Private or shared guiding. A private guide and driver costs several times a shared small-group day. The sensible mix is private for awkward sites, shared for the rest.
- Internal flights versus rail. Rail is usually cheaper and always more interesting; flying saves a day on the longest legs.
Who this suits, and who it does not
It suits first-time visitors who want the big sights done well; families who need the pace set by a seven-year-old; couples who would rather have three good dinners than eight museums; and anyone returning to China to go somewhere the coach tours do not reach.
It does not suit travellers whose only criterion is the lowest possible price. A large fixed coach departure will be cheaper, and we will tell you that rather than pretend otherwise.