Reviews

All good

I should start with mentioning Frank, our tour guide, who was excellent in not only acting as a shepherd with his "flock" but was extremely knowledgable about places visited and ever so helpful when problems arose such as sickness, emergencies, hospital visits, medication etc. Always patient, good natured and a great sense of humour. This was a once in a lifetime trip and the destinations visited fulfilled all our desires - Xian, Beijing, Dali, Kunming, Yangtze river, Chongqing, ChengDu, Guillin, Yangshuo, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Shanghai, and Hong Kong! It truly was stunning and unforgettable, and exhausting! This tour requires a good degree of fitness as there will be substantial walking involved. It also involves a high degree of transport and frequent packing / unpacking between accommodations. If there was one criticsm I would have to make, it would be able to spend more "me time" in some of the destinations even if this reduces the itinerary.

Matt was very polite and helpful. He explained everything very clearly. I asked him lots of questions and he was more than happy to answer all my questions. I felt very reassured and well informed.

An excellent trip made special by our national tour leader Addison, and his great work with the local guides. The pace was good and everything was handled in a professional and caring way. Very enjoyable.

Very friendly and informative, enthusiastic about the holiday and made the booking process very easy.

Tour is booked but not taken yet. It will be in March 2026. Experience so far is limited to the booking, payment and getting confirmation, itinerary, and documentation. And the phone and email communication has been very positive for me. So it's nice to start the relationship on a good footing. From what the detail tour brochure (24pages) described it's going to be fabulous. I'm looking forward to it. Exciting indeed. Just one more detail: Kylie who assisted me with the booking and subsequent communication has been superb. She's professional courteous responsive and knowledgeable in her job. Kudos to WW tours.

We knew what we wanted but the agent completed the booking including the flight selection simply and efficiently

Very Helpful

Ancient Empires of China & Japan
This a fairly fast paced tour but a good way to see the best of the two countries in a short time.
Hotels were generally good but located out of town so not much nearby. All hotels had WiFi and kettles, and most had fridges. The schedule was pretty full so there was little free time to wander round alone for shopping, drinks etc - especially in China. However there was usually a small general store nearby for snacks and sundries.
Guides in both countries (Ian in China and Nao in Japan) were knowledgeable and spoke good English. There were optional activities in China at each place we stopped - they were all excellent but you need to budget for them (about £30 each person per event). The advice in Wendy Wu regarding AliPay and eSims are worth reading. I used a Holafly eSim - great in China but not such good coverage in Japan. I was able to use my social apps normally in China via the eSim.
In China, as part of the tour, the local guides will take you to "approved" stores attached to varoius cultural activities such as silk making; teracotta army, jade factory etc etc. Be prepared for a hard sell (I guess the local guides get a cut); the prices are very negotiable and if you want to buy something there you should aim to pay 40-50% (or less if you are a good haggler) of the initial asking price
Alipay is universally accepted and is the easiest way to pay, although Mastercard was accepted in larger premises. Cash was also widely accepted.
Food was ok - nothing too extreme although the veggies suffered a bit from lack of choice, especially in Japan. Fortunately they ate fish, otherwise it would have been an austere diet for them.
Be prepared for some long days with plenty of walking and a bit of stair climbing. And a lot of eating - the tour caters for 3 meals a day !

Timely, accurate and polite, good problem solvers, made decisions in the best interests of the customer.

Prompt and helpful

Excellant trip, and great guide Jason/Yang.