China Traveller Reviews - On The Go Tours

1.Run of the house hotels

2.Poor tour guides, apart from Shanghai, Ms.VIVO.

3.Poor accommodations

4.Food served was choice of the guides -NOT OURS

5.Most of the time left with FREE TIME TO GO AROUND-knowing very well that we are tourists and donot understand/speak Chinese

6.Will NEVER RECOMMEND ”  

Enjoyed the trip and the guides assistance.

The meals supplied were a tad disappointing with the exception of the " Peking duck feast".

Your Louyang local guide gave far more priority to his phone than guiding and took a far more lax attitude to guiding the group, luckily Michael was great!”  

What a memorable trip! The travel itinerary was nicely balanced and evenly paced with sufficient rest between excursions, even if everyone was getting a little tired at the end of the tour. Food and hotels were both good. Transport was comfortable. Tour guide was very professional and responsive.”  

We had a terrific trip from the time of meeting our first guide to saying goodbye. We found China an incredible place, history, infrastructure, people and esp. rail systems.

We were overawed by the size of cities and towns and highly impressed by the cleanliness given their sizes. Thumbs up ! ”  

Tour is a bit rushed I realise it is based on cost but would be good if could be stretched out a bit so not as rushed .

Sarah for the first half was great well organised. Gave the group copies of all travel internal info.

Roger only advised verbally all internal travel info. ”  

The tour was great and we had a very good guide. I don’t agree with collecting tips before the tour starts for them to get handed out to a local guide and driver. I didn’t mind giving a tip to our main guide who I think could have handled the entire trip herself. Puppet show was a flop! ”  

The trip to China was superb, it exceeded all our expectations!! Everything was spot on, from the excellent guides to the high quality accommodation. The itinerary was jam packed, which we enjoyed, and we had a wow moment every day. Loved it and was very impressed with OTG Tours!”  

Loved Snow, Jenny, and Li Ying! ”  

The tour was fantastic, the hotels were in good locations and were clean and comfortable. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and did a great job organising everyone. She was easy to talk to, friendly and very helpful. She went above and beyond in her assistance. ”  

Highlights visiting the Iconic sites. The Shanghai part of the tour was a complete waste of time. It was our first point of entry to China, English was not spoken, Mastercard and Visa cards not widely accepted and all our devices would not work, so we had no communication methods. The hotel was extremely poor, we had to wait 30 mins on arrival for our booking to be found, the hotel had no facilities and there was nothing in close proximity to get a meal or drink, poor choice by OTG, would have been better in People’s square area. The additional tours at extra cost offered on return to Shanghai were expensive. Waste of time visiting the High end shopping area in Beijing- can do that anywhere, missed opportunity not going to the Temple of Heaven. Rather than recommending WeChat, visitors would be best supported by being advised to load and activate ESIMs and Alipay before entering China. Too often felt we were let loose to visit Chinese shopping streets to fill time. The Yangtze cruise was very good”  

Great trip overall very happy, covered so much with good variety.

Only negative things:

Paying for optional tours when some we had no choice

Paying for meals when some we had no choice to do something else

Final day 6.5 train ride when itinerary said flight.”  

Overall the tour was excellent. Just some feedback to improve future tours:

The trip notes provided were not adequate for China. I had done my own research and knew to download Alipay to use my card in China, however no one else knew that so everyone had difficulty paying for items.

Phone Coverage: A few tour members were caught off guard about not being able to access everything on their phone. If you use your international sim card (assuming you have a roaming package) you had access to everything, it also might be worth including more details on this on the trip notes.

The days were long and busy, sometimes we didn't make it back to the hotel for a shower before dinner even though we were waiting around for 'free time' to finish a few times, I understand the need to assume there will be traffic delays but in most cases we would have had time to head to the hotel before dinner. Otherwise a great tour!”  

Everything was very good. The tour itself included many interesting places and events. All the guides were very helpful and informative. We had a wonderful time!”  

We had a great time on our recent visit to China. Our main guide Snow and Jenny in Luoyang and Sally in Xi'an were all excellent. They were all very knowledgeable and keen to share the History and culture of China. The tour was run very efficiently, the hotels excellent, the locations we visited had been carefully picked to give us a great experience. The visit to the Great Wall was particularly memorable and had been chosen to take us to an area well away from the crowds.

The holiday was made all the better due to the small group of seven getting on so well, many fond memories of Kareoke in the mini bus, joining the seniors in the park and the wonderful restaurants.”  

We had an amazing time in China as part of this tour. Our tour guide and the local guides were friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. We explored the parts of China that had been on our list and so much more! Very easy to book with On the Go through our personal travel agent.”  

Just one amazing tour, thank you! Highly recommend.”  

Our guide Feng is incredible. I cannot say good enough words. Feng was knowledgable, kind, funny, patient, helpful and kept us safe. Thank you Feng!”  

Overall was an amazing tour which we throughly enjoyed. Thank you.”  

We would like to let you know that our guide (mrs) Feng was awesome. She went above and beyond for our 10yr old son, who was really worried about going on this trip. He was made to feel a real part of the group and he loved all of the historic facts that were given by both Feng and the local guides. We enjoyed all of the sights and joined in all of the activities, even riding the bike on the city wall. This is our 1st time travelling on a guided tour with him and we couldn't have asked for a better experience. ”  

Guide extremely good.”  

Feng was a great guide.”  

Lisa, I can not recommend her highly enough. If at all could beds be softer.”  

We've throughout enjoyed the tour. Many highlights, a good pace and good amount of free time.”  

Feng was so helpful and polite and knowledgeable and took great care for everyone. We felt very safe with her. Highly recommend her.”  

Matthew was brilliant excellently organizor. ”  

Excellent fast-paced tour, highlighting the best that China has to offer! Every interaction with On The Go Tours was very pleasant, easy and efficient. Emily Lorimer was very helpful - her assistance was much appreciated! Great value for money - good hotels. Would have appreciated if the hotels were closer to the city centres, especially in Shanghai. Overall, very good tour with many sights/sounds/delicious food for under 2000$. Do not regret it!”  

Thank you to James for being an excellent host! He was informative and very helpful. He made my time in China great and very much appreciate on the go tours for accommodating my early arrival due to typhoon.”  

Many thanks to James, who made the week really relaxing and enjoyable. He was really friendly, accommodating and answered all our questions. ”  

We love Lisa. Great tour guide very friendly, helps with everything. Highly recommend on the go.”  

All guides friendly, easy to get about on their advice at all times. Thoroughly an enjoyable vacation. Great tour guide James!”  

Lisa was an excellent tour guide and very knowledgeable & patient.”  

Thank you to James our tour guide who has been fantastic throughout.”  

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to China. We saw so much and learnt so much about the country's history. The trip was well organised and planned. A few things had to be changed because of the Nations holiday but we got to see other things instead. We found all the tour guides to be extremely helpful and knowledgeable. Highlights would have been walking on the Great Wall, Terracotta Soldiers and experiencing some of the countryside. We would highly recommend On The Go tours and the Mandarin Sunrise Tour to any one looking to go to China.”  

James was excellent, I cannot fault his organisation and skills. He showed genuine concern for our well being.”  

Great tour and friendly people & country. ”  

Excellent tour, everything went seamlessly. Lisa was very helpful and personable.

Only thing that could have been improved was more information/advice on what to do during free time. The recommendation was usually the hotel restaurant or restaurant across the road; whereas, I preferred the idea of going into the city centre and exploring a bit more. ”  

James is a great host. We would definitely recommend him as a tour guide. He was helpful, his English is fantanstic and he has a great sense of humour dealing with all different nationalities and personalities.”  

We had a fantastic holiday, Matthew was a brillaint tour guide and very helpful and funny! The tour was really informative and we loved it! Thank you so much for everything and for looking after us.”  

We loved every minute and especially our guide Matthew, he made our trip so much fun, interesting and he was so helpful.”  

Matthew was unfailingly kind and helpful. We could not have hoped for a better guide.”  

Lisa was very helpful, knowledgeable and friendly. She helped me for vegetarian food everyday.”  

Jason made the whole tour safe, accessible, attentitive and pulled the whole group together with his cheerful and possitive attitude. He was always around to assist at all time no matter what time. He is a massive asset to your company and made the trip a huge success. Thank you Jason, you are a star!”  

Lisa was brilliant. Nothing was too much trouble. Thank you.”  

The guides were incredibly helpful, friendly and informative. As a Wistong student I have loved learing all about the Wistong of China. Perhaps in future the option of an upgrade to premium cabins on the sleeper trains could be offered to make the journey more comfortable. However, I enjoyed the whole trip immensely.”  

Jason was an excellent guide. He had everything organised and his friendly personality made the tour very enjoyable.”  

Overall the trip was memorable and the guides really good. Lisa was extremely helpful and will definitely use onthego again.”  

Regina is an angel. Excellent tour guide who made our tour even better than we thought possible.”  

The tour was fantastic and we would highly recommend it. Lucky for us there were only four of us on the tour and we got on great. Jason our guide in Beijing was absolutely wonderful and we cannot recommend him highly enough. You have a wonderful, helpful, personable employee there who most definitely goes the extra mile. Our driver in Beijing was terrific too Mr. Sun.

I really cannot say more than that everything was wonderful and we would not hesitate to travel with you again. ”  

Just an overall amazing experience! Not all hotels had fridges…”  

We were so lucky to get Regina as our guide, she was an angel, looking after us very step of the way. No request was too hard for her. Thank you so much for making our first holdiday to China amazing. Too bad typhoon occurred in Shanghai wo we missed seeing the city but we can return anothe time!”  

Tour guide was excellent, Regina was accommodating and helpful even when faced with difficulties. Local guides were very knowledgeable. Feedback to onthego would be to have more plans in place for when natutual disasters occur. ”  

Everything was good.”  

Some restaurants did not provide many vegetatian food options. Our guide Feng was very helpful in finding vegetarian food options, such an excellent and professional guide!”  

Thank you for an amazing tour. China is a beautiful place and certainly made easier with a guide like Regina. Seeing so much that you wouldn't see unless you did a tour. Thank you!”  

All good. Tiring but interesting. Good food. ”  

Jason was absolutely wonderful and did an amazing job. Our driver was also excellent. Both very highly recommended. ”  

Fei was am excellent tour guide. He constantly tries to help and give special attention to our specialized requirements. I would like to an onthego tour again.”  

A very interesting and pleasant holiday. Thank you to Fei for all the help. ”  

Both driver and guide were very accommodating and would recommend to others. ”  

We loved the tour, the guides we had in each city were very informative.

Overall, we loved the tour, well organised, nice guides, good pace, value for money. We would recommend this tour. ”  

Overall, the holiday was excellent and I would highly recommend On The Go Tours for trips like this.

Xian was one of the stand out destinations with the cycle on the walls and the visit to the Terracotta warriors. We also did a lot of walking around the city and really enjoyed it.

We thoroughly enjoyed the organised boat trip and cycle tour around in Yangzhou.

Overall, the trip lived up to everything I thought it would be and more.

Our national tour guide Leo was excellent and ensured the tour ran smoothly. ”  

Our guide,Fei, was wonderful and there was nothing he wasn't prepared to help with. Very funny and friendly - couldn't have asked for anyone better.

The Cites we visited were just amazing.”  

I enjoyed the tour very much. China is such a remarkable country. I had no idea how much I would fall under its spell.

James, our tour leader, is a remarkable man. He was the perfect host. He got to know us and understood the needs of each of us. He possesses a wealth of information on culture, history, politics, the economy.

Andrew was our local guide in Xi'an. Like James he is proud of his cultural heritage and was happy to respond to our questions.

All hotels were fine. The train sleeper - well, it was what one would except. It was ok.

The food … what can I say? Everything I ate in China was brilliant.

I would return to China any time I could, the tour provided a great introduction to China.

James, Andrew and Matthew are invaluable to the success of On The Go Tours. ”  

Our tour guide, Feng was very good. Navigating our way through China was certainly helped with her translation skills and forward planning, as we were able to see parts of the Great Wall and Terrocottoa sodiers before the mass of other tourists arrive. ”  

The route ensured we experienced some of china's main attractions and areas of historic interest. Our guide was absolutely brilliant throughout our 16 day holiday. She ensured we were in the right place at the same time, was very knowledgeable and simply blended in. Couldn't have asked for a more helpful, friendly and welcoming guide. ”  

Absolutely fantastic trip.

Lisa made the trip uniquely brilliant and should be considered for annual tour guide award.

We will be looking for our next holiday via On the Go. ”  

What an amazing jam packed tour of China. From tasting some local food, visiting the Terracotta Warriors, and walking the Great Wall twice this tour is suitable for everyone. A well paced tour with 2 expert local guides we were in good hands during the tour. Lisa organised everything perfectly in Beijing, from being collected by the bus at every point, and organising the group at Beijing Train Station, her level of professionalism was first class. As we left the tour group in Xian, we would like to thank the local guide Andrew, who surprisingly arrived to meet us at 3am to travel with us to Xian Airport and assist with us checking in for our flights to Vietnam. Great work.”  

This tour was full on with so much to see. Seeing the great wall was my biggest wish, and it didn't let me down. It was an awesome sight and although I didn't walk it as much as some, I was happy with what I achieved. I loved the quaintness of the accommodation at Changjuyuan hotel which also gave us great views of the wall and mountains surrounding us.

Many thanks to all the guides, especially Feng who proved to be very professional. And thank you to On The Go Tours for ensuring they cover all areas so that we can get the most out of tours. ”  

The tour was good, all arrangements worked out well we had a total of 5 tour guides so difficult to comment one guide, all were on time explained the programme for the day with no problems

only comment I would give is the durations of the 4 train trips should be set out in the tour offer the last trip to Shanghai was 8.25 hours !

if I had known I would have taken an aeroplane

All in all a very good trip Many thanks ”  

I was very impressed with almost everything about this tour and the guide, Lisa, who was excellent. The pacing of the holiday was just right for me - we covered a lot of ground but that was exactly what I was hoping for. I was also happy about the ratio of group activities to free time for individuals . Again, that ratio seemed spot on to me.

The only minor quibble was about the two/three visits to local factories (Silk factory, Jade factory)

I'd highly recommend the tour. It was an excellent and fascinating introduction to China and I wish I was still out there!”  

The tour was great. Our tour guide Lisa was absolutely amazing. We've taken a lot of tours and Lisa ranks up there with the best guides ever. She went above and beyond, helping everyone on the tour, even when we were "on our own." Fortunately, we never felt abandoned or lost because she was always available to translate and make sure we were being well taken care of. ”  

It was our first trip with On The Go Tours, I can highly recommend both the tour and the company.

From making initial inquiries, then booking the trip to our arrival and subsequent departure we were looked after.

The tour exceeded our expectations, the guides were knowledgeable, their English was excellent and they looked after the group, going above and beyond.

I would definitely use this company again.”  

The tour was fabulous. James was very informative and showed a personal interest in making sure everyone was happy and catered to, nothing was a problem. The places we visited were beyond our expectations. We highly recommend a tour with On The Go.”  

Thank you for the excellent tour, we enjoyed every minute. Our tour guide Mrs Feng did an outstanding job.”  

Fantastic tour. Leo was a great guide and we were so lucky that the other 16 people in the group were all lovely - we hope to keep in touch with all of them. The tour was packed with a great variety of sightseeing and activities and the accommodation was very good. We have been very impressed with On The Go Tours at all stages and we'll definitely book again. Thank you!”  

Excellent tour, exceptional guide.

The only thing I would change is that I would like to do the bullet train to Shanghai and then stay in a hotel rather than a second night in a sleeper train. It’s an experience that you only need once! ”  

The tour exceeded our expectations. The tour guide was very professional and made sure we were well looked after everywhere we went. ”  

Absolutely amazing experience. Matthew was with us until the end of the tour but we also had Andrew and Faye with us along the way. They are all very professional and well spoken guys. Nothing was too much for all of them, they made the whole experience even more enjoyable

I would not hesitate to recommend On the Go Tours to anyone.”  

I felt it was very well organized. The places we went were interesting and we were able to get a feel for the history and culture of China. I would have liked a day or a few hours to go around each city to explore on my own.

I think if we could have done a cooking class somewhere, that would have been really great because there were a lot of dishes that we ate that I would like to know how to cook. Our tour guides were informative and entertaining. Overall I had a good time and would definitely go on a On The Go Tours again.”  

From the moment Matthew greeted me at the Airport until he said goodbye at the end he was always smiling and happy nothing was too much trouble and he had a wealth of information he real made my holiday Please thanK him for me ”  

Had a fabulous holiday in china, weather was very kind. Jackie our tour guide was brilliant any thing you wanted was never to much trouble, he spoke very good English .I must say he was the best tour guides I've been on a tour with.”  

I just want to thank On The Go Tours for a fantastic holiday. Everything was exceptionally well organised. Our flight to Shanghai was delayed but when we arrived at the airport, our tour guide was waiting for us. He was so friendly and immediately made us feel at home. Jackie has a very uplifting and outgoing personality and he made sure that everyone had a marvelous time in China. Thank you ON THE GO for making this dream to see China come true. A special thank you to Jackie without whom the tour would not have been the same. We will definitely make use of On The Go again for future travels. ”  

Renny was and absolutely fantastic guide. She made our trip really special and is a credit to your company. Highlights of our tour were the second day on The Great Wall and the boat trip in Shanghai.”  

Very enjoyable tour, and Peter was a great guide - very helpful and informative. The itinerary in Xi'an and Beijing were good, but I would have changed things in Shanghai. As there was only a limited time in Shanghai, leaving the hotel at 11am felt like we lost half a day of touring. I would have preferred to spend more time at Yu Gardens, or going to Jing'an Temple. ”  

The tour was amazing , saw things that you would never see without a good knowledgeable Guide , our Guide Peter was absolutely brilliant he went above and beyond every day making sure we had the best time. ”  

Enjoyable tour, very good tour leader, nice small group of people to travel with. Shame about poor weather the first few days. In Shanghai as we saw nothing but cloud at the top of the Shanghai tour. Weather was hot in Beijing. Highlights were Terracotta warriors, Great Wall of China and Beijing acrobats. Overall I felt this tour represented good value for money.”  

We booked the Take Me To Tibet tour (April/May2018 ) as well as adding on Datong before the longer tour started. Matthew collected us from the airport and took us to our hotel providing a constant stream of information as we travelled the motorway to our first hotel in Beijing.

We left the next evening for our overnight train journey to Datong arriving in Datong the next morning where we were met by Jack who escorted us to the hotel ,organised breakfast for us, checked us into the room and then picked us up an hour and an half later to commence our city tour of Datong. As we were the only two on this part of the tour we received his full attention and enjoyed his commentaries on the area and the Buddha rock sculptures. He was very informative about his Chinese heritage and we even managed to understand some mandarin because of his explanation of the writing system and the import of the symbols.

We returned to Beijing on a day train and were met, on the train platform by Feng, our next tour guide. In meeting the rest of our tour group the next morning, we were pleased to note that there was a range of interesting, lively folk. It was enjoyable to be with them over the length of our tour.

In China, we enjoyed the best service, great guides, wonderful organisation and many laughs.

China is fascinating and our tour highlighted so many amazing aspects and sights. Each day was another awesome sight - Forbidden Palace,Chinese acrobats. Great wall, Terracotta Warriors, Pandas and the cuisine throughout wonderful.

Flying into Lhasa was such a wonderful sight as we saw the Himalayas from above. As throughout our tour, the guide was waiting for us as we exited the airport ready to escort us into Lhasa. She took us for lunch in such an authentic local restaurant where the basic food was delicious and the locals were as intrigued by us as we were by them. Such a different way of life but yet communication is always easy when you exchange a smile.

This tour was fantastic and we were really pleased with everything .This was our second tour with On The Go Tours and we are already thinking of our next excursion. We highly recommend this tour and believe anyone will be very pleased with this adventure.”  

Yuki was a wonderful guide who seemed to think of everything. She was particularly good at telling us where we had to meet next which we found a bit confusing at first but we soon realised it was so that if anyone became separated from the group they knew where they had to be next. Yuki was brilliant at spotting anyone straying and sprinted after them at an impressive speed! We all appreciated her efforts at performing magic tricks to entertain us whilst staying at the ryokan and teaching us origami whilst on the Bullet train.

I was pleasantly surprised by how easy everything was from being met at the airport on day 1 by a local guide to having Yuki buy my ticket and direct me how to get back to the airport for my flight to Shanghai.

The room was tiny for 2 people at Yaesu Terminal hotel but the location and cleanliness compensated. Elsewhere I was impressed with the hotels.

The only thing I really disliked and felt was very poor value was the shabu shabu meal. It was not to my taste (it appeared to have no taste at all!), very expensive compared to meals we had locally and a complete let down. I have no interest in eating as much as I can and much preferred the Keiseki at the ryokan which was a lovely surprise! The ryokan experience and the onsen were a highlight of the trip.

I felt that the cultural experience in Gion should have been a prebookable option as it was almost offered as an afterthought so we were too late to get seats and ended up sitting on the floor. I think clients would welcome the chance to prebook seats and learn about the Chinese culture.

For the more affluent clients a chance to spend some time with a Geisha would be good. I understand some hotels now offer this and I would have been intrigued as would some of my fellow travellers.

It was amusing that most of the blossom had blown away and the moss had yet to arrive which just reinforced how you cannot be sure of anything where Mother Nature is the boss and how important it is to stress this to my clients. As I will say to my clients it really didn't matter because we were having such a good time regardless.

James our main Guide in China was fairly quiet but always smiling. I got the impression he's been doing his job a while and was more laid back than Yuki. Alison our guide in Xian seemed young and inexperienced. She didn't explain everything there was to see at the Wild Goose Pagoda and I felt slightly disappointed.

I can imagine that sharing a compartment and facilities on the overnight train might not be for everyone but I was lucky in having 3 companions I got on well with, thanks to whoever put us together, and it was good fun. I was very grateful that we had time to shower at our hotels the next morning.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the tour, the organisation was excellent, the standard of the hotels exceeded my expectations and I loved waking up to somethign new and exciting every day. I will be recommending On the Go Tours to my Travel Counsellor colleagues and my clients and I hope very much to do another tour in the future. ”  

Just wanted to reiterate how wonderfully attentive Lisa was on our tour. Being a small group I'm sure this made her job easier. We had such a wonderful time and felt like we were with old friends.

The only thing I would pick on is the presumption that we wouldn't like the local food I'm sure there would have been some things that we would have found to our liking. A little but of information overload with the facts, figures and history from the local guides also.”  

Awesome from beginning to end. Thank you On The Go Tours ”  

All aspects of the trip were great. One suggestion from us to fly into Guilin, go to rice paddy trip after landing and stay overnight in Guilin. Then take boat cruise to yanshoo next morning book into hotel then do the small walk up mountain to see lookout. Other things we enjoyed were the bike ride and the brilliant light show. Shopping down west street was good and lots of things to see and do along in that area not too far from where we stayed. Not many tourists here yet show not realty busy. There was also heaps more things we could have done as we passed many things on bike ride like caves to visits and abseiling etc. I also enjoyed rafting but could have gone to a better venue. ”  

The tour was very well organized and packed in s lot in a short time. Absolutely brilliant! Phung was so calm, knowledgable and always aware of everyone's individual needs. A better guide you could not ask for. We also enjoyed Benny's passion and humor in Xi'an.”  

I had an brilliant time. We did everything that I had expected to, interspersed with amazing food experiences too. The hotels were very good and any issues were promptly sorted by Renny. She even managed to get us upgrades a couple of times. Air conditioning didn't work at this time of year, which was a bit of an issue as it was so hot at night and the opening windows were not sufficient.

Renny was very calm and we were confident that we could rely on her to sort things out. She guarded our cases on the train and made sure we all crossed the roads safely. ”  

Truly amazing experience”  

We both loved the tour. Well organised, good hotels, good amount of time at all the sites and Feng was an amazing tour guide. She made it all so easy and fun. Feng was the best tour guide we've had with On the Go so far and we have been on a few tours. The Great Wall was our highlight, but we enjoyed the cultural activities and other sites immensely.”  

Tristan was the ultimate in guides! From the moment he met me at the airport his friendliness was the first thing that I noticed. He gave me his number and I was to call him with even the smallest issue. He was so full of historical knowledge that no question went unanswered. He is a real asset to On The Go. Tom was our local guide for Xian and was well versed in local history. Nice man.

Fei, in Shanghai I found to be a little abrupt and not as warm as the others. He didn't seem to be happy the first day but did warm up after that a little.”