Wendy Wu Tours Reviews

This was our first tour and we were extremely impressed by the organisation and the standards. The size of our group (19) was not overwhelming and allowed us to get to know our fellow travellers well. Our guide Jason was absolutely outstanding at his job. He was caring and knowledgeable with a good sense of humour, which added to the experience. 

Booking was straightforward and clear and I was able to easily access my booking to add information required.
I can’t comment further until I have been on the tour

We had a fantastic holiday with a great group of people. Everything was organised for us, so all we had to do was turn up at the appointed time each morning and the whole day was planned for us.

Our main guide was lovely and stayed with us throughout the trip, including at the hotels. We also had a different local guide at each destination, all of whom were extremely knowledgeable about the local area and its history.

The food was plentiful, although don’t expect it to be anything like your local Chinese takeaway!

A few things worth knowing before you go:

You do need to be reasonably fit for this trip. There’s a lot of walking and I’ve never climbed so many steps in my life! Invest in a good, comfortable pair of walking shoes or trainers.

Don’t expect Western-style toilets when you’re out and about. Most are squat toilets, which take some getting used to. Take your own toilet paper or wipes, as supplies can be in short supply outside the hotels. I’d definitely recommend practising your squats at home!

Language can also be a barrier, as not many people speak English outside the hotels. I found a translation app invaluable, particularly when I picked up a nasty cold and needed to visit a local chemist.

If you want to keep in touch with home, you’ll need to use the hotel Wi-Fi or buy an eSIM before you travel, as making calls and using mobile data can be expensive.

There’s no need to pack lots of dressy clothes. Apart from the Yangtze River cruise, there’s very little need for anything particularly smart, and even then, anything goes! During the day it was generally shorts and T-shirts, with lightweight clothing for the evenings. Quite often, though, we’d go straight from a day of sightseeing to a restaurant without having the opportunity to change.

Be prepared for some long and tiring days, especially when you’ve climbed hundreds of steps and walked miles. There isn’t a huge amount of free time for shopping or wandering around the markets selling the usual cheap tourist souvenirs.

Laundry facilities were also limited. I only found one hotel with a self-service laundry, which was free; the others offered a drop-off and pay service. By the end of the trip, we were running short of clean tops and having to wear some things more than once, so pack accordingly!

My highlights:

There were so many, but my absolute highlight was the Great Wall of China. When we arrived and I looked up at the section we were going to climb, I honestly wasn’t sure I’d make it to the top. The steps are all different sizes, and some were quite a challenge. However, nobody rushes you. You go at your own pace and stop for a rest whenever you need to.

The people coming down were so encouraging, cheering everyone on as they made their way up. I did make it to the top! I kept telling myself to keep going because I’d regret it if I didn’t get as far as I could. And it was absolutely worth it. The views were something else, truly amazing and something I’ll never forget. Just thinking about how all those people built it is remarkable.

Another highlight was the Terracotta Warriors. You really do need to see them in person to appreciate just how magnificent they are.

We were really glad we chose to do an organised tour, as I think trying to arrange everything and navigate the country ourselves would have been quite stressful.

Would I recommend Wendy Wu Tours? Absolutely!

From the initial booking right through to the end of the holiday, they’ve been brilliant. Any questions we had were always answered promptly, politely and in a very friendly manner.

All in all, a fantastic holiday, wonderful experiences and some very special memories. I’d thoroughly recommend it!

Really interesting holiday, interesting cities lovely countryside felt very safe , lots of coffee shops not too expensive loads of first rate public toilets

Many of Japan's most iconic buildings and beautiful gardens visited on Honshu in a couple of weeks. However, because of the large area covered, many hours were spent travelling by coach and in some locations we were very rushed and sometimes there was not enough time to visit everything, and we stayed in 8 different hotels! The hotels, restaurants, coaches and drivers plus arrangements were good as was the guide whose English was excellent.

There were lots of good things about this holiday, but it was let down by planning that was on occasion substandard, and there were a number of occasions where excursions did not take place as scheduled. With two notable exceptions the food was very disappointing - by and large we were taken to restaurants which were not of particularly high quality, and we were normally given no choice as to what we would eat. It became a standing joke among the group that we would expect to be served Moroccan salad followed by Chicken Tagine!
Overall I feel that I paid a premium price for an experience that was significantly less than premium.

The tour was thinking full on. Also the hotels and food was poor quality.

An excellent trip, very well organised. This was our first experience of an organised tour and it did not disappoint!! Wendy Wu did an excellent job, guides were knowledgeable, helpful and they seemed genuinely keen to make sure everyone had an excellent experience. Was it tiring? Yes it was because you pack such a lot in. Could we have done it independently- definitely not! Were we looked after well - yes indeed. Hotels were of an excellent standard, cannot fault them. Food was fantastic. Will we ever forget this trip - absolutely not. Do we have more knowledge about China now - yes bucket loads. Most importantly did we enjoy it and would we recommend it - yes to both. Would we book with Wendy Wu again - definitely.

Booking was easy and representatives I spoke to were very helpful but as I only booked yesterday I can’t comment on anything else.

This holiday was the first of a group tour that we have been on. At first we were apprehensive of booking it but Wendy Wu well outstanding every step of the way. We were not confident to travel around China on our own due to the obvious language barriers. This tour 100% covers the gems of China. Once you’ve been on this tour you can say that you have honestly seen the best parts. Our tour guide was outstanding. Louis was professional and extreme intelligent and knowledgeable. The local guides were also excellent. Expect this to be full on if you want a leisurely tour this may not be for you. Most days have a very early start in order to beat the cues at the attractions. The days are packed full and there is little time to do things on your own. The tour is quite well balanced. The amount of walking is quite a lot on some days, but on others the level of activity can be determined by yourself. For example when you visit the Great Wall of China if you don’t want to climb it the level of activity is clearly lower. The selection of hotels were great with most of them having Japanese style toilets which is a real bonus as toilet paper cannot be flushed. Every hotel gave two half litres of bottles of water per person for drinking and brushing your teeth as the water cannot be consumed from the taps. The meals are plenty full but you have to be open to trying everything, they are mainly Lazy Susan style meals with about 10 different dishes to try. Breakfast is buffet style. The only slight disappointment was the weather in the mountain regions, except there to be cloud and rain as it does have these conditions for 265 days a year with about 100 days of sunshine in the summer. So the heavenly gate can be cloudy and the glass suspension Bridge. The avatar mountains, however look amazing with the clouds around them. Clearly nobody can control the weather but if this part of the tour is one of your must see highlights it’s good to known. Finally we were very lucky with the diverse mix of people on the tour and everyone was considerate and followed the tour guide’s request being on time and keeping things running smoothly. Well done Louis the tour would not have been as enjoyable without your organisational skills.

My tour of China with Wendy Wu Tours was magnificent.

I will absolutely be booking another tour somewhere else exciting,

An excellent tour, definitely for those who like a packed schedule. You get to see places and historic sights that are slightly off the beaten path for westerners in china. The guides were great, the hotels were varied, but of a decent quality with a good breakfast to be had every day. Plenty, almost too much food to be had with a decent variety also.

Great holiday with excellent guide
The itinerary was generally good but almost a day wasted at an art gallery and long crossing across a desert was time consuming and unnecessary
The hotels used were of high standard and their locations were good
Wendy Wu’s service was excellent and the whole trip was very competitively priced
Only 4 stars because of the day spent in the art gallery being lectured and an uncomfortable and very long journey across the desert
There was a lot of food almost too much and a little more free time would have been welcome