What a trip to China costs

A ten-day private tour comes to between US$ 2,900 and US$ 3,800 per person in a double room, without international flights. That is the number from which a budget is built.

Where the money goes

A land itinerary in China has four dominant headings, and only two of them vary with the number of people:

1. Accommodation — the largest share. A double room in a four-star hotel in a big city costs 600 to 1,200 yuans a night; outside the top cities, 400 to 700.
2. Guide and private transport — English-speaking guide, driver and vehicle come to between 1,800 and 2,800 yuans a day in total. Split between two people it weighs heavily; split between ten, barely.
3. Long-distance transport — high-speed trains in first class and domestic flights, around 10 to 20% of the total.
4. Entrance fees — Forbidden City 60 yuans, Terracotta Army 120, Great Wall 40 to 60, museums free with a reservation. It is the smallest share and the best value for money.

Three profiles, three budgets

Backpacking and public transport — 400 to 700 yuans a day. Hostel or three-star hotel, second-class trains, metro, street food. Works well in Shanghai and Beijing, where the metro solves everything. Works badly in rural areas and in Yunnan, where you lose a day per transfer.

Comfortable, independent travel — 900 to 1,600 yuans a day. Four-star hotels, first-class trains, some taxis, meals in mid-range restaurants, entrance fees. This is the profile of most independent travellers who organise everything themselves.

Private tour with a guide — 1,600 to 3,000 yuans a day. This is our model: English-speaking guide, private car, hotels chosen for location, entrance fees and reservations handled. Per-person costs come down from four travellers upwards.

Real examples

Tour	Days	Per person (double room)
Essential China	10	US$ 2,900 to 3,800
From the Tagus to the Delta	9	US$ 3,400 to 4,400
Family Panda Route	12	US$ 3,400 to 4,600
Gastronomic China	11	US$ 3,600 to 4,800
Photographic China	14	US$ 3,800 to 5,200
Honeymoon in Hidden China	12	US$ 4,200 to 5,800
Grand Crossing	20	US$ 6,500 to 8,900

These figures assume two people travelling together, mid-season and four-star hotels. Larger private groups lower the per-person figure; high season (October, Christmas and Lunar New Year) adds 15 to 30%. All extensions — Harbin, Tibet and Hong Kong-Macau — are sold as add-ons and quoted separately, so you can choose without rebuilding the whole budget.

The rest of the bill

To the tour price, add these items:

• International flight: 700 to 1,800 euros, depending on lead time and season.
• Visa: where applicable, the consular fee plus travel to the visa centre.
• Travel insurance: 40 to 120 euros per person, indispensable.
• Pocket money: 200 to 400 yuans per day for free meals, drinks and extras.
• Gratuities: we suggest US$ 8 to US$ 14 per person per day for guide and driver, in total.
• Shopping: variable; for tea and crafts, allow 500 to 2,000 yuans if you want to take home good things.

For a couple, ten days, with everything included except flights: budget roughly 7,000 to 8,500 dollars in total for the two of you, plus the international flights.

The exchange rate and when to pay

Published prices are in US dollars because that is the reference currency for inbound tourism in China, but payment is made in euros by bank transfer at the exchange rate of the day. Between booking and final payment the rate moves, which is why we always fix the amount in dollars and convert on the invoice date — we never present a figure already converted two months earlier, which is a classic source of surprises.

Payment in two instalments: a deposit to confirm the itinerary and the balance up to thirty days before arrival, by which time the hotels and train tickets are already bought. Cancellations more than thirty days out recover everything except the non-refundable fees of the trains and airlines; below that deadline the suppliers’ conditions apply, which we present in writing before asking for any payment.

Where to save without losing anything

Three cuts we recommend that you will not notice: travel in April or November instead of October, which lowers accommodation by 20 to 30%; sleep one night fewer in each big city and spend it in a village, which is cheaper and better; and book monuments in advance, avoiding the compulsory-guide packages sold at the gate.

Where we do not recommend saving: on the guide, on the hotel’s location and on travel insurance. A hotel an hour’s metro ride from everything costs less and costs two hours a day.

What pushes the price up without you noticing

Four decisions look small and weigh on the final bill:

• Single-room supplement. On a ten-day tour it can add more than a thousand dollars for anyone travelling alone. We always state that figure before booking, because it is the number that surprises clients most.
• Hotel upgrades. The difference between four and five stars in Beijing or Shanghai can double the accommodation share without changing anything in the programme.
• Last-minute domestic flights. Beijing–Shanghai bought ten days out costs twice what the same flight costs at sixty days; that is why we close domestic flights as soon as the itinerary is confirmed.
• High season. October, Christmas and Lunar New Year raise the whole package by 15 to 30%, especially accommodation and guides. April and November give you the same country for less.

How to read an agency quote

Two quotes apparently for the same trip almost always diverge for one of five reasons, and none of them is on the first line of the price. It is worth checking all five before comparing numbers:

• What is included. Entrance fees, trains, domestic flights, breakfast and the number of meals. A low price with entrance fees payable on the spot stops being low on day two.
• Group size. “Group” can mean eight people or forty. Always ask what the maximum is.
• Shop stops. This is the most common way to lower the advertised price. Our itineraries include no unsolicited commercial stop, and we say so in writing.
• The single-room supplement. Anyone travelling alone should ask for this figure before booking, because it is the number that surprises most.
• The cancellation policy. Deadlines and penalties in writing, property by property.

If a quote does not answer these five points, it is not comparable with the others. We often receive other agencies’ proposals to set against our own: it is easier to explain a difference than to guess at it afterwards.

How to ask us for a quote

You do not need to tell us much to get a number: your intended arrival date, the number of people, ages where there are children or older travellers, and three things you want to see. We reply with an itinerary, the price per person and what is excluded. No mandatory questionnaire, no sales call, no pressure.

Two questions worth asking always, of anyone: how many people in the group and how many nights in each city. These two variables explain almost the entire difference between two quotes apparently for the same trip. A ten-day itinerary with seven nights slept in three cities costs less than the same itinerary with five hotel changes — and is better in the same proportion.