Pandas & Warriors

Our Clients’ Reviews

• 

  carolyn clift

  PANDAS & WARRIORS - FAMILY HOLIDAY

  

  Written April 2011

  It was an awesome, fantastic adventure. A packed itinery with the most wonderful experiences, never to be forgotten, to be treasured for many years to come, by young and old alike.  

  Read full review

  What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?

  How do I choose?

  The iconic buildings and environs of Beijing. Flying kites at the Summer Palace.

  The Longman caves.

  Caligraphy classes and the Terracotta warriors in Xian.

  The Chengdu Pandas -- particularly my grandaughters cuddle. 

  The bamboo raft punt down the Li river in Yangshou. 

  Shopping in Hong Kong.  And so much more.

   

   

   

   

  What did you think of your group leader?

  Exceptional. I have voted for her as the guide of the year. More inforrmation on my comments in that section.

   

   

   

   

   

   

  Do you have any advice for potential travellers?

  Take a bag or case that is easy to manoeuvre, hand sanitizer, small rolls toilet paper, comfortable walking shoes. 

   
• 

  Karen Tennant

  PANDAS & WARRIORS - CHINA FAMILY HOLIDAY

  

  Written August 2010

  This holiday was a superb introduction to China, cleverly geared to engage adults and teenagers alike.  The famous sights were all covered, but simply walking down a street or making a journey was equally rewarding.  The holiday oozed experiences, but was perfectly paced so that maximum enjoyment could be achieved without it being over tiring.  

  Read full review

  What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?

  This holiday is so full of highlights it is almost impossible to select a single outstanding experience.

  Trekking on the Great Wall; although this is one of the must-see sights of the world, it succeeded in surpassing our expectations.  It was a really good choice that Exodus made to take us to Simatai – we didn’t see another soul until we reached the reconstructed part of the wall.

  Cycling the city wall in Xi’an was fantastic and later bartering in the Muslim Quarter was a fun experience not to be missed.

  The whole of the time spent at Yangshuo was out of this world, from the uniquely special scenery to the cookery school to the cycling and calligraphy, cormorant fishing, the water show, local market, etc.

  What did you think of your group leader?

  Mark was invaluable. His patience, knowledge, humour, caring attitude and stamina were exceptional.  He could not have done more to make the trip more enjoyable or easier.  He regularly went out of his way to help even with things not directly related to the trip.  He ensured that every single person in the group had maximum enjoyment for the whole 16 days.  A measure of the impact he had on us all was the lack of a dry eye when we had to wave goodbye to him at Hong Kong airport at the end of the trip.

  Do you have any advice for potential travellers?

  Don’t have any reservations about the food.   Trust your guide and it will be outstanding.  The food was, almost without exception, fresh, tasty and delicious and everyone became remarkably adept at using chopsticks in no time at all!

  Travel light.  Many transfers were part and parcel of experiencing so many highlights.  If you become short of clothing it is really cheap to pick up a t-shirt etc anywhere in China, and when you get to Yangshuo laundry is extremely cheap.

  Is there anything else you would like to add?

  The sights and experiences we had on this trip will stay with us forever be we parent or teenager.  The contrast of the simplicity of life in the rural areas to the cosmopolitan affluence we saw in Hong Kong was remarkable and added a depth to the holiday that in future years may not be so apparent.

  We seemed to travel by every mode of transport known to man apart from a submarine and this just heightened the experience even more.  

   We travelled with a great group of people and there was not a bored teenager amongst us!

  We unreservedly recommend this holiday.

   
• 

  Raewyn Harrison

  PANDAS & WARRIORS - CHINA FAMILY HOLIDAY

  

  Written April 2010

  This holiday was a great family adventure, so enlightening and enjoyble across all the age ranges. It was like having 'live' history, geography and social studies lessons that were throughly fascinating and reminded us why we need to travel. I feel we really got to know China.  

  Read full review

  What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?

  Walking the 10 kilometres of the Great Wall was something we all agreed was a major highlight. However there was so much else, my youngest son especially loved cycling the Xian wall. We all enjoyed the buried army, the cooking lessons, the pandas, the forbidden city, Tiananmen square, the night fishing, the schezuan hot pot....... I could just go on and on....

  What did you think of your group leader?

  We were really lucky to have Annie as our group leader who really went the extra mile and was a great source of imformation about China. I am sure we would not have understood so much of the country as well as we did without her. We also had a trainee guide named Bruce, who was fantastic in terms of entertaining us and teaching us about Chinese culture.

  Do you have any advice for potential travellers?

  There is quite a lot of travelling which was actually enjoyable, but you do need to obtain lots of snacks for the kids along the way. Good walking shoes are essential.

  Is there anything else you would like to add?

  I cannot rate this trip highly enough as it has been months ago that we did it, but we are all still talking about it a lot.

  My older son was saying to me the other day that he doesn't quite know exactly why he enjoyed it so much. He said maybe it was having other children on the trip, maybe it was all the amazing things we saw, or maybe it was because of the friendly chinese people, he concluded that it all amounted to having been an outstandingly fantastic trip.

   
• 

  Penny Hansford

  PANDAS & WARRIORS FAMILY HOLIDAY

  

  Written May 2009

  This trip gave the children a real child friendly insight into China.  There were enough activities to give them a positive feel for this extrodinary nation.  Our guide was outstanding and 'made' the tour for all of us.   

  Read full review

  What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?

  Trekking on the great wall

  Bamboo rafting

  Cycle tour

  art and calligraphy lesson

  What did you think of your group leader?

  Just fantasic.  She judged the group well and accomadated where she needed to to our needs.  She also had great relationships with our kids and was infinately patient.

  Do you have any advice for potential travellers?

  Washing clothes was very very much cheaper in Yangshou.

  Is there anything else you would like to add?

  Don't bother with Luoyang.  Do one day at the wall and use extra time for Xian and Yangshou. 

  Find a panda reserve that doesn't require an overnight stay.  Mount Emei would work well being built into this trip.

   
• 

  Sue Cook

  PANDAS & WARRIORS FAMILY HOLIDAY

  

  Written May 2009

  Great trip, a big thumbs up from the whole family. Many highlights, including some we weren't expecting - especially cycling in the countryside around Yangshuo. Lots of variety & the train rides were fun. 

  Read full review

  What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?

  Walking along The Great Wall - it was even more impressive than I had imagined it would be. The 2 days were quite different & we would have been disappointed if we had been there for a shorter length of time.

  Watching the kids have a Kung Fu lesson at the Shaolin Monestry with a Buddhist Kung Fu Master - that is something they will remember for ever!

  What did you think of your group leader?

  Annie was simply fantastic. She had lots of energy; a good sense of humour; was attentive; & coped with the wide age range & needs of our group splendidly.

  Do you have any advice for potential travellers?

  Give the tea pouring ceremony a miss! Let your guide order the meals!

  Buy a Terracotta Warrior & have it shipped home.

  Is there anything else you would like to add?

  The art and calligraphy lesson was excellent.  The Pandas were cute & looked well cared for.  Xian was a revelation, more time should be spent there.  Personally I could have left out Hong Kong - it seemed a world apart from where we had been the previous 2 weeks, although I guess it is so close it is worth doing then.