Should I Join A Group Tour In China?
If it’s your first time visiting China, you might want to include a group tour for at least part of your trip... let me explain.
China is a huge country and sure, its cities have great infrastructure and are fairly easy to navigate, but there are also beautiful landscapes and deep culture within remote regions that are much harder for the non-Chinese-speaking visitors to get to.
I just got back from a guided two week trip through the southern part of China with Easttogo Travel, and experienced things that I never would've sought out on my own-- like seeing a traditional Miao medicine doctor or take the slower route through the acclaimed avatar mountains (Zhangjiajie).
Even as a Taiwanese American with a decent understanding of the language and culture, the group tour allowed for deeper insight and ease of travel so that i could fully enjoy the experience rather than just be anxious about the logistics of it all.
So if you're wondering if a group tour is worth it in China, here are the pros, cons, and my honest recommendations for when to join one.
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Pros: Benefits To Joining A Group Tour In China
Logistical and Navigational Ease
Making The Most Of Your Time
Overcoming Language Barriers
Deeper Insight & Authentic Explanations
Cons: When To Skip The Group Tour Through China
You're Only Visiting Big Cities
You Want To Set Your Own Pace
You Value Travel For The Spontaneity
You Want Absolute Control Over Your Budget And Food
My Recommendation: When To Book A Group Trip vs When To Skip
Tips For Booking A Group Tour In China
Essential Tools For Your China Trip
Nomad eSIM: great coverage across even the most remote mountainous areas (plus automatically bypasses the great firewall!)
Trip.Com: all-in-one app for booking transportation, accommodations, and experiences
Didi: taxi-hailing app. Prices agreed upon beforehand and easy to use!
Wechat: messaging app + payment app
Alipay: payment app (most vendors don’t have change for big bills or credit card processors)
SafetyWing: my go-to travel insurance!
Pros: Benefits To Joining A Group Tour In China
I'd recommend joining a group tour in China if you don't speak Mandarin, are on a time crunch, or want explore more off-the-beaten path destinations like Guizhou, Western Sichuan, or Yunnan. But let's dive in:
1. Logistical and Navigational Ease
It’s no secret that China has its own platforms, apps, and ways of running things.
Even as someone who can read about 50% of the written language and can speak proficiently at an everyday level, getting around on my own was overwhelming.
When you DIY your China trip, decision fatigue and anxiety quickly settle in.
Having a local tour operator to coordinate the majority of the logistics including booking transfers, driver pick-up times, and hotel check-ins saved a whole bunch of mental space and stress.
On top of that, my Capital One credit card kept getting blocked on Ali Pay/WeChat because of the strict security checks and ZiHan, my tour guide, had to come to my rescue on more than one occasion.
Imagine stressing about buying toilet paper in a remote Miao village while your partner is on the verge of explosive diarrhea and praying for your Ali Pay payment to go through. ☠️
2. Making The Most Of Your Time
Some of us (especially from the U.S.) are working with limited time off.
China is a massive country and notorious for road trips that span for days at a time, so having a local team plan an organized and efficient route made the most of our time off.
They arranged private drivers and a streamlined itinerary, letting us cover far more ground at a reasonable pace than I ever could have managed on my own.
3. Overcoming Language Barriers
This wasn’t as much of an issue for me personally, but if you don't speak Chinese, China can be somewhat challenging to navigate.
Most people outside of the big cities don't speak English (or any other languages) so if your goal is to travel through remote villages and ancient towns, having a local tour guide can help you overcome language barriers.
4. Deeper Insight & Authentic Explanations
Easttogo partnered with local guides from the regions that we visited and that gave us a more authentic look into everyday life.
This was especially apparent when we visited Guizhou, a province that is home to about half of China's total Miao/Hmong ethnic minority population.
Tian, our partnering guide, was a local of mixed Tujia and Miao heritage. She was able to add a unique take and explain from a personal perspective the distinctions between different ethnic minority practices, as well as share some lore and stories that are only transmitted orally.
A lot of Chinese resources are inaccessible to outsiders because again, they use a different (gated) web, so I was able to learn so much more than I possible could’ve while researching independently.
Cons: When To Skip The Group Tour Through China
If your itinerary only includes big cities or your travel style requires a lot of flexibility, then independent travel is still probably the way to go.
1. You're Only Visiting Big Cities
A city is a city is a city.
If your itinerary only includes China’s biggest cities like Beijing, Shanghai, ChongQing and ChengDu, then there’s no point in booking a group tour.
Chinese cities have great infrastructure and are easy to navigate with their local apps.
You can also find great deals and local recommendations simply by browsing social media platforms like Rednote (小紅書）or Dianping (kinda like their version of Yelp).
2. You Want To Set Your Own Pace
If you're someone who is highly independent and needs flexibility, or if you're a huge introvert and value alone time, then a group tour might not be for you.
I'm typically someone who enjoys planning my own slow travel itineraries, but China was the exception. I felt that a collaborative, boutique company that took my opinions into consideration was good enough, and frankly saved me a lot of time and stress.
However, you know yourself best.
If constantly being in a social setting and constricted to a preset itinerary stresses you out more than the uncertainty of navigating a new country, then you might want to skip the group travel!
3. You Value Travel For The Spontaneity
One of my biggest gripes would travel nowadays is that because of social media, everyone goes to the same over-touristed places and pre-plans their trips so that they get the perfect shot.
For me, the magic of travel is tied up with the magic of getting lost.
If you value spontaneity and the random connections that you make with locals along the way, then group travel might not be for you.
Sure, you can still have those one-off occasions, but the chances of going on a spontaneous 3-day road trip to someone's home in a remote village for example, are significantly slimmer when you've signed up to be part of a group tour.
The trade-off, however, is that you get a different form of (arguably deeper) authenticity. With guided local tours, you learn things that never would've crossed your mind. We can't access things when we don't know where to look, right?
4. You Want Absolute Control Over Your Budget And Food
A huge drawback to group tours in China is that for the most part, your food and budget are out of your control.
Depending on the your operator, they’re of course going to do their best o accommodate everyone, but the reality of traveling with 6-10 people is that you’re going to have to compromise.
So if you’re working with dietary restrictions or are extremely picky about where you stay, then planning your own trip to China will probably offer more flexibility.
My Recommendation: When To Book A Group Trip vs When To Skip
If you're visiting China for the first time, my recommendation is to DIY the big cities and book a group tour for more remote regions.
Spend a few days exploring the city you're flying into on your own (it's likely a huge city like Shanghai or Beijing) and then squeeze in a trip that really captures the country's essence. From there, you can tack on a few additional days to another big city or two and then head home depending on how much time you have.
Tips For Booking A Group Tour In China
There are thousands and thousands and thousands of tour operators in China. How do you know who to book with? Here's what I keep in mind when looking for a credible company:
Transparent pricing: skip any operator that isn't upfront about the total cost. Your tour should include all entrance tickets, hotels, and transportation unless otherwise dictated.
Read reviews: a group tour is a lot to invest in! Check their social media channels, skim testimonials, and read full-on reviews to get a feel for the full experience.
Opt for small, boutique operators: local operators have a better understanding for the tourism industry in that region and can give you a better experience.
Check group size: honestly, anything over 10 is pushing it. I'd rather not feel like cattle being shuttled from one location to the next. Thanks.
Check the itinerary: some big cities and attractions are fine, but if you value slow, immersive travel, you want to make sure that they're taking you to some lesser-known spots as well.
Stay safe and I hope you enjoy your trip to China! Let me know which route you decide to go with via a DM on Insta or stay in touch by subscribing to my newsletter!
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