Rachel’s agency

This year in arranging my holiday I took a risk. Two risks, in fact. The first was the destination: China. I’ve long since wanted to travel there, but had no idea what to expect (which was part of the fun of going). The second was my choice of travel company: Evaneos. I had never heard of them before, let alone travelled with them. But, having obtained quotes from several other companies, Evaneos seemed to provide what I wanted. It is one of a new breed of internet-based travel companies which produce bespoke holidays at reasonable prices by employing local agents at the destinations. The result is a highly personalised holiday, thus avoiding the necessity to be part of a large tour group (which I was keen to avoid!), at a cost that didn't hurt my pocket. From the outset the team at Evaneos took care to ensure our needs were met. I was put in touch with an agent in Beijing, who helped structure the holiday for me. What did my son and I want to see? What did we want to experience? Where did we want to stay? What was our budget? And along the way she made some useful suggestions too. In the end we arranged exactly the kind of holiday we wanted, taking in the sights and activities which interested us most. Local guides and drivers were provided as required, but equally we were left to our own devices when we wanted to be more independent. The guides were very knowledgeable and helpful and spoke good English. They became more like friends as our journey unfolded. Handovers went smoothly as we moved from one destination to another, and we felt like royalty being chauffeured between the various attractions. Our trip incorporated three cities: Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai. All are worth seeing and are remarkably different. In each of them the mid-range hotels we had chosen were comfortable and we found the staff to be friendly. Among the highlights were Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Terracotta Warriors, Shanghai’s The Bund waterfront at night, and the beautiful West Lake and parks of Hangzhou. Along the way we managed to include a Kung Fu demonstration, the Beijing Opera, a calligraphy lesson, the vibrant Muslim quarter of Xi’an, Ming tombs, Buddhist temples, and a trip up the world’s second tallest tower. Our Mandarin improved enormously, we enjoyed meeting so many friendly people, and I had plenty of time for sketching. I can honestly say the trip was one of the best holidays I have ever taken. It went beyond our expectations and Evaneos delivered everything that we could have wished for at a price that suited our pocket. My only question now is where to go next….Thailand? Tibet? South Africa? So many choices! But at least next time my choice of company is already decided! For me it has to be Evaneos.

Let me first say the trip was wonderful with so many well known places to visit. The Terracotta Warriors, the Great Wall the Longman Grottos but most surprisingly Tongli. Trying the local food out with the help of the guides was fun

Excellent trip as I visited most of the well known places and was very excited to have my own time without having to wait for others