CHINA: only with a guide ?

It would depend on how intrepid a traveler you are. China is a very different place. We went in November 2005 with a small tour (15 people). We had a national guide who stayed with us all the time, and a local guide in each city. Our national guide was able to work things out for us, like canceled flights, that we wouldn't have been able to manage on our own. Many people do go to China without a guide, but I wouldn't, even after having been there.

Most Westerners that visit China use group tours. But In my experience, if your visiting the main tourist sites it's totally unnecessary. For example, in Beijing most of the main sites are easily reached by via the subway. Sites in the outskirts like the Great Wall can be reached by taking a public bus. There is a language barrier; most taxi drivers speak zero English but the Lonely Planet guidebook, and the hotels have "cheat sheets" with sites written in Mandarin characters so all you have to do is show the driver. In all my travels the Chinese people are the friendliest I have ever encountered. Local were constantly stopping me in the streets engaging me in conversation so that they could practice their English. My advice is study up on the LP guidebook and make an attempt to do it on your own. If you find your having hard time, or are uncomfortable then you can always have your hotel book organized day tours for you.

We just returned from a 3 week Elderhostel tour of China (PS, if you're 55+ I highly recommend Elderhostel - very much like a RS tour) and highly recommend a guide. Unless you're already culturally and historically familiar with China and Asia, the guide is the difference between simply seeing Chinese sites and experiencing China. Forget mass transit - it's complete chaos - use taxi's in Beijing - they're cheap compared to anywhere you've probably visited. You can hire different guides in each city you visit. I agree you don't need a guide in Europe - in China and India I strongly recommend hiring a guide. PS, China is a wonderful country - magnificent sights and nice, sweet people.

The traffic chaos in Beijing is above ground on the streets. The car traffic in Beijing is a nightmare. The subway is clean, quiet, and user-friendly. A much more civilized way to get around.

That's not really a problem in China. Tourism is a big business in China so every "official" type sign in and around the tourist areas, as an English translation in western script. For example, on the Beijing subway not only is every station sign in western script, but every station also has an exit map in English that points traveler in the right direction. Language barriers should never deter anyone from traveling independently. This is what guidebooks are for.

Although I appreciate the stubborn insistence of RS advocates to focus on independent travel (my wife and I are normally also in that group), there are certain places where a guide trumps purely independent travel. China is one of those places. With 1.3 BILLION people, even with signs in English, you can't underestimate the difficulties that cultural and language differences will present. China guides are relatively inexpensive and worth every Yuan. PS, the subway in Beijing doesn't cover a big chunk of the city and you will spend considerable surface street time navigating the sites. Hope this helps.

In honor of the Olympics being held next summer, Beijing has just open three new subway lines in the center of the city. All of the key sites are linked by metro. Also when the new terminals open at the airport there will be a new airport express train to the center of the city.