OCDF No Frills Tour
Tour Route: Beijing-Xian-Guilin/Yangshuo
A 10-day, fun-filled tour of 3 cities, with extensions available for those looking for a longer tour. This tour was developed for the family who wants a low-key tour with lots of family fun. Compare prices, and you will discover this is an incredible offer. Same high-quality tour guides and OCDF specialized service with a tour priced to help those on a budget. This tour gives you the flexibility of more free time! We will keep you safe and in very clean, nice accommodations. You will LOVE the things we have planned for this budget tour.
Itinerary
Day 1
Friday: Depart USA
Day 2
Saturday: Arrive Beijing. You will be met by OCDF, and transferred to your 4-star Grandview Garden Hotel. Dinner on your own.
Day 3
Sunday: Breakfast included at hotel. Morning spent at the Panjiyuan Market. Lunch on your own. Afternoon at the Temple of Heaven and Hong Qiao Market. Dinner on your own.
Day 4
Monday: Breakfast included at hotel. Morning sightseeing to the Great Wall at Mutianyu. Lunch on your own in Huairou. Stop at the kite market on the way back to your hotel. Dinner on your own.
Day 5
Tuesday: Breakfast included at hotel. Morning spent flying kites in Tiananmen Square. Lunch at museum. Afternoon free time. Dinner on your own. Evening overnight train to Xian (departs 8:30 pm).
Day 6
Wednesday: Arrive Xian in the Morning and transfer to the 3-star section of the Xian Hotel for buffet breakfast. Morning sightseeing to Big Wild Goose Pagoda and Muslim Mosque with Market. Lunch on your own. Afternoon free to explore Xian. Dinner on your own.
Day 7
Thursday: Buffet Breakfast at Hotel. Morning to Xian Terra Cotta Warriors with Imax movie and tour through museum to see excavations. Lunch on-site at museum. Afternoon return to hotel with remainder of day on your own. Dinner at hotel. Transfer to train station for overnight train to Guilin.
Day 8
Friday: Arrive Guilin and transfer to a local hotel for breakfast. Following breakfast local sightseeing in Guilin then transfer to Yangshuo. Lunch on your own in Yangsuo. Afternoon tranfer to Yangshuo Mountain Retreat (a wonderful waterside lodge that everyone thinks is fabulous!). Free time to bike ride, hike, take bamboo raft on river, photograph the mountains and farmers with water buffalo. Dinner included at YMR.
Day 9
Saturday: Beakfast at YMR. Daytrip on the Li River ending in Yangshuo Village for shopping. Lunch on the boat included. Dinner on your own in Yangshuo. Return to YMR after dinner.
Day 10
Sunday: Breakfast at YMR. Morning transfer to Guilin Airport for flight to Hong Kong. Arrive Hong Kong and connect to your afternoon flight to the USA. Arrive USA same day.
Optional Activities
Day 3 Peking Duck Dinner $15 per adult, $8 per child (includes transportation and guide)
Day 4 Peking Acrobats at Chaoyang Theatre $12 per adult, $6 per child (includes transportation and guide)
Day 6 Xian Jiaozi Lunch $15 per adult, $8 per child (includes transportation and guide)
Day 6 Tang Dynasty Dinner Show $25 per persons (includes guide)
Day 6 Tang Dynasty Show (without dinner) $15 per person (includes guide)
Day 8 Guilin Foot Massage $12 per person (includes transportation and guide)
Day 9 Yangshuo Local Music Show $20 per adult and $10 per child (including transportation and guide)
Day 10 Hong Kong 2-3 day extension - contact jenny@ocdf.org for pricing.
Day 10 Orphanage/Adoption city 2-3 day extension - contact jenny@ocdf.org for pricing.
Cost per Family in 2008
1 Adult in single room = $1750
1 Adult plus 1 Child in double room = $2700
1 Adult plus 2 Children in double room = $4025
2 Adults in double room = $3275
2 Adults plus 1 child in double room = $4350
2 Adults plus 2 children in adjoining/neighboring rooms = $5400
* Please note that children ages 12 and up are considered adults for travel in China.
Includes: airport transfer upon arrival, accommodations as per itinerary, meals as per itinerary, bilingual tour guide/escort, domestic transportation by train and coach, entrance fees, airport tax, domestic travel insurance, tips and gratuities, luggage handling, and water on the bus daily.
Does not include: International airfare, passport and Chinese visa processing fees, optional activities, meals as per itinerary, personal purchases, laundry, business center or room service fees, travel insurance (emergency medical or trip cancellation).
Tour includes:
- 10-days with 8 days in-China arrangements included. See Important Information About Tours (Word document). International airfare not included.
- Beijing, Xian, Guilin/Yangshuo
- 6 UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Sites: Temple of Heaven, Great Wall, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Terracotta Warriors, Li River.
- Good, clean Chinese hotels. Services with experienced guides.
- Meals included as specified on itinerary with daily buffet breakfast.
- Special evening activities scheduled in each city are optional.
- Each family member receives an OCDF t-shirt. Families also receive travel items from OCDF including Travel Planning Guidebook, passport/money holder, travel umbrella, language guide, luggage tags, and name tags.
12 Key Steps For OCDF Travelers:
- Look at the various itineraries and decide what time of year you wish to travel and which tour fits your family's needs. Download the article: Returning to China with Your Adopted Child (pdf), and begin preparing for your trip.
- Download the pdf file for that tour or print off the itinerary. Full color brochures can be obtained from OCDF by calling 309-829-8202 or email: lynn@ocdf.org .
- If your family desires a customized trip - please download our Customized Travel Planning Booklet and contact Jenny Peng (jenny@ocdf.org) to assist you with your quotation. Any regular OCDF China Tour can be scheduled for custom groups, or new tour itineraries created just for your family and friends!
- See the tour costs. A $500 per person non-refundable deposit is due at the time of registration. Any gift certificates must be presented at the time of registration. Only one gift certificate can be used per family. Payments can be made by check, money order, bank check and Visa or Mastercard. Questions? Ask jane@ocdf.org .
- Check your passports to be sure they will be valid for at least 6 months AFTER the dates of your travel. If you do not have passports, or your passports will expire during that time-frame PLEASE make getting new passports a HIGH PRIORITY for your family as passport application and processing takes much much longer now than in the past.
- If you wish to visit a child's orphanage as part of your tour or as an add-on, please complete the file called the Orphanage Request Form and return it to jenny@ocdf.org. Jenny Peng, our travel planner, will assist you by gaining the approval for your orphanage visit, arrange for interpreters and guides, and arrange travel. She will provide you with a quotation for add-on costs for the orphanage visit should it not be included in your tour itinerary.
- Download the registration form or obtain a printed copy from OCDF by calling 309-829-8202 or email: lynn@ocdf.org. For international air fare: contact Marta LaCour (marta.lacour@travnet.net) at www.travnet.net to assist you with your international airline reservations. Call Marta at: 1-800-359-6388. For insurance: contact Medex for your trip cancellation and travel medical insurance.
- Submit your registration form (as complete as it can be at the time - you may need to add new passport numbers later) either online or to OCDF at PO Box 1243, Bloomington, IL 61702-1243. Be sure to include a photocopy of each person's passport who is traveling with your family AND your $500 per person non-refundable tour deposit (See Important Information about Tours if you have questions about cancellation policies). Please check that your passports are signed (parents should sign for children) prior to making the photocopies.
- Check the Travel Information Fact Sheet (Word file) for travel medical preparations and obtain any vaccinations and medications needed for your tour such as Hepatitis A & B series (takes 6 months to get all shots in the series), a Tetanus booster (if needed), blood typing, and prescription for antibiotics.
- Receive from OCDF three things:
- Invoice by email showing tour payment and balance due
- Email Welcome to OCDF China Tours from Jane
- A package from OCDF Office in the USA with t-shirts, travel planning booklet, luggage tags, and passport holder. Please READ your travel planning guide. Join the egroup for your tour program!
- Pay your balance of tour costs by the deadline - 3 months prior to your tour. Update your tour registration with new passport information. Questions about your invoice should be addressed to steven@ocdf.org or jenny@ocdf.org . Our USA office can tell you if your check/payment was received (309-829-8202), but they will not know the details of your travel plans - the Beijing Office will handle this. Thus emailing Steven or Jenny may be best.
- Apply for your Visa through the Chinese consulate near your home, or use our recommended courier services www.mychinadocs.com . They will assist you with your visa application. Do not apply for your visa more than 90 days (3 months) prior to your trip or the visa will expire before you travel. About 4-6 weeks before your tour is enough time to apply for your visa. Once you have your visa, please email sunny@ocdf.org with your visa numbers, expiration and issue dates.
Thank you!
Questions? Please Email the OCDF Staff:
Jane Liedtke, jane@ocdf.org OCDF China Tours
Jenny Peng, jenny@ocdf.org Orphanage contacts and additional travel in China
Contact by Telephone:
Jane Liedtke at OCDF Office in China - 011-8610-8403-4979 (answering machine available)
OCDF Office in USA - 309-829-8202 ask for Lynn Warren (answering machine available)
Jenny Peng, Travel Planner in China - 011-86-13011086069
Contact by Mail in USA:
Our Chinese Daughters Foundation
109 West Monroe
Bloomington, IL 61701
Mailing Address in USA:
OCDF
PO Box 1243
Bloomington, IL 61702-1243 USA
Contact by Mail in Beijing:
OCDF China Tours
199 Chaoyangmennei
Richland Court Room 105
Dongcheng District
Beijing 100010 China
Brief Background on OCDF China Tours
OCDF China Tours has its own trained staff and guides and also contracts with CITS in China for in-China travel services. To assure you a quality tour program, OCDF directs all tour programs and selects all staff members who work with our groups. Dr. Jane Liedtke, CEO and Founder of Our Chinese Daughters Foundation, lives and works from the Beijing and Bloomington Offices of OCDF. Her daughter Emily was adopted from Jiangmen Social Welfare Institute in 1994 and is 14 years old (will be 15 in April 2008). Jane has organized tour groups to China for adoptive families, educators and professional groups with experience in China since 1987. OCDF began Chinese Culture Camps for adoptive families in 1996 and extended them to China in 1998. OCDF was the first organization to offer Chinese Culture programs to adoptive families via tour programs to China. We work extensively with adoptive families and orphanages throughout China to insure your family has the best experience possible upon your return to your adopted child's birth-country.