China: 10-day tour package to Forbidden City, Great Wall and Shanghai only $999

The Great Wall of China. The Forbidden City. The Terra Cotta Soldiers. If those three attractions in China are on your must-see list of all time, have a look at this 10-day China tour starting at $999 including air, hotel and some meals.

The “Taste of China” package has been particularly popular with Friendly Planet Travel, and since announcing this deal, they are already sold out of several dates. Hurry, some are still available. Don’t worry, there’s no need to make such a commitment blind; the Friendly Planet Travel website walks you through what you can expect on every day of the 10-day trip, which items are optional and at an extra charge, plus it tells you which hotel you’ll be staying at.

Deal: $999 is the starting price per person based on double occupancy. Feel good about that amount (even before taxes and optional add ons) because a flight between Los Angeles (LAX) and Beijing (BJS) easily costs more than $700 per person in early December. When I tested the deal I found the package available for departure Dec. 1. After the $300 sale discount, optional tour upgrade ($165) and taxes ($120/per person), the price came to $1,284 per person, double occupancy. If you want travel insurance add on $99 per person or $1,383 per person. Plus, the itinerary shows optional tour items that must be paid on site - it will be an additional $233. So, if you wanted to do everything that they suggest for this tour and have trip insurance, the price comes to $1,660 per person, including tax but not including the visa.

Caveat: You still have to purchase (separately) a visa to get into China and Friendly Planet Travel lists the price as $160 per person.

When: Book by Sept. 23 for departures: Dec. 1, Jan. 12.; other dates are available at higher prices.

Contact: Friendly Planet Travel, (800) 555-5765 (note that their telephone hours are 6:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. PDT)

— Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger

[Photo: Crowds walk on the Great Wall of China near Beijing. Credit: Greg Baker / Associated Press.]

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 15, 2009 at 8:44 am by Jen Leo and is filed under Asia, China, Deals, Tours & Cruises. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.