Keith Jones is a naturalist and head guide for Adventures with Wild Animals, a touring company based jointly out of California and Texas dedicated to wild animal education. The company has been providing tours since 1996. While many of this company’s tours focus on education about the gray whale, Keith has also expanded his tours to other countries as well; one of these countries is China. Keith leads an 11-day tour to China that includes the must-sees: The Great Wall of China, the world-famous terra cotta army museum and four days of volunteer work on a giant panda preserve. You may be asked to perform several duties, including feeding the pandas and cleaning their cages, but no one on the tour will be required to do any work they don’t want to do. As of July 2010, the cost of the tour was $3,395 and included domestic and international flights, accommodations and meals. A shortened version of this tour is available for $2,395; it runs for 7 days and focuses only on the visit to the panda preserve, cutting out visits to Xian and Beijing.
Adventures with Wild Animals
PO Box 1376
Temple, TX 76503
(562) 889-4016
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
www.greywhale.com
Tour company China Highlights has been operating since 1998. According to its website, it specializes in customizing tours for individuals as well as families and groups. As of July 2010, China Highlights offered five tours, ranging from a 4-day tour to an extended 12-day tour. The 4-day tour starts at $343 per person and includes accommodations, breakfasts and lunches, an English-speaking guide and a driver. This bare-bones tour focuses mostly on the visit to the Panda Breeding Research Center in Chengdu. The 12-day tour starts at $1,892 per person and features a visit to the research center as well, but also includes tours of the Yangtze River, the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. Also included in the price are flights and trains while in China. None of the price quotes for the tours include airfare to and from China, dinners or spending money.
China Highlights/CITS Guilin
No. 11 Binjiang Road, Guilin
GX541002, P.R. China
(800) 268-2918
Email: [email protected]
www.chinahighlights.com
China Connection Tours has been operating since 1990 and has served thousands of customers. According to its website, it was named one of the Top 100 International Travel Agencies by the China National Tourism Administration. China Connection Tours offers its customers a panda tour on which travelers will volunteer at the Wolong Giant Panda Research Base and Breeding Center in Chengdu. Other activities included in the trip are visits to the Forbidden City in Beijing, the Great Wall of China, the Terra Cotta Warriors Museum in Xian, a cruise on the Li River in Guilin and a free day to explore Shanghai. The cost of the 14-day tour includes hotels, meals, English-speaking guides, transportation while in China, fees for sightseeing stops and insurance. It does not include airfare to and from China, tips or spending money. You must contact the company for a current price quote.
China Connection Tours
Suite 1002, Guangfeng International Building
#79 South 2nd Ring Road
Xian, 710068, China
(800) 320-9008
Email: [email protected]
www.china-tour.cn
