China with Uniworld - Tibet or no? Or Abercrombie & Kent tour?

[acruisefan]

I have narrowed down our options for a China tour in October to 2 Uniworld cruises: one with Tibet (14 days)and one without (11days), otherwise identical tours including 3 nights on the Yangtze River using a Century ship with a deluxe room. I am also looking at an Abercrombie & Kent tour, 13 days, not including Tibet, using the Yangtze Explorer Ship.

A few questions:

1) For those who have been to Tibet - is it worth the extra expense? $1900 each for 3 days in Tibet including in country airfare.

2) Did you have issues with altitude in Tibet (Llasa) and did you take medication ahead of time?

3) Is Abercrombie and Kent worth the extra cost? It is actually similar to the cost of the Uniworld Tibet trip, but does not include Tibet. There is extra time in Chengdu on this tour and 3 nights instead of 2 in Shanghai.

 

I was also looking at Tauck, but the availability and length of the trip just wasn't right for us.

[roaming_kiwi58]

We did a trip to China, with Tibet and a Yangtze river cruise, a few years ago, with APT.

It was an excellent trip. Fairly expensive, but we were well looked after in a very small group. Can't comment on Uniworld or A & K in China, though we have had excellent trips with Uniworld in other parts of the world. Our trip was, from memory, about 18 days.

 

We were pleased we did the Tibet part. It felt quite different to the rest of China and very interesting. We are unlikely to have another opportunity to see it so it was the obvious time to include it.

 

We did notice the altitude in Lhasa, but it was not a serious problem for us. The worst time was at night, when we felt as if we had something very heavy sitting on our chests, so we slept quite badly every night. Drinking lots of water helps. We had medication with us but did not take any. During the day we did lots of walking, including climbing up through the Potala Palace, with no major issues - just took things steady and not too fast.

One of our group did opt out of one of the sightseeing days in Lhasa, and stayed in the hotel with some oxygen. The altitude affects everyone differently and there is really no knowing how it will affect you until you get there.

 

A great trip and worth paying a little extra for the right itinerary, IMO.

[rpfin]

We went to Tibet earlier this year with Viking. IMO it was totally worth the extra cost. It's a very demanding trip, we are in our early/mid 60's and yes the altitude is an issue. We took Diamox and managed fine as did all our fellow travelers. Our itinerary did the Beijing to Shanghai which allowed the river portion of the trip after Tibet which allowed some down time. Not sure how Uniworld compares but I hope this helps. A great trip!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[acruisefan]

Thanks for the quick replies!

Yes these tours are the same as Viking and most others, with the areas that are visited: Bejing, Xian, Yangtze River and Shanghai. Tibet is after Xian and before Yangtze. I do not know if we will ever get back to China, so I am really considering the Tibet portion. I have never experienced altitude sickness but recently went to Lake Tahoe (I have visited countless times before and even lived there for a short time) and experienced altitude sickness for the first time at 7200 ft. I was shocked and the headache was terrible. I did recover quickly with Tylenol, lots of water and an essential oil that someone brought. In fact it gave immediate relief! But 12,000 ft is a whole other thing! I will definitely get the altitude medication.

[scluvsrain]

Just do the trip with Tibet included. You're all the way there and if you don't go you'll always probably regret it. Go!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jpalbny]

I have never experienced altitude sickness but recently went to Lake Tahoe (I have visited countless times before and even lived there for a short time) and experienced altitude sickness for the first time at 7200 ft. I was shocked and the headache was terrible. I did recover quickly with Tylenol, lots of water and an essential oil that someone brought. In fact it gave immediate relief! But 12,000 ft is a whole other thing! I will definitely get the altitude medication.

 

Strongly recommend that if you did get altitude sickness at 7200, you should discuss prophylaxis for a visit to 12000. Its somewhat uncommon, but not unheard of, to get altitude sickness below 8000 feet. The best predictor of altitude sickness is a prior episode.

 

The altitude required to cause symptoms is often quite consistent for an individual. In fact, it's unusual that you've been to 7200 previously unscathed, and only got it now. Did you exert yourself a lot when you went to Tahoe? Avoiding exertion helps.

 

But odds are very high you'll get symptoms at 12000 if you had this at lower altitudes. Take precautions and have fun!

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

[didicruiser]

I did China/Tibet with Uniworld a few years ago. Tibet was definitely worth the additional cost. Very different from China.

The altitude is a concern but with planning, you will be OK. Had one person on the trip who stayed behind one day with some oxygen. I asked him if he regretted missing the day. He said no, think of all I did see in Tibet.

What a great outlook!

[Gourmet Gal]

We love A&K especially their bespoke private tours. A much superior experience compared to our one Uniworld cruise alyhough we have not used them in Tibet. Even their small group tours are fantastic. Excellent guides and first rate accommodations. You cannot go wrong.