Thorn Tree travel forum

1

Before you commit to anything, let me warn you that there've been countless unsavoury reports on Chinese-language travel forums about any tours (especially cheapie ones) going to Jiuzhaigou from Chengdu.

You'll end up with:
- lots of kick-back shopping at expensive places with lousy quality (eg yak jerky made from rotten yak meat)
- tour guides and drivers who aren't paid (and in fact even have to pay the tour agency in order to get a tour group to take) and who thus have to make their wages on taking you kick-back shopping, and throw tantrums at the tour group members when they don't make enough from this
- lousy hotels that pay the tour agency (so that the tour agency has to spend nothing for the tour group's accommodation) to have tour groups stay there and spend money at their overpriced gift shop, restaurant, "massage" etc
- "meals" that consist of only a packet of biscuits or similar
- being rushed through all the stunning scenery and being told by the tour guide that "these are nothing much to see"

So on and so forth. Tour groups do not get any discount off the admission tickets which already take up almost half of your tour price. So how much do you think they'll be spending per person? 350 RMB? If you get decent food, accommodation, round-trip transport and a paid tour guide and driver, the tour agency would be losing money instead of earning any.

Just DIY and you'll thank yourself for it. There're no stunts that need to be pulled, what did you have in mind?

I don't think there's any easy way to get to Lijiang. Perhaps you could fly back to Chengdu instead of taking the bus?!

Cheers!