CHINAwith Tibet is a country like no other, having seen an incomparable rise on the world stage in the past 30 years. From the power center Beijing with its Great Wall and the Forbidden City to the densely populated east coast with economic zones and ports near Shanghai to high Himalayan peaks and deserted mountain landscapes in Sichuan and the mighty rivers and rice fields of the Yunnan province in the subtropics, China offers an incredible spectrum of landscapes and adventures. And China’s soul is just as diverse as its geography, conflicted with yesterday, today, tomorrow, living between the Maoist past, economic growth, opening up to the west and the desire for freedom. On our China tours we show you the whole exciting spectrum of the Middle Kingdom, authentically and on dramatic and dreamy routes – and through areas that hardly a “normal” tourist has ever seen.
North Yunnan Travel
SOUTH CHINA
Get to know the best of Yunnan Province! This tour let you experience the historic Tea Horse Road, the old towns Lijiang, Shanxi, Dali and Shangri-la, little villages at the border to Tibet, through one of the deepest gorges in the world and snow capped mountains. The diversity of the landscape is stunning: experience the wide Tibetan grassland, cactus-lined curvy gorge roads or a ride along the vast Erhai Lake. Drive along the Mekong River to the north and enjoy the breathtaking atmosphere at the holy Kawa Karpo, which is high above 6700 m. Stay also in a farmhouse in a Tibetan family on the banks of the Mekong River to experience this unique culture first hand. On the way back to Dali, we drive along the breathtaking Lugu Lake to the unique culture of the Mosu.
The Best of South China
SOUTH CHINA
Experience the diversity of South China! Through the two popular provinces, Guangxi and Yunnan, you will be accompanied with good, steady weather and breathtaking landscapes. Starting with an extensive stay in the Karst Mountains south of Guilin, the journey continues to the world famous rice terraces of Yuanyang in Yunnan. The small villages and the surreal landscape leave an astonished impression. We introduce to you the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Lijiang. The Old Town is surrounded with foothills of the Himalayas and we also give the opportunity to visit the picturesque Baisha. The legendary Tiger-Leaping Gorge, one of the deepest on Earth, concludes this trip and provides the experience of seeing the tremendous Yangtze River.
Discover South China with Shangri-la
SOUTH CHINA
On this 4×4 Tour we experience the most beautiful places in Yunnan. This includes the old towns of Dali, Shaxi, Baisha and the UNESCO World Heritage town of Lijiang, as well as famous Shangri-la. We drive along winding country – and mountain roads, passing impressive rice terraces and drive through small traditional Chinese villages. The journey continues through one of the deepest canyons in the world – the Tiger Leaping Gorge – thrilled with its breathtaking views.
Yunnan Family Holiday Tour
SOUTH CHINA
On this Yunnan family tour, you experience firsthand the country life of Tibetan families and feel the magic of offbeat locales in this unique escapade to Yunnan. We’ll team up to cook traditional Yunnan dishes, stop by a monkey colony, and adventure into the ancient tea trade route while exploring the cultural milieu of Yunnan, a stronghold of southern China’s cultural wealth. A fascinating hike takes us through the depths of Tiger Leaping Gorge, one of the deepest canyons in the world, after which we are warmly welcomed by a Tibetan family and taken for a visit to the legendary Shangri-La.
Travel to Lijiang
CHINA
This activity-filled tour takes you on a journey to some of the most beautiful places in Yunnan. In addition to other sights, this tour includes a visit to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lijiang and a stopover at the first bend of the Yangtze River where it twists 170 degrees while exiting the Himalayas. This tour’s main attraction is the multi-day and child-friendly trek through the Tiger Leaping Gorge where we come in close proximity to China’s magnificent landscapes and remarkable people.
Active-Trekking Family Tour through Sichuan
SOUTH CHINA
A unique travel adventure can be experienced with our family tour through Sichuan. Here you come as close to nature and culture as it is rarely the case. Because of the possibility to explore the country with its many hiking tours by foot, you’ll get an even deeper insight into how the things are going on. The family tour through Sichuan offers many varied attractions so that it’ll fascinate each family member and becomes an unforgettable experience.
Yunnan Motorcycle Family Friendly
SOUTH CHINA
Discover Yunnan and its many landscapes and climates. The most beautiful region of China awaits you for this family trip where one or both of you can/will be able to satisfy their motorcycle passion. A circuit adapted for families and parents. Incredible sensations on the splendid mountain bends, through the Tibetan mountains? Your family comfortably settled in the car and enjoying the breathtaking scenery?…. Today we combine the comfort of a classic and family circuit with the sensations of skiing and adventure you have come to expect so much. No need to choose between motorcycle travel with friends or family travel. Our tour proposes it to you… Come and try the experience with your family: the splendors of Yunnan’s old towns, walks and hikes in the deepest gorges in the world, the discovery of Tibetan territory and so many other experiences await you…
Highlights of Sichuan
CHINA
Explore the highlights of Sichuan in this solid tour, which is suitable for everyone. Sichuan, home of the Giant Panda, offers you an unforgettable stay with natural und cultural highlights. Starting from the capital Chengdu, which is full of life, the journey leads towards the west, to Wenchuan and Songpan. In Songpan you will enjoy a trip on the back of a horse through the hills and woods in the surroundings. In the following you will devoting yourself an entire day to the UNESCO World Heritage of Jiazhaigou before heading back to Chengdu and visiting the largest buddha statue worldwide.
Discover the Magic & Mystic Lhasa
TIBET
Not everybody has the time for seven years in Tibet, but this tour will show you the most spectacular landscapes and the overall beauty of this mystic land in just seven days. We’ll take our time in Lhasa, then drive through the infinite vastness of the Tibetan high plateau with our private vehicles along the salt lakes and to the most important monasteries until we reach Everest Base camp, complete with a view of the highest mountain on Earth. Tibet has fascinated people for centuries. Its remoteness and inaccessibility have fueled the Western imagination. In addition to religious architecture (Potala, Jokhang, Tashilumpo), Tibet offers the emptiness of its spaces: exceptional beauty of the highlands, the power of the mountains, and the light of the altitudes. It reveals the warmth of a people rooted in tradition and borrowed from unparalleled religious fervor.
Tibet with Qinghai-Tibet-Railway
TIBET
Visit the cultural highlights of Tibet and experience the beautiful nature of the Himalayan landscapes. This trip begins in Xining on the edge of Tibet, and the famous Tibet Train will bring you above the clouds at 5,000 meters all the way to Lhasa. On the way you’ll see grazing yaks, snowcapped mountains, and a picturesque plateau. You will also experience the holiest Tibetan monastery and the former residence of the Dalai Lama. Tibetmoto put together the very best of Tibet in this tour.
Travel to Mt. Everest Base Camp
TIBET
Visit the cultural highlights of Tibet and experience the nature of the Himalayan plateau on a three day trek along an ancient caravan trade route between two monasteries. This trip begins in Xining on the edge of Tibet and the famous Tibet Train will bring you above the clouds on 5000 meters all the way to Lhasa. On the way you will watch grazing yaks, snowcapped mountains and plateau landscape. This family friendly Tibet trip is for those who want to explore Tibet off-the-beaten track but do not want to miss major sights and famous scenic spots.
Family Tour in Tibet – Friendship Highway
TIBET
This trip is ideal for the entire family and gives us the chance to explore the vastness of the landscape and culture of Tibet, taking us to heights exceeding 5,000 meters through ice-packed glaciers and seemingly bottomless valleys containing turquoise lakes. A trip to Lhasa is in store, where a multitude of pilgrims can be met on their journey to Jokang Temple – the holiest Tibetan temple. We also visit the oldest Tibetan Monastery and the Potala Palace (the former residence of the Dalai Lama) during our travel. Amazing panoramic views can be taken in of the vast Himalayas, the base camp of Mount Everest, and the Friendship Highway, which is the main road connecting Nepal and Tibet.
Guided Individual- and Family Tours through China
We are the specialists for expedition, adventure and family tours through Tibet and China
Questions & Answers
All our itineraries give you a good overview what you will experience and discover when booking with tibetmoto. The itineraries are nevertheless best understood if they are seen as a suggestion rather than as a 100% planned and a thousand times done way of traveling. We like to keep every tour, every adventure, every trip unique and special. We are proud to say that we have never done a trip two times exactly the same way. Our team does not like to offer mainstream tourism tours, and we believe that people enjoy their time best when they have freedom and possibilities to choose from. Freedom and flexibility are very good ingredients to cook an exceptional discovery or adventure, to meet unusual people and visit off-the-beaten-track places.
After arriving at the camp ground we pitch up the tents, our team will set up the mobile kitchen, the electricity generator is being started and we can think of having a cold beer. All supplies and the luggage is carried by our supply truck. We do not have always pre-chosen camp grounds which are always frequented by us, since every expedition is different. Depending on the time in the afternoon we start looking for “the perfect spot”. Perfect spots have a water source such as a river or a lake and a flat piece of land for the tents. Some spots we use more frequently since they are so perfect that the location is hard to beat. Camping together with nomads offers an opportunity to experience their way of live, culture and habits. Sitting in the evening together in a nomad tent somewhere on the Tibetan grassland and listening to Tibetan nomads` songs is a truly genuine experience.
Dinner is being served in a large dining tent where we have tables and chairs to comfortably sit together, eat and drink. The separate, smaller, sleeping tents are designed to accommodate each two people, but if you choose the “single room” option (you will find that option below each expedition itinerary) you will have your own tent. Our tents are army tents where you can almost stand upright. The sleeping “hard wear” is a foldable army field bed, which puts your body about knee height away from the ground. We provide you with the entire hard wear, plus blankets and insulation mats. The only item you should bring along is your personal sleeping bag. If you don´t want to bring your sleeping bag all the way to China we can provide you with a new sleeping bag for a reasonable price.
The hotels in which you stay have a decent, but typical three to four star standard. All rooms have a private bathroom, with the exception of the Rongbuk Monastery.
Vaccinations are not required for the Tibet Motorcycle Tour.
Oxygen:
Starting from Lhasa we will provide medical oxygen. This can support a person with oxygen for up to 24 hours. Before starting the Tibet Motorcycle Tour, you should also contact a doctor who will prescribe a Diamox. Diamox is a drug that can be taken prophylactically against altitude problems. As a result, groups that take Diamox hardly or not at all experience altitude-related symptoms. For a smooth running of the Tibet Motorcycle Tour, the personal health and well-being of each participant is important. We therefore strongly recommend that you consider taking Diamox.
You will need your passport, a pass picture, national driving license, international driving license and flight ticket. Please be sure to make photocopies of all of your important travel documents and carry them separately. They can be invaluable in an emergency.
We also need a scan of the Chinese visa six weeks before the tour starts.
All scanned documents should be sent to us on an A4 sheet of original size
A home stay is an opportunity to get access into another culture by joining the host family for dinner and breakfast and sleep under their roof, as their guest. Most families live together in a several generation house, from children to old grandparents. A lot of home stays are semi-farms with at least a few cattle such as chicken and cows around the house. Often are fields attached where family member go to work after breakfast. Here, local family and work life can be experienced as it is instead of “only” observing it from the outside.
We believe that joining a home stay is on of the best ways to get in touch which what surrounds you in a foreign country.
For the Tibet and China motorcycle tour you need a valid national and international driver’s license.
In China, the currency is the CNY (Chinese Renminbi). The exchange rate is around 1€ to 7.56 CNY (as of 05/2020). The CNY is not a freely convertible currency, so you cannot get it at every bank in Europe. The exchange rate, which is determined by the Bank of China, can be observed under the following link: http://www.boc.cn/sourcedb/whpj/enindex.html
However, we recommend withdrawing a larger amount of CNY from an ATM with all major credit cards or debit cards after arriving in China. Our on-site tour guide is happy to help. Due to the often very poor exchange rate for the CNY in Europe, it is not worthwhile to exchange significant amounts of CNY in Europe. There are also many ATMs in Lhasa where you can withdraw money. Our experience shows that the majority of our participants spend around 20€ a day.
The luggage will be transported in the support vehicle. Don’t forget that on domestic flights, the pastries usually cannot exceed 20 kg!
For a motorcycle tour you should bring motorcycle clothing including a helmet. Of course you also should pack warm clothing (as layers or as undersuit). It can get cold! You should also bring gloves and a rain suit.
The roads on the motorcycle tour are mostly paved (with a few exceptions). Due to the new asphalting of road sections, it can temporarily lead to a poor condition of the road. The paved roads are mostly in good condition. However, there may be isolated potholes or gravel lying on the ground. The route on the motorcycle tour also includes sections with new asphalt, on which you can enjoy European standards or even better. These routes are wonderful to ride! Due to moisture and the difficult to see oil or diesel traces, however, extreme caution is always required!
Deposit for a rental motorcycle (partial cover):
The following cash deposits are required:
Shineray X5 400: EUR 500
BMW G 310 GS: EUR 1,000
BMW F 800 GS: EUR 1,500
If the participant/motorcyclist causes damage during the Tibet motorcycle tour, the deposit is the maximum amount.
Entry/Visa:
Many nationalities can enter China visa free for up to 15 days. Those include:
Germany, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Malaysia, Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Australia, Poland.
Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months. Some other nationalities need a visa to enter China.
Should the duration of the stay exceed 15 days, you must apply for the visa yourself or hire an agency to do so. Due to frequent changes in the application procedure, we recommend using an agency. Although you can apply for the visa yourself, it is only slightly more expensive to hire an agency and often saves a lot of work. The visa for China costs approximately EUR 300. More detailed information on the visa can be found in a specific appendix after booking upon request.
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