You choose the cities, the pace and the hotels. We design the trip, book everything inside China, and put your own guide and vehicle beside you in every city. One group per booking — always yours.
A custom China tour is a private trip designed around your dates, your interests and your pace. Instead of picking a fixed departure and joining strangers, you tell us what matters to you and we build the route, the hotels and the days around it.
That means you can start in any city in China, travel in one direction rather than backtracking, spend three nights somewhere a group tour allows three hours, and change the plan on the second morning if the weather — or your mood — says otherwise.
Everything inside China is ours to handle: high-speed rail tickets, domestic flights, permits for the Tibetan plateau, hotel bookings, restaurant reservations, translation, mobile payment setup, a doctor if you need one. You arrive with a suitcase. We take it from there.
A group tour is designed for the average of forty people. A custom trip is designed for you. That shows up in small ways — leaving for the Great Wall at 6 a.m. so you're alone on the ramparts, booking the noodle shop your guide actually eats at, staying an extra hour because nobody has to catch a bus.
It also shows up when something goes wrong. Flights get cancelled, museums close, someone gets sick. With a group you wait for the office. With us, your guide re-plans in the car and your designer is on WhatsApp within minutes.
Almost everything about a fixed tour is a decision someone else already made. On a custom trip, these eight are yours.
Start anywhere, skip the places that don't appeal, and add ones most itineraries never reach — Yunnan, Gansu, Guizhou, the northeast.
Two sights a day or five. Sleep in, stay late, or take a whole day off. We build the days around your energy, not a timetable.
Boutique courtyard houses, five-star towers, family rooms, a night in a rice-terrace lodge. We book what fits your budget and taste.
English, Spanish or Portuguese. And a guide chosen for the trip: a historian in Xi'an, a food obsessive in Chengdu, a family guide for kids.
Vegetarian, halal, gluten-free, no spice, or "take us where you eat". Menus are planned ahead and checked the day before.
Cooking classes, tea picking, calligraphy, kung fu, a bike ride on the city wall, sunrise photography at the Great Wall.
Tibet permits, closed-section Great Wall hikes, early-entry tickets, a table at a restaurant that doesn't take bookings.
Plans move. Add a city mid-trip, swap a hotel, shorten a day. We re-plan the same day and tell you exactly what changes.
No forms, no sales calls, no deposit. Just a real conversation with someone who lives in China.
Dates, number of travelers, how long you have, and the three things you don't want to miss. That's enough to start — we'll ask about the rest.
Within 24 hours: a day-by-day itinerary, the hotels we recommend, travel times between cities, and a clear itemized price. No obligation.
Swap cities, add days, change hotels, slow the pace down. Unlimited revisions, still free. You approve only when it's genuinely right.
Rail, flights, hotels, tickets, permits, guides, cars, restaurants. Then we travel with you — on the ground, on WhatsApp, 24/7.
Most travelers ask this in their first email. Here's the straight answer, before you ask.
Everything on the left is quoted in your itinerary, itemized, before you pay anything. No hidden fees on arrival, no "optional" excursions that aren't optional.
Prices depend on season, hotel class and how much you travel between cities. Here's the honest range, per person, excluding international flights.
| Trip length | Comfort — 4-star | Superior — 5-star | Luxury & boutique |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5–7 days One or two regions | from $299 | from $459 | from $699 |
| 8–10 days Classic first trip | from $399 | from $649 | from $999 |
| 11–14 days Two or three regions | from $549 | from $899 | from $1,400 |
| 15+ days Deep exploration | from $749 | from $1,200 | from $1,900 |
Indicative starting ranges for two travelers sharing a room. Solo travelers usually pay a little more; groups of four or more pay less per person. These are guides, not quotes — our team prices every trip against your actual travel dates, hotel choices and group size, and you'll have an itemized figure within 24 hours.
| A custom trip with us | A fixed-departure group tour | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it's designed for | You, specifically | The average of the group |
| Departure dates | Any date — you pick | Fixed dates, set months ahead |
| Route | Yours; one-way is normal | Fixed, usually a loop back to the start |
| Time in each place | As long as you want | Set by the itinerary |
| Changing plans mid-trip | Same day, with your guide | Almost never possible |
| Who else is on the trip | Nobody — your party only | 20–45 strangers |
| Guide | Yours, private, all day | Shared with the coach |
| Hotels | Chosen for you, level your call | Contract hotels, often out of town |
| Meals | Planned around your diet; local tables | Group restaurants, set menus |
| Price transparency | Itemized before you pay | Low headline, extras on the ground |
China grants visa-free transit of up to 240 hours — ten days — to travelers from more than fifty countries. Tell us your flight numbers and we'll design a short custom tour that fits between them, with a written guarantee we get you back to the airport in time.
A car on standby, a guide watching the clock, and a visit chosen so a delay on the road can't cost you your flight.
Great Wall, the Bund, pandas or the Terracotta Army — one thing you'd have regretted missing, then back to your gate.
A night in the city, a second morning before the crowds, and a route built backwards from your onward flight.
Open any one for the full day-by-day itinerary, then tell us what to keep and what to change.
Beijing · Xi'an · Chengdu · Shanghai — from $599
Chengdu · Zhangjiajie · Guilin · Yangshuo — from $499
Xi'an · Dunhuang · Turpan · Kashgar — from $659
Shanghai · Suzhou · Hangzhou · Huangshan — from $399
Beijing · Xi'an · Chongqing · cruise — from $629
Xining · Qinghai Lake · Lhasa — from $799
Beijing · Xi'an · Chengdu · Shanghai — from $529
Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu, Guilin and 8 more cities
No forms, no call centre, no deposit. Write to us directly and a real trip designer in China replies within 24 hours with a first draft itinerary and a clear price.
hello@joyotour.comCopy this into your message and fill in what you know. Missing pieces are fine — we'll ask the right questions.