Our July ‘08 trip into the Silk Road region of China includes time to view the Solar Eclipse from the desert of northern China. Every trip into the region to see the Eclipse is different, however we compare our 15-night trip against an 11-night trip offered by a US company. All quoted prices effective at time of publication (Summer 2007).

Ours

• 15 nights
• 2 nights Shanghai at the start; 2 nights at the end.
• 2 nights in each of: Urumqui, Turpan, Dunhuang, Xian.
• 3 nights in Hami - 1 complete free day prior to eclipse plus eclipse day.
• We include domestic flights Shanghai-Urumqi, Dunhuang-Xian-Shanghai, and all other transport as required for the tour.

Theirs

• 11 nights.
• 3 nights in Xian.
• 1 night in each of: a train, Dunhuang, Turpan.
• 2 nights in each of Hami and Urumqi.
• Train cost Xian-Hami included.
• Bus cost Hami-Urumqi included.
• Flights Beijing-Xian, Urumqi-Beijing included.

Both trips include special dinners and cultural shows; both have a national guide (or “tour manager”) who is with the group the entire time; both have local guides in each city stop. Both include costs of internal transportation and most meals.

The main differences: we avoid single-night stays, we have 2 nights on-site prior to the eclipse to ensure that all is in place (versus arriving the night before the eclipse by train), we have 2 nights at each end of the trip in Shanghai. Comparing per-night costs, you can’t help but appreciate our outstanding value