Tibet, the grand circuit — the long way round the plateau.
20 days, Tibet. Our longest format, for travellers who want the whole arc of a region rather than its highlights. Every departure is planned route by route, quoted in writing, and staffed by crews we employ ourselves.
Everything on the ground is ours: our own guides, our own vehicles, our own crews — not a chain of subcontracted hands. The plan is written and priced line by line before you pay a deposit, and the same person answers you from the first email to the day you fly home.
And because this runs three days or more, the bed comes with the journey: 19 nights included, in places we have slept in ourselves, the same room throughout, booked by us, in your name, itemised in your quote.
The travel days are the scenery: river valleys, terraces and ridgelines arranged so the country passes at eye level, not from a window seat.
Temples, teahouses, kitchens and workshops — the everyday side of the country, arranged so it happens around you rather than in front of you.
Where the route is long, the fast train does the work: city centre to city centre, with the country running past the window.
Your party only, your dates, your pace — one guide and one vehicle throughout, never shared with strangers.
“The best hours here are the quiet ones.”
Route, hotels, tickets and pacing — in writing, before you book
We do not publish a fixed daily script for this journey, because it is not sold as one. Every departure is built around the travellers who are coming: the pace, the walking, the table, the hours you start and the hours you stop. What we will send you is the real thing — a day-by-day routing plan, the hotel list with the levels priced separately, every timed entry held in your name, and an itemised quotation in writing. Usually within one working day.
Walking distances and start times are anchors, not walls — your guide flexes each day to the weather, the crowds and your legs, and the order of sights may adjust for timed-entry slots and closures. Nothing repeats and nothing is retraced.
A private journey — your party only, your dates, your pace. Best in spring and autumn; runnable in every season with the hours re-arranged.
This route is priced to your dates, your party and your hotel level rather than sold off a shelf. Tell us who is travelling and when, and we will send a written, itemised quotation — usually within one working day.
Small hotels, courtyard conversions and heritage properties we have stayed in ourselves, chosen for position and quiet rather than for a lobby. All licensed to receive foreign guests.
The days do not change with the bed. Comfort is our standard level; Signature steps up to design and heritage houses; Luxury is each destination’s best address, with a view to match.
Breakfast daily, taxes and service, twin or double as you prefer, and the bags taken up while you are out. Tell us about a hard bed, a soft pillow or a room away from the street — it goes to the hotel before you arrive.
Plenty of our travellers arrive with points or a favourite address. Point us at it, we plan the days around your door, and the accommodation comes out of your quote — nothing else about the journey changes.
China’s major sites run on real-name, timed entry booked against your passport, and the best-known ones cap visitors daily and release slots only days ahead. Once your dates are fixed we book the whole sequence, hold the confirmations, and re-check every one of them the week you travel — you bring the passport and walk past the queue.
Museums and palaces close one day a week (usually Monday); if your dates land on it, we re-order the days and tell you before you book, never after.
For spring and autumn dates, 60–90 days ahead is comfortable — the best houses and the timed slots both go early. Shorter notice? Ask anyway: we hold a small allotment in most cities and can usually move quickly.
This route sits inside a family of longer and shorter versions — ask us and we will send the alternatives side by side, with the days that would come out or go in, and what each one costs.
China runs across five climate zones, so the right months depend on the route rather than the country. Spring and autumn suit almost all of our journeys; the far west and the plateau we run later in spring and earlier in autumn.
Our days are built in short legs, broken every few hundred metres by something to see and something to sit down for. Where there are steps there are landings, and the vehicle is never further than the next gate.
Water and wipes ride in the car; a flask in cold months, shade and a long lunch in hot ones. Tell us about knees, hips and small legs in advance — the days bend around the answer, not the other way round.
Stone slabs, temple steps and long village lanes — broken-in walking shoes are the single best thing in the bag.
Mornings and afternoons differ by ten degrees or more across most of the year; a layer you can stash beats a coat you must carry.
A hat, sunglasses and a compact umbrella cover almost every day of the year.
Every timed entry is matched to it by name — carry it, and leave the queueing to us.
The vehicle carries the rest and meets you at every stop — pack for the morning, not for the day.
Refills ride on board, and hot water is what the country drinks — a thermos makes you local by day two.
Alipay or WeChat Pay set up before you land; we send a two-page guide with the booking. Cards work in hotels, cash almost nowhere.
Nothing starts before nine — no dawn calls, no rushed breakfast. We book each site's quietest slot instead, and let the day run at a civilised pace.
Tibet, the grand circuit — the long way round the plateau.
Start planning your journey