China - Yunnan

Essential Information

Getting there and away

The tour starts in Shangrila (Diqing).  We appreciate that people join redspokes tours from all over the world; no matter what time you arrive at the airport on the tour start date you and your luggage will be transferred to the joining hotel. Please bear in mind that if you arrive before midday you may have to wait for your room to be made available. If you decide to arrive early or stay on after the tour, redspokes can assist you in booking your accommodation and airport transfers at additional cost. If you depart on the last day of the tour your airport transfer is included in the tour price.

Our tour price does not include your international flight.

Check out www.kayak.com or www.opodo.co.uk for an idea of times and prices.

You will need to arrange multi destination flights to arrive in Diqing Airport (DIG). This is not an international airport so you will fly into Diqing from one of China's major airports. Your journey home is from Dali (DLU). You can book internal flights to Diqing via the following website http://english.ctrip.com/. It is in English, and a trusted site. You can make payment using credit card.

Passport and Visa

You must be in possession of a valid passport. All tourists visiting China require a valid China visa which needs to be applied for prior to travel. Please contact your local consulate or embassy for more information.

Visa application forms for UK residents can be obtained by clicking here.

If you would prefer to pay an agent to get your visa, we would suggest using Travcour (UK) Ltd. They have been in the visa business for 25 years & offer our customers a £5 discount on all visas purchased.

Insurance and Vaccinations

It is a condition of joining our trips that you must be adequately insured. All persons are expected to arrange their own insurance. Polices should cover any potential risks involved in a mountain cycling holiday. We ask for details of your policy to be sent in with your completed booking form.

Snowcard Insurance Services specialize in all mountain sports holidays including mountain biking. Their policies include emergency medical and repatriation expenses as well as mountain rescue. They are also able to insure personal belongings including equipment as well as travel cover for cancellation, delay and missed departure. Follow the link below to obtain full information and a quote: www.snowcard.co.uk.

Plan ahead for your vaccinations, some of them require more than one injection you should seek medical advice at least six weeks before travel. No vaccinations are currently required for the tour, but the following are recommended: Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Polio, and Tetanus. If you have recently travelled in a Yellow Fever affected part of the world, proof of an inoculation is required. Expert advice on medication should be sought.

Cycle support and grading

All of the time you will have the security of a back-up vehicle; either a jeep or a bus. The vehicle will carry our entire luggage (we transport your main baggage by support vehicle from each overnight stop to the next) and yourself if you want. The back up van will be with us throughout the day stopping around every 12 miles (20 km). Our leaders carry a good tool kit and will help to fix any bike problems so all you normally need to carry is a daypack, for your camera etc, however, we cannot guarantee that we will be equipped for all repairs, so you must ensure that your bike is in good working order before the tour. If in doubt, have it fully serviced by a bike shop before you travel.

Equipment and bike stuff

Our Yunnan tour is only suitable for mountain bikes. We have bikes available for hire. If you're not hiring from us you need to ensure that you bike is in good working order before you leave on tour. If you are not the most mechanically minded we suggest that you get your bike looked at by a professional bike mechanic. In particularly we would suggest looking and adjusting all wheel spokes, greasing all your bearings, checking your brakes/gears cable, tighten all nuts and bolts, check chain, quick release clamps, tires and put in new inner tubes and check wheel rims are not worn. In addition make sure the bike is well serviced and ride it with as much care and attention as possible.

We would also advise the following tools to accompany you on your tour: multi-tool, tyre levers, pump, 2 spare inner tube, spare spokes of the correct length to fit your wheels - check with a bike shop, brake pads, a few spare links for your chain, spares for any unique or high-tech items on your bike, e.g. fluid and bleed kit for hydraulic brakes.

Baggage allowances and your bike

Your bike must be carried as a part of your luggage allowance and, to this end, we do ask you to make every effort to keep your total check-in baggage to an absolute minimum. The baggage allowance for most airlines for an economy-class ticket is 20kg per person; although a degree of flexibility is usually extended to groups and the check in staff may accept up to 26kg per person without imposing excess baggage charges.

Your bike (in its cardboard box) will weigh 15 to 18kg. So, that means you will have a small allowance for clothing, etc. You should carry small heavy items in your day pack / pannier which you can take onto the plane as hand luggage.

Your hand luggage is not included as a part of your overall allowance, as it is not weighed. Please inform your airline that you will be taking your bike on the flight, and attempt to make every effort to secure from the airline an additional baggage allowance - but this is not always granted. Although we cannot guarantee that there will not be excess baggage charges, this is something, which very rarely happens.

In terms of clothing this is clearly up to you and we can only supply a rough guide as to what to take. This guide is entirely flexible and should be tailored to your specific needs. Sunglasses, lightweight trekking boots/shoes, cycling footwear, lightweight socks (3 pairs), underwear (4 pairs), lightweight long johns, lightweight, long-sleeved shirt, lightweight trekking shorts, padded cycling shorts (2 pairs), shorts, t-shirts (2), long-sleeved shirt, fleece jacket/pullover, biking jacket waterproof (breathable fabric), fingerless biking gloves, sunglasses, toiletries, basic first aid kit, to include: antiseptic cream, throat lozenges, painkillers, plasters and blister treatment and re-hydration salts (Dioralite) lip balm, sun cream, towel (small). If you have any questions about this list, please feel free to contact us.

What to bring

If you are bringing your own bike you must bring spare parts specific to it. A detailed equipment list of what to bring with you will be provided on booking. Dark glasses, small day sack or pannier (assuming you have a rack to attach it to) to carry clothing, camera and valuables, a couple of spare passport photos, photocopies of key documents e.g. passport (data and visa pages), travel insurance policy, airline tickets, camera, photos of your family and postcards of your town to show the locals.

Luggage Allowance

Your bike must be carried as a part of your luggage allowance and to this end we do ask you to make every effort to keep your total check-in baggage to an absolute minimum. The baggage allowance for most airlines for an economy-class ticket is 20kg per person; although a degree of flexibility is usually extended to groups and the check in staff may accept up to 26kg per person without imposing excess baggage charges.

Your bike (in its cardboard box) will weigh 15 to 18kg. So, that means you will have a small allowance for clothing, etc. You should carry small heavy items in your day pack / pannier which you can take onto the plane as hand luggage.

Your hand luggage is not included as a part of your overall allowance, as it is not weighed. Please inform your airline that you will be taking your bike on the flight, and attempt to make every effort to secure from the airline an additional baggage allowance - but this is not always granted. We cannot guarantee that there will not be excess baggage charges.

What's included and what's not

All accommodation will be on a twin share basis; if you are traveling on your own, single rooms are sometimes available at extra cost. We choose accommodation on the basis of comfort rather than luxury.

Most food is provided on tour, except on rest days when you will need to pay for your lunch and dinner.

All transportation and local guides within China are provided. When you arrive in Shangrila (on the first day of the tour) you will be met and transferred to our hotel.

Our holiday price does not include your international or internal flights or your visa. 

Spending money depends on your taste for souvenirs, drinks etc. We estimate that £200/£275 will be more than enough to cover the 14/18-day tour. Tipping is an accepted part of everyday life, and although it is always at your discretion, you will be expected to tip to reward service. £25 for the guide and team at the end of the tour is recommended.

Further Information:

Capital Beijing
Government Single Party Socialist Republic
Currency Renminbi (RMB, ¥)
Area 9,596,960 km2
Population 1,321,851,888 (July 2007 est.)
Language national: Mandarin (Putonghua)
regional: Wu (Shanghaiese), Cantonese (Yue), Mindong (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages
Religion Buddhist (~18%), Daoist (Taoist), Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2%, Atheist 15%, most Chinese are religious pluralists.
Electricity 220V/50Hz (US/European plug for 2-pin, Australian plug for 3-pin)
Calling Code +86
Internet TLD .cn
Time Zone UTC +8