Unfortunately, I really can't highly recommend this tour. I would say Zhouzhuang is most definitely a place to visit, but you can leave Suzhou out of it. We were picked up at 7:30 a.m. and didn't reach Suzhou until almost 11:00. The traffic in Shanghai is crazy and we had to pick up at 3 other hotels before we even headed out of the city. We could have easily taken the Metro to a central meeting point and avoided at least 1.5 hours of sitting in traffic. Suzhou is a city of 10 million people, so another nectic metropolis. The Net Masters garden is nice, but you can visit Yu Garden in Shanghai which is vastly more impressive. The grand canal in Suzhou is also quite nice, but again not worth all the driving. We then got back into the car for another 45 minute drive to Zhouzhuang. Zhouzhuang is absolutely gorgeous and I would have liked to spend much more time there, but we only had an hour as it was time to get back in the car and head back to Shanghai. Also, we gave the tip to Tom the tour guide, but I think we should have split it ourselves between Tom and the driver, who was absolutely fantastic. We assume Tom split it with him - we hope so anyway. We had tossed up between this trip and the bullet train to Hangzhou - we definitely regretted our choice.
Review by: Sunil D, May 2018
Great tour, very special to visit this village. Just don't mind the tourist-traps!
Review by: Johnson L, May 2018
This tour unfortunately did not meet up to my expectations. All my friends told me that I had to do a water village tour, so I saw this one on Viator and decided to book it.
Review by: Ian C, April 2018
Excellent tour , a long day , brilliant driver negotiating Shanghai Ttraffic....large wide choiced lunch...with the hi lite being the Water Village. Earlier we had been to the Masters Garden....each of these transformed from the reality of Shanghais 25 million people. I was very impressed with this tour including pickup/drop off at my hotel...an 11 hour return trip....nice pace was kept....Excellent Tour
Review by: Helen B, April 2018
Beautiful! Both Suzhou and Zhouzhuang are both worth seeing and a complete contrast to the busy city of Shanghai. There is lots of travelling by bus/minivan involved as they are quite some distance outside of the city but well worth it. The tour guide contacted us the day before to confirm our pick up time, she was very friendly and was very knowledgeable at both locations. Would highly recommend.
Review by: Wai Ping W, April 2018
It was a all day tour. Lunch was delicious. I love the Water Village. Both the cruise and shopping were excellent.
Review by: Alison, March 2018
We went on this Tour on 26th March 2018_br/_ Tour Guide_br/_ The tour guide was informative and pleasant_br/_ Van_br/_ The van was very cramped and uncomfortable - lots of bumpy roads, poor driver and no room to stretch legs_br/_ The main downside of this trip was that we were first to be picked up at 0730 we then spent 2 hours going round Shanghai picking up 4 other groups. We were returned to our hotel at 8pm in the evening as we were the first on we were also the last off. So 12.5 hours in a cramped uncomfortable van was not my idea of fun._br/_ The trip to Suzhou and Zhounzhuang Water Village was very good and if you were lucky enough to be last one and first off the day would not have been too arduous.
Review by: Stephen A, March 2018
This is an excellent day trip if you don't have much time to spare. The Master of Nets Garden Suzhou and Zhouzhuang Water Village are both fascinating and worth seeing. As was the unexpected detour to see a silk factor as long as you don't mind the hard sell_br/_ What was good_br/_ Knowledge of the guide, organisation, food and sites_br/_ What was bad_br/_ As with any day trip there is little opportunity to do your own thing. If you see something interesting and want to explore forget it - it's a pretty tight schedule. _br/_ Also It's a really long day with most of it on the coach. Our hotel pick up was 08:00 and we arrived at Suzhou at about 11 and left Zhouzhuang around 4. We got back to Shanghai at 17:30 as promised but it took 3 1/2 hours to get back to our hotel as we crawled round dropping people off at different hotels. At one point we were only 5 kms from our hotel but didn't actually make it there for another hour and a half due to another drop off- pretty frustrating. If I'd have known I would have organised my own transport via the metro to and from a more central point which would have saved us about 3 hours in traffic.
Review by: batraider, March 2018
This was a wonderful tour and our tour guide, Frank, has a tremendous amount of knowledge. He really made the experience enjoyable. All the stops were fabulous, especially Zhouzhuang. The gondola ride and walk through the town made it all worth while. The silk factory was very interesting and well worth the stop. I would recommend this tour!
Review by: segunajose, February 2018
An awesome tour
Review by: Aaren S, February 2018
Great tour. Tour guide could have been more helpful about how to deal with local vendors, but the overall experience was good!
Review by: bernadetteyap, January 2018
Although the tour guide Tom was OK and polite, the experience with the driver of the van completely spoiled our tour. The driver tremendously disregarded the safety of his passengers. He was: _br/_ 1 driving recklessly, weaving in and out of traffic_br/_ 2 speeding on wet roads and tailgating_br/_ 3 wearing earphones and watching a video on his phone, which he placed on the speedometer I stood up, seeing that he was inattentive on the road, saw this myself, and informed the guide_br/_ I asked for a change of driver, to which Tom said was not possible. I was adamant that safety is not negotiable, and Tom assured me that his office manager would speak with the driver. I asked that all devices be kept away from him, including the earphones. Tom agreed. Tom appeared intimidated by the driver, and was afraid to demand safe practices immediately.
Review by: roy.beveridge, January 2018
Exactly as described _br/_ Great day
Review by: Colin C, December 2017
OK. somewhat like disney world
Review by: Stine, December 2017
It was nice. We change the date of the tour because of the weather risks on the day i wanted to go.I was glad they did, because it was an amazing tour.The weather was splendid, and the guide was nice
Review by: syncropooh, December 2017
In Suzhou we went thru I beautiful garden, I can only imagine that it is 10 times better when the flowers were blooming. But even in the cold winter it was wonderful to see. Next we went to Silk factory we was very informational on making silk and the products that come from the silk. Lastly we visited the the beautiful water village of Zhouzhuang, I wish we had more time and it was not raining because it was so quaint and beautiful to look at and see what was around the next corner. Frank, the tour guide was very knowledgable about the area's and went out of his was to make it a great day.
Review by: Ellen d, December 2017
This tour was awesome. Our tour guide was an expert in languages and his background knowledge was astonishing. Amazing background information about all the sights. The village itself it cute but very touristy, like most attractions in China. I still recommend going!Thanks for the great day!
Review by: Jennifer W, November 2017
Most of the time was spent in the car. The van was not very comfortable.
Review by: John M, November 2017
The guide, Rita, was amazing. Gave a lot of interesting information and was very personable. This trip was worth every bit that was paid for. Pick up and drop off a the hotel were handled perfectly. It is a long day, especially depending on traffic getting in and out of Shanghai, but getting to see the silk factory and the water village were well worth it.
Review by: hjohnst1, November 2017
Rita was an amazing tour guide! So knowledgeable approachable and friendly! We had perfect weather for this wonderful day. The beautiful garden in Suzhou was very picturesque and the water town Zhouzhang was so scenic. The trip in the gondala was very relaxing and was a highlight!
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