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All of our tours in China are Exclusive to the Virgin Holidays group and we guarantee a tour group size no more than 25 guests. Tours are always guided and larger groups will also have an escort meaning you can explore this vast country with like minded people in the company of our excellent local, Englishspeaking guides.
There are few structures on earth that can evoke the same sense of wonder than the imposing Great Wall of China. Built over 2,000 years ago it stretches for some 5,000 kilometres, across a timeless landscape. We visit the quieter Mu Tian Yu section of the wall, where you can enjoy a walk along a section of one of mankind’s most incredible creations.
China is changing so quickly it is hard to keep up. We have decided to add the new high speed train from Beijing to Xi’an to all of our tours for 2016 onwards giving you a better experience in China; what’s more we have also added the Maglev train for arrivals in Shanghai. The ‘Magnetic Levitation’ train takes you from Shanghai airport to the city at almost 400mph!
An ancient and mysterious land, China is home to some of the greatest testaments to human endeavour. Visit Xi’an for the world-renowned Terracotta Warriors and the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang – the first emperor of China. The amazing Terracotta Army is made up from over 9,000 terracotta soldiers, chariots and cavalry horses.
Pandas are native to China and there are several endangered species centres across the country designed to encourage pandas to mate and keep up their population levels. A few of our tours incorporate a visit to the famous Chengdu Panda Research Centre for you to see these beautiful animals and learn more about them.
Hong Kong is a place of two personalities, with historical Chinese ties and contemporary British influence. A playground for the affluent with its sprawling cityscape, great bars and amazing food, Hong Kong is more than just a harbour city. The cloudy mountains and rocky islands that surround this bustling hub are just waiting to be explored.
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Over the past few weeks, we have repatriated our customers from overseas who wanted to come home.
Please visit this page to keep up to date with the Government’s travel advice on returning to the UK, and to register for email alerts.
We are continually reviewing our flying schedules, taking into account the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advice against all non-essential travel. Depending on when you are due to travel, your holiday may be affected and we’ll email you to let you know as least 21 days before travel.
Your next holiday is only a click away - our website has thousands of options ready to book. But if you need more help, just give us a call on 0344 472 9499.
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With many customers needing our help, we are prioritising those customers due to travel before 31 December 2020. Log in to Manage my booking where you can message us about your options or you can give us a call. Bear in mind you may have to wait longer than expected. We continue to review this and working to open up these options to more customers. In the meantime check out our FAQs to see if this can help answer any immediate questions.
Rest assured; we will notify you as soon as we know if your holiday has been affected.
We are continually reviewing our flying schedules, taking into account the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advice against all non-essential travel. Depending on when you are due to travel, your holiday may be affected and we’ll email you to let you know as least 21 days before travel.
Please look out for emails from us or visit our dedicated Covid-19 (Coronavirus) page for the latest updates.
If you need to speak to us to change or cancel your booking you can call our team on 0344 472 9646.
For the latest information on Covid-19 you can check our FAQs here.
Don’t worry if you’ve missed a payment or just need a little more time to pay; we have options available to help you. If your holiday is going ahead as planned, you can continue to pay for your holiday in Manage my booking, even if travelling in less than 12 weeks. If you’re unsure, you can delay any additional payments by choosing a new time to travel by requesting a call back in Manage My booking for one of our team to look at options. If your holiday is more than 6 months away, you may wish to set up a Direct Debit to spread the cost. This can be arranged whilst rebooking or afterwards in Manage my booking.
We understand that you may wish to change your holiday plans and we appreciate the need for flexibility.
We'll be in touch by email letting you know how to register to change your holiday plans. You can also log into Manage my booking to find the details there.
Please look out for emails from us or visit our dedicated Covid-19 (Coronavirus) page for the latest updates.
If we haven’t notified you of any changes, your holiday will be going ahead as planned but if you prefer to move your holiday to a later time we can help. You can call our team on 0344 472 9499 who can look at options for you.
Payments are being prioritised based on when the request was made, working in order from March 2020 onwards. We will always try to process refunds at the earliest opportunity, for requests before August our maximum timeframe is 120 days. As we are steadily reducing the maximum processing time for each new request, for refund requests made in August, we expect the maximum processing time to be 80 days, from the date the refund is requested. For those requesting a refund in September, we expect it to be processed within a maximum of 60 days, and then reduce to 30 days for refunds requested in October, before returning to normal levels.
To finalise the amendment, one of our customer advisors will phone you. We need to work through amend requests in departure date order so we can prioritise those with the most imminent travel plans, so you may have a longer wait than usual until we’re able to ring you back. We will help everyone that wants to move their holiday.
You can contact our team by emailing feedback.backhome@virginholidays.com to discuss options on unused portions of your holiday. If you need to contact our team about amending an existing holiday or requesting a refund please log in to manage my booking.
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