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Japan tours for Seniors

Are you looking for Japan tours for seniors. Laurus Travel has what you are looking for. Please visit https://laurustravel.com/japan-tours-for-seniors/ for our Japan tours for seniors.

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Japan garden tour - Koraku-en, Okayama

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Japan Garden Tour with Laurus Travel

Tokyo – Mt. Fuji – Hakone – Kanazawa – Takayama – Shirakawa-go – Kyoto – Nara – Osaka – Hiroshima – Miyajima – Okayama – Tokyo

Embark on a journey that transcends ordinary travel and immerse yourself in the enchanting world of Japanese gardens with Laurus Travel’s Japan Garden Tour. This meticulously crafted experience is designed to captivate your senses and unveil the profound beauty that lies within Japan’s lush landscapes encapsulated in gardens. From historic tea gardens to contemporary Zen spaces, immerse yourself in the serenity that defines Japan’s garden culture.

Immersive activities include a traditional tea ceremony and a sushi making lesson. In addition, well-researched commentaries will be provided throughout the tour on a wide range of topics such as Japanese history, culture and challenges the country faces in this rapidly changing world.

Visit https://laurustravel.com/japan-korea-tours/japan-garden-tour/ for tour details.

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Shopping in old Delhi during our India tours - https://laurustravel.com/indian-subcontinent-tours/highlights-of-india-16-days/

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Are you planning a trip to India for next winter? Why not check out our 16-day Highlights of India. The tour starts and ends in New Delhi. In between you’ll visit Varanasi, Khajuraho, Orchha, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Ranthambore National Park and Jaipur. This itinerary serves as an excellent introduction for first-time visitors to India. Trip highlights include Taj Mahal (Agra), Amber Fort (Jaipur), evocative religious ceremonies (Varanasi), and wildlife sighting in Ranthambore National Park. An extravaganza of art, culture and history, this tour is packed with UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Visit https://laurustravel.com/indian-subcontinent-tours/highlights-of-india-16-days/ for details.

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This is a group of guests on a Laurus Travel Japan tour listening to their guide at the front entrance to the fabled Rokuon-ji (Deer Garden Temple). This Buddhist monastery in Kyoto, Japan attracts lots of visitors because of its famous Golden Pavilion. In fact, the pavilion is so famous that many people, both Japanese and foreign, simply refer to it as the Golden Pavilion Temple or Kinkaku-ji in Japanese. To learn more about it, please visit https://laurustravel.com/japan-korea-tours/japan-tour-best-of-japan-14-days/ . 

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Japan to Reopen to Independent Travellers in October

The Japanese government recently announced that beginning on October 11 independent travellers from 68 countries who qualify for visa exemption will be allowed to visit Japan. Coronavirus-related restrictions are not entirely abolished as visitors are still required to produce proof of vaccination. Still, this is great news for travellers eager to explore Japan prior to the pandemic but had their trips cancelled due to the outbreak of COVID-19.

For those who want to visit Japan on a tour, we have a list of Japan tours available. Please visit https://laurustravel.com/japan-korea-tours/ for details.

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The following tour review was written by a published Canadian poet, Dean S, a few years back. He forwarded a copy to Laurus Travel after he posted it on a travel forum whose moderator suspected he’s a spammer and deleted his post!  Dean was livid for the attack on his character and saddened that the time he put into writing it went wasted.

So you want to take a China tour. Family and friends have given you some leads on a possible tour company but you’ve found their recommendations to be a little too qualified with “howevers” and “buts” to instill you with confidence. So you go to the internet and find page after page of tour company listings and you begin to think that vacationing in your backyard is maybe not such a bad idea after all. Well, before you give up, let me direct you to Laurus Travel and their comprehensive website at www.laurustravel.com. Not only can I recommend Laurus Travel without hesitation, I can do so with the confidence that the company will deliver a tour that will likely exceed your expectations. I can say this having recently taken Laurus’s 17-day China Odyssey tour with my wife who too has nothing but good things to say about the company and its founder and director, Julius Yan.

Laurus was established in 1998 and operates as a Canadian-based company out of Vancouver, British Columbia. Julius himself was born and raised in China and can speak at length about China’s history and its current political and economic strengths and weaknesses. He is also very knowledgeable of the cultural and social complexities of this ancient civilization. We were fortunate to have Julius as our tour leader for the first week of the trip, although there was never any question that his local guides (who have been carefully chosen by Julius for both their professionalism and regional expertise) were equally versed in the history of this dynamic country and its current status as a rapidly developing world power. We would use the travel time between tour sites and airports for question and answer sessions and, given the small size of our tour group (a company policy), there was always time for Julius and the local guides to respond to our queries. (Our tour group comprised seven couples for the first week; then, because not everyone had signed up for China Odyssey tour, we divided into smaller groups depending on our chosen destinations, and my wife and I enjoyed the unexpected pleasure of having a local guide all to ourselves for the remaining cities on our itinerary.)

Laurus promises a cultural-historical tour without the interruption of forced-shopping excursions. And I can assure you that they are true to their word. Our tour brought us to palaces, temples, stone walls (including the Great Wall, of course) and gates, and national treasures to be found in Beijing, Xi’an, Guilin, Chongqing, Yichang, and Shanghai. Nicely balancing the historical wonder of these sites were fascinating walks down hutong-alleyways, or through public gardens with age-old trees and luscious flower-beds, or into the frenzy of a crowded marketplace or flea market. Often at night, there were opportunities to take in traditional theatrical, dance, and musical events. The highlight of the tour for us was a visit to the Dazu Rock Carvings in the west part of Chongqing City. These amazing sculptures represent a convergence of Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian statue art and, although they are included on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, they were unknown to us prior to our visit, unlike many of the other sites on our tour (e.g., the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, or the Terracotta Warriors). In fact, I think they are one of China’s best kept secrets for many western visitors and, in talking with other travellers, it would appear that a visit to the carvings is not on the itinerary of all tour companies. An unfortunate omission, if you ask me.

With a population of 1.3 billion people, China’s cities are crowded and, due largely to the vast number of motor vehicles and the country’s heavy dependence on coal-driven electricity generators to supply the needs of its citizens and expanding industries, the air quality can be disturbing for many visitors (if not for the locals themselves). For us it was all part of the China experience and made us even more appreciative of the day spent at the undulating Longi Rice Terraces in the hills of Longsheng or the day cruise down an 83 kilometre stretch of the Li River that snaked through karst mountains and past picturesque villages with wading water buffalo and net-casting fishermen. The three-day cruise down the Yangtze River on the Victoria Cruises MS Liana was also a welcomed delight and we experienced the natural beauty of the Three Gorges from onboard while enjoying splendid meals, demonstrations of snuff bottle painting and silk embroidery, lectures on Chinese medicine and fresh water pearl jewellery, and fabulous evening floor shows, featuring period costumes and the unique apparel designs of China’s many minority groups.

So I hope this recommendation helps you decide on a tour company that will make China a journey of a lifetime for you. I appreciate that choosing a tour company can be a difficult decision, particularly given the fact that you’re essentially buying a product sight unseen. It was initially difficult for us in that sense too, until I spoke with Julius a few of times over the phone and came to realize that I was dealing with someone whose company mission was customer satisfaction. Laurus offers more than a dozen China tour packages, varying in price according to the length of the tour and the number of destinations, and each package is carefully planned by Julius and his team of professionals who personally visit the cities, the hotels (our rooms were all 5-star luxurious with fabulous buffet breakfasts), the restaurants (the trip was as much a culinary tour as it was a cultural-historical experience), and all of the sightseeing destinations to make sure the package they offer you is nothing less than excellent. Laurus only offers China tours. They are not all over the map, if you’ll pardon the pun. They specialize in China tours. And as I’m sure you know from experience, if you want something done right, you go to a specialist.

Dean S

Ottawa, Ontario

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Novotel Inle Lake Myat Min Hotel is our choice of stay in this part of Myanmar and the guests just love it.

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Tea ceremony in #Kyoto, #Japan

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2019 Tours Launched

If you are planning to take a trip to China or Japan or Southeast Asia, we might as well what you are looking for. Our premium small-group tours have been popular among discerning travellers interested in trips that are culturally enriching, physically active and intellectually stimulating. we invite you to check out our list of China and Asia tours for 2019 and hope you can take advantage of our generous early bird bonus.

2019 tour list: https://laurustravel.com/asia/china-tours/

Early bird discount:  https://laurustravel.com/asia/discount-offer/

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Great Wall of China Hiking in Summer

To hike the Great Wall in summer, you should bring a hat, sunscreen lotion, snacks and lots of water.

It is important to start the hike very early in the morning to avoid afternoon heat. Unless you stay at a place by the Wall the night before, you should consider leaving the city before 6:00 AM to beat traffic and crowds on the Great Wall.

More information available at https://laurustravel.com/asia/trips/china-tours/great-wall-hiking/

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Experienced Copyrighter?

Ideally, job applications should be free of spelling and grammatical errors. A poor first impression is an opportunity killer.

We recently had a university educated young man applying for a position that required copy writing experience. He described himself as “a great copyrighter" who enjoys “writing for it's own sake”.

Use spell-checker but remember that it doesn't catch everything. For someone who uses "then" and "than" interchangeably or couldn't tell the difference between "its" and "it’s", going back to school may be necessary.

Equally important is to follow basic business correspondence etiquette. If a name has been provided for you to contact, addressing the recipient as "Hi" or "Dear Sir or Madam" would be inconsiderate. A cover letter, or an email message serving that function, should have a proper ending. It is rude to conclude a letter or email without complimentary close.

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Air China Bans in-flight Use of Personal Electronic Devices

This is what bothers passengers who are used to reading and playing games on their personal electronic devices such as Kindle, iPad, iPhone or laptop computers. The rule by Air China is hard to understand considering that all other major international air carriers permit such use once the plane reaches cruising altitude. So when you book your flights to and from China please take this rule into consideration. Sitting on the plane for 10 plus hours without being allowed to read on your digital books can be very disappointing.

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China Tours from Canada

26-day China Panorama

Beijing - Xian - Guilin - Chengdu - Lijiang - Zhongdian (Shangri-La) - Kunming - Chongqing - Yangtze River Cruise - Yichang - Suzhou - Shanghai

Combining China's most popular cities with exotic Yunnan Province and a first-class Yangtze cruise, the well tested itinerary gives you as complete an introduction to China as possible in 26 days. The river cruise is onboard Victoria Cruises' Jenna, the newest in its fleet.

This is a thrilling and physically demanding journey of adventure visiting places as high as 12,000 feet above sea level. Travellers sensitive to high altitudes should seek professional advice before booking this tour.

Full details at http://www.laurustravel.com/china-tours-from-canada.htm

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Luoyang Peony Festival

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China Garden Tour

Two years later we are still getting lots of inquiries on this 16-day itinerary ( http://laurustravel.com/asia/trips/china-tours/china-garden-tour/ ). The tour starts in Shanghai and also takes in Suzhou (gardens), Guilin (Li River cruise), Xian (Terracotta Army), Luoyang (peony festival) and Beijing. 

It’s time for a repeat. New date and price shall be published soon.