Daniel Oppliger
Daniel Oppliger
China, Taiwan and SE Asia Travel Agent Expert
Daniel and Shirley Oppliger at the Great Wall
As a travel agent who has been to China 5 times now, I often get asked why I like China so much? It is not that I am in love with China, per se, it is that China is a completely different experience. From the foods, to managing people, wonderful hotels and different experiences, China makes for unique interactions with the culture.The standard China tour goes to Beijing, Xian, Chongqing, Yangtze, maybe Suzhou and Hangzhou, ending in Shanghai.
There are many more places to go many which are listed in our agency catalog. The Silk Road is Amazing- from Xian, sand dunes, sleeper train, Heavenly Lake, Turpan, Urumqi and Kashgar. These great towns, night markets, Uyghur culture, Mogao grottos make for a unique experience.
Yunnan province offers interactions with up to two dozen minority ethnic groups all with unique stories, dress, foods and culture. The majesty of the scenery in all of China is amazing. I awed at the Stone Forest and smoked duck near Kunming. It just got better in Dali with the old town, lake and three pagodas. Lijiang put me in old China from 500 or so years ago. The mystic of the channeled water, lake and Snow Dragon Mountain took me to another era. Tiger Leaping Gorge in on the way to Shangrila. Next time I will go all the way to Chengdu and see the Pandas in the wild.
Recently we spent a week in Suzhou. Most tours spend a night or two there at most. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom and flowers lined Tiger Hill Pagoda park. The Humble Administrators Garden was wonderful in the spring. No so when I led a group there in August. Tongli, a water-town was especially fun with many school children visiting this off the beaten path gem.
In China there is really no need to go cheap. Luxury accommodations and nice 4-star hotels are very reasonable in many places. We have contacts to sort out the real 5-star hotels vs the 5-star generals. (That is local joke in China).
Some legs of tours can be done by high-speed rail where your local guide will meet you on the other end. Some places we just have to fly on one of many Chinese airlines.As China Travel agent,
My travel agency has taken groups to China and have learned a few things. The biggest thing is to avoid shopping tours. It a tour is really cheap, it means they will waste 2 hours of your day with shopping opportunities for over priced merchandise-silk, pearls, jade, carpets, statues -you name it.
Taiwan makes a great stopover. You can fly there in Premium Economy for a very good fare, stopover and take a small tour. There are many hot spring resorts, luxury hotels in Taipei, night markets, and history.
Thailand is very popular too with most tours public and private taking in the north, Bangkok, and south to Phuket.
We can organize you China tour, be it a group tour, join a group, or individualized travel we have the contacts and resources to help you plan your China tour. We will be returning to China soon. Consider joining us for a small group tour.
My Areas of Expertise
CERTIFICATES & AWARDS
Related Travel Stories
An Amazing Eclipse Experience
All places stated were visited, nothing was any trouble for the organisers and we enjoyed a fabulous coach drive throughout the tour with detailed and friendly commentary highlighting landmarks and other important points of scenic interest.
We Started from Salt lake City, traveled into Utah, and Wyoming against the backdrop of the Grand Tetons, onward into Yellowstone National Park. I had the pleasure of lecturing to and guiding a fantastic group of passengers throughout the eclipse experience. I'll always remember the camaraderie we shared.
I’ve traveled extensively with many tour companies but never felt more comfortable or confident as I have with Dan and Shirley’s company, Tropical Sails. R
A country wide tour to remember.
Thank you for you kind words.
The best trip of my life
Thank you for your kind wordsl
Special trip with special care
Thank you for your kind words. We found a faster way to take oversears payments by using VEEM. It is faster than banks and much less expensive than credit cards or Pay Pay. An Irish client used NicePay and that was fast and efficient.
Total Eclipse Cruis: Turkey
great organizer for eclipse trip
Thank you for the kind words. These trips are extremely difficult to organize. I am glad we exceeded your expectations.
excellent eclipse tour provider
Thank you for your kind words and patience. It was very difficult to organize.
Third Eclipse Trip
We're looking forward to booking the 2026 TSE (Spain) and the 2027 TSE (Morocco)
Thank you for the kind words.
Another great eclipse trip
Thanks for the kind workds.
Awesome Eclipse Viewing!
Everyone we spoke to was very helpful and answered all our questions.
And we had many! We got t shirts as well...
I wouldn't hesitate to travel with you again...
Thank you for your kind words.
Awesome Eclipse Viewing!
Everyone we spoke to was very helpful and answered all our questions.
And we had many! We got t shirts as well...
I wouldn't hesitate to travel with you again...
Thank you for your kind words,
An Amazing Tour Experience
Thanks Dave, I think you may have left a note earlier. Ok not to approve.
trip
Thank you for the kind words.
Great tour – hope to book again!
Some little thing (but that's outside the reach of Tropical Sails and the subcontractors): while the accomodations were ok and nothing to complain about – in terms of value for money –, it's amazing how little space some hotels avail to the guest, not for the persons, but for the things these persons want to unpack....
All together: great! We'll recommend Tropical Sails to many!
Thank you for your kind words.
Dan the man
Eclipse Tour Chile at the Vira Vira 2020
Nice trip
A very memorable trip
Thanks T. We have matched several men and women over the years to save them both money. I hope you enjoyed my talk in Idaho Falls.
Fun Tour of Turkey
The trip in several ways was one on my favorites. The tour guide and driver were so kind, timely, and professional… more than I was expecting. The quality of the hotels and the food were once again more than I was expecting. A couple times I had a balcony facing the Ocean. The itinerary was just as advertised. It seems the people are working to get return customers and good reviews. I am not used to getting more than I expected.
I really think Daniel’s company is doing the research to find the best deals. I found that Daniel is an honest person. I plan to check with Daniel again to ask him what good deals he has co
Charles, I am pleased that the tour went well. Thank you for your kind words.
Encouraging, knowledgeable, but not pushy
July 2, 2019 Total Eclipse
All Three Times Were A Charm!
Thank you for your kind words. I wish I could have been with you on the first two trips. As you know we had multiple groups for each tour.
Excellent Vacation by Dan
First total solar eclipse
sailing on ther Mandalay
Thank you M. I was my pleasure to help with your sailing adventure.
Gre experience with Dan and Tropical Sails Corp
We were on the Sultan, which was (is?) a wonderful gulet (yacht) with an expert crew (the cook was fantastic!). The location on azure seas, great food & drink, fun and enlightening shore excursions, and Dan (Tropical Sails) ensured we all enjoyed our entire trip. The itinerary was well thought out, and somewhat flexible... We didn't go on one shore excursion but stayed on the yacht and swam in the indescribably turquoise blue Mediterranean... During the walking tour of Ephesus I walked off to explore several alleyways on my own... Fantastic!
For the eclipse we sailed to the center line and had perfectly clear view!
I fully credit Dan (Tropical Sails Corp) for setting up the cruise and trip. It is one of the most unforgettably wonderful experiences of my life
Thank you John. See you August?