Depending on your schedule, budget and children's temperaments, there are a variety of travel choices. The one I recommend is to go upstream with an English-speaking tour boat, which makes several guided land excursions en route. The tour boats ensure that you go through all three gorges during the day.

The tour boats come in various classes. listed on our website are all four and five star, well run and comfortable, with about 80 cabins each. It is a good deal for what you get, prices vary from US$80-US$135/night, all-inclusive. In addition to the three meals a day and shore excursions with a guide, the boats themselves offer various entertainments: mahjong lessons (the gambling passion of China, kind of a cross between gin rummy and domino, played with tiles); calligraphy lessons, enthusiastic karaoke bars, and my personal favorite, Chinese massages, called qigong (pronounced chee-gong), which are very deep and feel great.

The boats are big, which means a lot of running-around room, but they are not the sports and entertainment palaces disguised as some American mega-cruise ships. Some kids might complain of boredom, especially if the weather is bad, but various shore excursions will take up much of the day. The excursions are fascinating. However, between card games, calligraphy lessons, and possibly hanging out on the bridge with the Captain, your kids will have a good time.