Hi, actually jion a tour is cheaper and you will not miss the most important place.
But you are advised to join a tour offered by a big travel agency as the local small travel agency will make a lot of hidden charges. At least, i do not believe them at all.
Personally speaking, tcg is rather good. I have booked a tour before, good service and knowlageble tour guide.
Have a good day in china.

Hi,Mrs Lee.I'm Chinese and have been living in Yunnan for 24years so I think I can give you some useful advices.First,the itinerary you planned is very good,but the altitude of Shangrila is very high and the weather will be very cold,so you must take some warm clothes.(The temperature will be 10 to 15 degrees below zero.)Second,I think Dali is better than Lijiang and Kunming because Ljjiang is always full of visitors and the traffic conditions in Kunming is terrible.At last I will say that the cost of traffic could be very high or very low,it mainly depends on your choice.The ticket of airplane between Kunming and Dali is about 750 yuan,and the ticket of bus is only 200 uan.You can also take a small bus of local driver's,it will be more convenient for your trip.