Beijing Private 2-Day Tour with Forbidden City and Great Wall

We visited Beijing with our 15, 11 & 8 yo children and were shown around by April. April was very friendly and spoke excellent English (Graduate student in English) and was a hit with our children - we all found her very approachable and answered all our questions. Importantly, she seemed to understand just how much detail/info to deliver to maintain interest without the kids' eyes glazing over. There was a separate driver (Mr Wang) and we were comfortable in their 7-seater minivan. We visited the Great Wall at Mutianyu on day 1 followed by a tour through a Hutong in the afternoon, then on day two we visited Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace. With lunch stops, this was about the right amount of tourism for our family. April was able to show us nice restaurants for lunch stops, where everyone could find something they enjoyed at a very reasonable price.

We were a group of six who arrived in Tianjin by cruise ship on October 30, 2019. I set everything up in advance with Leo and he was great to work with on the planning of our itinerary. It was obvious that he had shared all the planning with April, because everything went smoothly, just like we discussed in our emails. April went above and beyond. She kept us on schedule with never making us feel rushed. She explained everything in advance so we always knew what to expect. She even helped us get checked into the hotel and made sure everything was ok before she left for the evening. Then she met us at the hotel early the next morning to help us get a breakfast we could take with us on the road. I highly recommend Leo’s Private Tours and ask for April, because she is awesome!

We went on this tour primarily for our daughter to get to know her home country's roots and history... and we were not disappointed! April was a fantastic guide - very knowledgeable, and was very much able to shift between speaking English and Mandarin Chinese to convey each place's background and historical perspective. She was very effective in our time management, and got us into very crowded sites quickly, while at the same time, "taking the road less travelled" in each location, for a more relaxed experience, and great photo opportunities. My wife and I have been to all the locations previously, and yet we were enlightened on many historical facts we did not know. Our driver Mr. Sun was courteous, prompt, helpful, and friendly all throughout, despite the heavy crowds and tough parking situations. There were no hidden fees, nor the feeling that we were being rushed. We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly! We highly recommend both April and Mr. Sun!