10 Feb 2020
On the recommendations of colleagues, we booked a 1 day private custom tour with Sunflower for the Great Wall and the Summer Palace. It was the best decision we made for the entire trip. From the moment she arrived at our hotel until she dropped us off again, the day was picture perfect. While both the Great Wall and the Summer Palace were awe inspiring, this review is about the Tour Group/Guide we had the good fortune of accompanying us to these amazing sites.
Sunflower is friendly, knowledgeable and was fun to hang around with. Her English is excellent. Her driver was friendly, professional and punctual. Throughout the day, she taught us about history, architecture and modern Beijing. The tour consisted of 1/2 day at the Great Wall, lunch at a local Beijing restaurant and 1/2 day at the Summer Palace.
For lunch, she took us to a "locals" restaurant and guided us through our meal selection. During lunch, we had the opportunity to ask more questions about local customs, life in Beijing and even had a mini Chinese lesson.
Sunflower and her driver, Mr. Wang, go above and beyond to anticipate every need. Water was provided by Mr. Wang throughout our stops. Sunflower purchased all of the entrance tickets and made sure we were prepared for the heavy amount of walking involved for both of these attractions. She was our main photographer so we have great photo memories instead of just selfies.
I had read about group tours that had pushy sales stops at jade factories and tea shops. By booking with Sunflower, we skipped all of that and concentrated solely on the sights. Even so, the cost of our private tour for 4 was the same or less than a generic group tour.
When I return to Beijing, there is no question that I will do another tour with Sunflower. It will be like getting together with an old friend.