I booked this tour as a solo traveler wanting to get outside of Beijing to see a different perspective of rural areas and the Great Wall. Kim was a great guide and spoke excellent English. She was friendly and went over and beyond to share her country with me. The driver was also very professional and private care comfortable. I’d definitely recommend the company in general and Kim in particular.
Very fast and efficient response from Jenna, was there for 8 days and Nico was our private guide. He’s very attentive, patient and knowledgeable. He brought us to eat all the food we craved, regardless it’s spicy chicken or wanton noodles, he knows where’s the best ones.. Most importantly, he helped us watch after our kids and my kids enjoyed their time with him. I would highly recommend Nico to whoever is gonna use their services!!!!!!
Nico, thank you for everything !!!
After researching visiting the different sections of the Great Wall outside of Beijing for our first trip to China, I learned that there was an opportunity to see and hike the Wall at night at the Simatai section. While we had considered a DIY approach to minimize the cost, which would have done so significantly, but it also would have been a significant challenge, considering we do not speak Chinese, and are unfamiliar with traveling in China. Also, we were only in Beijing for a week, and wanted to maximize our time for enjoying what the area had to offer, rather than wasting time trying to figure things out on our own, and risking missing a bus, buying the wrong tickets, getting lost/stranded, and/or missing out entirely on the experience.
Our guide, Justin, arrived early to pick us up, and was already waiting for us in the hotel lobby when we came down from our room to wait for him. He not only spoke English very well, but was also knowledgeable and proficient enough to answer our questions, as well as carry on a conversation on topics not necessarily related to our tour. He was very engaging and enthusiastic, and was very helpful in navigating us through Gubei Water Town, and up to and around this section of the Wall.
The only real snag was due to the timing of our trip, in general. As it was the off-season, many shops were closed, so we didn’t get the full experience of the town, but still had plenty to do, and with fewer tourists, which was nice. Also, since the evening opening time for the Wall was at 5:30pm, we missed seeing the sunset from atop the Wall, as the sun goes down earlier at this time of year, and the sky was already dark by the time the first gondola of tourists reaches the top. Neither of these curve balls really affected our enjoyment of the visit and tour.