03 Oct 2019
I can't recommend this tour company enough. The day was above and beyond our expectations. My friend and I had a 13 hour layover in Chengdu on our way to Shanghai and wanted to do as much as possible (including pandas of course). This was the best option for sure.
Our guide, Jason, picked us up from the airport in a private, luxurious car - with a separate driver included too! He was able to chat with us the entire time and point things out without having to worry about watching the road. It also meant the three of us were dropped off and picked up as close to our destinations as possible! So convenient.
Jason spoke excellent English and was so happy to share his knowledge of the city with us, having lived there his entire life.
The schedule was very flexible. We saw the pandas, taking as much time as we wanted, then decided to have a slightly early lunch (included in the price and Jason ordered a nice selection of dishes for us to sample - it was plenty of food and plenty delicious).
Then we shopped in Kuanzhai Alley, saw the lovely Confucius temple, saw the grand park in the city (where we paused for an impromptu relaxing tea break).
Then, we liked the buckwheat tea served at lunch so much that our team stopped the car at a small convenience store and Jason helped us shop for some to take home.
By then it was time to head back to the airport. What a lovely, stress-free day for two plane-weary travelers. Thanks Jason!
Notes for fellow foreigners - download WeChat well before your trip if you don't have it, it's how you can best contact your guide. The app is slightly complicated to download now so don't leave it until the last minute like we did (you need access granted by a current WeChat user - luckily a friendly traveler at the airport did it for us).