4.5 / 5 overall customer review rating
Aug 07 2018
This was a combination tour spread over 2 days. Both guides were very good and informative. Jamie was excellent and was very professional. Frank also was very informative and thorough. The two drivers were also very skilled and kept us out of harms way since the other drivers on the road seemed very erratic and uncontrolled from our viewpoint.On one of the tours that specifically mentioned the Shanghai Museum tour, the museum was closed. We only found out about this when we approached it. A tea ceremony was not on the original program and apparently the guide substituted it. This should have been disclosed on the website so we could have made other plans. Our tour in fact was backwards from what was disclosed on the website. We did tour 2 on day 1 and tour 1 on day 2. If we did it in the correct order, the museum would have been open since it is open Tuesday through Sunday and only closed on Monday.One of the things we did not like is that we had to arrange our own transportation to one of 4 meeting points. Other tour companies routinely pick up their customers at one of the many fine hotels in the area. It costs extra to get to one of these 4 locations and we found that it would typically add another 30 minutes or more each way to secure a taxi and get either to the meeting point or back to our hotel. On one of the days, we actually passed our hotel on the way back to a meeting point hotel. This is an unnecessary inconvenience both in time and in money.This is not the guide's fault or the driver's fault - they are simply following the direction of the tour operator. Grayline should change this practice. We are using another tour operator tonight and they are picking us up at our hotel and dropping us back at our hotel.
Aug 02 2018
This was an incredible two day experience for me. I had the pleasure of touring two cities with two different tour guides. Patrick in Shanghai (on day 1), and Bruce for Suzhou (on day 2). From pick up to drop off I had confidence and felt reassured that I was in good hands with both tour guides. They were exceptionally knowledgeable, personable, and went above and beyond to meet the group's needs and preferences. There was plenty of time for picture taking (Bruce has incredible photography skills - you'll be pleased), more than enough time for learning and asking questions, and the food during the lunch hour was superb! This was truly worth every penny I spent. I would highly recommend either the 1 day tour or the combo two day tour. What a great value!
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