Skyegao Like 0

To start with, I want to say, Skye is an outstanding Tour Guide and when I go back to the Beijing area, I will do my best to get her to be my guide again. I am a 76 year-old widower and Skye took excellent care of me and made my visit to Beijing and the Beijing area a fantastic experience. I was not interested in one of those canned tours and Skye convinced me that I made the right choice by going with her as a freelance Tour Guide. Not only did she make my visit most enjoyable and memorable, but she also made me want to return to China.

As we planned my visit to Beijing, the Mutiainyu Great Wall, and the Ming Tombs, I began to think of Skye as a friend. By the end of my five days with her, I felt we were friends and will continue to be friends. While there were certain places I had researched and wanted to see, Skye suggested other places I might want to consider, several of which were not in any tourist information I had found. There was no pressure, only suggestions. Skye is an excellent planner, as well as being thorough, friendly, prompt and protective of her guests. She even insisted in seeing me off on the High Speed Train to Xi'an.

Later in my visit, I was asked by one of my freelance tour guides what impressed me the most about my visit in Beijing. At the time, I told her it was the crazy, wild traffic, but in retrospect, my answer should have been Skye. Her English is super and even thought she said she wanted to learn to speak it better. I was impressed. She not only went out of her way to support my every need, but also, more often than not, she anticipated my needs. Skye was also very knowledgeable about every place we went and its history. She also has a great sense of humor. I forgot to mention that in our planning, I did not limit myself to questions about the places we might visit. I also asked Skye many question about China and the Chinese culture. Skye was always willing to answer my questions, even though I feel sure she must have gotten a chuckle from some of them.

Now that I am back home and looking back on my trip, I don't believe I could have found a better Tour Guide than Skye or a better way to start my fantastic trip in China. She set the tone for my whole visit. I continued on from Beijing with a feeling that this would be the most wonderful trip I had ever taken and that was exactly what it turned out to be.

P. Baker
New Mexico
USA

We hired Skye as a tour guide to our important American guests for two days Nov 2nd & 3rd. From her first Email reply, my instinct told me she is the one I was looking for. She is very professional. Our guests were very much satisfied with her service. She was just as other people described. Many thanks Skye!!!

Skye is such a very smart, easy going, energetic and lovely guide you're ever had. She was so helpfull and so communicable. She knows almost all about beijing, she seems really enjoy her work and that's why she looks so amazing for me.  Please don't hesitate to use Skye as your guide in beijing. Thanks to Skye, my trip to beijing in a short time was so meaningful. 

I don't think it would be possible to find a guide for the Beijing area better than Skye! 

Skye seems to like people and enjoy being a guide around Beijing.  She has a very good knowledge of everything you will see and encounter and I doubt that there are too many questions you might have that she doesn't know the answer or have the ability place them into some kind of context to satisfy your curiosity.  I only wished I had known more about Chinese history and culture to more fully connect with with Skye and China.  She does have her "certified guide" license form the government so she gets into common tourist sites for free.

Because of Skye's enjoyment of meeting other people and love of China (and outstanding reviews here) I'm sure she provides an awesome guide for all those lucky enough to have them be their guide.  However, I suggest if you visit China (or anywhere) that you try to learn a little bit extra about China, its history, its people, culture, or anything that interests you and it will make your trip more fun and enjoyable.  Skye even mentioned that is just extra special when she meets people that really want to see China and are also truly interested in a learning a bit more.

A weeks or so before our visit I mentioned in an email that I had just started to read the book "1421 The Year the Chinese Discovered America" and because it focused on a period of the Ming emperors I wondered how interesting the Ming Tombs might be to our family.  Skye was not familiar with that book but to my surprise Skye seemed to have done a little investigation about that book before we arrived in China. 

We hope to keep in contact with Skye and if we ever return to China we hope to visit and/or have Skye as our guide and friend again.

Other info/thoughts

It was Our 9 year old son, my wife and my first trip to Beijing, China and I'm very happy we found Skye and that she was free the two days we planned to visit the major tourist sights around Beijing.  As previously mentioned on Sky's other views, her driver and car were very good the first day for seeing the great wall and Summer Palace.  Taxis and the subway were fine for seeing major attraction with Beijing the second day.

Skye is very good with children.  I remember after the Great Wall visit at Mutianyu the adults, my wife and I were not hungry as it was very hot and I was just planning on beginning the one hour drive to the Summer Palace.  However, Skye very nicely suggested that children should stop have something to eat before continuing.  So my son and I ordered Subway sandwiches and I proceeded to watch him eat the entire sandwich.  Thanks for suggesting that Skye!

She will adjust your schedule as needed throughout your day and no she does not bring you to any unrequested shops that some tour agencies might do.

If you have any other questions ask them here and I can try to respond.

On my own, I had 4 full days free in Beijing this September and wanted to make the best use of my time.  I couldn’t have made a better choice with Skye!

Being a very experienced guide with excellent English, I left the itinerary to her. From meeting me at the airport, waiting for me each morning at my hotel & we used public transport wherever possible (my choice), Skye was both attentive & knowledgeable. I like to take in what I see at a leisurely pace - without information overload. Skye patiently imparted only just enough information for me to do this.  Even though she has seen the sights many many times, she was always enthusiastic about her adopted city.  Putting up with my poor Chinese, she regularly spoke Mandarin (slowly & clearly) helping me GREATLY with my pronunciation & grammar.  She also helped me with my China SIM needed for my few weeks stay in China.

I ticked all the boxes at my own pace whilst having a VERY enjoyable time. Do yourself a favour & seek out Skye’s services for your time in Beijing. You won’t be disappointed.

We are a family of four from the UK, with two boys aged 10 and 12.   We spent a day with Skyegao, taking a taxi to visit a beautiful, empty stretch of the Great Wall, and going on to the Ming Tombs.    Skyegao was a pleasure to spend time with, and we would all recommend her very highly.   She is delightful, friendly and well-informed, and her English is very good.   She made the day interesting for all of us - she got on well with the boys, and was relaxed and informative company on a long day out.  She negotiated any issues - for example around what we were happy to eat - with cheerfulness and energy.   We remember our day with her as a really special one, and cannot recommend her highly enough.