Xian Guide Linda Like 0

Linda was the best of the many tour guides that we used on our summer travels through Russia, Mongolia, and China.  She was so professional, so impressive, so above all of our expectations that she could surely be the top *Instructor* at a school for Tour Guides.  She is truly the best of the best. We just cannot say enough good things about her.  

First, she met us at the Xi'An airport with her beautiful, clean, air-conditioned car.  Then she took the list of things that we wanted to do and see, and quickly determined the best schedule.  She knew exactly where things were located, when they closed for the day, how far away things were from each other, what the system was for each activity.  At restaurants, she ordered for us when we preferred her help, helped serve us, basically took care of EVERYTHING.  

Linda was also kind and pleasant to be around.  We really enjoyed her company.  She is so smart too, wearing a red jacket so that we could find her in the throngs of people in the Terra Cotta Warriors Museum.  She is very, very experienced taking people to that UNESCO site, as she does so very often. And she was very knowledgable and helpful inside each of the sites at the TCW, pointing out the most impressive and well-known pieces.

Linda also made sure that when our day with her was over that we had plans on our own for the evening.  She pointed out a nondescript doorway near our hotel and told us the best food in the city was in there.  We would never have ventured in without this info, as one could not tell from the street was was in there, and it was a huge food court area with delicious and inexpensive food.  This was definitely a locals' place as we were the only tourists, and were treated kindly as usual in China, eating the best Chinese food of our lives.  

In addition, Linda wrote out taxi instructions for our trip to see the show that night, which was invaluable.  She was just incredible.  She knew the shortcut through the Moslem Quarter, she monitored our energy levels, she pointed out the important things, she knew the best food vendors for things we liked to try.  She was a good driver, she ran the air-conditioner full blast for us when it was so very hot, she was informative when we wanted to talk and gave us space when we wanted to do things like bike around the City Wall.  Linda is sensitive and caring (not all tour guides are!  We were surprised at the variance in tour guides on our trip).  

I was grateful that we'd experienced the help of many guides before Linda because we were able to very clearly see how Linda is truly exceptional in her field.  I am very slow (too many months!) to write this review, but this only goes to show how deeply impressed I was by her service.  

Linda is a jewel- a quiet, helpful, caring, and exceptional professional.  I would consider hiring no one except Linda in Xian.  We found in our travels that there are many tour guides out there who can get you from point A to point B, but to use the best of the best, like Linda, will make your trip sooooo much easier and more enjoyable.  Can you tell that we were just extraordinarily impressed with Linda?!  Thank you, Linda, for being THE very best tour guide on the planet!

We had two days in Xi'an and used as our guide Linda

IF you are interested contact me and I can provide a detailed reference.

Linda was very professional in all her communications with the planning of our trip and throughout. Her knowledge of the history was very impressive and she was very easy to get along with. She also has excellent English

We went to local restaurants which despite, or maybe because, they weren't frequented by tourists were very high quality and extremely well priced.

Our visit included the Terracotta warriors and Mt Huashan as well as the local sights of Xian in the Bell and Drum tower, city walls etc.

If you have an extra day in the area Mt Huashan is well worth a visit.

We also did the overnight train to Beijing, which was an experience but not one I would recommend.

I would gladly book another trip with Linda with no hesitation at all and can thoroughly recommend her if you are travelling to the area.

Also from what we saw ourselves, and what we saw of the large tour groups if travelling to China I would find out where you want to go and book with local guides. Again I am happy to be contacted and let you know who we used and where. 

I just came back from an epic tour in Xi’an and some parts of the Silk Road. I traveled by myself and Linda was my guide and travel companion. No words or superlatives can describe Linda’s abilities as a tour guide. For me it had started with an excellent communication over months of putting the itinerary together, to her welcoming smile at the Xi’an airport and to making sure there were no problems with my flight back to Sydney.  Reliable, caring, friendly are just a few of the attributes in addition to her knowledge of the areas we traveled. Her interest in historical and cultural aspects and her love of sharing it with whoever would listen made my trip with her rich and exciting. To top it all, her enthusiasm for local foods was contagious.
I had spent two weeks with her in places that were perhaps out of her comfort zones, yet she showed the same level of knowledge, caring, and enthusiasm everywhere we went. I have already recommended her to some of my friends who intend to go to China, and would recommend her again and again.

Hanna Kay

Australia

To start with, I want to say, Linda is a very good Tour Guide. I am a 76 year-old widower and Linda took excellent care of me and made my visit to Xi'an and the Xi'an area a wonderful experience, which I will long, remember.

I was not interested in one of those canned tours and Linda convinced me that I made the right choice in going with her as my freelance Tour Guide. While there were certain places I had researched and wanted to see, Linda suggested other places I might want to consider. There was no pressure, only suggestions. I did decide to visit several of her suggested places and they were excellent. In planning my visit, I asked Linda many questions about not only the places we were to visit, but also about China, and the Chinese Culture and Linda answered them all. Linda was prompt, considerate and her English is quite good. We had no trouble at all communicating. Also, Linda has her own car, which was a definite plus. She is a very safe driver, so we did not need to hire a separate driver or car, or take a taxi or a bus when we toured.

I would recommend Linda to anyone who wants to really see Xi’an and the Xi’an area and have a wonderful experience. I did and she is excellent.

P. Baker
New Mexico
USA

We just hired Linda to be a guide to our important American guests for one day tour in Xian. By talking to my guests on the phone yesterday I could tell they were having a great time in Xian with Linda. When Linda knew that the guests flight was delayed by the time they were on the way to the Airport, she took them to visit a Museum near the Airport to fill up the unexpected extra time. She is very thoughtful! She always kept me posted from the Airport Pick-up to the Drop-off after tour. She even helped them check-in at the Airport to avoid any troubles might happen to them (This is the American guests first visit in China). I definitely recommend her.

My husband and I used Linda as our guide September 13-15, 2013. Linda is very knowledgeable about Xi'an and all the sites we visited.  Linda's English was very good and she answered all our questions. Linda 's itinerary  took into account all the places we wanted to see plus what Linda thought we would enjoy.  She was right.  Trust Linda to take good care of you.  Linda was wonderful and we are very comfortable recommending her to others.