2010: Top Rated Tour Guides on OurExplorer

At the end of year 2010, we would like to share with travelers our top booked and rated tour guides. They have provided excellent services to travelers from around the world.

Shanghai Tour Guide - Jean Liu
Reviewed by Michael Hirai - "Our trip to Shanghai was wonderful thanks to Jean. We were impressed with her professionalism and her knowledge of Shanghai's history. We booked her for a full day to go to Zhujiajiao (a water town) followed by a tour of Shanghai. We asked her to show us Old Shanghai the next day and fortunately, she was available to do so. We also really enjoyed our time with her. She is a lovely young lady and both my husband and I would highly recommend her."

Bangkok Tour Guide - Irene K.
Reviewed by Marco Ramos - "Thank you so much for the excellent tour ever! It was such a beautiful honeymoon for us. Bangkok Highlights and Floating Market programs are absolutely fabulous. Will contact you again when we come back to Thailand."



Athens Tour Guide - Diana Stefanou-Huttinga
Reviewed by Robert Costello - "Our family of four (including two teenagers) toured the Acropolis and Athens with Diana in late August, and couldn't have been more pleased. Diana is outgoing, funny, and has great knowledge of the city and historical sites. She customized the day to accommodate our wishes, and found a great, non-tourist restaurant for lunch. A perfect seven hour excursion for our day in port!"

Kota Kinabalu Tour Guide - Grace Leong
Reviewed by Paula Olymbios- " Grace is a national treasure. She is personable, very knowledgeable regarding the history, flaura and fauna of Sabah. She is passionate about tour guiding and this comes through during your interaction with her. She is enthusiastic energetic and devoted to the tour participants. Our teenage children voted Grace our best guide while in Sabah. An absolute pleasure."

Istanbul Tour Guide - NESRIN ULUPINAR
Reviewed by Norman Steinberg - "It was so wonderful to have you guiding us through Istanbul. We saw far more with you than we had on our past visits. Your choice of lunch restaurants was fantastic. We would recommend you to any of our friends. Thank you for making our stay so memorable. Regards Rosslyn and Norman (Calgary Canada) PS. some of our friends will be contacting you shortly"

In the coming year 2011, OurExplorer will connect more travelers with qualified tour guides in 140+ countries. Happy Exploring!

Tour guide Nesrin in Istanbul

Tour guide Nesrin in Istanbul

1) What is the best thing you like being a tour guide?
I think tour guiding is the most suitable job to my life style and personality. I'm a very active person and good at communication,

easy going and flexible; love travelling, people, and the most important adore Turkey and its cultural, historical richness. I am also so proud of my country and my people so I try to do my best to show my beautiful country to my guests and make them contact with locals to understand the real life in the country.


2) What is your most memorable moment in guiding so far?
Tour guiding does not mean talking about everything that we know. All of our guests are interested in different things; some of them love history, some likes to hear stories of people and monuments and some loves taking pictures and enjoy the moment.
Once, I had an international group (Canadians, Avustralians, New Zealendars, Americans) ranged from 30 to 65 years of age and we were on a round trip in Turkey for 14 days. Each of them were interested in different things. I like making my guests involving the tour with sharing their knowledge, experience, memories and skills. We were in an ancient site which was called Arycanda on the Mediterrian site of Turkey. We were the only group in the site. I had already finished my explanation about the ancient Roman theatre and its great acoustic. In order to check the acoustic :-) I asked my quest who was good at singing and some of the lady sang a well known song with her wonderful voice and we were all happy to live that moment like Romans. Then we move up to Gymnasium of Arycanda and everyone was ready for the running race for a free ice-cream at the end of the day :-) We all had a wonderful day and It was everyone's favourite site with memories.


3) What is most challenging for you in this career? Have you coped with it?
The most challenging thing is serving to people. Most of our guests have different interests, needs, expectations so we , as tour guides should be flexible enough to meet the expectations of our guests and make them enjoy their time us. I believed that I've coped with it successfully.


4 ) What is your favorite place/thing that you want to show your travel clients?
Istanbul !! It was my dream to live and have tours in this wonderful city. I adore Istanbul:-)) Istanbul is among the special cities of the world with its position as a bridge between Europe and Asia. It unites its natural beauties with its historical and cultural accumulation. Wherever you look, there is a story to be told. You do not need to go further to see the historical sites, you live with it while you are wandering in the streets of Istanbul. It is the midpoint of the new and old ,modern and classic. It is a privilage to visit Istanbul and being a guide in this beautiful city.


5) What if you were not a tour guide? What do you imagine yourself to be?
I would be a chef in a restaurant that serves intercontinental cuisine. I love cooking and try different recipes from the world cuisine. My husband is my gourmet :-))
It is among my future plans to have cooking tours in Istanbul to introduce the rich Turkish cuisine.

Sightseeing tour with Nesrin - Istanbul Old City Tour

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