What a day in Gyeongju!!! - Our group of 3 adults had a fabulous full day, private tour of Gyeongju with Cynthia starting and ending in Gyeongju. By the end of the day, we agreed we never could have seen everything on our own in one day. No way. Consequently, all of us we were extremely happy to have chosen this tour. Saved us the substantial aggravation of figuring out the logistics, the considerable traffic issues, where to park, and especially the significance and history of all the wonderful sights. Plus we had an exceptional guide in Cynthia. She promptly met us at our hotel a little before 9 AM in her spacious and comfortable car. She is delightful! So warm, friendly, caring and knowledgeable. And her English is good. She carried an iPad with all kinds of photos to enhance our understanding of what she was describing. Great and useful idea. Unexpectedly, but best of all, she went way above and beyond what was described for the tour, and did all kind of things to ensure this was a day none of us will forget. I have had lots of private guides but none went close to the lengths she did to make our day special. Incidentally she works a couple days a month as a docent at the National Museum (well worth a visit!), and we were glad to have her show us around her “second home”. She said she loved her job, and we are believers!!! Also the owner of the tour company sent me a text on WhatsApp the night before to confirm the tour and the pickup location, and to tell me the name of our guide. I really appreciate that personal touch. Cynthia also texted me the night before to check on lunch preferences and to send us some background information on Korea and on one of the sights. Much appreciated. All 3 of us highly recommend this tour, and if Cynthia is your guide, I know you will have a very special and memorable day.

Absolutely fabulous tour - Joy is the best!!! - My husband and I booked the one-day tour of Gyeongju with some concern that it was impossible for it to meet our expectations. My husband had visited Korea, and Gyeongju itself, decades ago and was highly impressed with the city, its history and its people. While it would be new to me, he had described his past experience in glowing terms that set a high bar for the visit. It seemed like the main benefit of the tour would be the ability to efficiently visit the sights and get a refresher on their history, as well as to hear what was happening recently. We were pleasantly surprised by the experience Joy gave us. It was clear from the outset that Joy cares deeply about the city where she grew up and has a desire to share its sights and rich history with visitors. She takes the job very seriously. From meeting us at the train from Seoul right on time with her spacious SUV (made by local firm Hyundai), to the restaurant she suggested for lunch (patronized mainly by local residents), to rich detailed information she shared with us about the area (complete with audio and video on her phone that brought another dimension to her descriptions), it was clear that she had put significant effort and preparation into her presentation. Her commentary was far from just history, and far from being pre-scripted. It included personal stories and details that she drew from her knowledge and experience to illustrate what we were seeing, as well as being adapted to what she gathered about our interests and background throughout our day with her. At Bulguksa, for example, she showed us video of monks “playing” the musical instruments as we viewed them so we heard them and saw how they work despite not being there for the once a day early morning ritual when they are played live. She pulled up photos of the sites we visited from the past, before some reconstructed elements were added, for us to compare. The city of Gyeongju and country of Korea could not find a more sincere, professional ambassador, not just because she covers the high points so effectively but because she also conveys the complete picture of the history and modern day with such contagious enthusiasm that you leave the day with a love of the area as well as appreciation for its challenges through time. We were sorry when the end of the tour approached, but extremely satisfied with a wonderful day. As she had throughout, Joy was watching the time to ensure we got back to the station to catch our evening train to Seoul. That said, we never felt the “rush” that typically can be felt on package tours. We had added a sight to the itinerary Joy had suggested at the start of the day but she fit that in and conducted the tour at a relaxed pace, while maintaining a safe, on-time schedule. We highly recommend Joy based on our experience on this tour!

Great Gyeongju day trip - Jino was an amazing guide; friendly, professional, and very knowledgeable. He was right on time to pick us up and was a great driver. I appreciated that he was upfront when he didn’t know the answer to something rather than making something up, as some guides do. He then took the time to research the answer for us. He was completely flexible to what we wanted to get out of the tour, and suggested lunch at a small local restaurant which turned out to be great. We had a great experience and we highly recommend Jino to anyone thinking of taking this tour. F&J

Wonderful experience - We really enjoyed our Gyeongju tour with Cynthia. She is so friendly and knowledgeable. We appreciated her clear explanations of the history of the breathtaking Bulguksa temple complex and Seokguram grotto, as well as other important sites. Would definitely recommend to others 😀

Tour with Nick - We had very nice tour in Gyeongju with Nick. Nick speaks very good English and we learned a lot about Korea's history. Highly recommended!

Brilliant private day tour of Gyeongju - We had a brilliant day tour with Joy who was an excellent guide. Good communication beforehand and collected us and our luggage from the train station and assisted us in checking into our Hanok in the evening. We visited four great sites and stoped for a lovely lunch and a mid morning snack. Joy was very easy going but also very knowledgeable and we both had a wonderful day with her. She took lots of excellent photos which she sent us after and a lovely video. Highly recommended

The Best Tour Guide in Gyeongju - Joy was a delight to travel with. Extremely knowledgeable, professional, polite and caring. She went beyond call of duty to accommodate us and she did it with a big smile on her face and kindness. We rate her A+++ for everything. I will highly recommend her to all my friends and family. Love Korea and Love More the Korean People ❤️🙏

Amazing day in Gyeongju. - Day visit to Gyeongju was great with Mimi. The guide was very informative and so motivated and happy to show us beautiful sites of Gyeongju. We only wish we could have included some time To walk around Gyeongju itself as after seeing all highlights we didnt have time left. Was a great day!

Amazing day in Gyeongju - Best day in Korea with tour guide Mimi! Mimi has amazing knowledge, wonderful energy, many tipps and was tireless during the whole day to make all sights possible and give the family an insight into Korean culture, food, hospitality and history. Super recommended!

Authentic cultural experience - We had an amazing time learning about the Silla culture in Gyeongju. Mimi made our experience interesting, insightful and entertaining with her deep knowledge, kindness and fun personality. She would provide information on all questions, no matter how obscure, and her answers had a personal touch to them which left an authentic impression of the Korean culture on us. While our tour was long, and we saw many things in a relatively short amount of time, Mimi’s energy kept us motivated to learn more. It was all very flexible, so if we wanted to spend more or less time in certain places, it was no problem. Lunch also had various options, and our choice to visit a local establishment did not dissapoint. Definitely recommend this tour highly.