Shanghai with Fun: Highlights, Food & Hidden Gems

My two adult children and I had a marvelous time experiencing Shanghai with Scarlett. She met us at our hotel with the driver and we started with an early morning tour of Yu Garden before it got too crowded. It was during this time that we really saw what makes Scarlett shine. As my kids asked questions she really engaged and got to know them. This resulted in her customizing the tour on the spot to include not just the city highlights but also things that interested them - such as wandering around the French Concessions neighbourhood, shopping for unique Chinese brands not available in Canada and stopping at some special local spots for coffee and tea. There was an instant connection established through storytelling and sharing of life experiences. Scarlett has travelled extensively in China and beyond, and studied in Australia - all this helped her make it a wonderful and insightful day for all three of us. In the end, Scarlett and the driver navigated Saturday’s hectic Shanghai traffic to get us to the airport exactly when promised. I’d highly recommend Scarlett as your tour guide for Shanghai. We look forward to hopefully spending more time touring with her in the future!

Travelling with Scarlett truly felt like travelling with a local. Despite us visiting some of the touristic places in Shanghai, Scarlett was able to navigate us in and out of locations with great speed and also knew great hidden viewpoints to see the landmarks of Shanghai. Once it had started raining, she was also able to come up with alternative plans and ways to escape the rain. We really appreciated Scarlett's insight into life and people in Shanghai, given her very varied experiences in life, and would especially recommend her to those who are looking to travel off the beaten path and want a deeper perspective on society there.

Scarlett is a great tourguide, knowledgeable, speaks well English, and customized the day to suit the kids, including an acrobatic show in the evening, which the kids loved. She really went the extra mile to make the day memorable - highly recommended!

Walking around Shanghai with Scarlett is like having a friend who is a great host rather than a tour guide you booked on a website. Scarlett can take your description of what you love (in our case food, walking back streets and laneways, design, and visual arts) and turn it into an itinerary while you slurp on soup dumplings. She was happy to slow down the pace or pick it up, as needed. Conversation with Scarlett was easy and she combines a very personal perspective on the city with knowledgable accounts of everything from Chinese garden design to the story behind the fascinating Gothic-Deco Old Millfun building. I appreciated that we could have a skeleton plan that unfolded in a more free-flowing way vs a set itinerary that had to be followed stop-by-stop. For example, we were going to go to the top of the Oriental Pearl Tower for the views but visibility wasn't great and on the fly Scarlett found a Vivian Maier photography exhibit at a Fotografiska Shanghai, and that ended up being a highlight of the day. She is very attuned to what is happening as you walk around together and sees opportunities in the moment rather than just shuttling you from one thing to the next. A small example of this was a fruit market that had a particular berry available that can only be found locally and for a few weeks of the year. When Scarlett spotted it, she insisted we try it and we walked along the street eating berries on the way to our next destination. On a practical note, Scarlett can also help you navigate some of the quirks and complexities of payments, ride sharing, and the WeChat and AliPay ecosystems that are essential for all you do. I have travelled a lot and while I really want shortcuts to the cool stuff in a city and stories that can help me make sense of a new place, I am also often turned off by the way tours (private or group) are packaged. When I first reached out to Scarlett, I could tell right away she was different because she visited my website to find out more about me, before I had even booked her. That level of curiosity about the person looking to book a tour really impressed me. Scarlett's background in psychology means she not only asks questions, she listens and senses what you're really looking for. After all, in a new city, you don't always know what to ask for. So, she brings her knowledge of Shanghai and proposes options that may not be what you expected but always seem to be right. If you just want someone to lead you around and tell you what to do, Scarlett might not be for you. But if you're excited to be a creative partner in designing your experience in Shanghai, you won't find anyone better than Scarlett.

Exceptional 8-Hour Shanghai Layover Tour with Scarlett! My husband, daughter, and I recently came off a cruise and had a 8-hour layover in Shanghai. We were looking for a tour that would show us the city's highlights, cater to our foodie sensibilities, and provide entirely stress-free transportation from the cruise port to the airport with all of our luggage. Scarlett exceeded our expectations in every way! Perfect Planning & Seamless Logistics: Scarlett was excellent at communication, getting in touch with us days before the tour to learn about our specific interests. The moment we stepped off the ship, our driver was waiting for us. Her time management throughout the day was flawless, ensuring we saw everything we wanted without ever feeling rushed. Tailored Sightseeing & Shopping: We hit major highlights like the Bund and Yu Garden, but Scarlett also made sure my daughter felt completely catered to. My daughter is a huge fan of squishy toys and NeeDoh, and Scarlett knew exactly which specialty stores to take us to. She also brought us to Pop Mart and Sanrio, which made the shopping experience incredibly fun and personal for her. An Incredible Progressive Foodie Tour: Instead of a standard sit-down lunch, Scarlett arranged a "progressive dinner" style meal. We hopped between different local spots, eating our way through Shanghai! Discovering the city through its culinary flavors was an absolute highlight, and everything was delicious, cheap, and authentic. As someone who loves tasting fruits unique to each country, I was thrilled when Scarlett stopped by a local grocer to pick up some incredible fresh fruits for us to try. Stress-Free Drop-Off: After a delightful, informative, and flavor-packed day, we were dropped off at the airport with plenty of time to spare for our flight. Final Verdict: If you want a guide who is deeply knowledgeable, genuinely cares about your experience, listens to your requests, and knows where to find the best local food, look no further. Scarlett is the perfect guide for Shanghai!

Great experience in China. Five-star service from Scarlett, an exceptional tour guide. We had never been to China before—didn't do much research, didn't know anything. But after I contacted Scarlett before the trip, she gave me lots of helpful tips and advice. She especially recommended not booking hotels except for the first two days in Shanghai, so we could have 100% flexibility to go anywhere and stay in different cities to get more experiences. That turned out to be a great idea. Once we met and finished the first day of touring in Shanghai, we felt completely comfortable having her as our guide. We wanted to see more cities, not just Shanghai. So she organized train tickets for us. We went to Suzhou: visited gardens, took a boat to a local town, rode rickshaws in the old city, walked through the modern part, and had our first Peking duck for dinner. The next day we went to Hangzhou. Again, we cycled along the lake, explored the old city, and tasted local food. After that, we took another train to the Yellow Mountain area. She found a fabulous boutique hotel in Hongcun at a great price—and even negotiated with the hotel for an upgrade and free breakfast! We chose the room ourselves at the lowest rate. I still can't believe we stayed in such a beautiful hotel for that price. Modern, artistic, traditional Chinese architecture—everything was perfect. After that, Scarlett arranged two electric scooters for us. We rode around villages, countryside fields, lakes, and more. Honestly, we didn't expect to enjoy our time in China before we arrived, because we've rarely had fun tours in the past—most were pretty boring and standard. But this time, we actually had fun and collected so many different experiences in just 5 days. We will definitely come back to China again. Furthermore, Scarlett was incredibly patient. She explained everything clearly and answered all our questions with a friendly smile. She kept a perfect pace—never rushed, never slow—so everyone could keep up and truly enjoy each stop. Her knowledge of the area was impressive. She wove in fascinating history, culture, and local tips that made the experience so much richer. She anticipated our needs, gave great recommendations for food and photo spots, and kept us energized and on track. Her communication was clear, organized, and thoughtful, making the whole trip stress‑free. I highly recommend her to anyone who wants a memorable, well‑paced, and genuinely enjoyable tour.