We hired Jon to plan and lead two of us for eight days in Yunnan. He did an outstanding job, and we recommend him very highly. We are active, experienced travelers in our seventies, who have traveled in China for half a century. We like Chinese culture, food, history, hiking, and economics. We do not like long drives. We made our preferences clear to Jon and his wife Cherry, who also helps with the business. They put together, and Jon led, an excellent tour that began in Dali and progressed to Shangri-La, Lijiang, and Kunming. The drivers and vehicles were also first-rate. We did a mix of typical and very unusual activities. He set up a memorable hike on Cangshan Mountain, a visit to Lake Erhai, Tiger Leaping Gorge, several ancient towns, and the famous Songzanlin lamastery because nobody skips these sites when visiting Yunnan. But he also arranged a stop at Zhouzheng near Xizhou for Naxi indigo, a memorable stay with a family in Shaxi, and time with an extraordinary Tibetan artist to do some basic but very interesting painting. He took us to the rarely visited 100 chicken temple outside Shangri-La and to an extraordinary tea-tasting near Black Dragon Pond in Lijiang. Also, he took us to an amazing silk embroidery school and a Naxi homestay. There is no way we would have found these places without Jon's help -- and we saw no other visitors, foreign or Chinese, at most of them. The point is not that Jon has a solid bag of tricks, although he does. It is that he tailors a trip to your specific interests in a way that few guides do. We experienced other guides during our time in Yunnan -- none compared with Jon. His English is very strong. We would and hopefully will work with him again in the near future.

I organize a personalized tour with Jon. He was already in another tour when I went to China, so he suggested me a friend that stayed with me for the week I spent in Yunnan. Jon was always present by phone. I would recommend him because takes care of personal desires.

I highly recommend Jon and Frank for trips to Dali they were amazing!

I first contacted Jon based on the number of positive reviews.  He was very responsive (considering he also guides during the day) and patient with us as we fully customized our tour.  He also helped us add/modify transport and hotels last minute.

When we arrived Jon was there waiting at arrival gate and made sure we were taken care in our plans.  We went on the see many of the sights I was interested in from tripadvisor plus alot more along the way.  Our trip included other guides apart from Jon, Tom took us through Dali and Lijiang, Maria throughout Shangri-La and Meili Mountain, and finally Julia back in Kunming.  We found them they were ever willing to go the extra distance to help us feel comfortable in our trip.  For example, Tom helped us purchase and ship a souvenir we missed, and took us to a nearby lake for a bird watching session outside of our itinerary and Maria gave us good advice to care for ourselves in Shangri-La's high altitude and colder climate.

Overall the trip was a great experience, a small improvement for me would be able to enjoy a more authentic tea experience as the places we had access to seemed too commercialized.  Everyone in my family had a great trip and would definitely recommend Jon's services to anyone interested in travelling to Yunan.

Last autumn, I spent 10 days on a Yunan trip, prepared, organized and guided by Jon. It was pure pleasure. Jon' s practical magic made feel me well comforted all trip long. His knowledge of the hidden beauty spots of his amazing homeland and his capability and even on-tour flexibility to tailor a customer oriented individual trip is outstanding. Even if the numerous Yunan Province scenic spots might make it easy to drive the client enthusiastic, without a clever selection, the right order and the appropriate timing the area's power of beauty may easily turn enthusiasm into mental overload. The dose makes the pleasure, respectivley the poison. You need in this perspective a sensitive guide in this part of the world. Jon is one of them. Rainer from Germany.