some of my tours feedbacks and reviews

some of my tours feedbacks  and reviews

******* Paul and Laura
> Ali- what can I say? It was a real pleasure
> traveling with you for the past three weeks. Your enthusiasm
> for your job and country was incredibly inspiring. I enjoyed
> the many conversations we shared and your candid opinions on
> many aspects of Iranian life. Your knowledge of all the

some of my tours feedbacks  and reviews

******* Paul and Laura
> Ali- what can I say? It was a real pleasure
> traveling with you for the past three weeks. Your enthusiasm
> for your job and country was incredibly inspiring. I enjoyed
> the many conversations we shared and your candid opinions on
> many aspects of Iranian life. Your knowledge of all the
> sites we visited really was quite impressive. It is no
> wonder that you are so respected by your colleagues! I loved
> the fact that you wanted to share with us all that is great
> about Iran...thank you for introducing us to the delights of
> colompe, dizi, stone bread, Yazdi sweets, chicken fesenjen,
> Bam dates, Shirazi falooda and much much more. I hope that
> you get to visit America at some point. You will always be
> welcome to stay with us in Seattle. Keep in touch!
> We particularly enjoyed the atmospheric hotels
> in Yazd, Garmeh, Zeinodin, and Shiraz. I hope to see more of
> these types of hotel opening in Iran as more tourists visit.
> In fact almost all the hotels were good. The only
> disappointing hotel was in Mashhad but I understand that was
> a last minute switch. Thank you for making sure we got to
> the border on time and helped us negotiate the border
> formalities.
> I hope our adventures in Iran and the photos we
> shared encourage more people from America to visit your
> amazing country.
> Hope to see you again sometime!
> Cheers, Paul and Laura

Furkan***

3. Guide: Ali was a fantastic guide! I am used to independent travel, where I make my own plans and travel unaccompanied. Being a UK citizen this was not possible in Iran and I thought a guide was necessary but not something I would enjoy. In fact, Ali made the trip very enjoyable. Information about historical sights is of course his job, but he really brought them to life, complementing what I'd read in books. Even more interesting was his stories about life in Iran. For example he explained the storyline on the Iranian movie shown on the train and how it related to real life. Another thing about Ali is his flexibility...As mentioned above, I travel quickly, which meant that I was done with the carpet museum, for example, in short time. Rather than spend time in the hotel, I wanted to do other things. Many guides would have said, well we've done the itinerary, so we can stop now. Ali was open to doing other things at my request, such as going to North Tehran/Jamshediyeh Park. So I got to see something not on the itinerary. I was also interested in travelling as much as possible by foot to see life, and Ali was supportive of this. We also took the metro, and the bus.. Another thing about Ali is he was proactive about suggesting food I might want to try, without actually forcing me to try it.. Instead of having kebabs everywhere we had things like dizi, various khoreshts, Falafel, Sapata, Strudel...it was great not to eat the same stuff over and over and also not to eat any western food. In summary, though I thought I had no choice but to go with a guide to comply with the law, travelling with Ali was extremely enjoyable. It was like being shown around by a friend who knew his way around

 

** Jeanette,  Steve, Genny,  John and Eyvor

Hello Ali

I have been meaning to write for a few weeks now but somehow the busy work life has already taken over. How are you? We hope you are busy and enjoying the summer. I look at our photos and sometimes find it hard to believe how much we saw and how much we enjoyed our time in Iran and how much fun we had with you.

Winter has arrived here and the days seem very short. Iran seems a long way away but we have so many good memories to continue enjoying. We had the best holiday there and much of it was due to you. You proved to be not only a wonderful guide but also a lovely person to share our holiday with. We learn't so much about your country and we're always amazed how we were looked after by you and the many people we met on the streets and by the people whose homes we were invited into.

 

You were very generous with your time with us and we all appreciated how well we were looked after.

We had a very interesting night in North Tehran with the 2 girls you met just before we said goodbye. They were very generous and  we saw a side of life in Tehran we did not expect - so much wealth and signs of fancy life styles!

 

It would be wonderful to hear from you some time. I hope we can meet again somewhere. We are certainly keen to get back to Iran sometime soon and our children would all love to come too!

 

Best wishes to you and your family Ali and thank you again for your generous hospitality.

Steve and Jeanette

………………………………

 Salaam Ali

Thank you so much for making our journey in Iran so memorable.

Your well researched and deep knowledge of the places we visited was of
immense benefit to us. Your suggestion of places to eat helped us to
appreciate the diversity of special local made dishes,  where to shop and
your negotiation skills to get the best price was also incredibly valuable
for us.  You showed us the beautiful and varying countryside and ancient to
modern day buildings.

We loved your sense of humour and wonderful comedian acts in the evenings.
The most memorable events were the Kashkai ex nomadic family night,
Caravanserai and the family meal and evening with two lovely Iranian
families in Kashun.

Iran is one of the most welcoming and hospitable countries we have visited
and your friendliness and guidance made a huge contribution to our holiday.

Ishmael was a very helpful and sensitive and sensible driver especially
when packing the car to protect my broken wrist.
We will be recommending you to any friends who are considering coming to
Iran.

Thank you for becoming a great friend and all your amazing help.

All the best
Kind regards,
Jeanette,  Steve, Genny,  John and Eyvor

**Amy

Tour Guide

Ali was an excellent tour guide - conscientious and responsible. He
put in a lot of effort to ensure things went smoothly even during the
times when it didn't - like the time when the bus from Shiraz to
Esfahan was delayed by two hours. He had took it upon himself to offer
to take me to visit a tourist attraction of my choice - and I chose
Hafidz Tomb, which was simply beautiful.

Ali also chose good restaurants to eat in and made sure the prices of
the eating places were in line with my budget.

Ali is also a a talented photographer. He has an eye for images, how
to frame the pictures, the use of natural and artificial lighting…I am
impressed with his ability. He shows a real talent for photography and
should be encouraged. As such, this is the first time in my solo
travels that I have returned home with very nice pictures of myself.
Very often I return home with hardly any pictures of myself when I
travel solo.

He is a polite, pleasant and good-natured person. Ali is the best part
of the Salam Trip.

** matt

I'm glad this guest gave you good feedback...you deserve it.  I agree with the comments on photography.  You were great with the camera.

You have a great attitude for being a guide - tourists aren't always easy to please.  Thanks again for making my trip to Iran a wonderful experience!

Thank you very much for the amazing time I had in Iran.  From the moment I arrived I was treated as a welcome guest.  I enjoyed every stop on my tour!

Ali was a fantastic guide!  He treated me like a good friend!  His knowledge and enthusiasm for Iran allowed me to experience Iran in a special way.  He accommodated all my requests with a smile and made sure I was happy with every step of the journey.  Ali understands how to show  a guest in Iran the best each place offers and knows how to manage time so every moment is fun.  I was also impressed by his ability to recommend the best meals in every place we visited.

Uppersia took great care of me in Iran and if I hope to return someday!

Regards,
Matt F.

**Ramon

I had a great time in Iran with your tour company.  Here is my feedback regarding this wonderful experience.

Guide

I think we were very lucky to have such a great guide as Ali.  His pleasant personality communicates trustworthiness and we felt safe with him from the very beginning. Regarding this issue, I really appreciate when a guide gives you safety advises such as: be careful in this area, these stores are more expensive, etc...  We felt safe with him at all times and we could then only enjoy the great tour. He was also very friendly with us.  We very early felt that he was not only a guide, but a member of our group and so we enjoyed having him with us at all times. 

Ali also showed a lot of knowledge and interest in giving us the opportunity to experience the culture in Iran. Some guides I had in the past were boring and just talk without realizing the people was not paying attention.  This was definitely not the case with Ali.  Ali gave us interesting insights of everything and was always available to answer any questions or explain in further detail.  As a history teacher, I appreciated and enjoyed this very much.

Another very important aspect about Ali was that we always felt that he was willing to go an extra mile to make us feel happy.  For example, he did not mind to go back to a store because one member of the group wanted to buy more souvenirs, even when this was already free time and it was not Ali's responsibility to do it, he would do that with a smile.  There are many examples of his kindness such as  when he joined us in our Christmas dinner at the hotel bringing us chocolates, when he brought us food that his family had prepared for us so that we could have a picnic and not losing time after a long ride to Yazd, and when he helped me finding a cake and birthday performance (hats, confetti, etc..) to celebrate my wife's birthday. 

Kind regards,

Ramon

*Pauline and Stewart.

Dear Reza,
We both thoroughly enjoyed our two weeks in Iran. Ali was a marvellous guide, not only is he very knowledgeable about history and architecture but he took great care of us and took us to some excellent restaurants. He made our holiday special.
We thought the trip was well planned. We saw all
the sights we wanted but did not feel rushed, in spite of losing the first day because of the flight delay. It was helpful to stay in each place for 2 to 3 nights so we could relax and get our laundry done.
We were not impressed with the first car and driver, as an experienced tour manager we thought you should have provided us with a suitable vehicle for 4 people and their luggage and a driver who was familiar with the route. The second car and driver were very good.
The hotels were very variable and only the Parsian Azadi could be described as luxurious . The Manuchehri in Kashan was stylish and had a very good restaurant and the best breakfast . The Pars Hotel in Kerman was comfortable if a little worn but had a great coffee shop. In the Parsian Safaiyeh we would have preferred to stay in the main hotel as the garden rooms were also worn.
The Jahaangardi in Kerman was very basic and the rooms in the Setareh in Esfahan were dreadful. The rooms at the Setaregan in Shiraz are gloomy and noisy from the traffic.
However, all the rooms were very clean, comfortable,had hot water and good beds. It would probably have been better if you didn't call it a "luxury " tour as that promises more than you can deliver. We are used to travelling and stay at all types of hotels. We can see the constraints that you have to work under but suggest that you emphasise the "comfort "over the "luxury "to ensure your clients are not disappointed.
We hope to return to Iran to see the rest of the country and will definitely use your company again
Yours sincerely, Pauline and Stewart.

Sent from my iPad

**Cathrine and petter

 

Tour details

Trip: Budget tour (6-14 Sep 2014)

Tour guide: Ali

Pre-tour services

Agent’s knowledge 5

Agent’s kindness 5

Agent’s efficiency 4

Agent’s response speed 4

Accuracy of info on web or email 4

Comments: Reza provided prompt and useful advices to our

questions on the trip. Exchange by emails was

just fine to meet our needs. We could have a

comprehensive picture of the tour before we

arrive to Iran.

Tour services

Rating of overall experience 5

Comments: Excellent organisation and planning of the tour.

Reza and Ali were readily to provide assistance

and advices. We enjoyed every moment in Iran.

Rating of itinerary 4

Comments: All sites included in the itinerary were highlights

of the cities. We appreciate the “free-days” in

the itinerary so that we could also explore the

areas on our own and expect the unexpected.

****Yamin

Hi Ali Hosseini,

It was really nice having you as our guide.

you've become a friend and we'll be sad saying goodbye to you.

going forward, i hope that you'll find a place in your heart to help some of us visitors who want a broader cultural experience like some wine-tasting in shiraz.

and also, i hope that you'll bring us to a broader variety of eating places if, insyallah, i come back for more travels in iran. having said that, your recommendation of the restaurant at Ferdousi Hotel was absolutely spot on. we enjoyed the food.

Best regards and wish you all the best for your future.

your honesty and integrity are exemplary. Your IT skills are excellent and unexpected of a tour guide.

That you helped me connect my mobile phone and my laptop to the wireless internet was most appreciated in Iran's special circumstances.

See you in Malaysia one day, my friend 

 ** Mike kendle

Tour guide's Enthusiasm: 5

 

Tour guide's Knowledge: 5

 

Tour guide's Organization: 5

 

Tour guide's Communication: 4

 

Tour guide's Approchability: 5

 

Rating your tour guide overall: 5

 

Comments about your tour guide: Ali was a very personable man and knowledgable and passionate about Iran, a proud Shirazian and his bias was obvious (not a bad thing though). He also helped with IT issues I had with social media and his choice of restaurants and food were great.

 *** French couple

Did a 10 day trip to Iran with the tour operator Up Persia, visiting Teheran, Shiraz (Persipolis) and Isfahan - it was a really good trip and our guide Ali was great, having good knowledge of the sites we visited and ensuring our safety - Up Persia met us at the hotel and took care of all the local administrative paperwork which was great....
Actually Iran is very safe and we did not feel aggressed at all, the people were really friendly (especially when we were on our own).
Best city to visit apart from Persipolis (great historical site not to miss) is Isfahan, ensure that you visit the market on the main square as well as the old mosque at the end of the market. Teheran is too crowded with too many cars (crazy drivers) and ensuing car polution, however the hospitable nature of the people far make up for this crowded inconvenience.
I can highly recommend Persia as a country to visit, great food, really nice people, not yet commercialised and not too many western tourists demanding Macdonalds - visit before it becomes too touristy and loses its authenticity.

 

** Susan Herford

 

Reza

 

Thankyou for providing my receipt of travel.

 

Firstly I would like to thank you for arranging our itinerary which allowed us to see Iran’s landscape and architectural beauty and experience the culture and community of the cities and towns we visited. I would also like to say that Ali was vigilant in ensuring our safe passage, and remained professional at all times - under some rather extreme circumstances, I’m afraid. Ali provided detailed history, exhibited a true love of the country, helped us with all the routines, such as changing money etc, and also ensured we experienced a variety of food. It was lovely to meet some of his family and feel so welcomed. In all I thoroughly enjoyed the visual delights that Iran has to offer, and am humbled by the warmth and generosity shown to us by those we met along the way.

 

In a country with developing tourism, I understand that it is prudent to leave all our expectations behind and embrace new experiences with a positive attitude – that’s what travelling is all about. The highlights for me was the architectural beauty and colour of all the Mosques we visited, the serenity of the gardens, the opulence of the palaces, the sheer history of places such as Persepolis, Rayen and Abyaneh. The night in Carevanserai was magical. The bridges of Isfahan, the merchant houses in Kashan (wonderful) and the many bazaars, all exceptional. In Isfahan we shared soup with a family picnicking in the park and there were many people that stopped Ali in the street to pass on their well wishes to the  foreigners in their country.  

 

These are just a few things you might want to think about Reza, and they are really not much to do with the itinerary - more to do with level of comfort. I am positive you will receive a lot more feedback from Alice – who was a bit rough on us all really.  I might add here there is a vast difference between my views on the trip and those of Alice, so please, I ask that you don’t share this email with Alice.

 

1.       We were a bit upset when the cost of the Visa doubled at the entry point. Can’t do much then. Could be an issue for those planning how much $US to bring!

2.       The transfer from IKA to Mehrabad after more than 24 hours travelling with insufficient sleep, was a nightmare for me. The driver dodged through Tehran morning traffic at speeds of up to 160 kilometres per hour. I know that a large number of Iranians die in motor vehicle accidents – I have a friend here in Australia whose twin brother died in a car accident in Iran, so the ‘dodgem car’ approach to the transfer was not a good start to the holiday. I feared we may die before seeing anything. We thought it may have been because of the timing of the flight, but that was unlikely since we had quite a long wait before our Shiraz connection. The same driver took us back to IKA on our departure. I felt sick to my stomach with fear, so we asked the hotel staff to request he drive a bit slower. I think it may have bruised his ego, but my life is worth more than that. Even then we narrowly missed ramming into the back of another vehicle because he was so close to it when it braked. At the airport he looked annoyed and was reluctant to help with our luggage, in fact he didn’t help with the luggage. These two journeys were by far the most stressful of the trip.

3.       I liked Kerman, the Mosque, the bazaar, the Shahzadeh Gardens, but as you know we had a few issues with the hotel. Mainly the air-conditioning, or lack thereof, the breakfast which was very ordinary, and the smell of sewerage in the bathroom. Ali had worse conditions than us. What topped it off was their attitude when the water went off. This was the only time I got a bit upset.

4.       A couple of the journey’s we made where a bit cramped because the cars cannot take much luggage. With tourists comes luggage and add the guides luggage and our backpacks etc. and the taxi was full to the brim. Not such a problem on short trips but a bit uncomfortable on the long ones.

5.       Our luxury bus trip to Isfahan didn’t stop for a toilet break. That’s a lot of hours if you need to go.

6.       It might be wise to have a ‘round table’ on what the Cooking Class is meant to be. I know Alice will give you plenty of feedback here! From my perspective I would rather have gone for a nice meal to a restaurant; I do enough cooking at home and don’t need to cook in a strangers home in Iran. This was all a bit strange – Ali had already told us that he was having trouble contacting these people to arrange the time. When they finally responded, the fellow said that it was to eat, not to cook. Then the fellow contradicted Ali by saying he wasn’t aware it was a cooking class. Alice was very annoyed at Ali about this, although it appeared to me that the other fellow may have been lying.

 

I gave Ali a copy of the Intrepid trip Notes to give you an idea of the sorts of things people like to know when visiting a new country, particularly when there are rules for visitors to respect. I’m sure he’ll share this with you.

 

Anyway, Reza I will leave it at that. Please let me know if you need any further explanation from me. Otherwise I wish you the best of luck with your business and will recommend Iran to those who I think can meet the challenge.

 Best wishes to you and to Ali,

 Susan Herford

 

 **Mauro and Elena,

Guide

 

Ali was a really good guide, clearly competent in his work and very helpful in teaching us different aspects of Iranian culture (especially for food, wich was really important to us). He was always ready to solve any problem and help us with any type of request we had. He helped us a lot when we needed to get in touch with Iranians and his very good english allowed us to always understand each other.

 ** Ashar David

Comment for Mr. Ali Hosseini’s  tourguide service

 

Beside good knowledge of the sights of Iran and a good command of the English language, Ali has shown so much patience and willingness to fulfill as much desires as possible of his customers. My experience with  Ali’s service is more than my expectations I had from uppersia. Within 8 days I have seen more sights in Iran than in any other country i visited. Ali has the passion to do more for the customer than he actually owes. Besides he took very good care of my safety during my stay in Iran, which is very important for a tourist.

The most important thing what tourists want is a dedicated tourguide who make his customer feel comfort, which Ali did 100%.

Out of 10 numbers I will give Mr. Ali Hoseini 9.5. I really would like to visit Iran for a second time, hope to have Ali as my tourguide than again.

I thank Mr Ali from the core of my heart for the nice time I had spent with him in Iran and wish him lots of further succes in his field.

God bless

 

Ashar David from Holland.

 

 

** gomer

 

My wonderful trip with Ali
-----------------------------

Ali, like most of the Iranians I met on my trip, is gracious, witty, friendly, and helpful. He is an all around nice guy and I highly recommend him to anyone who needs a tour leader in Iran.

It's expected that tour leaders must have sufficient knowledge of the places visited during a particular tour and share what's unique about them. Ali passed this criteria with flying colors. He also shared a lot of very interesting tidbits, which added meaning and relevance to these places.

To me though, the most important part of any trip is the connection that people form and I feel that Ali and I became good friends during the course of our trip. He made sure that everything was proceeding smoothly and was always accommodating with my requests. What truly amazed me is when he went out of his way to handle some very urgent matters for me, something that he did in the kindness of his heart. To me, that speaks volumes about someone's character.

I also had the honor of meeting his entire family.  I met his dad at his workplace and his mom and younger brother at their house. His family is just as generous and kind and I truly enjoyed the few hours I spent with them.

When I visit Iran next time, I'll make sure to meet up with Ali again!