All Inclusive Mutianyu Great Wall and Summer Palace Private Day Tour

We had a great time on our tour. The guide and driver were on time to pick us up. They had great insight into what time we should leave to catch fewer crowds. The guide was very nice and knew a lot about the sites we went to see. All in all a very good experience. Greatly recommended.”

Our guide Lucas did a very good job following up and making sure that we wee on time for the tour. Lucas Spanish was excellent and he did an excellent job giving us details and facts about the Chinese History and culture. We arrived to the Grate Wall and Lucas took us to the tallest point with a magnificent view. After the Wall we visited the Summer Palace, it was a very rush visit because we needed to go back to the hotel on time due to the military practices for the 70th anniversary of the Republic Foundation. So the summer palace was good, but it could be better if we had more time, something taht we can not control. I will definitely recommend this tour.”

We visited with Albert 2 of the most interesting sites in China, the Wall and the Summer Palace. He was an excellent guide and also making it fun for our 2 kids, 6 and 12. He was very knowledgeable of the sites and passed on all the info to us, he has a good command of the language, and very pleasant and helpful. He took us to a great restaurant, suggested best things, and was very thoughtful on what else we can do. he arranged for us, the show KFu show right on the spot and then helped us again with transport to the airport . Very client oriented and pleasant to be with. Our kids loved him. the sites were also great.”

I did this tour together with my mom. The whole experience was very customer-oriented. Our guide (Andrew) was fantastic. He had a plan, but was very flexible and open to our requests. He was very knowledgeable and was able to give us all the information we wanted and top it off with interesting facts. Definitely highly recommend this tour (and guide) if you want a hassle and stress free day of sight-seeing.”

My tour guide, Linda, made excellent suggestions (for the Great Wall: ski left up, toboggan down; for lunch: honestly just let her choose you will never be so full of yummy food!), was the best photographer EVER, and of course was super knowledgable and answered all my (incessant) questions. My driver, Mr. Wong, was very kind and professional, as well.”

My tour to see the Great Wall of China and the Summer Palace was INCREDIBLE!! The views were stunning and I had so much fun!! This has been on the list for years and I’m so happy I finally was able to do it. I’m so happy with my decision to experience this through Viator Tours. My tour guide, Becky, truly went above and beyond to make this an unforgettable experience. She was knowledgeable, adventurous, and fun! Not only did she assist me with my tour, but she assisted me with ideas and strategies on how to navigate Beijing (and later Shanghai). I’ve been in the hospitality industry for years, and Becky is genuinely the type of person I would hire. If you’re able to, do yourself a favor and request Becky for your tour! On top of all this, the authentic lunch that I was taken to was absolutely delicious! I’m still dreaming about it even though I can get Chinese Food most places in NYC. It was just that good. 5/5”

It was easy to book the tour and everything went smoothly from the time we were picked up from our hotel. We really enjoyed our tours of the Great Wall and Summer Palace. I found the guided tour to be very informative and also fun. Our guide, Miko has a wonderful personality and he was very helpful in accommodating our groups special requests, such as fining a vegetarian lunch. We will definitely request him to be our guide the next time we return to the Great Walk. Thanks a million, Miko!”

My mom and I went to Beijing primarily to see the Great Wall of China. We booked this tour through Viator. We were called at our hotel the night before to confirm the tour. Linda and the driver showed up on time and put us at ease right from the start. Linda went over the itinerary with us and off we went in a very nice car. There was bottled water waiting for us which was a nice touch. The drive was very nice and smooth. Our driver drove very nice and smooth so it was pleasant. Linda told us information and facts about the wall during the ride as well so time went by fast. When we arrived Linda knew the best spots to view the wall from and helped us take plenty of photos and answered all of the questions we had. Really the views looked like post cards. When we were done we shopped at the store at the bottom and picked up a subway sandwich. My mom is a picky eater and we weren't sure if we would like lunch. Well turns out the restaurant Linda picked was absolutely perfect and she already had four different plates of food out when we arrived. All were excellent and my mom skipped eating the subway sandwich so bravo. Our last stop was the Summer Palace. During the drive over Linda told us the interesting story behind it... and the woman who controlled the country for over 40 years. We took our time walking through it and Linda went over the interesting parts while skipping what my mom and I wanted to go past. She was very easy going and willing to answer any and all questions. Basically Linda is awesome and an amazing tour guide and made our adventure great! Thank you!”

We had such a wonderful time though it’s winter it’s crowded but with the private tour makes everything smooth and no stress at all. Our guide Albert was great and so knowledgeable with almost everything. Thank you so much”

We loved our tour and our guide Jimmy! He was able to answer all our questions about the wall and summer palace, but we also learned so much about China overall. We had a great time, everything worked like clockwork, the car was spacious and super comfortable for our family of four. We planned our tour for our third day in Beijing, which was perfect for us - we were ready to get out if the city and see the countryside. The mountains and landscape around the Great Wall were gorgeous.”

This is an excellent tour, and our tour guide was fantastic. I highly recommend this tour. Keep in mind it is a long drive to the Mutianyu Great Wall, but well worth it. Fantastic picture opportunities. Make sure you take the toboggan down. Lot of fun. The Chinese lunch provided with this tour was delicious as well. The Summer Palace is really crowded on weekends, so be aware of this. Very interesting and beautiful grounds. Strongly recommend private tours for these. The crowds are huge, and it allows you to move around easier with a lot more interaction.”

Our guide Juliet met us in the lobby of our hotel at 8.30 and we headed off to the wall. Along the way she gave us lots of background on Beijing and China. About 90 minutes later we arrived and made our way up to the cable car. You could go with the ski lifts to the other part of the wall, the choice is yours but as my wife is not keen on heights an enclosed gondola was the way to go for us. The views on the way up are good but once you arrive at the main event they are fantastic. Even though it was a little hazy and with a number of school groups it seemed a bit busy at first, once you moved past the first tower it quickly became quieter. Juliet let us decide how long we wanted and I went off to take more photos and see another couple of towers whilst she and my wife waited. Clearly I would have made the big steep ascent but didn’t want them to get bored waiting for me – no really… We then came back down, met the driver and went to a local restaurant for lunch. Juliet had chosen one from her region in the North of China which meant we were trying things I had never sampled before (since Cantonese is so prevalent in the UK). It was fabulous. Then it was off to the Summer Palace. This always seemed a bit ambitious to try and do both of these in a day and with bad traffic it did prove to be so as we didn’t arrive until around 4pm. Even so Juliet did a great job of a quick edited highlights tour of the Palace which certainly whet our appetites for a return in the future. You could easily spend hours here. Then it was back to the car, more traffic and back to the hotel a bit later than planned. It was a great day, Juliet was an excellent guide and our driver was charming and very calm in difficult traffic and he kept the car impeccably clean. I’d definitely recommend it but just be aware that I suspect even if traffic is good then the Summer Palace is only going to be a quick visit if you want to focus on the wall (which if you are choosing this tour is the right balance).”

This trip was great for myself my cousin and my mother who is in her 80's. The ride up the ski lift was the perfect way for us to get up to the top to walk on and view the wall. Our guide Julia was wonderful and patient with our slow progress when it was necessary. We saw so much more than the people who we met on our group tour a few days later. I would recommend this tour to anyone who has some difficulty in climbing stairs.”

Such a great day! Miko, our tour guide was very friendly and knowledgeable. He made sure we never had to wait in long lines, was entertaining with his funny jokes, and provided a lot of good history throughout the trip.”

Perfect tour! We all really enjoyed the day, learnt a lot and seen some amazing sights! Cactus, our tour guide was excellent, she made us all feel at ease and gave us some really interesting information. If you can only pick one tour, choose this one and ask for Cactus!”

This Tour has been absolutely perfect! Our guide, Jimmy managed to make us see the Great Wall with not so many people and we had plenty of time to enjoy the view and all the fantastic stories he was explaining us on the history. The car driver was a great driver and we the car very comfortable. We had an amazing Chinese lunch with lots pf great food and we finished the tour with a visit of Summer palace where Jimmy has also explained us lots of history and fun facts. I definitely recommend this tour and Jimmy who has been kind and friendly to us, he is also an expert to avoid crowd and make you see tourist place in a different way. Thank you Jimmy and driver for this great day !”

Lucy from Discovery Tours was simply amazing. She is so knowledgeable of the culture and history of China that we spoke the whole time we were traveling to and from sights. 1st stop was Great Wall, what an amazing Once in a lifetime experience and Lucy knew so much about the site that it was informative the entire way. We took the ski lift up, which was great because youll need your cardio for walking the actual wall. After the Wall we went for an authentic Chinese lunch, and I loved Lucys lunch choices, and the table was covered with food - too much for us to eat.... At lunch Lucy bought me my first locally brewed beer and it was delicious. After lunch we headed to the Summer Palace, what a grand place and Lucy knew all the facts about the Dragon Lady. I highly recommend this tour and Lucy from Discovery Tours”

We really enjoyed the tour. Visiting the Great Wall was one great way to appreciate the history of ancient China civilisation. Our guide, Miko was very knowledgable about the great wall and the palace. We learned a lot about the history of both places. He was also very funny and took very good care of us. His English also very good.”

Our tour guide Albert was excellent. He was very knowledgeable and personable. We had a great time. Would definitely recommend any tour with Albert as the guide.”

Well this was definitely a bucket list excursion for all of us. Ever since I was small, The Great Wall has been a place to visit. Our tour guide Miko was the ideal guide for this amazing journey! Our private tour began at the hotel where Miko and his driver picked us up and drove us about an hour and a half to Mutianyu. The drive was so beautiful and I loved the village before we got to the Great Wall. Miko gave us a brief and informative history of the Wall and then the adventure began. We rode the chairlift up and the MUST DO Toboggan down the hill. Lunch afterwards was my favorite meal at a very local restaurant that was locally owned. The food was delicious! All three of us agreed that this was our favorite day in China!! Many thanks to Miko for checking this great day off my bucket list and GO LAKERS!! Miko is a huge Kobe Bryant and Laker fan. Made the trip even more enjoyable!!”

I travelled with my wife, our 8 year old, 6 year old and 4.5 year old. Linda, our tour guide, spoke clear English. She was very apologetic for being 10 minutes late at pick up due to unforeseen traffic related reason. I could relate to that as I am very familiar with traffic problems in large metros. We immediately started our travel to Mutianyu in her 7 passenger Buick van which was air conditioned and clean enough from inside. In less than 2 hours we were outside the great wall. There was a long 1hr40min wait in the line. Luckily it was warm with over cast. So the sun did not bother us. Linda said the best time to visit with an aim to beat the heat would be in April. This can be a tip for families with small kids as continuos sun exposure will exhaust while doing a nearly 2 hour wait. Be prepared for it. Took the ski slope style rope line to the great wall which as expected completely blew us away. Kids were going nuts. Right before entry into the waiting line there was a fairly clean rest room which Linda appropriately pointed out. By the time we took 1300 steps back to base, it was lunch time. I politely explained that we had not developed the taste for Chinese cuisine and cannot eat pork. Linda called the boss and agreed to let us eat at the subway or a burger joint right outside the great wall base as long as it was within a budget of RMB 200. After we had ordered, Linda pleasantly surprised us by saying that though we were over budget, we need not to pay. : We got on the van to the Summer palace. This was at the other edge of the city and it took 1 hour to get there. The place has architecture I had never seen before so we were all very pleased. Again amenities such as rest rooms for families were available. We finished it in 1 hour. Linda said good bye and instructed the driver to drop us back at the hotel near terminal 3 of the airport. They like to pick there customers from within the down town area. I requested for an exception. They agreed to pick us from Terminal 3 hilton hotel loooong way form down town and to drop us back for an extra charge of USD100. I happily pain as it saved be an additional journey of more than an hour form hotel to pick up spot. In the end i tipped Linda and the very pleasant driver does not speak english USD 20 each. Very pleased. Good job guys for taking care of our family of 5.”

We booked a family-friendly trip through Viator with Discover Beijing Tours. We were matched with Albert, our guide, and a driver. Albert was an outstanding guide, his english was excellent, and our driver was safe got us to our tour locations as quickly as possible despite some typical Beijing traffic. Of course, the wall and the summer palace were excellent sites to visit and good for the whole family. Don't miss the toboggan ride down after trekking up and down the wall! Our 7 year old and 13 year old had lots of questions--and Albert was very courteous and knowledgeable... he told us some great stories and history of the part of the wall that we visited and a great description of the history of the summer palace and Dragon Lady. If you are doing this tour... definitely request Albert. He made the trip well worth the expense. One last thing... the van they used was great and had seat belts for everyone!”

Excellent tour and a awesome tour guide Jimmy. Read about both the popular places on the wall to visit and really enjoyed this one. Not crowded at all. Would recommend this tour.”

This tour was excellent, and I highly recommend it. Our tour guide, Alice, was extremely knowledgeable. As we drove through the city, Alice pointed out key sights in the city itself. She told us how long it would take us to get to the Great Wall and then gave us an impressive history of the Wall and how it came into being. She took care of getting our tickets and guiding us to the cable cars that took us up to the Great Wall itself. Once there, she gave us details about the nature of the Wall itself. Then she gave us an hour to explore the Wall by ourselves. We took the cable car down and happened to catch the car that commemorated Michelle Obama's visit. We had plenty of time to shop for souvenirs before we moved on to a local restaurant, where we had a fine lunch. After lunch, we drove to the Summer Palace, and once again Alice proved herself extremely knowledgeable. After an exciting day, we were returned to our hotel. My daughter and I were so glad that we had taken this particular tour, and we were very grateful for Alice's guidance throughout the day.”