Home > Beijing > Great Wall of China Small Group Day Trip from Beijing
USD $109.00
Great Wall of China Small Group Day Trip from Beijing
Beijing, China
Discover the Great Wall of China on this small group tour from Beijing. Travel to the restored Mutianyu section and climb the Ming Dynasty watchtowers for incredible views of the Great Wall and the surrounding countryside. You can descend the wall by toboggan or take in the aerial view by cable car (at an additional cost). You'll then enjoy a traditional Chinese lunch and finish your day back in Beijing. This small group tour has a maximum of 12 participants, allowing for a personalized Great Wall experience.
The Great Wall of China was originally built more than 2,000 years ago to ward off Hun intruders from the north. Today, the wall is considered one of the New Seven Wonders of the World and makes a great Beijing day trip.
You'll travel by air-conditioned minivan to the less-touristy Mutianyu section of the Great Wall of China, located 56 miles (90 kilometers) from Beijing. This section of the Great Wall offers unparalleled views from the Ming Dynasty watchtowers. Walk at your own pace as you traverse the wall to the watchtowers, becoming immersed in the history and myths told by your local guide. Along the way, you will have great views and photo opportunities of the wall snaking through the beautiful countryside. You can choose to descend the Great Wall by toboggan or take the scenic cable car.
Scaling the Great Wall will leave you with an appetite.You’ll get the opportunity to try some Chinese specialty dishes as you enjoy a traditional lunch served in a nearby local village. You'll return to Beijing after lunch.
Fabulous day! This was exactly what I wanted for the day. Meet up by Mr Han was from a central hotel rather than having to drive around the city to pick people up. Emma was super helpful and explained the history of the Wall and a lot about Beijing. She also patiently went through the various options to get to the top as we all wanted to do different things. Then we had a couple of hours to walk/explore on our own, and take the toboggan down, then off for lunch. Would definitely recommend the tour and Emma as a guide!
Review by: aarush r, June 2018
Great Wall was great! We went to Our tour guide lily was super sweet. she planned everything so well...got us out of city before rush hour, before any queue started lining up at the Great Wall entrance etc.. overall it was a great trip with nothing to complaint about. _br/_ Lily explained about the history of the wall, the city and overall about the culture. very informative.
Review by: Jerrad Y, March 2018
If you are looking for a no frills bus to get you to the wall safely and back again, this is your tour. The guide shared a minimal amount of information, so you are free to research it yourself, or just sleep until arrival. If you are looking for a deep history lesson, though, this is not the trip for you.
Review by: NADIA R P, December 2017
Grest to take the toboggan down, easy lit up and great food.
Review by: Massimiliano T, December 2017
Great tour. We got to the Great Wall when basically there was no one else, it felt almost like going back in time. The guide was very sweet, intelligent and there is plenty of time for free exploration. On the way back we stopped at a local restaurant where Chinese families eat on Sundays, very real, terrific food. We were only 4 people and the mini van so we were very comfortable. In the back sit there was a couple so they did not mind to be quite close, but the guide said they normally put an extra person there, which is hard to imagine. So better checking with the tour operator how many people there are booked for the day. if 4 then the best tour ever.
Review by: hally24, November 2017
The Great Wall is a must see the tour got us there early before the crowds which was a big plus, when we came down the wall was very busy. I would have expected everything to be included in the cost paid for the tour but we were required to pay for the chairlift up and toboggan down....none of that was stated when I booked. Whilst not a huge sum I don't really see what we paid for other than transport to the wall and back, some background info on the Wall and the lunch. I think for the price paid there are maybe better options out there.....
Review by: jdrapp, November 2017
A great way to see an amazing section of the Great Wall with a small group of 10 people from around the world. Our guide and driver were extremely helpful and knowledgeable and their advice to take the cable car up to Tower 14 and then walk the wall for an hour mostly downhill to Tower 6 and take the toboggan slide down was excellent. Saw some amazing views and had a lot of fun doing it. Lunch at the local restaurant was delicious and huge with around a dozen different dishes for all to try. We were all stuffed and had great time.
Review by: April P, October 2017
Amazing experience! This was a fun, safe and adventurous experience. The guide was fabulous! The Great Wall was incredible and the guide made the experience wonderful.
Review by: Bilyana A, September 2017
It was an excellent trip - we departed promptly, in a comfortable vehicle and with a lovely group. This part of the wall is truly spectacular and we took amazing photos. _br/_ However, after reading the previous reviews, I expected slightly more from our guide. She was pleasant and eager for us to have a good time, but I don't think we learnt that much. She kept encouraging us to ask questions, as opposed to give us interesting information. She also didn't walk with us on the wall but that may be because two people from the group were really keen to walk by themselves and she might have thought we all want to be alone. I thought we'll move as a group and she'll keep telling us interesting fact._br/_ If you go on the tour, make sure you take the Toboggan slide on the way down - SO MUCH FUN!
Review by: Jonathan M, September 2017
Amazing time with a great small group
Review by: David W, August 2017
William was our tour guide. Met us at our hotel. 1 1/2 hour bus ride to the wall. William started with an introduction to the wall history and the formation. Lots of options when we arrived walk/cable car/toboggan. Excellent experience. Stopped for a great lunch on the way back. Definite recommend.
Review by: James N, August 2017
Great tour. Friendly tour guide who took lots of photos. Arrived early and so avoided most of the crowds and had a few hours to walk the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. The wall itself is amazing with great views. Stopped on the way back to Beijing for some lovely Chinese food. Definitely recommend this tour
Review by: RUSSELL S, March 2017
great tour ... william,our guide, most knowledgable and helpful
Review by: Judy H, March 2017
We LOVED the experience of exploring the wall - and at the Mutianyu location - and the toboggan ride down. Lily, our tour guide was very sweet and answered questions about living in Beijing / China today, that people had on the bus ride from downtown Beijing. However, I had an expectation of hearing about the history and purpose of the Wall from an authentic the people's point of view as we had about 2 hours each way on the bus to learn and absorb such information - I would have loved to hear the possible difference of having chosen this over the few other sites Badaling / Jinshanling etc available to visit - for example why isn't this the favourite spot because it was spectacular!
Review by: Yi-Wei L, March 2017
Great tour! We got there nice and early so there wasn't many people at all! Friendly guide who took great photos for us. Thoroughly recommend for others!
Review by: Monica, January 2017
This wonder of the world really delivered !!! Our guide took us early to avoid the crowds and we literally had the GREAT WALL to ourselves. A must see.
Review by: Leonidas, January 2017
PERFECT!
Review by: Nicole K, January 2017
A fabulous day. So much information about the wall and life in general in Beijing. Our host was lovely. It was a great tour. I highly recommend it
Review by: Leonel N, December 2016
I do not recommend this tour. This was not a tour. This was more like a transportation service. We were picked in time and transported to the Great Wall. During our ride, the tour guide, William, gave us a 5 minute briefer on how the Wall came to be, but nothing that you couldn't pull from the summary section in Wikipedia. Several passengers complained that the bus was extremely cold, but nothing was done to correct the temperature. Upon arriving to the wall, William escorted us to the top and informed us that we had to meet before 12:30 at a designated spot. Upon request, he helped us take a picture, and the wandered off by himself. When we left the wall, William took us out for lunch. The restaurant he picked, was full so we had to leave and go to a grungier restaurant. The food was good, but throughout the lunch William did not engage with the group, since he was in his cellphone the whole time texting. On our ride back, we complained again that the bus was really cold, but again nothing was done. I really feel that the bus we were in just didnt have any heating system. I really do not recommend this tour. I had to pull out my cellphone and read up on the wall to supplement the informational part of the tour.
Review by: Valerie G, December 2016
This is a MUST SEE landmark and I saw it with the marvelous tour guide, Viv, who made it even better! Plus, although my mobility is somewhat limited and I was warned by colleagues not to go on the tour due to the climbing, I was delighted to find a ski lift to take me up to the Wall as well as being able to ride a toboggan down again so fun!. I only had issues walking from the parking lot, but once I made it to the lift it was easy. Granted, I didn't walk that far when I got on the Wall, as there are stairs everywhere, but I had enough time to go slowly and was able to visit a few of the watch towers.
Review by: Cheryl M, November 2016
Very fun! Highlight of trip!!
Review by: BLB, November 2016
We really enjoyed this tour. Our tour guide was friendly and informative, and did a good job looking after a diverse group which included a couple of young fit guys and a lady with mobility issues. We didn't have a lot of time on the wall, as we had to allow for a long queue for the toboggan ride, but it was enough. The lunch at the village was a great - plenty of delicious food in an authentic atmosphere.
Review by: Jessica B, November 2016
AMAZING tour. Highlight of my Beijing experience by far. I was a solo female traveler and worried about finding a safe way to get to the Great Wall -- Urban Adventures is by far the way to go. You are paired with a small group of other travelers, and feel at ease right from the start. Our local guide, Dennis, was knowledgeable, personable, witty and kind. He made every effort to give us the experience we were looking for -- presenting interesting facts about the wall, taking note of the kinds of foods we mentioned liking to order them during the Chinese lunch, and giving us bartering tips and patiently encouraging us to shop as long as we wanted at the bottom of the wall. He even went above and beyond to walk me back to the part of town I was staying in when taxis weren't readily available during rush hour at the end of the tour. If you have any doubts about traveling solo, do this tour!
Review by: Roxana A, November 2016
Fantastic trip. I was lucky enough to be the only one on the tour so it was great value for money. Vivian was a fantastic guide. One thing to note is the meet up point is the Sunworld Hotel, not the Sunworld Dynasty hotel which is 3 doors down the road and bigger.
Review by: Bob C, October 2016
Location was excellent - and not too crowded. Fantastic experience although I would have preferred it if the guide had shared more information about the history of the wall - we were more or less left to walk around it on our own. Hence I could not give it 5 stars sorry
Review by: Thomas H, October 2016
I would highly recommend this tour to anyone. The tour starts early at the pickup point, where we took a minibus to the great wall. During the journey to the wall Vivian our tour guide was sharing stories/information about the history of the wall, Beijing etc which was interesting and certainly helped to pass the time. We arrived at the wall pretty early, before many crowds had arrived. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on how you look at it the weather was relatively poor rain/fog . However this didn't ruin the experience the fog made for some interesting photos and did clear up nicely , but on the plus side it probably did help keep large crowds away so the wall was relatively empty. Vivian walked with us to the wall and helped take pictures of members of the group and show us her favourite view points.
Review by: Larry R, October 2016
The tour to the wall was great, we arrived fairly early which afforded us a small amount of time om the wall without many people which was awesome. We got the chairlift to the top of the mountain and the toboggan down which was a lot of fun although note there is a very small charge for this. The guide was helpful and friendly and the bus driver very safe. The tour meeting point was within a quick walk from a metro station and the tour commenced on time with 11 guests. Chinese lunch was delicious and with a lot of choices. The only negative was the side tour in the way home to a tea house which meant we arrived back to the meeting place nearly 1. Hour after the allotted time. Overall a good tour, would recommend,
Review by: Gary W, October 2016
This was the highlight of our trip to Beijing. We were fortunate enough to have great weather for our trip to the Great Wall, but our tour guide Vivian was simply AWESOME !!! The information she provided was superb, and she was just a joy to be around. Always making the whole group laugh and taking photos of us all. She knew all the best places to get that perfect shot, and we arrived earlier than most people, so it looks as though you have the entire wall to yourselves in the photos....The toboggan ride down was so much fun, and just makes you feel like a big kid...._br/_ Vivian also took us to a fantastic local restaurant which was the best lunch we had in Beijing. Its hard to pick at favourite thing about this tour as it was all spectacular - Highly recommended, and if you are lucky enough to have Viv as your guide, you will have the best day out in Beijing.... Thanks Viv x
Review by: stacey h, September 2016
Must do best tour of the trip, enjoyed every moment, Vivian was awesome, the Great Wall lives up to the hype
Review by: Valerie Yolanda C, September 2016
Vivian was fantastic! She really made our group of 8 have a great, authentic Great Wall trip and lunch was at a local restaurant off the beaten path. We were treated like royalty, with local beer and shots of rice wine! We all shared plates after an early and exhausting day on the Wall. GREAT MEMORIES!!! Highly recommend this tour.
Review by: marco, September 2016
Vivi is a great guide. They are off the beaten track which is great. The restaurant in the village was fantastic. Thanks, guys!
Review by: JF B, September 2016
Amazing trip. Our guide Yvonne was very informative. We were up on the wall by 9am, which was before the crowds. Got some great photos without lots of people. Chair lift up and toboggan ride down was great fun.
Review by: Jun C, September 2016
Highly recommend this tour and the passionate tour guide Vivian. Our tour was on Sunday. They picked us up at 7:00am from hotel lobby and we arrived Great Wall before 9:00am. The 1.5 hour road time was quite enjoyable. The city in the early Sunday morning was tranquil. Vivian gave us a casual talk about Great Wall, Beijing the people and the city etc. By arriving early to a less crowded Great Wall section MUTIANYU, we could avoid the crowd and enjoy the fantasitc view without hassle. The time we spent at Great Wall was about 3.5 hours. We had family style lunch in a villiage and then headed back to Hotel. No time was wasted. Well worth the money!
Review by: Steven L, August 2016
This is a review of Urban Adventures small group tour to the Great Wall at Mutianyu.
Review by: Andrei M, August 2016
Vivian, the guide was very nice. She speak very good English. She explained us all kind of trips and tricks and she even made pictures for us. Arriving one hour before the other tours was very helpful. In some parts we were the only ones on the wall. This trip has NO shopping stops, which is very good. Highly reccomended, even if is a little bit more expensive than other tours. Well worth the money.
Review by: Holly M, August 2016
This was a fantastic tour and highly recommend. Leaving early, we bypassed the Tombs which other tours take you to first, on the way to the wall and headed straight for a less busy part of the wall, It meant that for approximately 15 - 30 minutes, we had the wall virtually to ourselves. It was a surreal experience looking out across the mountains, visiting different sections and taking it all in. Our guide was fantastic! She arranged for our lunch to be outside of the tourist area, to a restaurant in a village. The food was the best I'd had and had the opportunity to get to know some of the school children as the school was next door. It was an amazing day, I could not have asked for better.
Review by: Anne Z, July 2016
Excellent day trip to the Great Wall of China. We were lucky to have a wonderful guide for the two of us and travelled by private car to this wonder of the world. We arrived before the tourist crowds which gave us the opportunity to take many photo's and walk many of the various stages of the wall unimpeded. We experienced the varied steps as part of the cobbled walkway, magnificent views and enjoyed an informative commentary and great interaction all day from our guide. Lunch was delicious in a small town- a perfect finish!
Review by: Vickey M, June 2016
Great to get to wall so early with very little tourists. Probably a bit expensive as the guide only brings you to the wall then you are on your own. Lunch was fantastic.
Review by: Victoria H, June 2016
The early start was hard...however SO Worth it! A 2 hour bus ride, we got to The Great Wall before all the crowds and the heat kicked in. We definately had enough time to see everything.Sofia our guide was great! She also helped with advise on other sights to visit. Wear comfy shoes and sunscreen!
Review by: Kathleen Ann K, June 2016
Was a wonderful experience! The tour lets you go at your own pace as difficult a hike as you want! A Must!
Review by: Heidi S, June 2016
Excellent tour. Great guide with lots of historical detail on the Wall. We arrived early and were able to take great photos of the wall without too many people around. You MUST take the toboggan down!
Review by: manocachaca, June 2016
It was great fun, great execise and amazing local food. Even if you only have one day in Beijing, rather skip other things than seeing this monument, man-made and with a long history._br/_ Thank you to guide Vivienne, she did her best, shot fotos of all groupmembers and provided us with a lot of information.
Review by: Jennifer V, June 2016
This tour departs early, which was great so that their were no crowds and at times we were virtually alone between guard houses or with just one or two other people walking along the wall. Love that the group was small 4 people total, though one person did not show, so really only three people total.
Review by: ralanning, June 2016
Excellent tour. Our guide Vivian was very knowledgeable and engaging. The transportation to the wall was good, the wall itself is a must do if you visit China, and the lunch was one of the best meals we had on our trip. Leaving the city early to beat the crowds is very smart. Very good value on this tour.
Review by: Clena Stein, May 2016
Great trip - great guide!
Review by: Amber B, May 2016
Tour guide was great
Review by: Jodi D, April 2016
Amazing. Great guide and plenty of time to explore the wall. The lunch afterwards was a nice treat and much needed super hungry after hiking the wall for 3 hours! Wear good shoes and be prepared for a little exercise. I highly recommend paying to take the toboggan ride down...so much FUN!
Review by: Vibeke L, April 2016
A great day! The Great Wall is compulsory when in Beijing. The lunch was good. We loved our local guide Kevin who spoke perfect English. He even took us to a silk-market after the tour, which meant that he had to work 2 hours more than required. He booked a restaurant for us in the evening and called in to ensure that we were doing fine. Fantastic service!
Review by: Jenny C, April 2016
The tour was fantastic. We got the the wall early, before other tours got there resulting in us having a nearly empty wall experience for the first portion of the tour. We had flexibility to take time to do what we wanted on the wall and it didn't feel at all rushed.
Review by: dft, March 2016
Walking on the Great Wall is an amazing experience, one that my son and I will never forget. We enjoyed our guide, Kevin, but he and his driver's role were primarily to get us from Beijing to the Great Wall. He provided some interesting commentary on the way, but when we got to the wall, we were really on our own. Walking on the wall is quite challenging physically--not only does it do up and down with the topography, the so-called restored section we were on was extremely tricky to navigate--rough, uneven steps, etc. Take the chair lift up to the wall and the toboggan down--both fun and a little scary, but that added to the experience.
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