The tour was great and we had a fantastic day. Our tour guide was Jerry, a very enthusiatic guide with excellent attitude. We were picked up at 8.45AM, went on to pick others from different hotels to eventually leave towards Great Wall around 10AM. We 'had' to make a few stops along the way before we reached the Wall at around 2.30pm. All in all it was very good, comfortable trip. I recommend it. Besides our group had a good representation from different countries (Lithuania, Mexico, Turkey and India), which made it even more memorable. One thing to note though, due to the number of stops (usually to places where they sell high priced jade, handicrafts etc) plan for the whole day and expect to be only back at your hotel around 7pm...
The tour is great. Good time arrangement, nice tourist guide. THe shopping places are also interesting to me. I can also met lovely friends from Italy Room for improvement: the food should be better..
why only two stars?: - we were visiting the Great Wall on 2.5. which was state holiday (Labor day) and the traffic was terribly jammed, but on the web pages you find no warning - because of the traffic, we were not able to get to Badaling, we got only to Ju Yong Guan and got only one hour for climbing the wall - the guide was very informative, he tried to get us at least to some part of the wall - the traffic was so bad, that we had to go on foot several kilometers on the highway to get to the wall..
My mother and I had booked a group tour the night before the date we wanted to leave, and after receiving confirmation of our booking via telephone, we waited for our GROUP tour at 8am the next morning. We were very pleased to find out, as we were the only ones who booked the GROUP tour for that day (being end of November and extremely cold most likely), we instead had a PRIVATE tour for the price of the group one. Unfortunately, our tour guide ruined our excitement by repeating numerous times \"how lucky we are to get a private tour worth 1600RMB for only 160RMB\" and how she is \"losing money\". She explained it was a group tour requirement to bring us to 2 government-sponsored locations (i. to see the jade factory ii. to a ceramics factory) but at the end of the day when we finished seeing the Great Wall and Ming Tombs early, she insisted she also had to bring us to a Tea House. We soon realized she was dragging us to these locations to make small commissions off us, and we were not pleased! Exhausted and cold from the long day, even when we told her we didn\'t want to go, she kept insisting how she was \'losing money\'. All we could think was we would\'ve preferred not getting the private tour and China Tour telling us they couldn\'t accommodate our booking, than enduring a full day in a car with a lady who wouldn\'t stop talking about money. As a recommendation to China Tour: please ensure if you do take on a booking for less money than its worth, do NOT talk endlessly about how lucky we are, how kind you are, and how much money you are losing. This all takes AWAY from the \'kind act\' and leaves a general bad impression. That being said, on the plus sides, our tour guide spoke English well and was generally a nice woman. Also the lunch provided was by far too much for 2 people and gave us a great selection of foods we may not have tried otherwise. Downsides were that she wasn\'t adequately dressed for the harsh weather (extremely cold) and so we felt guilty dragging her to the Great Wall and let her stay in the car. When she toured us around the Ming Tombs we could see she was shivering and extremely cold, and this made us uncomfortable. Also, at the end of the trip she mentioned how our driver was very kind and we should give him a tip because this trip was LOSING MONEY. This is something a customer decides on their own, and we had in any case planned to give a tip, but requesting one puts a big tint on the gesture and had it not been for us getting a private tour over a group one, we would have most likely been dissuaded from giving any tip at all after she mentioned we should give one. All in all, the great wall is probably one of the most amazing sights I can recount from my trip to China, and no annoying chitter chatter about money could ruin that. So for USD24, this ultimately is a good deal. Just make sure you bring an MP3 player and soom noise-cancelling headphones... just in case ;)..
The tour was great and we had a fantastic day. We were collected from our hotel at about 7.30 am and returned there at about 7.30 pm! We visited not only the wall (where we had plenty of time to walk the whole section) we also visited the Ming Tombs and several shopping outlets. Our guide was very informative, funny and responsive to our needs and requests, with an excellent balance between sightseeing and shopping. It was a definite highlight of my trip to China...
The tour was great. We were collected from our hotel and we visited the Badaling Great Wall section and the Ming Tombs. Time was sufficient to see the Great wall but felt a little rushed going through the Ming Tombs. As expected, we were also taken to several shops. All the shops are overpriced but you don\'t have to buy anything. Our included chinese style lunch was not good as i expected. All 5 people at our table left hungry. We also heard a lady complaining at the next table. For the most part, our guide was very nice and spoke English well. The Great Wall was a definite highlight of our trip. This tour is definitely worth it if you are on a budget but if you are not, do the more expensive one with less stops. You get what you pay for. *Side note: Many people may not be aware of this, but tipping is recommended for tour guides even though the rest of China may not practice this. It is appropriate to give the tour guide & driver 1-10 US dollars per day per person if you find them satisfactory. It was nice that our tour guide did not ask or demand tip but most people did not know so the only group that tipped was us...
great tour....is perfect for people that doesnt have to much time in beijing....i have only 2 days in this city and i decided to take this tour wich i think was great and worth it for the price ....i guess the only think that i didnt like is that the shopping market...
This is a review for the Great Wall/Summer Palace Tour. Since I don\'t see that option available, I\'m posting my review here. Guide was late in picking me up but that is because of the torrential rain. I commend her and the driver for that. Spent at least an hour and a half at the Wall which was perfect for me. But I wish I could have spent a little more time at the Summer Palace. I thought it was strange that the guide asked for a 40 yuan tip -- 20 for her and 20 for the driver. I\'ve been in China long enough to know that tipping is not a common practice...
I am very pleased with the tour to Great Wall and Ming Tombs. We were picked up at the hotel att 7 o´cklock and returned at 15. The guide was good and informative...
The trip was excellent. I had 1 day tour of china wall and ming tomb... Oh God, He was HUGE MAN EH!? pretty FAT! hehe Well our tour guide was soooooo nice... and knew everything man! :D I forgot her name tho :s! bad me! Well yeh thts abt it... on time, good guide and everything else was good as well :D take it!!! Oh yeh the best part, My friends they took the same tour from different company for 300 when i paid only 160! :) adios peepz..
I first want to say that we did the private car, driver and tour guide. The car was new and very clean. The driver was smart and made sure he opened your door coming and going. Had cold towles and water ready for your return to the car. Our tour guide was so sweet and her English was as good as ours. Pick-up at the Crown Plaza in Beijing was on time. Peter has problems in walking (will get hip replacement in 2 weeks) and the care and attention they gave him was beautiful.We did the Great Wall from Badaling which is the closest section of the wall to Beijing. About 40 miles. Once your on The Wall, the views are spectacular.The wall is exposed to the elements so bring sun cream and lots of water. You may want also and bring a jacket. The Ming Tombs is the resting place for 13 of the 16 Ming-dynasty emperors. The Ming Tombs are most conveniently seen as part of a trip to the Great Wall at Badaling. I (Leslie Swiger) have not been to China since 65 and I must say I am VERY much impressed. Peter and I plan a return trip and will be using ChinaTour.Net again. We have just returned home from 46 days in China and do not have all my things unpacked. Only wish I could remember the tour guides names. I have it somewhere for sure. We are in our late 60 and middle 70's and the tour guide and driver could not do enough for us. I will give them both five stars for service well done. Leslie Swiger..
We joined the bus tour, our guide sought to be helpful and was informative but became confused by some questions (possible language barrier). More time should have been spent at the sights. For example we were rushed around the Ming Tombs and then taken to the Jade \"Museum\" (factory) then lunch for 1 1/2 hours and later stopped at a tea house. We had plenty of time at the Great Wall although were only given the steep option. This was fine for most people, but some of the older ones struggled. Bearing the slant towards visiting shops this was still a good tour...
The tour was great and we had a fantastic time. The price was definatly worth it. We were picked up from the hotel at 7.00am and droped off late afternoon. Definatly recommend this tour...
The coach tour was on the whole well organised and enjoyable. We were collected from our hotel at about 7.30 am and on the way back got dropped off on request, on route to one of the olympic venues - we appreciated this flexibility. We visited the wall (Badaling section) and also the Ming Tombs. Although we had sufficient time to do both, we felt there were unnecessary stops to shopping outlets (jade, silk) and we would have much preferred spending more time at the tourist spots. Our guide was very informative and responsive to our needs and requests and the tour was reasonably priced. The air conditioned bus was also a plus point...
The tour was nice. Our guide (Mr. Valon) met us at the hotel and waited patiently for all of our members. He was very knowledgeable about the tombs. We were not interested in the multiple shops and sales pitches that were offered throughout the day, as our time was limited. The Great Wall was enjoyable, although the smog did take away from the view. We had an air-conditioned bus and were brought back to our hotel in a timely manner. It was also a reasonable value...
We recently visited Beijing and used ChinaTour.net for three separate day tours. Day 1 we visited The Great Wall and the Ming Tombs, day 2 we visited the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace and on day 3 we went to the Lama Temple, the Panda Zoo and the Hutong. All three day tours were wonderful. Our guides were pleasant and informative with excellent English skills. The meals provided were exceptional and transportation with comfortable and prompt. We certainly got value for our money with this tour operation. I was a bit apprehensive when I finalized the booking before we left home because the price was considerably lower then the other online sites offering guided tours. ChinaTour.net was awesome we are completely satisfied customers. Dan and Michelle Balan (Ontario Canada)...
The tour was great and we had a fantastic day. We were collected from our hotel at about 8.30 am and requested them to drop at shopping place on the way to hotel at about 6:00pm! We visited not only the wall (where we had plenty of time to walk the whole section) we also visited the Ming Tombs and several shopping outlets. Our guide(Sophia) was very informative, very responsive to our needs and requests, with an excellent balance between sightseeing and shopping. It was a definite highlight of this tour. I would recommend this to any one I know. Very good package. Very good guide...
We like 1 Day Tour: Great Wall, Ming Tombs because our guide was friendly and informative, and the tour was wonderful. Only one thing - i wish it were a little warmer on the bus, but i flew directly over from sunny australia to freezing beijing so maybe i just need to toughen up. I reccommend this tour, its good value for money...
For the coach tour arrangement, I contacted the company to make my own collection arrangements. Value for money Tour guide Justin was vey helpful and had a good knowledge of the site visits The cable car was a joke, we thought we were at the funfare riding a sledge, we had been given to understand that we could pay the extra charge for a cable car.When I questioned where the cable was I was informed that this was not on the tour i had booked, maybe misunderstood by the guide. The lunch was good with plenty of good food The factory and tea house visit were ok with no sales pressure. Overall we had a good day Mike.Polly and Mark Preston UK..
Hello The tour to the great wall was outstanding. Service was good. People were friendly. Excellent value overall. I would highly recommend this...
The tour was great. I booked it online from Australia. When we arrived Beijing, people told me that some of those tours were rip-offs, which worried me a bit. But the tour organisation proved their competency by picking up at the right place and at the right time, the guide's fluent English (I can speak Chinese but my hubbie speaks English.) and her sense of humour. The group was small enough so no one felt being left out. We were given sufficient time during the Great Wall tour, whcih was full of joy; lunch was very good; even the factory-tour was pleasant, which was un-usual. We're planning to go back to China in the soon future. This time we'll go to the southwest China, and we intend to book tours from this organisation too...
I really enjoyed the One day tour to the Great Wall and Ming Tomb.The Tour guide was very informative ,as he shared lot of valuable informations all through the day.Since it was an International team ,we didn't face any problem with Language.we were taken to Ming Tomb first, and then to the Great Wall.The Tour guide picked me at 7AM and dropped me back at 6PM.I paid around 160 RMB for the tour and another 60 RMB for the Cable Car.Overall it was a great experience and i had a nice time...
I enjoyed the tour very much. The guide was informative and had a great sense of humour. We had a very international group and had a great time together. Even if you are travelling just by yourself, I can recommend this tour..
