Beijing

What type of tours are you interested in?

I want to see the main Attractions of Beijing and maybe more than one Great Wall location. I am interested in day tours and perhaps one overnight. I would like to see another town or attractive places in the country but not far from Beijing. Perhaps a train or bus trip of 2 hours or less. I like history, nature, spirituality, religion, culture.

Greyline Beijing does tours of the city and the Great Wall. You can have your hotel arrange it when you arrive. But it's very easy to see the city's top sites on your own. All the top attractions apart from the Summer Palace are well connected by the subway system. The subway maps and stops are signed and labeled in western script, and the tourist sites are well marked on the system map. Traffic can be horrendous, so in some way its faster than a bus tour or taxi. For an out of town trip, an obvious choice would be Xian and the Terra Cotta Statues. There is an overnight train, but also lots of flights are available. You can easily book your flight and hotel (I liked the Sofitel Hotel) via the web and arrange a tour when you arrive.

Is Beijing in Europe now?

Thank you, Jeff. I was thinking the same thing.

No, Beijing is the capital of the People's Republic of China, located on continent of Asia. Also, coming soon to a cinema near you is a Chinese remake of the French story Dangerous Liaisons set in Shanghai: http://youtu.be/Cvr0SoL7Au4

Some people actually know a little about more than one continent.

Some people actually know the appropriate places on the innernets to share and discuss their knowledge on specific subjects.

Suz, I'm sorry that some bad guy has broken into your house and forced you to read this topic at gunpoint. Hopefully the Denver SWAT team will arrive soon to rescue you;)

"Some people actually know a little about more than one continent." I don't know, I was just on http://www.chinatravel.net asking about European travel and they didn't seem to know much at all.

John, the Frommer forums have a board dedicated to Asia and I got help with questions about China there.

I KNOW that Beijing is not in Europe and if there is another place for this string, let me know. I thought seasoned travelers like you could help me out even though Beijing is not in Europe. Thank You for your suggestions, those of you who decided to help me out anyway.

Some of us could have helped you had your question been a little different. We're not all buttheads, it's just that some of us wander on our own instead of taking tours.

John, I can swear by Asiatravel. My sister and I have been using it as our tour provider for 3 years now. We've tried doing Asian tours on our own (we were 17 and 19 then) but got frustrated because of the language barrier and the time it took us to navigate the cities using travel guides and maps. SO we've been booking tours, airport transfers and hotels with Asiatravel since then. We went to Beijing, Shanghai and Xi'an January 2011. As I remember, we took three full-day tours with them plus 2 evening tours to see a Chinese acrobatic show and a Kung Fu show. The tours took us to the Ming Tombs, Panda Zoo, Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Badaling and Mutianyu sections of the Great Wall, a couple of temples and the Bird's Nest (Olympic Stadium). The English-speaking tour guide picks you up at your hotel and drops you off after the tour. Most often it seems like a private tour because the tour commences even when there are only two passengers and you have the coaster to yourselves. Our most recent booking with them was August 2012 in Singapore. Still efficient. Never had a problem with them.

Angela. Finally some one answered my simple question. I really do count on RS folks to help even if its to places other than Europe. You got it! Thanks.

John, When I was in Beijing (Jan 2009) the going rate for a guide was 500 yuan/day + expenses. Except for the Forbidden City, the guide got in for free everywhere and she took me to very inexpensive places for lunch, so expenses were really minimal. The day we went to the Great Wall, lunch in a nice restaurant for guide, taxi driver and me was about $10. That was low season and almost 4 years ago, but still worth looking into. The guide that was highly recommended to me was busy, so he arranged for one of his colleagues to tour with me. She was excellent. If you want their contact info, send me a PM.