Can I see the Great Wall on a ten hour layover in Beijing?

[stevenaive]

Would really appreciate info on how best to do this, what traps to avoid, how much to pay and how to be safely be there in 24 hours so any insight welcome. I’ll have a laptop as hand luggage but nothing else

Transiting between London and Sydney

 

[jase05]

Would really appreciate info on how best to do this, what traps to avoid, how much to pay and how to be safely be there in 24 hours so any insight welcome. I’ll have a laptop as hand luggage but nothing else

Transiting between London and Sydney

Check out Viator.
There will be literally hundreds of tour options from the airport that offer packages. Minimum would probably be 5 hours if everything goes smoothly but I’d allow up to 8 hours
Prices will most likely vary greatly so check for inclusions or of it is group or private travel.

 

[bPeteb]

So many companies offer trips to the GW airport round trip. There are parts of the wall very close to the city.

Although we used them for a tour to a part of the wall far out of the city, we used Beijing Tour: Beijing Tours, Beijing China Tours - Tour-Beijing.Com and would have no hesitation recommending them. This was not an airport round trip though.

 

[goldenhorn]

I used Viator and it was great. We went to a part of the wall that was quite rugged and challenging hiking, but hardly any tourists. The memory of a lifetime!

One caveat, the trip back to the city took double what it took to get to the wall. The traffic was just diabolical and we were stuck in gridlock traffic on the freeway for a LONG time (2+ hours from memory), so you'll want to account for the return trip.

 

[cqtiger]

A personal private tour while expensive could do it easily

 

[bPeteb]

A personal private tour while expensive could do it easily

Agree, it's what we did with Tour Beijing, but I think they did/do offer group tours as well.

 

[moa999]

You can also now take the train to Badaling..
Here's a report on a much shorter layover

How to Visit Badaling Great Wall of China by Train « China Travel Tips – Tour-Beijing.com

 

[kiwitripper64]

When we were there there was a large number of immigration entry gates for Chinese and 2 gates open for foreign travelers. So there was a bit of delay getting into China ( think a bit longer than LAX). Then getting back into the departure area through security was an open scrum, no lines, just a convergence to 3 slow detectors. Lots of people complaining that they were going to miss their flights, but none of the staff did anything to help.
It may have sped up in last year, but we spent an hour getting through the security line at mid afternoon.

 

[Mattg]

I had exactly the same question, so am appreciating the responses to this thread!

I have a 10 hour layover in PEK coming up, then a ~21 hour layover from 5am until 2am on the return leg. Not sure if it's best to just check into a hotel for that longer layover or what tours might be worth doing. I've already been to the Great Wall once and seen the major tourist sights in Beijing.

 

[jase05]

You can also now take the train to Badaling..
Here's a report on a much shorter layover

How to Visit Badaling Great Wall of China by Train « China Travel Tips – Tour-Beijing.com

The second time we visited Badaling we took the train, the journey up was fine but for the journey back we got to the train station early and were advised that the train wouldn’t be departing and that the next one was over 90 minutes away. For some reason the train also took much longer to go back also. We weren’t on a time limit that day though so it was all ok. On a tight schedule I’d pay the extra to get a private car personally

 

[stevenaive]

Many thanks for all these replies!

I’m crawling through immigration right now and reluctantly will save this plan for next time. Reason: sun sets in less than two hours

So, are there any must-see sights in the city?

I have a flight departing this upcoming 1am so need to leave the city for the airport at what time?

Thanks again....

 

[moa999]

Ah.. didn't realise it was evening..
If they let you out of the airport (they may not on a short layover) head into Tiananmen Sq

Top 10 Things to Do at Night in Beijing « China Travel Tips – Tour-Beijing.com

 

[stevenaive]

They did.... on my way there now thanks

 

[laffer]

Leave plenty of time for traffic.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Yeah - the big unknown for 'short' transits (less than 12 hours) is whether they will allow you into China under the transit without visa (TWOV) program. Even stays longer than 12 hours can be problematic if you are arriving very early in the morning.

Prior entry is no guarantee of future entry.