---
title: "Great Wall of China Tours and Tickets: 8 Compared"
date: 2026-10-31
canonical: https://tourgreatwallofchina.com/tours/
---
# Great Wall of China Tours and Tickets

Eight Great Wall of China tours sit on this page, priced from **$11.25 to $649.86**, sorted into four groups: classic sections, private tours, unique experiences, and day trips and layovers. I have ordered them from the most direct way to stand on the wall to the options that pair it with something else, an airport layover or a second Beijing sight, so the group closest to a simple first visit comes first. Each group below names every product in it, states its price and duration, and says who I would send toward it, since the right pick depends more on your schedule and budget than on any single section being objectively best.

## Which classic Great Wall section should you book?
Three tours cover the Great Wall's best-known sections. **Mutianyu Great Wall Tour from Beijing** starts at $11.25 and runs 8 hours, with the round-trip shuttle and entrance ticket already included. **Badaling Great Wall Bullet Train Day Trip** starts at $65.61 for 7 hours and swaps the highway drive for a short ride on China's high-speed rail, with a multi-language audio guide handed over at the station. **Jinshanling Great Wall Hiking Tour** starts at $59.40 for a 9-hour day built around a 3-hour small-group hike with trekking poles included. I would book the Mutianyu shuttle first unless you specifically want Badaling's postcard view or Jinshanling's quieter, wilder trail.

- [Mutianyu Great Wall Tour from Beijing](https://tourgreatwallofchina.com/tours/mutianyu-great-wall-bus-tour/): From 11.25 USD per person (Prices checked 2026-10-31, prices may vary) · 8 hours - 2 days · Best for: Easiest first-time Great Wall visit
- [Badaling Great Wall Bullet Train Day Trip](https://tourgreatwallofchina.com/tours/badaling-great-wall-day-trip/): From 65.61 USD per person (Prices checked 2026-10-31, prices may vary) · 7 hours · Best for: Classic Great Wall view by bullet train
- [Jinshanling Great Wall Hiking Tour](https://tourgreatwallofchina.com/tours/jinshanling-great-wall-hiking-tour/): From 59.4 USD per person (Prices checked 2026-10-31, prices may vary) · 9 hours · Best for: Best hike for serious photographers

## What does a private Great Wall tour add over a shared shuttle?
**Mutianyu Great Wall Private Tour with English Driver** is the only private option on this page, starting at $98 for 6 to 9 hours with hotel pickup and a VIP fast pass that skips the general entrance queue. You choose an English-speaking driver alone or a driver paired with a dedicated guide, and nobody else shares your vehicle or your pace. I would pick this over the shared Mutianyu shuttle if your group includes young kids, older travelers, or anyone who would rather set their own schedule than catch a fixed departure time.

- [Mutianyu Great Wall Private Tour with English Driver](https://tourgreatwallofchina.com/tours/mutianyu-great-wall-private-tour/): From 98 USD per person (Prices checked 2026-10-31, prices may vary) · 6 - 9 hours · Best for: Flexible private pace with your own driver

## Which unique Great Wall experience is worth the splurge?
Two tours go beyond a standard wall visit. **Great Wall Helicopter Tour with Cable Car** starts at $649.86 for 8 hours, covering a 15-minute flight over Mutianyu and the wild Jiankou section plus a cable car ride and an included meal. **Great Wall Sunrise or Sunset Photoshoot** starts at $93.11 for 6.5 to 9 hours, pairing you with a professional photographer for a private golden-hour session with your choice of section. I would only book the helicopter for a genuine splurge occasion, but the photoshoot is an easy addition if photos matter to your trip.

- [Great Wall Helicopter Tour with Cable Car](https://tourgreatwallofchina.com/tours/great-wall-helicopter-tour/): From 649.86 USD per person (Prices checked 2026-10-31, prices may vary) · 8 hours · Best for: Once-in-a-lifetime aerial Great Wall view
- [Great Wall Sunrise or Sunset Photoshoot](https://tourgreatwallofchina.com/tours/great-wall-sunrise-sunset-photoshoot/): From 93.11 USD per person (Prices checked 2026-10-31, prices may vary) · 6.5 - 9 hours · Best for: Professional photos at golden hour

## Which Great Wall day trip pairs with something else?
Two tours leave the wall itself for a second stop or a tighter schedule. **Mutianyu Great Wall Layover Tour** starts at $99 for 5 to 7 hours, built around airport pickup and drop-off for travelers connecting through Beijing with 10 or more hours to spare. **Mutianyu Great Wall and Summer Palace Combo Tour** starts at $89 for 9 hours, pairing the wall with an 80-minute guided walk through the Summer Palace and a farm-restaurant lunch. I would book the combo if the Great Wall is your only full free day in Beijing, and the layover tour only if your connection genuinely clears 10 hours.

- [Mutianyu Great Wall Layover Tour](https://tourgreatwallofchina.com/tours/mutianyu-great-wall-layover-tour/): From 99 USD per person (Prices checked 2026-10-31, prices may vary) · 5 - 7 hours · Best for: Great Wall between flights, door to door
- [Mutianyu Great Wall and Summer Palace Combo Tour](https://tourgreatwallofchina.com/tours/mutianyu-summer-palace-combo-tour/): From 89 USD per person (Prices checked 2026-10-31, prices may vary) · 9 hours · Best for: Great Wall plus Summer Palace in one day

## How do these 8 Great Wall tours compare?
Every price shown here is the lowest adult fare on 2026-10-31, per person unless a listing says otherwise. Duration is the operator's own figure, so an 8-hour day trip means door to door, not time spent on the wall itself. All eight run on a fixed departure or pickup window rather than a multi-day validity pass, so there is no 24-hour or 48-hour ticket to track here, only a date and a time slot you choose at checkout. The table below groups them by category first, then by price, so the cheapest classic-section option and the cheapest unique experience are both easy to spot.

## Who runs these Great Wall of China tours in Beijing?
Four companies turn up for Great Wall of China tour searches around Beijing: two agencies registered in Beijing itself and two overseas-registered tour operators that surface in the same searches. Odynovo Tours leads on Google reviews with 512 at a 4.9 rating, while Jenny's Shanghai Tours holds the top rating at 5 from 205 reviews. The split that matters most is bookability: only Great Wall Tours of Hiking has a GetYourGuide product I can link to directly, the Jinshanling hike. The other three are direct-contact only. I'd start with the matched hike if you want a confirmed price before you fly, and treat the rest as names worth a direct inquiry.

| Operator | Area | What they run | Google rating (2026-10-31) | Book online |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Odynovo Tours](https://www.odynovotours.com/) | Overseas-registered operators found in Beijing searches | Tour operator surfacing under Beijing tour-operator Google searches | 4.9 (512 reviews) | Direct only |
| [Jenny's Shanghai Tours](http://www.jennysshanghaitours.com/) | Overseas-registered operators found in Beijing searches | Tour operator with the highest rating in this list | 5.0 (205 reviews) | Direct only |
| [Beijing Tours](http://www.tour-beijing.com/) | Beijing-registered tour agencies | General Great Wall and Beijing city sightseeing tour agency | 4.6 (29 reviews) | Direct only |
| [Great Wall Tours of Hiking](http://www.greatwalladventure.com/) | Beijing-registered tour agencies | Small-group hiking tours of the Jinshanling Great Wall section | 4.2 (20 reviews) | [Jinshanling Great Wall Hiking Tour](https://tourgreatwallofchina.com/tours/jinshanling-great-wall-hiking-tour/) |

## What does every Great Wall ticket actually include?
Every one of these 8 tours already bundles the Great Wall entrance ticket into its base price, so you are never paying separately at the gate. Transport is where they differ: a shuttle seat, a private vehicle, a helicopter flight or your own trip to the train station, depending on which tour you book. None of them includes the cable car or toboggan ride at Mutianyu, which costs roughly 140 RMB per person and is paid on site regardless of which tour brought you there. Meals, gratuities and any guide upgrade are selected as checkout options on most listings rather than folded into the headline price, so read the inclusions for your exact pick before you pay.

## How do you choose between these 8 Great Wall tours?
Start from how many days you have free in Beijing, not from price. On a single day, book the Mutianyu shuttle or the private tour and treat the wall as the whole outing. With two or more days, the Jinshanling hike or the Badaling bullet train trip earn the extra travel time, since you are not racing back for another sight that afternoon. A layover under 10 hours rules out the airport tour, and a tight budget rules out the helicopter before you compare anything else. Pick the group first, then the specific product, since the four categories split by what kind of day you want more cleanly than any single feature does.

### Cheapest way to the Great Wall
The **Mutianyu Great Wall Tour from Beijing** starts at $11.25 for an 8-hour day with the round-trip shuttle and entrance ticket already included, the lowest price of all 8 tours on this page by a wide margin. I'd book this one first if budget is the deciding factor, since every other option costs at least five times as much.

### Most photogenic Great Wall hike
The **Jinshanling Great Wall Hiking Tour**, from $59.40 for a 9-hour day with a 3-hour small-group hike, is the one I'd send a photographer toward, and it is also the only tour here matched to a specific operator, Great Wall Tours of Hiking. The mix of wild and restored wall and more than 15 watchtowers gives it the most varied light of any section on this page.

### Best for a tight layover
The **Mutianyu Great Wall Layover Tour** starts at $99 for 5 to 7 hours and is built around airport pickup and drop-off, aimed at travelers connecting through Beijing with 10 or more hours to spare. I'd only pick this if your connection genuinely clears that window, since it is the one tour here designed around a flight schedule rather than a full free day.

### Want your own schedule
The **Mutianyu Great Wall Private Tour with English Driver** starts at $98 for 6 to 9 hours with hotel pickup and a VIP fast pass, and nobody else shares your vehicle or your pace. I'd pick this over the shared shuttle if your group includes young kids, older travelers, or anyone who would rather set their own timing than catch a fixed departure.

### Worth the splurge
The **Great Wall Helicopter Tour with Cable Car** starts at $649.86 for 8 hours, the highest price of any tour on this page, covering a 15-minute flight over Mutianyu and Jiankou plus a cable car ride and a meal. I'd only book this for a genuine special occasion, since every other option on this page costs a fraction of the price for a ground-level visit.

### Two Beijing sights in one day
The **Mutianyu Great Wall and Summer Palace Combo Tour** starts at $89 for 9 hours, pairing the wall with an 80-minute guided walk through the Summer Palace and a farm-restaurant lunch. I'd book this if the Great Wall is your only full free day in Beijing and you want a second major sight covered without adding a separate outing.

## The operators, by where they are registered

### Beijing-registered tour agencies

#### Beijing Tours

- What they run: General Great Wall and Beijing city sightseeing tour agency
- Google Maps: Tourist attraction
- Google rating: 4.6 (29 reviews, 2026-10-31)
- China, Beijing, Dongcheng, 广渠门内大街2号 Beijing Tours
- Website: http://www.tour-beijing.com/
- Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/place/?q=place_id:ChIJi0RIDUKt8TURPmb9VB9SFR8

Beijing Tours turned up under a direct search for Great Wall of China tours in Beijing, and its tour-beijing.com site covers the wall alongside general city sightseeing. It holds a 4.6 rating from 29 Google reviews, based in Dongcheng district near the city center rather than out by the wall itself. I'd check their own site directly if you want a locally run, Beijing-registered alternative to the matched listing on this page.

#### Great Wall Tours of Hiking

- What they run: Small-group hiking tours of the Jinshanling Great Wall section
- Google Maps: Tour agency
- Google rating: 4.2 (20 reviews, 2026-10-31)
- 77 Jianguo Rd, 十里堡 Chaoyang, Beijing, China, 100026
- Website: http://www.greatwalladventure.com/
- Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/place/?q=place_id:ChIJKcgsBEes8TURkYMuPvFTO6o

Great Wall Tours of Hiking is the only operator on this list with a GetYourGuide product I can book directly: the **Jinshanling Great Wall Hiking Tour**, from $59.40 for a 9-hour day built around a 3-hour small-group hike. It holds a 4.2 rating from 20 Google reviews, the smallest review count of the four, since hiking tours draw a narrower crowd than a bus shuttle. I'd book through the matched listing rather than contacting them directly, since the price and inclusions are already confirmed.

### Overseas-registered operators found in Beijing searches

#### Odynovo Tours

- What they run: Tour operator surfacing under Beijing tour-operator Google searches
- Google Maps: Tour operator
- Google rating: 4.9 (512 reviews, 2026-10-31)
- Australia, New South Wales, Chatswood, Help St, Odynovo Tours邮政编码: 2067
- Website: https://www.odynovotours.com/
- Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/place/?q=place_id:ChIJCwzqJJ6pEmsRwf-Cadd5jis

Odynovo Tours carries more Google reviews than any operator on this page, 512, with a 4.9 rating, though its address is a Chatswood, Australia office rather than one in Beijing. It appeared specifically when a search for tour operators in Beijing was run on Google Maps, and its own listing gives no further detail on which Great Wall routes it runs. I'd treat this as a well-reviewed overseas booking agency worth a direct inquiry, not a confirmed Great Wall specialist.

#### Jenny's Shanghai Tours

- What they run: Tour operator with the highest rating in this list
- Google Maps: Tour operator
- Google rating: 5.0 (205 reviews, 2026-10-31)
- Website: http://www.jennysshanghaitours.com/
- Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/place/?q=place_id:ChIJm8Q9P4enVogR8cxRUsIx0ZI

Jenny's Shanghai Tours holds the highest Google rating of any operator on this page, 5 from 205 reviews, despite having no listed Beijing address in this data. Like Odynovo, it surfaced under a general Beijing tour-operator search rather than a Great Wall specific one, and its listing gives no detail on routes or formats. I'd only go with this one after confirming by email that they actually run a Great Wall itinerary, since the name points to Shanghai rather than Beijing.

## How we built this list
This list comes from public Google Maps listings captured on 2026-10-31, searched for Great Wall of China tour operators around Beijing. Closed listings and anything under 20 reviews were dropped, then attractions, hotels, ticket offices and off-category or out-of-area businesses were removed, keeping companies that plausibly run or sell Great Wall tours. The remaining operators are ordered by a review-weighted score. The one matched GetYourGuide product was linked by the operator's own name appearing as the GetYourGuide supplier. No operator was contacted directly, and every rating and review count is Google's own figure, not ours.

### Who we left out
Left out: the Great Wall itself and its sections, Mutianyu, Badaling, Juyong Pass, Ancient Great Wall Gubeikou and 箭扣长城, which are attractions, not companies; the Mutianyu Great Wall Scenic Area Ticket Office, the attraction's own gate rather than a tour operator; Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Forbidden City and Wangfujing Pedestrian Street, unrelated Beijing landmarks; Home of the Great Wall, a hotel; Hutong Tour, which runs Beijing hutong walks rather than Great Wall trips; and Viajes Gran China, a Madrid travel agency with no Beijing presence in this data.

## How does booking one of these Great Wall tours work?
Every listing on this page completes on GetYourGuide, which resells these operators' tours, and this site earns a commission when you book through it. You pick a date and, on most listings, a time slot, pay on GetYourGuide's checkout, and receive a mobile ticket or voucher that your guide or driver confirms on the day. Several products, including the Badaling bullet train trip, ask for passport details in advance under China's real-name booking rules, so submit them as soon as the operator asks rather than waiting. Cancellation terms are shown before you pay and vary by listing, so check the exact window for your chosen tour rather than assuming every product allows the same free cancellation period.

## FAQs
### Do I need to submit my passport before booking any of these Great Wall tours?
Only for the Badaling bullet train trip, which requires clear passport photos under China's real-name train ticket system, sent at least 8 days before travel since tickets go on sale 15 days out. None of the other seven tours ask for advance passport submission, though several recommend carrying a passport or ID on the day itself for identification.

### Is there a minimum group size for any Great Wall tour here?
Yes, the Mutianyu and Summer Palace combo tour needs at least 3 travelers to run. If that minimum is not met, the operator notifies you at least 2 days ahead and issues a full refund rather than rescheduling. None of the other seven tours carry a published minimum group size.

### How quickly do I get my photos from the Great Wall sunrise or sunset photoshoot?
All high-resolution original photos arrive by Google Drive within 3 days of your shoot. You then pick your 30 favorite frames, and fully retouched master versions follow within 7 days, so the whole process wraps up in about a week and a half.

### What happens if the Great Wall helicopter flight is cancelled for weather?
Helicopter operations depend on weather and air traffic clearance, so a flight can be delayed or cancelled on short notice. Confirm the operator's rescheduling or refund policy for your specific dates when you book, since this is the one tour on this page where the aerial portion itself is not guaranteed to run.

### Is there a toilet along the Jinshanling Great Wall hiking route?
No. Toilets exist only at the Simatai West and Jinshanling entrances, not along the 3-hour trail itself, so plan your breaks at either end before you set out. This is the only hiking route in this comparison without facilities partway, since the paved sections at Mutianyu and Badaling sit closer to visitor centers.

### Which tours include a multi-language guide or audio device?
The Badaling bullet train trip hands you an audio guide in Chinese or English. The Mutianyu shuttle tour offers a guide in English, Spanish or Russian depending on the option chosen at checkout, and the Mutianyu private tour and Summer Palace combo both offer a Spanish-speaking guide alongside the standard English one.

### Do any of these Great Wall tours skip the entrance queue?
Yes. The Mutianyu private tour and the Mutianyu and Summer Palace combo tour both include a VIP fast pass that skips the general entrance line, which matters most on weekends and Chinese public holidays when the regular queue runs long. The shuttle, hiking and bullet train tours do not carry this pass.

### Is the cable car or toboggan ride included in any ticket price?
No. Every Mutianyu-based tour on this page, the shuttle, private, layover and combo options, treats the cable car and toboggan as a paid add-on costing roughly 140 RMB per person, settled on site rather than at checkout. Only the helicopter tour bundles a cable car or chairlift ticket into its base price.