---
title: "Mutianyu Great Wall and Summer Palace Combo Tour"
date: 2026-10-31
canonical: https://tourgreatwallofchina.com/tours/mutianyu-summer-palace-combo-tour/
---
# Mutianyu Great Wall and Summer Palace Combo Tour

- Ticket price: From 89 USD per person (Prices checked 2026-10-31, prices may vary)
- Duration: 9 hours
- Best for: Great Wall plus Summer Palace in one day
- Day trips & layovers
- Check availability: https://www.getyourguide.com/beijing-l186/beijing-mutianyu-great-wall-summer-palace-small-group-tour-t1212034/?partner_id=D7H7I6M&utm_medium=online_publisher&cmp=tourgreatwallofchina_com_all_agent_markdown (GetYourGuide · This site contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission when you book through our links, at no extra cost to you.)

- ★ Mutianyu Great Wall and the Summer Palace covered in a single day
- ★ VIP fast-track pass skips the public shuttle bus queue at Mutianyu
- ★ Home-style lunch at a local farm restaurant included
- ★ 80-minute guided walk through the Summer Palace's imperial gardens
- ★ Rated 4.84 out of 5 from 57 travelers

## Our take
This is the tour I'd book if you only have one full day free in Beijing and want to see two very different sides of the city's history: the Great Wall in the morning, then an imperial garden in the afternoon. The VIP fast-track pass and included lunch are genuinely useful touches for a group tour at this price. The one thing to know going in is that this needs a minimum of 3 travelers to run, and the operator will cancel with a guaranteed refund if that minimum isn't met, so it's worth booking with some flexibility in your schedule.

The **Mutianyu Great Wall and Summer Palace combo tour** packs two of Beijing's biggest sights into a single small-group day: a fast-tracked morning at one of the Great Wall's best-preserved sections, followed by a guided afternoon walk through the Summer Palace, China's best-preserved imperial garden. A home-style lunch at a local farm restaurant sits between the two, so you're not scrambling to find food on your own between stops.

## What makes the Mutianyu Great Wall and Summer Palace combo tour special?

Most visitors treat the wall and the Summer Palace as two separate trips, which means two separate mornings lost to driving time. This tour's whole point is combining them into one day without feeling rushed: a VIP fast-track pass gets your small group past the public shuttle bus queue at Mutianyu, buying back time that goes straight into your visit instead of standing in line. The lunch stop at a local farm restaurant, serving home-style chicken and seasonal vegetables, is a small but genuinely nice touch that a lot of combo tours skip in favor of a generic buffet.

## What should I expect on the Mutianyu Great Wall and Summer Palace combo tour?

The day starts with hotel pickup for hotels inside Beijing's 2nd ring road, with your exact pickup time confirmed the day before by message or WhatsApp. At Mutianyu, you get about 2 hours on the wall, with an optional round-trip cable car or toboggan ride available to add at checkout. After lunch, the afternoon shifts entirely to the Summer Palace, where your guide leads an 80-minute walk covering the garden's history and legends. Between May and roughly September, you can also add an optional boat cruise across the lake for a different angle on the palace grounds. Note that this tour needs a minimum of 3 travelers to operate; if that number isn't met, you'll be notified at least 2 days ahead with a guaranteed full refund.

## Who should book the Mutianyu Great Wall and Summer Palace combo tour?

This suits travelers with one full day to give Beijing's two biggest sights and who'd rather not spend a second day on logistics for the Summer Palace alone. It's a good fit for small groups and couples comfortable with a tour that caps out around 9 travelers, and for anyone who wants a guide's context on both the wall and the palace rather than visiting either one solo. If you only want the wall and would rather skip the Summer Palace, our [Mutianyu Great Wall shuttle tour](https://tourgreatwallofchina.com/tours/mutianyu-great-wall-bus-tour/) or [Mutianyu private tour](https://tourgreatwallofchina.com/tours/mutianyu-great-wall-private-tour/) are simpler, more focused options.

## Prices and what's included

Prices start from **$89** per person, covering a licensed English-speaking guide and air-conditioned vehicle, hotel pickup and drop-off for hotels inside the 2nd ring road, entrance fees to both Mutianyu Great Wall and the Summer Palace, lunch at the farm restaurant, and bottled water. The Imperial Ferry Boat ride at the Summer Palace, gratuities, and other beverages are not included and can be added or purchased separately. A Spanish-speaking guide option is also available if that suits your group better than English.

## Getting there

Pickup is included directly from your hotel, as long as it's inside Beijing's 2nd ring road; hotels outside that zone should confirm pickup arrangements with the operator before booking. Comfortable shoes are the main thing to bring, since the day covers walking at both the wall and the palace grounds. Children under 1.2 meters tall don't need a separate ticket for the ski-lift or toboggan if your group adds that option at Mutianyu.

## Insider tips

Book with some flexibility in your schedule, since this small-group tour needs at least 3 travelers to run and will be cancelled with a full refund, not rescheduled, if that minimum isn't reached. If you're visiting in summer, the optional lake cruise at the Summer Palace is worth the extra cost for a genuinely different view of the grounds than you get walking the shoreline. The toboggan slide down from Mutianyu can be closed by weather or long lines on busy days, so don't count on it as your only plan for the descent; the cable car or ski-lift is always the reliable backup.

## How does this compare to other Great Wall tours from Beijing?

If you'd rather focus on just the wall without the Summer Palace add-on, see our [Mutianyu Great Wall shuttle tour](https://tourgreatwallofchina.com/tours/mutianyu-great-wall-bus-tour/) for a budget option or our [Mutianyu private tour](https://tourgreatwallofchina.com/tours/mutianyu-great-wall-private-tour/) for a flexible private schedule. If you want the wall's most classic view instead of Mutianyu, our [Badaling Great Wall bullet train day trip](https://tourgreatwallofchina.com/tours/badaling-great-wall-day-trip/) is the better-known section, and photographers chasing golden-hour shots should see our [Great Wall sunrise and sunset photoshoot](https://tourgreatwallofchina.com/tours/great-wall-sunrise-sunset-photoshoot/). For more on the wall's history, the [Great Wall of China's own Wikipedia entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Wall_of_China) is a useful read before you go.

## What's included
- ✓ Licensed English-speaking tour guide and air-conditioned vehicle
- ✓ Hotel pickup and drop-off, for hotels inside Beijing's 2nd ring road
- ✓ Entrance fees to Mutianyu Great Wall
- ✓ Entrance fees to the Summer Palace
- ✓ Lunch at a local farm restaurant
- ✓ Bottled water
- ✗ Imperial Ferry Boat ticket at the Summer Palace
- ✗ Gratuities
- ✗ Other beverages

## Route and itinerary
1. **Pickup from your Beijing hotel**: Hotel pickup is included for hotels inside the 2nd ring road. The exact pickup time is confirmed the day before by message or WhatsApp, since this small-group tour needs at least 3 travelers to run.
2. **Fast-track entry at Mutianyu Great Wall**: A VIP pass skips the public shuttle bus queue, getting your group onto the wall faster than most independent visitors manage.
3. **Explore the wall for about 2 hours**: Walk the ramparts and watchtowers with your guide, with an optional round-trip cable car or a toboggan ride down if you want to save your legs or add some fun to the descent.
4. **Lunch at a local farm restaurant**: Expect home-style chicken and seasonal vegetables rather than a generic tourist buffet. This is included in the base price, not an add-on.
5. **Guided tour of the Summer Palace**: An 80-minute guided walk through Beijing's best-preserved imperial garden covers the history and legends behind the grounds. In summer, an optional boat cruise on the lake adds a different view of the palace.
6. **Optional lake cruise, summer only**: The Imperial Ferry Boat ride is not included in the base price but is worth adding if you're visiting between the warmer months when it runs.
7. **Return transfer to your hotel**: Your guide or driver drops you back at your hotel, or helps arrange a taxi if that's easier for your specific location.

## FAQs
### Can I visit both the Great Wall and the Summer Palace in one day?
Yes. This tour is built specifically around that combination, spending the morning at Mutianyu Great Wall and the afternoon at the Summer Palace with a lunch stop in between.

### Is there a minimum group size for this tour?
Yes, a minimum of 3 travelers is required to operate. If that number isn't met, you'll be notified at least 2 days ahead and receive a guaranteed full refund.

### Is the boat ride at the Summer Palace included?
No. The Imperial Ferry Boat ride, available during the warmer months, is an optional add-on and not part of the base tour price.

### Is lunch included on this combo tour?
Yes. A lunch at a local farm restaurant near Mutianyu Great Wall, featuring home-style chicken and seasonal vegetables, is included in the base price.

### Is a Spanish-speaking guide available?
Yes, a Spanish tour guide option is available in addition to the standard English-speaking guide.

### How many people are on this tour?
This runs as a small-group tour with a maximum of around 9 travelers, which keeps the pace more personal than a large coach tour.