Beijing Airport Layover Great Wall Tour

My son and I booked a trip to Japan with a layover in Beijing last spring. We had a 21 hour layover which had us landing a 6 pm in Beijing and leaving the next day at 3 pm. First thing I did was to talk to the airline about a hotel for the night. If you have a long enough layover some airlines will provide a transit hotel at no charge. That gave us a place to stay for the night. 

I booked the Airport Layover Tour with Tony as we had enough time to see The Great Wall before our flight. Tony was right on time (8 am) and drove to The Great Wall.  Along the way we talked about the area and history as well as how the area had transformed lately. At The Great Wall Tony got us on the cable car and rode with us to the wall. Tony also walked with us for a way explaining the history and the view of the valley below. He then let us go ahead on our own and waited there for us to get back. We then took the cable car back down and Tony drove us to the airport. One thing I didn't expect was when we got to the airport Tony didn't just drop us off. He went inside with us and made sure we knew which gate to go to. This was going well above and beyond our expectations. I would highly recommend using Tony next time you are in Beijing.

Kevin Messing Around at the Top

That's Tony in the Middle

If you want to book the tour I would contact Tony directly at beijingairporttransportation@hotmail.com .

My tips for the layover tour:

1. If you have an overnight layover, talk to the airline about a transit hotel.
2. In Beijing you can get a free 72 hour transit visa. Otherwise you can spend over $400.
3. Ask which is the correct line to get the 72 hour visa. It will save you a lot of time.
4. Give yourself at least 5 hours to tour The Great Wall.
5. Book with Tony.