Private Beijing Transfer: Simatai Great Wall and Gubei Water Town
Description
Ideal for a day trip to Simatai Great Wall and Gubei Water Town, we offer 2 tailored packages to match your needs, with vehicles sized to your group number: Private Transfer Only: Choose any departure time (14:00 or later is recommended for Gubei Water Town’s stunning night views). Enjoy door-to-door service from your Beijing hotel in an air-conditioned private car; explore at your own pace, then return to your hotel comfortably. Private Transfer + Guided Tour: Enjoy all transfer perks plus a knowledgeable guide who will accompany you and share vivid historical stories of the two spots. All entrance fees (Simatai Great Wall, Gubei Water Town, and Great Wall round-trip cable car) are included—no extra costs! Simatai Great Wall is a UNESCO-listed, well-preserved Ming Dynasty section with dramatic cliffside watchtowers and unspoiled scenery, while Gubei Water Town charms with traditional northern Chinese architecture, tranquil lakes, and enchanting night lights.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We offer two tailored packages for your trip—pick the one that fits your needs best—with flexible departure times from morning till evening; we recommend setting off after 14:00 if you wish to catch the stunning night views of Simatai Great Wall and Gubei Water Town. Both packages include all entrance tickets for Simatai Great Wall and Gubei Water Town, plus round-trip cable car fares for the Great Wall, and we will arrange vehicles ranging from 5-seater cars to 55-seater coaches based on your group size. Your driver (or driver plus guide for the guided package) will meet you at the lobby of your downtown Beijing hotel at the prearranged time, with an extra fee applying if pick-up is from the airport. Then you can hop aboard your air-conditioned private vehicle and enjoy a relaxing 2-hour ride to Gubei Water Town, where you can take a nap, gaze at the countryside scenery along the way, or grab complimentary mineral water and light snacks provided on board.
Upon arrival, your driver will assist you with collecting all the included tickets, then show you the designated waiting area in the parking lot where he will stay for your return. For the transfer-only package, you can start your self-guided adventure at Simatai Great Wall and Gubei Water Town at your own pace; for the transfer + guide package, your knowledgeable guide will accompany you into both attractions, leading you to the best photo spots and sharing fascinating stories about the sites’ history and culture. After your exploration, meet your driver at the agreed spot and enjoy a smooth ride back to your Beijing hotel. Please note that our drivers may not speak English, but they are equipped with multilingual translators to ensure hassle-free communication.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Your driver will hold your name sign waiting in the lobby of your hotel, if your hotel is out of the 5th ring road of Beijing city, will have extra cost
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- The Great Wall cable car service may be suspended at any time due to adverse weather conditions. If the cable car stops operating during your tour, we will fully refund the cable car ticket fee.
- Please select your departure time according to your travel needs. We recommend departing after 14:00 if you wish to enjoy the night view of Gubei Water Town. Please note that daytime and nighttime Great Wall tickets are separate and non-interchangeable—you cannot access both the daytime and nighttime sections with a single ticket.
- The standard duration of our service is 8–9 hours. For any time exceeding 9 hours, an overtime fee of USD 15 per hour is required for the driver alone. If you have booked the package with a guide, the overtime fee will be USD 30 per hour (USD 15 for the driver and USD 15 for the guide).
Reviews(42)
Tony was a good tour guide as he taught us about the history of the wall as well as a little about the zodiac on our car ride north. As we arrived he took care of our tickets and walked us into the watertown. He made sure to give us plenty of time to take it all in, being patient with our pace up to the wall as well as down it, and we had many laughs along the way. He picked a good spot for us to sit and wait for the lights to come on which is a must see. Once you are back in the watertown we saw a bit of a show and the lights were gorgeous. Tony and our driver were fantastic!
Solo trip in the care of Zhao Zhongyue who has really gone all out to make my trip enjoyable. Even the downpours didn't dampen the enjoyment today. Gubei is a wonderful place to explore (but probably even better in the sunshine). It can be a little confusing to navigate though as there isn't one natural path to the cable cars, but all off this adds to the charm. As for Simatai, the final steps up are a little tough, but nothing can beat seeing the sunset (and in my case the lightning) over the great wall. Zhao tailored the day to suit me, giving me the opportunity to be flexible and went over and above so that I didn't get wet and even sorting my phone out when it got wet. Highly recommended!
Only the private transfer was booked, including tickets for Gubei and the cable car without a tour guide. The driver Zhao Zhongyue was excellent, we were picked up on time at the hotel, well taken care of until we reached our destination, and he organized our tickets and showed us on the map how to get to the cable car through the city. Communication with the help of the translation device was sometimes a bit awkward, but we managed to communicate, so everything was great! With the start at 4 PM, we were perfectly on our desired schedule, we made it to the wall just in time for sunset, were able to take sensational photos, and after we were done, we briefly informed the driver at the agreed meeting point (WeChat message) and were picked up again within about 5 minutes and taken back to our hotel! All in all, highly recommendable, it was definitely worth it for us and we are very satisfied! :)
Our driver, Zhen Lihui, arrived early to our hotel and picked us up as soon as we were done. He also took care of buying the tickets as described on Viator. He was a safe and friendly driver, messaging the day before and all throughout the tour day. He drove my family in a large air conditioned van. Could not ask for anything more from a driver. We really enjoyed being able to walk around at our own pace without a guide. There are many restaurant options, but don't plan on souvenir shopping. We also recommend purchasing the additional ticket in person to ride the boat back after The Wall. Bring your hat and walking shoes.
Had a lovely driver named Jack, he drove safely and was very kind, definitely recommend
Excellent trip with our guide Anson. Very smooth drive to the Great Wall in a swish car, fruit & water provided. Anson was very knowledgeable and informative about the history of Beijing & the Great Wall and answered lots of questions. Grabbed some food in the supermarket then got the cable car up to the wall. The sunset view was amazing. We then had a lovely wander round the Water Town and saw the light show. Anson knew all the best spots and when to be at them, as well as all the best photo spots. Would really recommend this tour and it was definitely worth having the guide.
We had Wanghui as our driver on the night visit to Simatai Great Wall and Gubei Water Town Private tour from Beijing and he was fantastic. Wanghui was professional, dealing with the tickets, providing helpful advice and communication was easy through translation apps. As we finished quite late he even brought us to an amazing local restaurant for a delicious dinner after our time at Gubei Town. I would highly recommend him and this tour as a great opportunity to see the Wall all lit up at night overlooking the bright lights of the town below.
During the car riding we got all historical information and fun facts about Beijing , great wall and Chinese history in general. Our tour guide Anson was really nice and friendly. The driving was also smooth. Really recommended
Our driver, Su Debin, was amazing! So professional and knowledgeable, made our day. In fact made the trip extra memorable. Highly recommend any trip with him as the guide.
It is a great experience, our guide Anson was a great host, explained us very well and briefly the history of Beijing as a capital and was always attentive to our needs and helped to take excellent photos. The place is amazing and if you have the opportunity to visit it at sunset it is better. I would recommend Anson's guide.
