mojitoplz

I have been scouring both the Fodor's forum and the Tripadvisor forum for everyone's experiences with a tour or guide or driver. We will be in Beijing for 4 days and I have the typical itinerary planned out. I know we would be able to do it all on our own, but I still keep thinking it is so much less stressful to have a driver than to hail a taxi, shuffle papers and descriptions of where we want to go. I would rather make the best use of our time, and I think it would be really helpful to have recommendations on where to eat. Although I have spent hours reviewing restaurants, it is still a bit of a hassle figuring out which ones we are close to locating them on a map.
1) I would like to use a driver for some sites (I have seen recommendations for Kong Lin), but I would also like a walking guide for those parts of the city that are best accessed by foot. Does anyone have any recommendations?
2) On the tour "bus" or "min-bus" does the tour guide walk with you through the sites or are you no your own.
3) Has anyone tried Tour-Beijing trips? They are one of the few that do not seem to take you to the shops.
4) For those that went through the shops during the tours... was it painful, or did you enjoy it? Some look like they can be informative providing you can resist impulse buying.
Thanks for the help, I usually prefer a good, informative guide over flipping pages in a guidebook. I had been to the Vatican in Rome twice, and I finally hired a guide on the third time and it made ALL the difference.

qwovadis

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel...eijing-1024960

Usually get a cheap central hotel of quality like

Swisshotel.com betterbidding.com asiarooms.com otel.com

self guide mostly pretty easy driver/guide through my

Hotel as needed... works GREAT for me there.

qwovadis

http://www.otel.com/hotels/swissotel...otel%20beijing

JPDeM

Other than the Great Wall, every important tourist attraction is next to a subway stop. There are areas such as around the Forbidden city and Tian'Anmen, where taxis cannot stop, so, not so useful.
A guide in Beijing is rather cheap. Usually around 300 to 400RMB for the day. A private guide does not take you to any shopping stops and you decide where to visit. The thing about the compulsory shopping stops with tours is not just the time wasted but the prices are alos highly inflated to cover the guide's commissions.
Which restaurants do you have in mind?

mojitoplz

JPDem, I think what you point out makes sense and I have ruled out a group tour since our time in Beijing will be shorter than I originally thought. We won't land until around 2:30 pm so that day is shot. I want to spend one day seeing the Mutianyu wall and The Summer Palace (probably with a private driver). Do you think we would be able to fit in Tian'an Men Square, The Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, and still see the Hutongs in one day without a private driver or guide? I thought we would have 4 nights in Beijing, but 2 (out of 3) of us really want to go to Harbin for 1 night.
As far as restaurants go, I have read many reviews in the forums but it makes my head swim! That's another plus to having a guide to suggest a couple of choices wherever we are at the time. Other than The School House near the great wall (chosen for the location, not necessarily the food selection) I haven't zeroed in on any that standout. Do you have any you particularly favor? We'll want to get Peking duck, and some of the other dishes that I've read about like noodles and the mongolian hot pot. Would like to get to the Black Lakes area one evening too, possible for dinner.

alan43

Hi We visited Beijing in sept. for 6 days. Taxis can take you to Tian'Anmen Sq. Leave you off by there. We did that from our hotel. Visited twice by taxi. Second time taxi dropped us off at north entrance to Forbidden city which was closed for entrances only open for exiting. The hotel staff told the frivers where to take us and gave a card with hotel name in Chinese for taxit driver to take us back when we were finsihed touring. The taxis are very cheap, came out to be in US currency about $2-3 USD. Had no problems. As far as restaurants we had the concierge recommend a dumpling house which was near the hotel . It was a place she eats in too. It was great, though there was no English sign as to its name. We had Peking Duck at Duck de Chine, very good, though it was the most expensive meal we had. We just went into restaurants that appeared to cater to locals rather than tourists and paid about 10-13 USD for the two of us. Took the Gray6line tour to Mutianyu. It did make a stop at a jade factory and a tea house. There was no pressure to buy anything, and several of us stayed outside the factory after walking through it. The tour also included a meal, which was shared by us and very good. Alice was a great tour guide. Also took us to the Olympic site. Very easy to get cabs, just hail them on the stree or if at the hote they usually hang around or drive by. The hotel gives you a card with their name and just hand it to the driver, no shuffling paper etc, make live easy on yourself. Very little stress. We went to an acrobatic show one night, it was very good, they were great performers, if you have the time I recommend a show. For the planning etc. I used Fodors guide to Beijing and went to B&N and read some of the other guidebooks. Don't stress yourselves out about places especially restaurants, you'll find good ones all over, enjoy the trip. We stayed at the Regent hotel and it was wonderful, we originally booked the Park Plaza but it was overbooked and they put us up at the 5* Regent, next door for the same price, unforseen thing can happen, just enjoy.

Florida1

We spent 6 days in Beijing this September. We used Kong Lin for a driver to the Great Wall (Mutianyu)and were very happy with him. We really enjoyed visiting with him and he took us to a wonderful dumpling restaurant after our visit to the wall. We also had him drive us to the Olympic venue after and then back to our hotel. I need to write my trip report, but just wanted to say how pleased we were with his services. We'll definitely use him again when we are back there!

JPDeM

At what time of the year will you visit Beijing? You could do the Temple of Heaven, Tian'Anmen and the FC in one day but if it is winter time it will be tough. You'll need to warm up in some place. For the hutongs, you could do this on your first day. After you check-in and shower, head to Qianmen and the Dashilar area (west of it). Good place for dinner too.
If you want to go to Harbin then I suspect you are coming in January to see the ice festival. Other than that I would give Harbin a miss.
For food there are many places for hot pot. You may want to check Nan Men hot Pot (http://www.mobilenative.com/record.p...8Z57KZpjaRo%3D). Beijing duck is everywhere. The best is Da Dong but it is pricey.
By the Black lake I guess you mean HouHai. Not a great place to eat, very touristy. close to it and to Nanluoguxiang look into Dali Courtyard (http://www.mobilenative.com/record.p...LeVFGP2R5GE%3D)