Walking the Great Wall

This was a trip of a lifetime! Trekking the Great Wall was an amazing experience, led by a brilliant guide. Would highly recommend it!

An excellent trip, well organised, and a real experience! Each day brought a new challenge, and our Tour Leader Jerry was a fantastic leader - a real motivator on achey mornings! The food was the biggest culture shock, but if you aren't fussy it wont be a problem - try everything! Tips? Take Baby Wipes, buy a camel back, and stash some sweets!

A marvellous holiday, with over six days walking along the Great Wall, plus two days (three for some!) in Beijing. Suitable for “ramblers” as well as well as hardened trekkers. Plenty of opportunity to meet Chinese people away from the big cities. There were 13 people in our group and they were a great bunch. Every day was interesting, passing through small towns and villages. The walks were just right for me, not too long and not too short.

This was one of the best holidays of my life (and I'm not young!), with for me the right degree of adventure, and made all the better by a truly outstanding guide.  Vigorous exercise in a beautiful landscape full of fascinating history, constantly good fresh food especially in home-stays away from standard hotels, great company in our group, and the friendliness and helpfulness of the Chinese people despite the language barrier, were all important parts of a winning combination.  

the trek exceeded my expectations and encourages me to book another trek.

Walking the great Wall of China is invariably on lots of Intrepid travellers wish lists or objectives - simply just do it. You will not regret making the decision. If you have not been to China before it is both an introduction to the country (especially Beijing) and walking one of the most documented locations in the world. The majority of the meals are inclusive but this is a bonus as it includes both restaurants in Beijing and and more authentic Chinese cuisine in the Home stays. I do not think I will not bother with a Chinese restaurant again in the UK.

It's really easy to summarise my trip trekking the Great Wall of China - EXCELLENT!  And not just because we were on top of the Great Wall of China absorbing the stunning views that you absolutely can not comprehend until you are actually there, but because of the fabulous tour guide Kevin!I would glady share my holiday with him again - a legend in our group (Flying monkey as we called him!!!)

Overall, we LOVED this trip and would highly recommend it. Just a few minor complaints, many of which are unavoidable (but some could be addressed): - Air pollution was pretty bad on some of the days (though not all). Obviously, Exodus can't do much about this, but future travelers should be aware. I had heard the air quality had improved significantly since the 2008 Olympics, and that might be...but it was still pretty bad. - Plumbing! Other than the Beijing hotel, every single guest house we stayed at had plumbing issues (and it wasn't just our rooms - the other travelers in our group had the same issues). You name it - scalding/freezing shower water, no water pressure, drainage issues. It seems like these SHOULD be pretty easy to fix, and yet.... - WIFI - there are many sites that are banned in China, but others (CNN, EPSN, local news sites) are accessible...when you can get a signal. Most places we stayed at *claimed* to have wifi, but the networks were slow at best, and in most cases unusable. - Food - generally pretty good at the guest houses, but there was not much variety (suprisingly). - Tai Chi - it was nice to have a Tai Chi lesson, but the instructor stood in the front of the group which made it difficult for those of us in back to see her. She should have been in the center, or if possible elevated on a platform or stage so everyone could see her. - Crowds - on the final day we went to the Forbidden City in Beijing at what seemed like the worst possible time: Sunday afternoon. The crowds were ridiculous. If possible, Exodus should try to arrange this tour early on a weekday morning to avoid (or at least lessen) the crowds. Again, all these complaints are minor. Overall, we loved our experience and would recommend it to anyone considering it!

This is a well organised trip - as is always the case with Exodus everything worked, all the arrangements were good and the guide excellent. Also, the trip notes manage expectations around the trekking, hotels and food really well - the experience will be as promised - including the chicken's feet!

Walking was moderate to challenging in places for some people, the very fit may have found the pace slowed down a bit but more time to take in the views! The less walked sections were the best and we met very few other people unlike the more tourist sections but it didn't feel too over crowded in May. The guest houses were mainly better than we had anticipated, all were clean and the hosts were exceptionally welcoming and the food was plentiful.