China · SUMMER PALACE TOURS

Summer Palace Tickets: The 15 Best Tours and Entries

53 tours  ·  from $5

The lake is the point and it takes longer to walk than anyone expects. The 15 below cover plain entry, guided visits and the combinations with the wall or the Temple of Heaven, with prices and how much walking each involves.

Beijing: The Temple of Heaven or Summer Palace Entry Ticket - The QR code makes entry easier
Beijing Tours, Summer Palace Tours, Temple of Heaven Tours, Tickets, Tour Reviews

Beijing: The Temple of Heaven or Summer Palace Entry Ticket

1.The Temple of Heaven or Summer Palace Entry Ticket

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 1,286 reviews · 2 - 8 hours · from $7Our pick

Choose a self-guided entry ticket for Beijing’s Temple of Heaven or Summer Palace, with optional package access at the Summer Palace. You receive a supplier QR code for the gate, usually through WhatsApp or email. Expect 2 to 8 hours, passport details during booking, and clear transport instructions. Guides such as Andy, Tony, Joe, or Susan may assist with selected arrangements.

“Responded on time, got the tickets when requested, recommended, although you can also buy (sometimes) tickets at the entry for a little bit cheaper.”

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Mubus: Mutianyu Great Wall Bus Tour with Summer Palace Options - Meeting at Dongzhimen and riding to the wall
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Mubus: Mutianyu Great Wall Bus Tour with Summer Palace Options

2.Mubus: Mutianyu Great Wall Bus Tour with Summer Palace Options

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1,272 reviews · from $20Top rated

Take Mubus from Dongzhimen to Mutianyu on an 8:00 or 10:00 departure. Your English-speaking guide, such as Mike, Jilly, Leo, or Cici, explains the wall on the ride and helps with route choices. Entry, internal shuttle, tea, snacks, and luggage storage are included. Cable cars, toboggan rides, lunch, and Summer Palace options depend on the package you choose.

“Recomendo 100% o passeio!! Tem café, a guia fala inglês, o que facilita nossa vida, pois as pessoas que trabalham na muralha não falam!!! Tem um almoço muitoooooooo gostosooooooo no final do passeio e recomendo comprar os pacotes que são oferecidos na hora com teleférico, escorregador, etc!!”

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Beijing: Mutianyu Great Wall & Summer Palace Day Tour - Four hours on the Mutianyu Great Wall
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Beijing: Mutianyu Great Wall & Summer Palace Day Tour

3.Mutianyu Great Wall & Summer Palace Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 1,004 reviews · from $29

Spend a packed day at Mutianyu Great Wall and the Summer Palace with an English-speaking guide such as Yoyo, Lee, Amy, or Jackie. You get about four hours at the Wall, three hours in the royal gardens, air-conditioned transport, and no shopping stops. Cable car, toboggan, and lake boat rides cost extra.

“The tour was very nice ! Amy , the tour guide , was excellent!”

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Mutianyu Great Wall&Summer Palace Excursion:Group/Private Options - Morning pickup and the ride to Mutianyu
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Mutianyu Great Wall&Summer Palace Excursion:Group/Private Options

4.Mutianyu Great Wall&Summer Palace Excursion:Group/Private Options

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 816 reviews · from $124

Spend 8 to 9 hours visiting Mutianyu and the Summer Palace from Beijing. You’ll ride a cable car or ski lift, hike the Wall, and explore royal halls with guides such as Lucy, Sherry, Aurora, or Cindy. Lunch, tickets, bottled water, and hotel transport are included. Private and small-group options are available.

“First and foremost, shoutout to my guide Cindy for being very kind, professional, knowledgeable, and overall great. She truly made the experience five stars. Her humor, her insight, her in depth details, her personal stories all made the historical sites all the more meaningful. It was awesome as a solo woman to get this private tour and transport, compared to how most other tours are jam packed buses with enormous group sizes on a tight schedule. Instead, I got to take my time at my own pace! We spent however long I wanted in whatever place, whether be the Great Wall or the jade store or lunch or Summer Palace……”

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Beijing: Summer Palace Entry Ticket and Optional Guided Tour - Picking the right ticket for your day
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Beijing: Summer Palace Entry Ticket and Optional Guided Tour

5.Summer Palace Entry Ticket and Optional Guided Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 810 reviews · 3 hours - 1 day · from $12

Visit Beijing’s Summer Palace at your own pace with a standard or complete ticket, or add a scenic boat ride from Ziyu Bay Pier. Guided choices range from a three-hour palace visit to full-day trips with the Temple of Heaven, Lama Temple, Forbidden City, Mutianyu Great Wall, panda encounters, or a Kung Fu tea ceremony. Guides include Joy, Gary, Yang, Yan, and Jason Lee.

“Our guide, Yan, was excellent in keeping the group entertained and educated. She was especially pleasant and attentive to our needs. We had a nice day weatherwise, which makes things better for everyone. Kudos to Yan, she was quite knowledgeable and made the experience most enjoyable.”

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Beijing Classic Full-Day Tour including the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven - Tiananmen Square: a vast and serious opening
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Beijing Classic Full-Day Tour including the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven

6.Beijing Classic Full-Day Tour including the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 610 reviews · from $99

This nine-hour Beijing tour covers Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, and Summer Palace with an English-speaking guide, lunch, transport, and admission included. Guides such as Jenny, Lee, Mary, Murphy, and Michael are praised for clear history talks and good group care. Expect heavy walking, crowds, and possible shopping stops at a pearl market or tea venue.

“The trip included a lot of unannounced "shopping activities" i.e tea ceremonies, silk factory visit and a traditional chinese medicine visit (the latter one being a visit to a no-name center that claimed to be related to the official TCM- most probably a scam) which consumed a lot of time. As a result e only reached our last destination the Summer Palace late in the evening, with no enough light to enjoy the best part of the whole trip.”

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Beijing: Mutianyu & Summer Palace Tour–Group/Private Options - Hotel pickup and the ride north to Mutianyu
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Beijing: Mutianyu & Summer Palace Tour–Group/Private Options

7.Mutianyu & Summer Palace Tour–Group/Private Options

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 423 reviews · 8 - 9 hours · from $131

Start early with an English-speaking guide such as Susan, Lily, Alice, or Sherry, then ride to Mutianyu for two hours on the wall and continue to the Summer Palace. Choose a group of up to eight or a private car and guide. Lunch, entrance fees, hotel transfers, and a cable car ride are included.

“Everything was perfect. Cindy is a great guide, super insightful and helpful. We went to the Great Wall and the Summer Palace.”

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Temple Heaven, Lama Temple, Summer Palace & Peking Duck Bus Tour - Yonghe Lama Temple: a quieter change of mood
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Temple Heaven, Lama Temple, Summer Palace & Peking Duck Bus Tour

8.Temple Heaven, Lama Temple, Summer Palace & Peking Duck Bus Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 377 reviews · from $56

Spend about eight hours visiting Beijing’s Temple of Heaven, Yonghe Lama Temple, and Summer Palace by air-conditioned vehicle. Admission and Peking duck lunch are included. Guides such as Jay, Jimmy, Yan, and Sean are known for clear explanations and practical help. Expect a busy day, plenty of walking, and a finish at the Summer Palace.

“Wonderful experience with our tour operator Jimmy. He was able to explain in details all the temples we visited. Lunch was amazing and the atmosphere of the group was amazing”

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Temple Heaven, Summer Palace, Lama Temple, Hutong Bus Tour - Temple of Heaven: imperial ritual on a grand scale
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Temple Heaven, Summer Palace, Lama Temple, Hutong Bus Tour

9.Temple Heaven, Summer Palace, Lama Temple, Hutong Bus Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 319 reviews · from $58

Join an English-speaking Mubus guide such as Joy, Jimmy, Shannon, or Andy for a full day at Beijing’s Temple of Heaven, Lama Temple, hutongs, and Summer Palace. Expect clear historical explanations, bus transfers, local lunch time, and plenty of walking. The day may finish near the Bird’s Nest, so confirm the final drop-off when booking.

“Very pleasant experience! The tour guide was very professional and she was able to mantain the attention of the whole group with interesting details on the visited sites. Highly recommended!”

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Mutianyu Great Wall and Summer Palace Small-Group Tour with Lunch - The 8:30 a.m. meeting point at Dongzhimen
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Mutianyu Great Wall and Summer Palace Small-Group Tour with Lunch

10.Mutianyu Great Wall and Summer Palace Small-Group Tour with Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 316 reviews · from $186

Meet near Dongzhimen at 8:30 a.m. for a roughly nine-hour trip to the Summer Palace and Mutianyu Great Wall. Your English-speaking guide leads the sightseeing, provides context on the ride, and helps with the optional chairlift and toboggan. Lunch, transport, and entrance tickets are included, while the cable car costs extra.

“Our guide Emma was amazing!! On our way there, she gave us a history lesson on the wall, and on China. We also got a mini lesson on Chinese culture and etiquette which was very useful during the remainder of our time in the country! Once Read more”

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Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Lama Temple, Hutong Tours - Starting at the Temple of Heaven
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Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Lama Temple, Hutong Tours

11.Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Lama Temple, Hutong Tours

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 311 reviews · from $99

This 10 to 11-hour Beijing tour combines imperial monuments with a rickshaw ride through old Hutong alleys. An English-speaking guide such as Michael, Lucy, or Helen leads a group of about 12, with hotel pickup, transport, entrance fees, bottled water, and headsets included. It skips shopping stops, leaving more time for sightseeing.

“A fun tour. Guide Michael Ren and driver Mr Chiang were very good. Not sure if the rickshaw ride added much to the tour but didn't mind it. Would take the tour again”

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Summer Palace Ticket - Entering through the East Gate
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Summer Palace Ticket

12.Summer Palace Ticket

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 309 reviews · from $10

This self-guided Summer Palace visit includes entry to the main grounds, Garden of Virtue and Harmony, and Tower of Buddhist Incense. Li sends QR codes, maps, route advice, and transport directions through WhatsApp. You arrange your own transport and explore independently, with no guide or boat ride included.

“Ms Li was an incredibly friendly, considerate and thoughtful tour guide. Even though I did not have a tour guide in person as I only bought tickets, she carefully wrote all instructions in clear and easy-to-understand English. I thought her instructRead more”

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Private Full Day Tour: Forbidden City, Tiananmen & Summer Palace - The Forbidden City: the day’s main event
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Private Full Day Tour: Forbidden City, Tiananmen & Summer Palace

13.Private Full Day Tour: Forbidden City, Tiananmen & Summer Palace

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 272 reviews · from $130

Spend about eight hours exploring Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, and Summer Palace with a private guide. Choose private transport or the subway, enjoy lunch at a local Chinese restaurant, and ask your guide to shape the pace around your interests. Guides such as May, Peter, Jenny, and Wendy are praised for clear explanations and practical help.

“Enjoyed all of the tour particularly the Summer Palace. Has a 40 minute wait to get into Tian’anmen Sqaure but it was worth the wait to get a sense of recent history. Lots of cctv hardware on display. forbidden City was impressive. Our guide Suzie was excellent - very knowledgable and very friendly.”

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Small Group Tour: Mutianyu Great Wall, Summer Palace & Bird Nest - What your two hours on the wall feel like
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Small Group Tour: Mutianyu Great Wall, Summer Palace & Bird Nest

14.Small Group Tour: Mutianyu Great Wall, Summer Palace & Bird Nest

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 235 reviews · from $89

Spend about nine hours exploring Mutianyu Great Wall and the Summer Palace with an English-speaking guide, a maximum of nine people, hotel pickup inside Beijing’s 2nd Ring Road, lunch, and bottled water. Guides such as Keith, Suzie, Jasmine, and Pete are praised for clear history and smooth logistics. The Bird’s Nest is a photo stop from the vehicle only.

“Keith was very polite, and a very good tour guide! Excellent knowledge of the places and very good choice of the restaurant! Would definetely reccomend it!”

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Mutianyu Great Wall and Summer Palace Private Day Trip with Lunch - Reaching Mutianyu before the Summer Palace
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Mutianyu Great Wall and Summer Palace Private Day Trip with Lunch

15.Mutianyu Great Wall and Summer Palace Private Day Trip with Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 209 reviews · from $185

Spend 8 to 9 hours with a private guide and driver visiting Mutianyu Great Wall and the Summer Palace from Beijing. Walk restored wall ramparts, ride the cable car or chair lift, return by toboggan, enjoy a Chinese lunch, and explore imperial pavilions beside Kunming Lake. Guides such as Kelly, Violet, and Pietro have received especially warm praise.

“Great! In addition to the wall and summer palace, the lunch spot was the best food I had the entire trip.”

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New in Summer Palace Tours

★ 3.6Summer Palace Ticket; fast and smoothFrom $738 reviews
★ 5.0Summer Palace, Sacred Road&Ming Tombs Private TourFrom $1178 reviews
★ 4.8Summer Palace Highlight Walking TourFrom $4125 reviews
★ 3.3Summer Palace Entry TicketFrom $183 reviews
★ 4.7Summer Palace Entrance(combo/tour opt)From $286 reviews
★ 5.0Beijing Private Tour: Summer Palace, Panda House and OptionsFrom $5221 reviews
★ 4.8Summer Palace 3 Hours Guided Tour with Entry TicketFrom $334 reviews
★ 4.0Old Summer Palace Ruins Park Admission TicketFrom $84 reviews
★ 5.0Beijing Mutianyu Great Wall&Summer Palace All Inclusive TourFrom $14914 reviews
★ 5.0Mutianyu Great Wall+Summer Palace or TempleofHeavenFrom $16217 reviews
★ 5.0Mutianyu Great Wall and Summer Palace Private TourFrom $11711 reviews
★ 4.4Imperial Waterway Boat+Summer Palace SelfGuidedTourFrom $406 reviews
★ 5.0All-Inclusive Mutianyu Great Wall and Summer Palace Day TourFrom $2337 reviews
★ 5.0Beijing Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Hutong and Dumpling MakingFrom $19010 reviews
★ 5.0All Inclusive Private City Tour to Temple of Heaven, Tian’anmen Square Forbidden City and Summer PalaceFrom $19850 reviews

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Forbidden City Tours75Temple of Heaven Tours25Tiananmen Square Tours25Ming Tombs Tours10Lama Temple Tours12Museums18
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