Beijing sites where a guide is a necessity?

Hello,

Let me just say I really appreciate the forum and the recommendations I%26#39;ve received on this site already.

I%26#39;m planning a trip to China with my family (2 small children ages 3 years, and 10 months) for late April through early May.

I%26#39;m wondering which sites in Beijing are recommended to have a guide, and which sites might just necessitate a driver?

I%26#39;m looking to maximize our guides time, since we won%26#39;t have her for the entire time.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Beijing sites where a guide is a necessity?

Within the city it is possible to everything on your own. Because you have small children you can do everything in your own pace.

Since you have small children I recommend using taxi%26#39;s (they are cheap). The subway can be very crowded.

If you go outside Beijing, it might be more convenient to use a driver/guide.

In general using a guide is a matter of convenience. You only need to focus on enjoying the sites and not about the logistics. Also you can use audio guides at sites, but for children it might be more nice if a nice local person is explaining things. But I cannot see where you are from, so I do not know if your kids speak English.

Beijing sites where a guide is a necessity?

Hi,

Beijing is a great place %26amp; relatively easy to get around by yourself. The olympics have made it very English friendly.

A guide isn%26#39;t really necessary but with small children it might make it easier:)

The subway is very easy to use but you may be better off with a taxi for more far flung locations.

If you are visiting the Mutianyu section of the great wall you will need a taxi / car and depending on where you are staying then also for the Summer Palace.

A guide may come in handy if you want to do a bit of exploring of places such as the Hutongs. It would help you with a bit of background info %26amp; the ins %26amp; outs of life in China.

Also a good guide book is invaluable.

Good luck with everything:)

Annie

Thanks BePu for your comments. We%26#39;re American expats currently living in Tokyo.

We would love to know some day trips, even overnight trips, that would be interesting and could get us away from the city. Xian is one of the non-Beijing places we%26#39;re heading to (taking the overnight train).

Other suggestions for places that are worth checking out?

Thanks.

I do not know how long you will be here but there is a lot to do in Beijing. You can see the essential in 4-5 days but you can explore more deeply if you have more time. Xi%26#39;an is the best ';side trip';.

You do need guides if you are well prepared but a driver to go to the Great Wall.

We%26#39;ll be in China from 4/28 through the morning of 5/9. We have a decent amount of time! I think we have pretty well planned out what we want to try to do in and around Beijing, and then Xi%26#39;an.

There is so much out there, I%26#39;m basically stuck not knowing what else to do. Any ideas as a launching off point in my research? For example other places within close striking distance to Beijing, or perhaps a place that%26#39;s a logical next destination from Xi%26#39;an?

I am guessing 4 nights for Beijing, are you planning one night or 2 nights in Xian? That leaves 2 -3 days for somewhere else.

fly from Xian to Hangzhou - 1 night. Then

Hangzhou to Shanghai on fast modern train 1 %26amp; half hours. Stay Shanghai. But a bit squishy %26amp; time lost in transit.

Or fly from Xian to Shanghai. Add in a day trip to Suzhou

Or Fly Xian to Guilin / Yangshuo. Lovely.

Thanks annieandhamish,

Lots of good ideas there. I%26#39;ll do some more research and probably come back with more questions.

I appreciate the time you, and others, have spent in answering my questions.

Have a great day.

The sights in Beijing is huge,Such as Forbidden City C,Summer Palace.It is much easier with a guide but you can do it on your own.

Hire a car/van to Great Wall,if you can find an English speaking driver,the driver also can explain the Wall to you.

Hi, we recently spent 4 nights in Beijing. We had a guide for three days. You can do the sights by yourself but with a guide you find out lots more of the history and other facts. The first day with the guide we went to the Forbidden City, Tiannmen Square and Lama Temple. We used taxis with the guide to guide between places. Taxis are probably much easier with kids and are very cheap. We went to to Mutianyu section of the Great Wall and Ming Tombs on the second day. The third day we went to Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace and to the night food markets. She also took us to a local restaurant to have Beijing Duck(not a tourist restaurant, which was chepaer)and ordered for us. We then caught a taxi back to our hotel.

self employed person