"Great" Great Wall

classic icons of China has the best tour guide. Bin Zhao was our guide and he was great!

In reply to johnandsusan.manrodt011542:

Could you share how challenging this part of the trip was? Any suggestions? We were thinking of sneakers and walking sticks. What do you think?

In reply to surfcrab1111011607:

You will do what you are able to do. The first part, where we accessed the wall itself, was three of four rough steps that had no handrail. I just crawled up it, but was worried how I'd get back down. It turns out the exit was a gradual decline without steps. Ha! should have gone up that way! Once on the wall I was able to walk a long way at my own pace. Some was rugged, but most was just up and down. As a solo traveler, I walked on my own with my group in sight. After walking a good ways (an hour?) we all stopped in one place for lunch. Half the group decided to go on, but the next part of the wall was about 200-300 steps straight up. I decided to turn around thinking I still had to go back an hour and I was not as young or fit as those going on. I felt satisfied with my experience. Yes, I wore tennis shoes and had one walking stick. The walking stick was helpful, but not absolutely necessary. We were there on a beautiful April day and I loved every single moment of it! I hope you do, too.

In reply to johnandsusan.manrodt011542:

I did the Train and Riverboat trip with Mei Mei in April of 2018. Mei Mei was fabulous. I highly recommend her. I was a solo traveler, as was about half the group. The experience was all I hoped it would be and more!