In China, there is a popular saying: 'Guilin's landscape is the best under heaven'. Guilin's picturesque karst landscape and idyllic countryside views attracts millions of travelers from China and abroad. But what would be your ideal Guilin trip? How many days are needed to explore Guilin's beauty? This article will help you plan your perfect Guilin itinerary.
Content Preview
How Many Days to Spend in Guilin?
For a classic Guilin trip, most visitors choosea combination of downtown sightseeing, a Li River cruise, and stays in Yangshuo and Longsheng counties, which usually takes about 5–6 days.
If you have limited time, you could focus ondowntown Guilin, a Li River cruise, and a trip to Yangshuo, which takes about 3 days.
If you have more days to spend (and are happy you have spent long enough in Guilin), we recommend you visit nearby complimentary places, such asHong Kong, Guizhou, or Huangshan.
- Hong Kong (3+ days to enjoy Hong Kong's numerous outdoor activities).
- Guizhou (3+ days to explore diverse minority cultures in Guizhou).
- 从黄山(2 +天eciate China's top mountain views)
The five itineraries below show how these day allocations would work out in practice and what could be covered in that time:
1. 5-Day Classic Guilin Highlights Tour (Most Chosen)
With 5 days in Guilin, you could explore most of the highlights and experience the local culture at a comfortable pace. Spend a day in downtown Guilin, and 4 days in the nearby counties of Yangshuo and Longsheng.
- Day 1: Visit Guilin city's top attractions: Elephant Trunk Hill, Reed Flute Cave...
- 第二天:从桂林漓江游船杨家huo, during which you would see celebrated mountain-and-river views.
- Days 3–4: Yangshuo (cycling between the paddy fields, visiting a local farmers' house, cave exploring...)
- Day 5: Longji Terraced Fields (visit the famous terraced fields and learn more about their peoples' culture and life.)
China Highlights,Asia Highlights, andGlobal Highlightscollaborate to provide families and couples with personalized and stress-free experiences in diverse destinations.
|
Another excellent trip with China Highlights
另一个美妙的tailor-m四部分ade three week China Highlights trip, this time in the region around Guilin, Yangshuo and in the Longji rice terraces with our friendly guide Chase. The 4-hour Li river cruise on a 4-star boat, the bamboo rafting - which our guide kindly got us by queueing from 4am onwards - hike to Moon Hill, bicycle river trip and Liu San Jie light show were all excellent, so was the Yangshuo Mountain Retreat hotel. The hike in the Longji rice terraces from Ping’an to another village, bamboo rice cooking experience and Baike Boutique Hotel with its great views were also all wonderful. We wished we could have stayed longer! more
Aug 2023, Axel R
|
Inoubliable
Séjour inoubliable dans la région de Guilin avec China highlight et la guide Alice. Choix d’activités surprenantes où nous avons été comblés à plusieurs reprises : grotte de la fl?te de roseau, visite des marchés ou des lieux importants de Guilin ou Yangshuo, spectacle à couper le souffle, visite d’une maison ancestrale de paysans, rizières et visite dans une maison pour faire un repas transitionnel, etc. Tout était super ! Même les enfants ont adorés ! Les choix de logements étaient aussi super ! La chaufffeure qui nous conduisait d’un point à l’autre était aussi bien gentille et patiente ! Expérience et souvenirs gravés dans notre c?ur ! Merci ! 11/10 more
Aug 2023, Jasmine B
|
Another great China Highlights trip
另一个美妙的tailor-m四部分ade three week China Highlights trip, this time in the region around Guilin, Yangshuo and in the Longji rice terraces with our friendly guide Chase. The 4-hour Li river cruise on a 4-star boat, the bamboo rafting - which our guide kindly got us by queueing from 4am onwards - hike to Moon Hill, bicycle river trip and Liu San Jie light show were all excellent, so was the Yangshuo Mountain Retreat hotel. The hike in the Longji rice terraces from Ping’an to another village, bamboo rice cooking experience and Baike Boutique Hotel with its great views were also all wonderful. We wished we could have stayed longer! more
Aug 2023, Axel Rudolph
|
Guilin and Yangshou - well worth a trip!
Both Guilin with its amazing rice paddies and Yangshou with the Karst landscape are scenically stunning and a must see in China. Gary our tour guide from China Highlights is incredibly passionate about his role as tour guide and does everything possible to ensure your time in Guilin and Yangshou is memorable. From Guilin we went to see the famous rice paddy fields and spent a day walking through the paddy fields and eating a fantastic lunch in a local restaurant. In the evening we went on a foodie tour of Guilin which was very well worth it and we ate some very local food we would never have tried on our own. We then spent two days in Yangshou. The scenery here is just stunning and there are lots of different ways you can enjoy it. Gary took us up a particular mountain, off the beaten track, that meant we had the view really all to ourselves - absolutely stunning. But the rafting down the rived, cycle ride and the sidecar rides were also great fun. Thank you Gary for making our time in Guilin and Yangshou very memorable more
Aug 2023, Sandra
|
Superb tailored tour in exquisite place!
We were treated to the most amazing, full, tailor-made, unique & personalised tour of Guilin & Yangshuo over 4 days.. Our excellent guide Vincent went the extra mile to give us the best experience and included local, personalised activities & adventures, hidden gems off the beaten track! We had the best time, using every minute tfor both 'wow" & 'local' experiences and with helpful advice always. His helper Karpo was also amazing & helped us a lot, as did our driver Mr Tan. It all flowed effortlessly for us, while they were working hard behind the scenes! ..and also to meet our every need. We are so grateful. Thank you for showing us the best of Guilin & Yangshuo, & for looking after us so well, while also avoiding the crowds in high season. more
Aug 2023, teresamk8
|
Beautiful scenery and great experience!
Visiting Yangshou County in Guilin was the most scenic and beautiful part of our 2 week trip in China. Chase from China Highlights was our guide. He was friendly, funny and very personable in our time in Guilin. He had great recommendations for us to try at the hotel and would go out of his way to make sure our wants and needs were met. He knows the area of Yangshou very well and truly made the culture of the area come to life. more
Aug 2023, Annie A
|
Amazing Guilin-Yangshuo trip
Wonderful experience in the amazing landscapes of Guilin area. A big thank you to guide Ken for his amazing help and guidance, and to Carol for organizing this trip on very short notice. more
Aug 2023, Filip
|
Guilin experience
First of all thank you to our English speaking guide Steven, who’s help and knowledge about China made sure this trip exceeded out expectations. more
Aug 2023, Filip Naudts
|
Amazing experience with Chase and CHINA HIGHLIGHTS
The whole experience was amazing. Chase our tour guide and the driver were super nice. The attractions we went to in Guilin and Yangshou were magnificent and the choices of hotels to stay at were clean and relaxing. Definitely would recommend China highlights to friends wanting to visit China from abroad. more
Jul 2023, Consumer
|
Had an amazing time in Guilin and…
Had an amazing time in Guilin and Yangshou. Everything was well organized and the places we visited were beyond beautiful. Our tour guide, Chase, was very humble, helpful and knowledgeable. He also speaks English very well so we didn’t have trouble in communicating. I did an amazing wedding shoot in Yangshou and Chase was kind enough to take photos and videos. I definitely recommend this service to friends wanting to visit China and will definitely recommend asking the company for Chase to be your tour guide. more
Jul 2023, Afnan Alqadri
|
Amazing experience
Me and my husband took a trip to Guilin and Yangshou and it was for sure amazing! I had a pleasant experience with Highlights in China. The tour Guide Chase was super kind and helpful and very knowledgeable about China. He made the trip easygoing I forgot about the language barrier because he was automatically translating without us even asking. The attractions we went to were magnificent and getting to places was just way easier with a driver picking us up and taking us to far away places. I definitely recommend it to anyone coming from abroad to visit China more
Jul 2023, hakiim a
|
Unforgettable River Lii
We took a trip to Guilin as part of our China journey. We had some great time there due to our guide Frank from China Highlights. Everything was perfectly organized and went as planned. We visited the amazing rice terraces, we took a 4 star boat on the river Lii, we rode a bike along the river, had delicious food, stayed at a wonderful hotel. more
Jul 2023, Viki B
|
Wonderful 3 days in Longji/Guilin/Yangshou with guide Vincent
My wife in and spent 3 delightful days in the area, including an overnight in the Longji Rice terraces and a cruise on the Li river. We had laid out our preferences and all the arrangement had been made by China Highlights: guide, car, hotels and the cruise. I appreciate their willingness to ability to tailor the time to our priorities, and our guide Vincent, also was happy to adapt the schedule to our interests on the fly. Vincent is an outstanding guide and was an important part of the success. In addition to being knowledgeable and flexible, he is also very personable - critical when someone is joining your vacation for 3 days. He ably helped find and arranged for vegetarian food and took additional photos that he shared with us. I highly recommend both China Highlights and Vincent. more
Jul 2023, Flamenco64
|
Best Tour of Guilin
My family and I went to Guilin over the summer, and we had a wonderful experience. We went to see the Longsheng Rice Terraces and on a cruise to see the landscape of Guilin. Our guide Chase was able to make the tour more enjoyable, with his knowledge and his patience. He went out of his way to make sure we got the most out of our trip. I recommend this trip to anyone who wants to enjoy Guilin to the upmost, but doesn’t want to have the hassle of touring with a big group of strangers. Thank you Chase!! more
Jun 2023, Jimena M
|
Perfectly organized trip to Guilin
We spent 3 days in GuiLin and Yangshuo. The trip was great! China Highlights booked everything for us so we didn’t have to worry. The accommodations were clean and comfortable and the activities were exactly what we were looking for. Our guide, Chase, was excellent. He spoke fluent English and was friendly, knowledgeable, efficient, very willing to accommodate our requests and pleasant to be around. He was the perfect balance of being warm and helpful while giving us space to have our own trip. more
Jun 2023, S R
|
A truly unforgettable tour
I would like to thank our guide Jenny for our wonderful time in Guilin and yangshuo. Your expertise and attention to detail helped us understand and appreciate the history and culture of the city in a way that we never could have on our own. Your friendly and personable nature made the tour enjoyable and engaging, and we loved the stories and anecdotes you shared along the way. We will never forget this experience and we are so grateful to have had you as our guide. Thank you again for a truly unforgettable tour. We will definitely be recommending you to our friends more
Jun 2023, ajay p
|
Excellent, will book again
I have booked Guilin and Yangshuo tour with Chinahilights and it was amazing. Our guide was Jenny. She is very helpful and good command in English. She take care of our all China trip starting from arrival to return. We did not face a single problem although I did not know Chinese. It is worth to book with Chinahilights and ask Guide Jenny. I guarantee your tour will be memorable. Thanks again Chinahilights and Jenny. more
Jun 2023, Brahma Nath
|
Amazingly Awesome!
The guy who was our tour guide, Chase, was a total gem ! He was so professional and knowledgeable. He was never overbearing, gave us plenty of space, while guiding us on a breathtakingly beautiful, fun, educational, exciting and relaxing adventure!They arranged for a private driver to escort us to each new attraction.We hiked, saw ancient villages, took a Li River cruise, went to the Reed Flute Cave, hit the local street markets, went electric bike riding in the countryside along rice paddy fields, and more! I would do it again, and probably will do it again with more friends. So, yes, worth it! An absolutely awesome time more
Jun 2023, Wondy C
|
Amazing Guilin and Yangshuo trip!
Booked a 5 day private tour for me and my senior parents. Incredible experience! Our tour guide was Oscar and he was insightful, professional, and understanding of our questions and needs. The hotels were beautiful and comfortable, the attractions we saw were stunning (Longji rice terraces, reed flute caves, river cruise, etc), the activities were really fun (hiking, cooking class, meeting a villager). Super comfortable, well-planned itinerary. We went a bit off season in mid-June, which was great because there were hardly any tourists in some of the places we visited, like the rice terraces and the caves. Definitely try to avoid national holidays because Oscar said those places get packed. more
Jun 2023, Domee
|
Million thanks to Chase , Kimi and China Hightlights!!
Our Tour Guide Chase is very caring and full of patience throughout the trip , we have the best of fun in Guilin and Yangshuo , so much to see and sceneries to die for . Thank you China Hightlights!! more
Jun 2023, Jade
|
For family travelers with kids, we recommend the numerous outdoor activities in Yangshuo, includingcave exploring, rock climbing, cycling amongst the paddy fields, meeting local farmers and seeing their house, learning Chinese calligraphy, and cooking.
If you are interested in minority culture and hiking, our private guide can accompany/guide you on a hiking tour at Longji Terraced Fields and arrange many interesting things, such as ethnic Chinese cooking and rice farming experiences.
Our private tours are customized according to your time and interests. Here are some of the sample tours in Guilin.
- 5-Day Guilin Off-the-Beaten-Path Tour
- 6-Day Guilin Longsheng Yangshuo Tour
- 4-Day Guilin Longji Ethnic Group Tour
2. A 3-Day Guilin Essence Tour (Good for Limited Time or Short Trips)
If you have about 3 days in Guilin, we suggest a tour to visit the downtown highlights and a trip to Yangshuo.
- Day 1: Visit Guilin's top attractions (Elephant Trunk Hill, Reed Flute Cave…)
- 第二天:从桂林漓江游船杨家huo to enjoy the breathtaking river-and-mountain views.
- Day 3: Take a biking tour in Yangshuo to see some of the most beautiful countryside views representing the south of China. Enjoy some relaxing time in Yangshuo West Street, maybe having coffee in pubs or bars.
Inside tips:You can use Guilin's 72-hour (3-day) visa-free transit policy with this itinerary, if you then head to a third country/region, such as Hong Kong, where you can take a departure flight. For more on this, see the Guilin and Hong Kong itinerary below.
The Top 3 Side Trip Itineraries from Guilin
If you have a longer holiday to see Guilin, we recommend considering an extension trip from Guilin to see a similarly-themed or convenient destination, such as Hong Kong in the south, Guizhou in the north or Huagnshan in the east.
1. An 8-Day Guilin and Hong Kong Trip (Top Visa-Free Option)
Guilin is near Hong Kong, which is a popular exit city after finishing a Guilin or China trip. And you can take a bullet train from Guilin to Hong Kong for about 3 hours.
Hong Kong offers rich kids-friendly attractions for family travelers. If you are transiting in HK totake advantage of the Guilin's 72-hour (3-day) visa-free transit policy(see above), then you must use Guilin Liangjiang International Airport, flying from Taipei, KL, Seoul, or Jakarta.
- Days 1–2: Guilin downtown sightseeing at Elephant Trunk Hill and Reed Flute Cave followed by a Li River Cruise from Guilin city to Yangshuo.
- Days 3–5: Enjoy charming Yangshuo's karst landscape by bamboo rafting, biking in countryside, rock climbing, cave exploring, and so on.
- Days 6–8: Hong Kong
In Hong Kong,Ocean Parkis a must-visit attractions, especially if you are traveling with kids. It is a special experience to take a raft ride through a jungle landscape, which features alongside many other rides. The park also offers a plethora of animal exhibits, including a giant panda habitat, a shark aquarium, and a sea lion show.
If you would like to see the skyline of Hong Kong, you should visitVictoria Peak. The view from the top of Victoria Peak is undoubtedly an awesome attraction, which is great to visit at sunset. You can enjoy the panoramic views of the city and the harbor from the highest point in Hong Kong.
For most children, it would be great to finish withHong Kong Disneyland, where you can view spectacular fireworks shows, parades, and live performances featuring beloved Disney characters.
2. An 8-Day Guilin and Guizhou Trip (Best for Ethnic Culture)
If you are interested in China's diverse ethnic groups and their fascinating culture, you are recommended to visit Guizhou province from Guilin, which would take you about 3 hours by bullet train. Guizhou is known for its stunning natural scenery, unique minority culture, and delicious cuisine.
- Days 1–2: Guilin downtown sightseeing tour to Elephant Trunk Hill, Reed Flute Cave, and so on. Taking a Li River Cruise from Guilin downtown to Yangshuo.
- Days 3–5: Discover Yangshuo's amazing countryside by bamboo rafting, biking in the countryside, rock climbing, cave exploring, and so on.
- Days 6–8: Guizhou
In Guizhou, we would arrange a hiking tour in the biggest Dong villages in China to enable you to experience minority culture and life. See how the local Dong people make paper from wood pulp, and visit a village where people still carry on their forebears' trade of papermaking today.
In the village, you can learn how to make a piece of paper with a respected expert, step by step. Then make a piece of paper yourself and take the paper home as a souvenir. In a farmer's house, you can cook lunch with fresh local ingredients.
For a more relaxed time, stroll along the village's bluestone paths, and observe close-up the daily lives of minority people. Read more about ourGuilin and Guizhou tour.
3. A 9-Day Guilin and Huangshan Trip (Good for Photographers)
If you are photography lovers, or even professionals, then this itinerary would be good for you. Our experienced photography guides would lead you to the best vantage points of Guilin's impressive landscapes and famous Li River. Take awesome photos of famous oddly-shaped rocks and pines and the seas of clouds among Huangshan's Yellow Mountain peaks.
- Days 1–2: Guilin Downtown Sightseeing (Elephant Trunk Hill, Reed Flute Cave…)
- Days 3–5: Yangshuo (Xingping Ancient Town, the Li River, Xianggong Hill)
- Days 6–9: Huangshan
In Guilin, our photography guide would usually choose these three special places for photography:Xianggong Hill, Xingping, and the Li River.
On Xianggong Hill, our planning and our guide would help you take advantage of the comfortable nearby hotels so that you don't spend too much time on the road to capture the sunrise. There would be about a 20-minute climb up Xianggong Hill to photograph the breathtaking sunrise at the place where the Li River runs at a right-angled bend.
The Li River and Xingping Ancient Townare two must-visit places for photography. Xingping is the best place for rosy sunsets and an evening shoot with a fishing scene on the Li River — we'd organize a bamboo fishing boat, a cozy gas lamp, an experienced fishing man, and several cormorants.
Being different from Guilin's river-and-mountain views, inHuangshan, you would witness abundant breathtaking views of imaginatively named rocks and trees. To help you make full use of your time, our experienced guide would lead you to the best places to take pictures of sunrises, sunsets, and iconic views.
You could also experience local life there by taking part in many interesting activities, such as farming, cooking the regional cuisine, and learning more about local culture. Read more about ourGuilin and Huangshan Photography Tour.