3-Day Guilin Tour with Li River Cruise & Longji Terrace

Day-by-day Itinerary

1. Day 1: Guilin City Landmarks
   Explore Guilin's famous caves, hills, and parks

   Around 8:30 in the morning, your private tour guide will pick you up from your hotel to explore the famous attractions in Guilin.

   Notes: You need to arrive in Guilin a night in advance; you can either arrange your own hotel or contact our travel consultant to book it for you.

   The first place you'll visit is Reed Flute Cave, a typical karst cave filled with stalactites, stalagmites, stone pillars, and stone curtains. Learn from the guide how these stones were 'carved' by water drops over thousands of years.

   Warm Tip: The cave stays around 17–19°C all year, so remember to bring a light jacket and wear non-slip shoes.

   Head to Fubo Hill to admire cliff carvings and Buddha statues from the Tang and Song Dynasties and climb to the top for a view of the Li River and Elephant Trunk Hill across.

   

   Then get a closer look at Guilin’s city landmark, Elephant Trunk Hill, which looks like a giant elephant dipping its long trunk into the river. It's a classic karst landscape. Love Island offers the best view for photographing the whole hill and its reflection.

   Move forward to Seven Star Park, the largest park in Guilin. You might see locals strolling along the lakes or practising tai chi. The highlights of the park are worth seeing for their various stalactites, a camel-shaped peak, and dense cliff carvings.

   After the tour, drive you back to the hotel we booked for you to check in.

   Evening Optional Activity:

   Take the Two Rivers and Four Lakes night cruise, with the karst peaks outlined by lights on both sides, see the Sun and Moon Twin Towers reflecting golden and silver light on the lake, and enjoy ancient-style buildings and light shows along the way.

   

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   4-Star Hotel in Guilin
2. Day 2: Guilin to Rice Terraces
   Hike Longji Rice Terraces and watch long hair dance

   A 1.5-hour drive takes you to the Longji Rice Terraces. These terraces were cultivated over 2,000 years ago by the Zhuang and Yao people.

   Follow your guide on a leisure hike through Ping'an Zhuang Village. You'll see farmers working in traditional ways - using water buffalo to plow the fields. Seven Stars and Moon and Nine Dragons and Five Tigers are the classic viewpoints here.

   

   In Huangluo Yao Village, known as the 'Long Hair Village', you can see Yao women performing their unique long hair dance - some women's hair is up to 2 metres long!

   If you visit in spring, the terraces filled with water look like shining mirrors; in summer, they appear as a green sea; in the harvest season of autumn, the fields turn golden.

   After sightseeing, taste bamboo tube rice. Glutinous rice is packed into fresh bamboo tubes and roasted over a fire. You can join the locals to prepare it and enjoy its unique flavor.

   Finally, return to your hotel to have a rest.

   Optional Activity: During the fall, from late October to early November, you can experience harvesting rice just like the local farmers do.

   

   Vehicle

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   4-Star Hotel in Guilin
3. Day 3: Li River Cruise to Yangshuo, Back to Guilin
   Cruise the Li River to Yangshuo and explore West Street

   Today you will take a Li River cruise to Yangshuo, enjoying the real-life scenery of 'East and West, Guilin's landscape is the best '.

   The cruise flows downstream, passing many famous scenic spots. Follow the guide's introduction and try to count how many horses you can find at the 'Nine Horses Painting Mountain' spot.

   Near the 'Yellow Cloth Reflections' spot, take photos with a 20 yuan note.

   

   Your lunch will be served on the cruise ship. If you like river seafood, you can order some small fish and shrimp freshly caught from the river, paired with an ice-cold beer - it really feels amazing!

   After 4 hours, the boat will dock at the pier in Yangshuo. Afterwards, take you to explore the busiest street in Yangshuo - West Street. Here, you can find a mix of Chinese and Western-style buildings, cafés and bars, and many foreigners live here long-term, even running businesses.

   On this street, you can taste some local specialties or browse exquisite handicraft shops to see if there are any souvenirs you want to take home.

   The driver will send you back to Guilin to the airport or train station for departure. This is the end of your 3-day Guilin and Yangshuo tour.

   

   Special Note: It's recommended that you book a flight or high-speed train departing after 7 pm.

   Upgrade Option: We usually arrange a 3-star cruise. If you want a more comfortable space and a more hearty lunch, you can ask your travel advisor to upgrade you to a 4-star cruise.

   More Travel Idea: If you still want to have more relaxing days in Yangshuo, we advise staying overnight so you can enjoy the countryside scenery and join optional activities such as cooking classes, rock climbing, bamboo rafting, or cycling, and so forth. Your travel advisor can customize an itinerary to meet your preferences.

   Vehicle, Cruise

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