Guilin Travel Forum

I and some friends will be visiting Guilin in 2-3 weeks, and of course we're looking to experience the landscape, presumably from the river. However, we would prefer a more personal experience than being crammed on a huge tourist boat with a large number of people.
To experience the landscape, how necessary is it to sail the river? Is there a way to have an equal (or greater) experience by doing a land tour?

Also, I've heard that starting in Yangshuo and sailing east from there (not north toward Guilin) provides a comparable (if not better) view of the landscape. Has anyone done this?

Finally, is it possible to hire a boat and driver for an entire day? I'm interested in photographing the area, but I would prefer not to be confined to the tourist boat, and have plenty of freedom to go off the beaten path.

Thanks in advance,

Dan

It will be a great experience... i did about 4 years ago, and have still thise images in my mind...

You'll find in all this small town agencies for the river tour, and i'm sure they will rent you a personal boat that would be a good experience...

See my Guilin page, i put there some photos :)

Have a nice trip,

Paolo

From Yangshou you can do individual raft trips down the river, or get a small boat to one of the old nearby villages. Most hotels in Yangshou should be able to help you arrange this

Between Xingping and Yangshuo you find the best part of the Li River. Try to avoid the big tourist titanics and choose the small boat for only 6 people.

On a bike tour around Yangshuo I took a float that you can hire along the branches of the Li River. I dont remember if this was the Jinbao?
But I enjoyed it very much because it was soooo quiet. And the landscape is magnificent, like everywhere around Yangshuo.

You certainly should do bicycle tours around the countryside of Yangshuo. You get bikes for 5 to 10 Yuan a day (at least during springtime). No need for guides because they will get you to tourist spots like the fake butterfly grottoe, which is completely artificial, made out of concrete;-)
Just get a map and go on your own exploration!

Happy Travels!

The highlight of Li River is between Xingping and Yangdi, you may rent a private van for a day from Yangshuo, then hike or take a boat/raft along Li River. More freedom!
Alternative way is hike, bike or raft along Yulong River in Yangshuo.

I agree about hiring a guide. I would recommend that you spend the bulk of your time in Yangshuo. We hired a local guide and then discovered she had a pretty impressive resume. I have included her email on my travel page (Yangshuo)so you can organise it beforehand if you wished. I am sure that if you wanted to have a boat and driver to yourselves she could organise it. However, I would also suggest that you include some other forms of travel as part of your tour as well. I have included some of the itinerary we did on our travel pages so you if you have a look you will get the general idea.