How to Plan a Day in Guilin

The Li RiverThe Li River

Attractions

First select what you want to do from Guilin's many attractions. Usually one or two daytime activities and one evening activity is about right. For a fuller day look for close together attractions that can be easily combined.

Also read Sports Illustrated’s Super Models Photographed in Picturesque Guilin.

First time in Guilin? If you are going to a city as a tourist for the first time you will want to see a selection of attractions which capture the essence of a city. Guilin's key features are its karst hills, Li River, and caves. Be sure you include these if nothing else.

A balanced itinerary: After that you may choose attractions that you have an interest in. For example, there are cultural attractions of various types (historical, architectural, ethnic), not necessarily unique to Guilin, but certainly unique to China, which could add balance to your day that would otherwise be just natural scenery.

If you have children you may want to include something for them (like a trip to the limited zoo at Seven Star Park), though climbing hills and exploring caves usually doesn't leave kids bored and might expend enough energy.

To help you choose attractions for your day in Guilin, we have arranged Guilin's attractions according to:

  • Type of Attraction (Cave, Children's, Cruise, Cultural, Hill, Hot Spring, Mountain, Night Show, Park, Scenic, Shopping)
  • Hours from Guilin
  • Location (attractions not in or near the city usually require a whole day)
  • Popularity (Ranked 1–49)
  • Hours needed for a visit
  • When to visit (daytime or evening)
Attraction Type of Attraction Rank Location Hours from GL Hours for a visit Time of day (Entry) Cost
Reed Flute Cave  Cave 3 Guilin city 0 2 Daytime $11
Seven Star Cave  Cave 24 Guilin city 0 1 Daytime $10
Crown Cave  Cave 10 near Guilin 1 2 Daytime $9
Merryland  Children's 31 Xing'an 2 4 Daytime
Two Rivers and Four Lakes  Cruise 16 Guilin city 0 1 Daytime/Evening $1
Li River  Cruise 1 near Guilin 1 5 Daytime $46
Yulong River Cruise 14 Yangshuo 2 3 Daytime
Solitary Beauty Peak  Cultural 23 Guilin city 0 1 Daytime
Daxu Ancient Town  Cultural 20 near Guilin 1 2 Daytime $1
Mausoleums Jing Jiang  Cultural 28 near Guilin 1 2 Daytime $4
Xingping  Cultural 15 Yangshuo 2 2 Daytime
Yangshuo Big Banyan Tree  Cultural 18 Yangshuo 2 1 Daytime $2
Yangdi Cultural 21 Yangshuo 2 1 Daytime
Butterfly Spring  Cultural 25 Yangshuo 2 1 Daytime
Fuli Town  Cultural 27 Yangshuo 2 2 Daytime
Longji Ancient Zhuang Village  Cultural 17 Longsheng 3 2 Daytime $13
Huangyao Ancient Town  Cultural 9 Hezhou 4 2 Daytime
Elephant Trunk Hill  Hill 2 Guilin city 0 1 Daytime $8
Fubo Hill  Hill 4 Guilin city 0 1 Daytime $4
Folded Brocade Hill  Hill 22 Guilin city 0 1 Daytime $4
Yao Mountain  Hill 26 near Guilin 1 3 Daytime
Moon Hill  Hill 12 Yangshuo 2 2 Daytime
Impression Liu Sanjie  Night Show 13 Yangshuo 2 1 Evening
Seven Star Park  Park 6 Guilin city 0 2 Daytime $12
Banyan Lake and Cedar Lake  Park 19 Guilin city 0 1 Daytime/Evening $1
Taohua River  Park 30 Guilin city 0 1 Daytime/Evening
Gudong Waterfall  Scenic 29 near Guilin 1 4 Daytime
Longji Terraced Field  Scenic 5 Longsheng 2 4 Daytime
Yangshuo Countryside Cycling  Scenic 7 Yangshuo 2 4 Daytime
Hiking from Yangdi to Xingping Town Scenic 8 Yangshuo 2 7 Daytime
Yangshuo West Street  Shopping 11 Yangshuo 2 1 Daytime/Evening

So, in choosing a first time to Guilin itinerary, we would recommend Reed Flute Cave as the top cave, Elephant Trunk Hill as the top hill, and an evening cruise on the Two Rivers Four Lakes for your Li River experience (the Li River Cruise takes up to 5 hours and finishes in Yangshuo), to do it all in a day.

Solitary Beauty Peak with its Ming Dynasty mansion is an easy addition for a bit of culture.

China Highlights Day Tours

In the table below are our day tours, sorted according to proximity to Guilin and by tour type, for some additional ideas for things to do. Many of these would be better taken after transferring to Yangshuo. See also Day Trips on our Guilin Tours page.

One Day Tours  Type of Tour Rank Location Hours from Guilin Hours for a visit US$ Sold
Guilin City Tour  Cave/Hills 1 Guilin City 0 5 110 Separately
Lecture on Traditional Chinese Medicine and Qigong  Cultural 18 Guilin City 0 4 110 Separately
Lecture on Traditional Chinese Medicine and Qigong Cultural 18 Guilin City 0 4 92 With a tour
Guilin Li River Tour  Cruise 2 Near Guilin 1 8 158 Separately
Daxu Ancient Town Tour  Cultural 6 Near Guilin 1 8 114 Separately
Gudong Waterfall Tour Scenic 7 Near Guilin 1 8 108 Separately
Go Strawberry Picking at Daxu Old Town  Scenic 19 Near Guilin 1 4 40 With a tour
Yangshuo Park Morning Taiji Learning Tour  Cultural 8 Yangshuo 2 3 76 Separately
One Day tour to Purple Bamboo Forest Nunnery （Zizhulin An)  Cultural 12 Yangshuo 2 8 196 Separately
Buddhist TCM Clinique  Cultural 13 Yangshuo 2 8 196 Separately
Jiuwu Village Tour Cultural 15 Lingchuan 2 8 123 Separately
Ancient Ling Canal Tour  Cultural 17 Xing'an 2 8 129 Separately
Tai Chi Experience in Yangshuo Cultural 8 Yangshuo 2 1 14 With a tour
Yangshuo Chinese Painting or Calligraphy Learning Cultural 9 Yangshuo 2 1 14 With a tour
Yangshuo Chinese Cookery Class Cultural 10 Yangshuo 2 3 18 With a tour
Yangshuo Ai Yuan Chinese Cookery School Cultural 11 Yangshuo 2 3 28 With a tour
Purple Bamboo Forest Nunnery Cultural 12 Yangshuo 2 8 184 With a tour
Buddhist TCM Clinique Cultural 13 Yangshuo 2 8 184 With a tour
Kung Fu Experience in Yangshuo Cultural 16 Yangshuo 2 1 19 With a tour
Longji Terrace Field Memory Tour  Scenic 3 Longsheng 2 8 158 Separately
Yangshuo Countryside Cycling Tour  Scenic 4 Yangshuo 2 7 118 Separately
Yulong River Countryside  Scenic 5 Yangshuo 2 6 120 Separately
Yangshuo Kayaking Scenic 14 Yangshuo 2 3 28 With a tour

Some of our day tours may be purchased separately. Others (Itinerary Plus Tours with 20% off) must be bought along with a China tour including Guilin.

Meals

Decide where you want breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You may want to sample a specialty of the region. For example might want to eat Guilin rice noodles or a Li River fish. See our Guilin food and restaurants pages.

Shopping

Guilin Zhengyang Shopping Pedestrain StreetGuilin Zhengyang Pedestrain Shopping Street

You may also want to build in some time for souvenir shopping. There are a variety of general and specialist Chinese product shops near Pine Lake (杉湖 Shan Hu), on the walking street between Liberation Road (解放路 Jiefang Lu, the road over Liberation Bridge) and Center Square (中心广场 Zhongxin Guangchang).

When to shop: Shopping is probably best done in the evening as scenic attractions require daylight to appreciate them to their fullest. You might also consider shopping in the 12–2pm siesta time in the summer, as the city center will be less busy than in the evening, and you can escape the hot sun (or rain) in air-conditioned buildings.

Make Final Adjustments

When you've decided what you want to do, make sure it fits into a realistic time frame, suitable to your pace. Seeing five attractions in a rush may not be as satisfying as seeing three, with more time for photos and looking around.

Buy tickets/ make reservations/ arrange transport

Some attractions may require booking or paying for in advance (like the Li River Cruise). Some restaurants may require reservations. Arranging for private transport and a driver for the day will save precious time. It may also save money compared to several taxi fares.

Go!

The Li River in YangshuoThe Li River in Yangshuo

Once all the planning is done, all is left is to go. If you take a tour with us, we continue to be at your service 24/7, even after your tour is paid for. If you experience any difficulties, or require any changes to your tour, we will do our best to help. Depending on time before travel cancellations may incur a fee.

Longer Tours

Planning a longer tour of Guilin could be thought of as a series of day tours, if every night you return to the same hotel. If you have a number of days, you could spread out the key attractions over a number of more-balanced day tours (including both nature and culture, with time to relax (and kids' activities).

Visiting areas a significant distance from Guilin with lots to do, like Yangshuo and Longsheng, require at least a day on their own, and we would recommend staying at least a night there. This moves away from the Guilin day tour theme, as you would be better making e.g. Yangshuo your base, and on to "How to Plan a Day in e.g. Yangshuo".

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Hi, I'm Lynn Ye
I updated this article on April 15, 2013
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Q: veronique Rose Asked on 2013-02-03 Reply
Hello,We are driving from Guangzhou to Guilin on either the 13th or 14 February with our two children of 7 & 9 years of age. we would like to stay in a 3 or 4 star hotel and would like to see seven star park and red flute cave and also go to Yanshuo for 2 nights. can you help us plan our trip?

Hi,

thank you for your inquiry. This is Nora, a trip advisor of China Highlights. Glad to offer you some information.

I've arranged a tour based on your requirements and sent it to you via email. Please feel free to contact me at nora@chinahighlights.net if you would like to book the tour.

Wish you a wonderful day!

 

Nora Ou Replied on 2013-02-05
Q: Diego Asked on 2012-11-10 Reply
Hi there, Me(32) and my mum (57), are planing to visit Guilin on around the middle of January, but we don''t really know much about Guilin, besides its beautiful nature. We would like to know if its worth going on those dates and how many days you would recommend us to spend there, having in count that we want to take the most of our time without rushing and be able to visit other cities. We where thinking about staying 7 to 10 days.On the other hand, It would be helpful if you could give us an approximation about how much money it will cost for food and attration fees. Any other advices for first visitors wil be welcome.Thank you very much for your time and I am looking forward to hear from you soon.Your sincerelyDiego.
Q: Jackie Lam Asked on 2012-09-20 Reply
4 pax planning a trip to Guilin in July 29 to August 6 next year. Will be arriving in and out from Guilin. Please plan for us and what is the cost? Thank you.
Hi Jackie, yes, we are very glad to plan it for you. In order to quote the exact price, please help me with below the questions. 1. What kind of hotel would you prefer? 3/4/5 star? 2. Are there any children in your pax? How old if any? 3. Besides Guilin, any other destinations you would like to include? After getting more information from you, we will send you the itinerary with detailed price soon. Whitney Liao Replied on 2012-09-23
Q: Teo lay hua Asked on 2012-08-23 Reply
Hi, I am visiting Guilin on 3 oct to 8 oct, my son is interested to visit fruit orchard, is there any fruit farm in guilin, any recommendation for places of attrction
Dear Teo Lay Hua, During that period, it is not a harvest season for the fruit. There is no a suitable place to visit and pick the fruit. In spring, you could go to Daxu town to pick up the strawberries, in May you could pick the loquat and from Jul. to Aug. you could pick the grapes in Xingan town. In the end of Oct. the persimmons are on the market and a fesital will be held in Gongcheng town. Lussie Lu Replied on 2012-08-24
Q: Richard Godley Asked on 2012-08-19 Reply
Hello i am arriving into beijing on the 25th of aug very late, but would like a two Guilin trip I would like to fly to Guilin mid morning on the 26th. and spend the rest of the day 26th and most of the day 27th and depart late on 27th to return to beijing. Could you help my with and all around trip in Giulin for the limited time I will be there?

Hello Richard, this is Simon from China highlights, i am glad to assist you to plan your Guilin trip. Can you give me more information so that i can design an itinerary that better meets your requirement?  How many persons are there in your group? When you get to Beijing on August 25th, will you go to Guilin directly? Or will you stay one night in Beijing and then take a flight to Guilin in the next morning? If you choose to stay in Beijing one night before to Guilin, i'd like to suggest a hotel close to the airport. i am looking forward to hearing from you. My email address is simon@chinahighlights.com

Simon Huang Replied on 2012-08-19