Home > Guilin > Li River Cruise Full Day Tour of Guilin and Yangshuo
USD $109.00
Li River Cruise Full Day Tour of Guilin and Yangshuo
Guilin, China
Take a day trip from Guilin along the impressionable Li River, twisting and turning through lush Chinese landscape that will have you 'snap happy' with the camera for the majority of the sightseeing tour! After some local, fresh catches for lunch on the way to Yangshuo, you will have the opportunity to indulge in a bit of shopping and maybe pick up some real bargains in pearl and jade, or fine Chinese paintings.
On this full day sightseeing tour from Guilin you'll be cruising upriver for four hours, sitting in cushioned comfort in the main cabin or enjoying the open-air viewing platform. Bring lots of film because this cruise along the Li River is a photographer's dream, and you'll want to capture the dramatic landscapes that Chinese artists have been painting for centuries.
Lunch will be served onboard, with local favorites and fresh catches from the Li River. Your destination is the village of Yangshuo, where you'll disembark and stroll amid the colorful, bustling marketplace of local street vendors. After you stretch your legs and see the sights, it's a bus trip back to Guilin to see the farms and countryside away from the river. The trip doesn't end here, because you also get a choice of shopping stops and some real bargains in pearl and jade, or fine Chinese paintings.
If you choose not to return back to Guilin right away, you will also have the opportunity to partake in some exciting afternoon activities in Yangshuo (at your own expense):
Biking tour: USD $25
Rafting tour of Yulong River: USD $35
Night tour of the Four Lakes: USD $35
Yaoshan highlights: USD $40
Rice terrace field tour: USD $70
Impression Sanjie Liu night show: USD $40
Please note that if you choose to do any of these activities, you will have to return to Yangshuo on your own. Your guide will be more than happy to help you arrange transportation back to Yangshuo.
This tour gets five stars from many reviewers but that would be due to the spectacular scenery, not the tour itself. The Li river cruises is big business. There were thousands of people going on boats simultaneously with us and the tickets are expensive. This wasnt even peak season. It became obvious the business is there and the incentive for tour companies to do a good job is not there. People come anyhow.
Review by: Keith C, April 2018
Beautiful cruise down the Li River!
Review by: Helen S, March 2018
I very much recommend this tour - a must if you go to Guilin!
Review by: Lucy, January 2018
It was one of my best Tours , the best one in China . Even if it was a foggy day , the magic atmosphere made it more interesting . The photos below are illustrating the reality . When in China , this Tour is a must !
Review by: Stacey, January 2018
This is likely the most touristy I have ever felt. The process of getting to the river and on the boat was ok. These boat cruises are very big business and you will be on one of about 15 very large boats. Despite the not so ideal process of navigating the masses to board, this is still an experience to do! The views from the boat were absolutely amazing and the cruise is quite long so the hubbub up front is worth it. I would vigorously suggest bringing some snacks/lunch as the meal served on the boat was pretty gross and I'm not that picky in foreign countries. We did an after tour in the village that was pretty touristy as well but we enjoyed it and would do it again. Get your snacks and water and go for it!
Review by: Peter M, October 2017
Well worth doing - at almost any price actually about 79. Viator gave an almost immediate response either tour is available or not, and used Tang Tours. They were excellent. In particular they provided details of pickup times quickly. Guides were knowledgeable and very helpful
Review by: Al3x, September 2017
Don't choose this tour! First of all, no hotel pick-up as it was promised. The guide called the hotel a day before of the tour and we had to be at a different place at 8:00am expressing to be there 10 minutes in advance. But we had to wait until 8:40 am! The bus was broken they said. But they could still inform us by a call._br/_ I trust the reviews but didn't notice they are mostly old ones. Apparently many things changed: it is clearly mentioned a minivan in the tour specifications. But they came with a big touring bus, more than 30 people. _br/_ Also, the lunch is a very simple microwave box while it is written in the text that you will enjoy a fresh catch and nice food._br/_ In general the tour was not organized at all and we suffered it. For example, they asked us to pay 50 RMB to be on the second floor of the cruise in order to enjoy a better view. We paid and only in the boat, the guide said we either need to sit separate upstairs or we should sit downstairs. We were so angry after all that we asked to call a taxi and take us back to Guilin. However, she finally arranged the seats.
Review by: MITALI S, September 2017
This was a MUST do tour. It was just amazingly scenic as one drifted along the Li River. Lunch provided was good. Transportation was fine too. However, I realized that people who bought the tour in Guilin just the night before paid 60 while I paid 109 on Viator much in advance. My advice would be to buy your tour there. I didn't purchase the optional tour 22 in Yangshuo though it sounded really good because I was angry at having paid so much more than everyone who had booked it locally. That optional tour should have been given to me for free given I had already paid so much more than other people...
Review by: Verena L, June 2017
This tour gets only one point from me because of the beautiful nature and the actual boat trip - none of which the provider has any influence on or part in. Otherwise they only want to sell you additional trips etc._br/_ Our tour was in Chinese and English mainly Chinese though and basically provided the information on where to meet and what else to do. There was only very little information about the actual nature/city part. The hotel pick-up turned out to be a somewhere-near-the-hotel pick-up._br/_ The included seats on the boat are at the lowest level. For an additional fee of 50 RMB/person you could get an upgrade to the second deck. Depending on whether you want to spend your time sitting mostly inside or standing on the open top deck this upgrade may or may not be recommended._br/_ After the boat trip that took about three hours you have the choice of going on a guided bus trip to a place called Shangri-La. Also for additional money. If not, you are left on your own in Yangshuo. There you can either spend the next three hours until the bus pick-up or you can pay extra for a public bus or taxi back to Guilin. The bus pick-up was at a hotel within walking distance of the main street and was okay. The guide called to make sure we got on the right bus because she was no longer there. However, our bus back only had two stops, at a train station or at a night market close to the central square. Nothing about the offered hotel drop-off. You are left to find your own way back from either of these places.
Review by: Amy R, May 2017
The boat cruise was great and the scenery amazing. The guide was nice but somewhat disorganized. Overall, I really enjoyed the day.
Review by: Wendy.ogden, May 2017
The cruise was worth the actual chaos that was the pick up and the waiting to board. Be aware that you will be offered an upgrade for 50 yuan, this gives you seats on the upper level which is not as busy as the lower deck. We spent most of our time out on the front observation deck or you could go to the upper observation deck - both free to access. We took up the extra option to go to the Shangrila Park which was very touristy but quite good fun if you accepted this. Cerri, our guide, was amazing and worked very hard looking after us all and providing interesting local information.
Review by: Marie Pierre G, May 2017
Nice cruise, but get prepared to face an incredible crowd._br/_ The optional tour sold in order to keep tourists busy during the 3 hours in Yangshuo is not really worth the money, there is not a lot to see, basically you pay to go and visit shops
Review by: Ronald B, March 2017
Worthwhile trip_br/_ Great scenery_br/_ helpful guide
Review by: Richard L, March 2017
First, this is a must do if you are able to make it to Guilin, China. Views change with every twist and turn of the river, so for anyone who enjoys photography this is especially fantastic. The tour bus arrived a few minutes late, but no problem. The tour guide spoke mostly in Chinese -- we were the only English speakers, I think -- but she came to us and spoke in English every chance she got. They arrived at the dock early, as the cruise begins at 9:30am. On the boat, the guide answered all our questions in English and pointed out a few of the main highlights. We also paid for the separate Shangri-La Theme Park tour, and felt it was worth it. That park is attractive and it's nice to see how Chinese farmers lived in the past. When the bus took us back to downtown Guilin, we informed them that we were from the Shangri-La Hotel north of town. Our guide put us in a cab for free back to our hotel. Excellent service and a great day.
Review by: Richard L, March 2017
If you have a chance to go to Guilin, do it. The Li River Cruise provides you with river views that are as amazing as anywhere on the planet. The views change with every twist and turn of the river too. Our tour began with a bus ride from the Shangri-La hotel -- picked up a few minutes late -- to the dock. The cruise started at 9:30am, and we had time to stroll around the grounds at the port first. The guide spoke mostly in Chinese, but she spoke directly to us in English -- we were the only English speakers on the tour. She answered our questions in English on the cruise too. We paid extra for the Shangri-La Theme Park tour in Yangshuo, and it was worth it. We enjoyed the folkloric atmosphere there that showed scenes of old Chinese farming architecture and culture. On the ride back on the bus, they dropped everyone off near downtown Guilin, but our guide put us in a taxi for free back to our Shangri-La Hotel in Guilin north of town. An excellent and memorable day.
Review by: Joseph M, February 2017
The hotel pickups happen in a large bus which takes everyone to a ferry terminal. Information was a little sparse so we weren't always sure what we were doing or where to go, but river cruse a couple of hours including a reasonable Chinese style on-board meal, was reasonably pleasant despite some of the gestures locals made at us from the banks. The river is motorway like with multiple cruise ships heading the same way, the scenery changes several times and there are areas where many smaller vessels share the waterways. There is free time in the town where the ferries dock, but the instructions as to where to meet up were difficult to follow. The group then boards a bus to be taken for a river gondola ride over a weir, those who are by themselves get paired up for this. Again there was confusion as to what to do next, the gondola's dropped us downstream and we had to work out to walk back to the starting village ourselves before the bus ride back to Guilin. It may be worth bringing a hand held fan for the journey as it gets hot ..... and at least 2 from our group never found there was back to the bus in the village, so we eventually left without them.
Review by: Christa J, October 2016
The boat was extremely nice and comfortable with a great local buffet. Lots of room on top for taking pictures of the beautiful scenery. Gary was our tour guide and was wonderful. We added on the silver caves excursion as well (however if you already did reed flute then no need....go enjoy Yangshuo)
Review by: Al M, October 2016
Worthwhile trip, too bad it was so hazy, don't know if that is unusual or not._br/_ The passengers tend to be segregrated, English speakers all at the same table, might be a good idea, but if you want to sample other culture's food not so good. Cabin's excellent
Review by: Ana Filipa R, October 2016
It was amazing go through the Li river in a beautiful boat, with an amazing guide - Gary - that was very kind with me and my friends and was always with us. Highly recomended tour.
Review by: Mirela R, September 2016
Han Tang Tour China is terrible. They didn't pick me up at the hotel as said in 5 previous emails. I almost lost the cruise. The bus on the way back had no air conditioning while outside was 92 F. They overcharged to visit a sort of Disney sort of park called Shagri-La right there in Yangshuo. Viator has to drop this agency if there is no improvement.
Review by: Suchirana S, July 2016
All these tours are very large group tours. would have liked doing in a small group if i had known.
Review by: Sherry V, July 2016
This tour was amazing!
Review by: Chris H, June 2016
The sights were stunning. Han Tang Tours was awful. Late. Poor English. This comes from someone who teaches Chinese students.
Review by: Marcia W, May 2016
Very nice tour. Relaxing and views all around. Tour guide was exceptional and made sure all the highlights of the cruise were pointed out.
Review by: Alejandra Janet C, May 2016
nice trip
Review by: Kristina I, April 2016
This tour was amazing!
Review by: Marlene Mei Lin H, March 2016
When we made the booking with Viator, we had assumed that we will be on a VIP boat with better toilet facilities, safety etc etc The cruise offered from our hotel with the newer white boats was only a fraction of the price we paid to Viator. I would recommend future travellors to book the local tour for this cruise for much better value.
Review by: Alejandra Janet C, March 2016
The landscapes are amazing, and also the silver caves in Yangshuo, but you have to pay extra money to go there. The food and the boat are regular.
Review by: G P, November 2015
Great trip and the scenery is stunning
Review by: Laurie N, November 2015
Gary was a fabulous guide. He was friendly, informative and funny. Gary's English was very good. I would highly recommend.
Review by: Emel S, October 2015
The tour was good but in talking to other people who booked through other websites, I overpaid on Viator. Also, although lunch was a buffet and I noted that I don't eat pork, there were not a lot of non-pork options. Even the noodles and the green beans had bits of pork in them. We ate lunch on the boat so there wasn't really an alternative. I chose to take the optional tour in the afternoon which wasn't really worth it except for the bamboo raft ride. However, if you're staying in Yangshuo you can easily do this on your own at a later time.
Review by: pritisinha45669, August 2015
This place is absolutely beautiful. It is a must-see for anyone visiting China however, this tour is not very English-speaking tourist friendly. The initial tour guide that picked us up was very nice and tried very hard to communicate effectively in English and tried to keep things equal between the Chinese speakers and English speakers. After we got on the boat, though, the translator would state 1 sentence in English but then continue the rest of the narration for 10 minutes in Chinese. There were many sights and scenes with significance we would have liked to learn about but because the narration was so poor we missed those opportunities. Additionally when announcing for food, the Chinese were instructed to get food first and after some delay we were told that food was served. By the time we got to the buffet, most of the food was gone. Additionally, when we arrived at the bamboo river rafting, our group with english speakers was bypassed by all the groups with Chinese individuals only even though we were there first. I am not sure how the tour was organized but we were required to tell the tour guide about interests in the bamboo rafting by 10 AM so that she could make reservations early on and it seemed as if she waited till the end to make the reservation. It would be best if there was a separate tour for english speakers.
Review by: Bruce L, July 2015
We were quite disappointed with this tour. There were about 35 people in our group mostly Chinese. When we got onto the boat we joined with another group most probably of a similar size. Although our guide spoke English when we were on the boat the guides there only spoke in Chinese so we didn't learn anything of the history of this incredible scenery. Unfortunately at the time the river was in flood and it was raining at times. During the cruise the guide asked us about an optional tour which cost an additional 300 Yuan for the two of us. This was totally unexpected. We were even charged an extra 20 Yuan each for a can of soft drink with lunch. The Chinese lunch today wasn't very impressive. The little village of Yangshuo was worth seeing. The optional tour for those who didn't want to do any more shopping with English commentary was quite good with a visit to a historical village dating back about 600 years and also the village of Shangri la. From our experience I would not recommend this tour.
Review by: thysvisser, April 2015
Over crowded and un organised.
Review by: Frederick M, February 2015
Great tour
Review by: Merlene W, January 2015
Cruise was good. Tour leader very good
Review by: Eileen F D, November 2014
I was very impressed with the Li River Tour in Guilin. It was well organised and we had a very good tour guide by the name of Susie._br/_
I like all Viator tours as they ensure pick up from the Hotel and return to the Hotel._br/_
This is now my fourth tour taken with Viator and if I return to China I will always tour with Viator._br/_
Your Sincerely,_br/_
Eileen Duron.
Review by: Diego D, August 2014
The boat trip on the Li River is maybe the best activity in Guilin. If the weather is good, the view is amazing. The boat ride takes all the morning. In the afternoon you will visit Yangshuo. Remember that if you decide not to take part in any of the optional activities, you'll have to stay in Yangshuo for 4 hours. However, this is not a big problem. In Yangshuo you can do some shopping or relax in some pub.
Review by: Emily K, July 2014
The tour was very very nice and Alan the tour guide was very kind and helpful.. The bamboo raft cruise on the river was amazing
Review by: Nick, April 2014
It was amazing!
Review by: Carolyn R, April 2014
This tour started with an 8-20am pick up in a van, then a transfer to large coach and ended up at the wharf for a 9-30 boat departure. The boat we were on was good - looked like the newest on the river and there is quite a procession.The landscape is stunning. However, this was a trip (unlike other Viator tours) where there were lots of extras. If you want a seat on a higher deck, an extra 100RMB per person. Lunch on board was described to include "fresh catch" - but if you wanted to eat fish you had to pay extra and a lot extra. We bought a whole fish - not really enough for two and it cost 270 RMB - the most expensive fish we ate in China. _br/_
You arrive at Yangshuo at about 1-30pm and are given 1 hour and 20 minutes to wander around before meeting the guide, The bus does not return to Guilin until at least 4 hours later and you are asked to sign up for an optional extra tour to a local village and go bamboo rafting at 150 RMB per person. We felt we had to do this as probably 20-30 minutes in the shopping area in West Street in Yangshuo is more than enough, let alone 4 hours. This tour was OK but I would have preferred to have done the 2 hour rafting trip and skipped the time in Yangshou._br/_
You do not leave to return to Guilin until about 5pm so you do not get back until at least 6-40 or 7pm. This is not what it says on Viator website and as we needed to be back by 6-30 we had to pay extra for a car and driver - another 200RMB. _br/_
All in all a very expensive day and not like all the other Viator tours we have done.
Review by: Amy-Claire, March 2014
I would recommend this tour to those who wish to see the Li River landscape between Guilin and Yangshuo, and who want to see Yangshuo in a day.
Review by: Antranik S, December 2013
Great Trip, helpful staff
Review by: David R, November 2013
The tour itself was pretty much as expected - awesome vistas even if the weather was overcast and misty. The food on board the boat wasn't great but ok. If there was any real negative point it was the communication (or lack of it) we received from the tour operator the evening before the trip. We arrived at our hotel in Guilin at 7pm expecting there to be a message informing us of the pick-up time the next day but no message had been left. At 9pm I started phoning the number we had been given but the line was constantly 'busy'. After trying to get through about 20 times I had to resort to leaving email messages with Viator to try and get some information. Finally, at 11pm, we were contacted by the hotel receptionist to talk to someone from the tour operator and they finally gave us the pick-up time. 11pm was way too late and created way too much stress for us when we were meant to be on holiday! They need to do better than that!
Review by: JENNIFER K, June 2013
Wow! Guilin is amazing. You must do this tour in Guilin. We were on the boat for about 3 hours. When we first boarded it was raining and we were seated at tables downstairs. We were not too keen on this and ventured upstairs to find it had stopped raining. We stood on the upper deck for the whole three hours and did not once get tired of the magnificent views. From small bamboo rafts latching on to our boat to try and sell fruit to the beautiful mountain scenery, this was like floating in a dream. Yangshuo was full of little market type stalls all selling the same things, so we decided to do the optional tour. We are so glad we did. We went to a village and sat on a water buffalo, got to watch the cormorants dive for fish, hold the bamboo stick the cormorants were on and visit the Shangri La village. We would strongly recommend doing the optional tour which was RMB200 each. Don't know what we would have done waiting in Yangshuo for four hours. On the way back to our hotel our guide told us the Shangri La Hotel we were staying at was a bit far out for the large coach to drive to, so she got off the bus with us in the town and put us in a taxi to our hotel and the company paid for it. We thought this was incredible customer care.
Review by: ROBERTA R, April 2013
the tour was really interesting and well organized.Pick up was on time and the guide really professional. The only things the tour was bilingual (Chinese and English) and not just English.
Review by: Micky Chen F, February 2013
Nice n pleasant trip..
Review by: Brian M, November 2012
The trip is certainly worth doing if you get the weather. Unfortunately, it was raining for the whole trip we made. We still enjoyed it but it would be much more spectacular on a good day. There was one downside. The cruise came with lunch included. However, as soon as we were settled on board, we were asked if we wanted to order a 'special' meal. It was not made clear at all if this was us ordering our included lunch or if this was an extra. It took a while to figure this was an ‘extra’ out as the waitress did not speak English. The included lunch was basic but still good quality.
Review by: Michael G, July 2012
A great day out. It was a bit of a surprise when they told us that we'd have to fork out more cash to partake in the afternoon's activities, but we did and had a great time.
Review by: 123gabyn, June 2012
The tour was great. Everything was well organized. They gave us the opportunity to book an extra tour for 25 euros which was well worth it.
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