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.
RSS Feed