5-Day Private Guilin and Longji Tour from Yangshuo

Five days threading through karst peaks, ancient towns, and rice terraces carved into mountainsides

A 5-day private tour from Yangshuo with guide and air-conditioned vehicle, covering Guilin's landmarks and the Longji Rice Terraces. You start with airport or hotel pickup, then move through Yulong River bamboo rafting, the Liusanjie outdoor show, Silver Cave, three old towns (Xingping, Fuli, Daxu), Yao Mountain, Elephant Hill, and finally Ping'an Village among the terraces. The itinerary ends with drop-off at your Yangshuo or Guilin hotel, airport, or train station.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1: Arrival and transfer to Yangshuo

• Pick up at Guilin airport/train station
• Transfer to Yangshuo hotel
• Free time for rest

Day 2: Yangshuo river cruise and show

• Meet guide at Yangshuo hotel
• Drive to Yulong River
• Take Yulong bamboo boat ride
• Drive to Xianggong hill
• Climb Xianggong hill viewpoint
• Visit West Street and have lunch
• Attend Liusanjie light show
• Return to Yangshuo hotel

Day 3: Cave and old towns exploration

• Meet guide at Yangshuo hotel
• Drive to Silver Cave
• Tour Silver Cave with headset
• Visit Moon Hill area
• Explore Xingping old town and have lunch
• Visit Fuli old town and see local crafts
• Return to Yangshuo hotel

Day 4: Guilin city cultural tour

• Meet guide at Yangshuo hotel
• Drive to Guilin city center
• Visit Daxu old town
• Explore Yao Mountain and take chairlift
• Visit Yao Mountain tea plantation
• Visit Elephant Trunk Hill
• Lunch at Zhengyang walking street
• Walk around Sun and Moon pagodas
• Return to Yangshuo or Guilin hotel/train station/airport

Day 5: Longji Rice Terraces day tour

• Pick up from Yangshuo hotel
• Drive to Longji Rice Terraces ticket office
• Purchase tickets and drive to Ping'an or Dazhai village
• Visit Long Hair Village Huangluo
• Explore Ping'an Village and rice terraces
• Lunch in Ping'an (own expense)
• Return to Yangshuo or Guilin hotel/train station/airport

The experience

Your arrival day is yours to settle in. The driver meets you at Guilin airport or train station with a name board and takes you to your Yangshuo hotel with no guide. Just transport. The real tour starts the next morning at 9am from your hotel.

Day two pairs the Yulong River with two hilltop views. A 60-minute bamboo boat ride on the Yulong (a tributary known as the Little Li River) takes you through dramatic karst landscape and silky water. Two people share each boat. Afterward, you climb 400 steps up Xianggong hill in 15 minutes to see the Li River spread below. West Street in downtown Yangshuo comes next for lunch and wandering through shops and alleyways, then at 6:30pm your guide meets you there to head to the Liusanjie show. This 70-minute outdoor performance uses the Li River as its stage and 12 hills as backdrop, with scenes that shift with the weather and season. You're back at your hotel around 10:30pm.

Day three moves through three old towns and a cave. Silver Cave, 40 minutes from Yangshuo, is the largest karst cave in Guilin: stalactites glitter like silver under colored lights, and English headsets guide you through. Moon Hill, a limestone formation with a hole through its peak, sits on the scenic Ten-Mile Gallery. Xingping Town, 25 kilometers away on the Li River's east bank, lets you walk the old street and visit the 20-RMB viewpoint (or take a small boat on the river for cash paid locally). Fuli, eight kilometers from Yangshuo, is an 800-year-old artistic town where you see hand-painted paper fans being made in small factories along cobbled alleyways and the Li River bank.

Day four is a Guilin city loop. After 1.5 hours driving from Yangshuo, you spend an hour in Daxu Old Town on the Lijiang River bank, browsing traditional handicrafts at stalls that trace back to Ming Dynasty markets. Yao Mountain, Guilin's highest peak, offers a chairlift up and toboggan down, plus a tea plantation 3.5 kilometers away where staff teach tea picking, making, and tasting (leaf picking is not available November through March, but tea performance and tasting run year-round). Elephant Hill, a landmark in central Guilin, follows. Lunch is at Zhengyang walking street near the Sun and Moon pagodas and lakes, then you return to your Yangshuo hotel or transfer to a Guilin hotel, train station, or airport.

Day five is the Longji Rice Terraces. A 2-hour drive covers 150 kilometers via highway to the ticket office, where you stop 15 minutes to buy entry, then continue by car to Ping'an or Dazhai village. Your first stop is Huangluo, the Long Hair Village, where Yao women grow their hair to lengths of 2 meters (6.6 feet). Your guide explains their lifestyle. Then you head up to Ping'an Village, set among the terraces and still home to traditional wooden houses where Zhuang and Yao minorities work fields as they have for centuries. After a traditional lunch (your own expense), your guide walks you through the rice terraces, explaining how locals carved these landscapes out of steep slopes over many centuries. If you're returning to Guilin, you leave around 3:30pm and arrive back around 5:30pm. If staying in Yangshuo, you leave at 4:30pm.

What’s included

• Private air-conditioned vehicle and private guide throughout the 5 days.
• entrance tickets to all attractions (Silver Cave, Yao Mountain, Elephant Hill, Longji Rice Terraces, and other sites).
• hotel pickup and drop-off at your Yangshuo or Guilin hotel, airport, or train station.
• English headset for Silver Cave.
• English, French, Chinese, or Cantonese-speaking guide.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery day

AgesAdult (10 and older) · Child (5 to 9 years) · Infant (under 5): free

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish, French, Cantonese and Chinese

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 72 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated 7 days ago

Good to know

Moderate physical effortStroller-friendlyNot recommended during pregnancyNot recommended with heart problemsNot recommended with back problems

Operated by happychinatours

Is this one for you?Book this if you want a dedicated guide and driver for the full five days so you can linger at sites like the rice terraces or bamboo river without waiting for others, and adjust the itinerary on the fly based on what interests you most.

Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English, French, Chinese and Cantonese.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (5 to 9 years); Infant (under 5): free.

What is the Yulong River bamboo boat ride like?

The Yulong River, a tributary of the Li River known as the Little Li River, is a 60-minute ride on a bamboo boat with one other person. The river flows through dramatic karst landscape with silky water and ancient bridges, and the ride takes about 30 minutes to reach from Yangshuo.

Can I pick tea leaves at Yao Mountain tea plantation?

Yao Mountain's tea plantation offers tea picking, making, and tasting experiences, but leaf picking is not available from November through March when the plants are not growing. During those months, you can still enjoy the tea performance and taste tea.

How long does the drive to Longji Rice Terraces take?

The drive to Longji Rice Terraces is approximately 2 hours covering 150 kilometers via highway from Yangshuo to the ticket office.

What are the Longji Rice Terraces and Ping'an Village like?

Longji Rice Terraces are fields carved into steep mountain slopes over many centuries by local farmers. Ping'an Village sits among the terraces and still has traditional wooden houses where Zhuang and Yao minorities live and work the fields as their ancestors did.

Do I need to pay extra for meals during the tour?

Meals are not included in the tour price. You arrange and pay for lunch on your own at each stop, including the traditional lunch at Ping'an Village on day five.

What happens on my arrival day?

On arrival day, your driver meets you at Guilin airport or train station with a name board and transfers you to your Yangshuo hotel. No guide accompanies you, and the rest of the day is free to rest and settle in.