1

Most people who use thorntree are independent travellers. If you are looking for a tour, perhaps look on tripadvisor?

If you are still interested, fly into Shanghai, then book an internal flight to Guilin. Use services such as elong.net, ctrip.com and travelzen.com to book your internal flight.

Once in Guilin, catch a bus to Yangshuo. Find a guesthouse,hostel or hotel there. Then relax and sight see for a few days. Do a raft trip on the Yulong river. Climb up Moon hill. Visit the rice terraces to the north of Guilin. See yangers.com for lots of information.

Spring might be wet. Summer hot and wet. Autumn dry and warm, but crowded with visitors, Winter can be cold.

2

The best city to arrive in is Hong Kong if you want to go straight to Guilin. There are evening flights every day and just a short flight. Flights going back to Hong Kong leave in the late afternoon or early evening. You can purchase the boat cruise at most hotels the day before and they pick you up at the hotel by bus and take you to the boat dock which is about 1 hour from the Guilin. The cruise is one of the best in China and takes about 4.5 hours. If you like caves there is Crown Cave on the way but you must book it in advance with the cruise as all boats do not stop there. In Yangshuo there is a nice hotel called the Magnolia, traditional hotel right in the middle of the town on a quiet street. A local guide there will be able to take you to different sights if you wish. You can also rent a bicycle to ride into the countryside too. Don't forget the "Impression Sanjie LIu" show on the river at night. It is one of the best in the country with over 900 local people. Best times to go there are in April/May and Sept.Oct. when the weather is not so hot or cold. Much to do around both places.

3

laurf, I would agree with everything said in no. 1. However, if this is your first trip to China you may want to fly into Beijing, as there is a lot of Chinese history (the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Summer Palace and a bunch more) to experience there. You could of course arrange to fly into either Shanghai or Beijing and then leave from the other, with a trip to Guilin in the middle. It is not very difficult to travel independently in China when visiting the major tourist destinations such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guilin/Yangshuo.

Also, an option to going direct to Yangshuo is to spend a couple of days in Guilin. Maybe make a day trip or even spend a night at the rice terraces north of Guilin, visit the Reed Flute Cave, and take a day or night boat ride on the Guilin Water System. Then take a boat down the Li River to Yangshuo (or bus/taxi/private car to Yangshuo) and spend a few days there. I'm one of the few on Throntree though that likes the Li River cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo. Most other recommend to skip the cruise and taket a powered raft in Yangshuo to go up the river to see the scenery at less cost, which is a viable option to the cruise.

I stayed a couple of years ago at the Magnolia Inn in Yangshuo recommended in the no. 2 post. It was the noisiest hotel I've stayed in during quite a bit of traveling in China. There is a bar just around the corner that had a band playing until very early in the morning.

4

I also think the best way to Guilin is through Hong Kong. As well as a direct flight from Hk, you can hop over to Shenzhen and fly from there. I personally would spend most of my time in Yangshuo and just one day aropund Guilin. I would organise boat trips etc. once arriving in Yangshuo.

5

Guilin is a nice and wonderful city. Come to Guilin you must visit Elephant Trunk Hill, Longji Terrace, Yangshuo, Li River, Reed Flute Cave and many other famous nature landscapes that worth to look. Should not miss Yangshuo. A small city which has lot of interesting spots. You can ride the bike explore the town or lay down in one of the bars there. Have a relax, take a deep breath and enjoy the view. Nice experience!
Mybe if you come to China, you should not miss Beijing. As the capital of China, Beijing also has lot of historical and famous tourist destination which you should not miss. You also can visit famous Great Wall from Beijing. Good luck!

6

u could take a bus from Guilin city center to Xingping and switch another mini bus to the port of the Lijiang River, then pay about 50-70 per person for ferry across river, going downstream and same ferry across it again then take a trek along riverbank updream to Yangshuo (u will take another ferry when close to Yangshuo). The trek takes about half a day

7

I'd prefer to arrive in Shanghai since already been in Beijing and HKG.
I'd have 7 full days in China so how do u suggest to split up?

Understand that Yangshuo is better than Guillin. But how can I reach it? By bus from Guillin?

Thanks all!!

8

7 full days:

On arrival in Shanghai, try to get an internal flight to Guilin. Either book in advance (but you will need to give yourself a few hours between the arrival of the international flight and departure of internal one, or try to book, and pay more, on arrival). Be careful to make sure both flights use the same airport.

On arrival in Guilin, maybe try to get straight to the rice terraces. If on a high budget, arrange for a car from the airport, or get a taxi. If on low budget, you'll probably need to head to Guilin first and use public buses. Spend a night or two on the terraces.

Then head direct to Yangshuo. Bus to Guilin. Then bus to Yangshuo. 3 nights there. Then bus back to Guilin and fly to Shanghai and have a night or two there before your departure.

9

Do avoid spending too much time in Guilin. It is a horrible, dirty city with the nastiest people I have met in China (the ONLY unpleasant people) who tried to rip me off every step. Even telling my Chinese friend the place I wanted to visit could not be visited by foreigners without a 300 Y tour. (I went there the next day for 10 Y on a local bus). Get a taxi or bus from the airport directly to Yangshuo.