How many days do you need in Guilin?

Three days is the minimum, four is the comfortable number, and five if you want the Longji rice terraces without a twelve-hour day.

Guilin city itself is half a day: Elephant Trunk Hill, Reed Flute Cave, a walk along the lakes. The scenery people actually come for is downstream in Yangshuo and two hours north in Longsheng, and each of those is a day of its own.

Time	What fits	Who it suits
2 days	City sights, then the Li River cruise to Yangshuo	Stopover on the Guangzhou line
3 days	Adds a full day on the Yulong River and in the Yangshuo countryside	Most first-time visitors
4 days	Adds Longji as a day trip from Guilin	You want rivers and mountains both
5 days	Adds a night at the terraces for sunrise, plus Xingping	Photographers, slow travellers

What each day looks like

Two days. Reed Flute Cave costs CNY 90 at the gate, takes one to one and a half hours, and is open 7:30–18:00 from April to November (8:00–17:30 in winter). Do it and Elephant Trunk Hill on day one. On day two the 4-star boats leave Zhujiang Pier around 09:00 and take roughly four hours to reach Yangshuo, so you are off the boat by early afternoon.

Three days. Spend the third in Yangshuo proper. The Yulong River raft from Jinlong Bridge to Jiuxian covers 6 km in about 90 minutes, costs CNY 320 per raft for two people, and is quieter than the Li. Tickets are per raft and must be bought in advance — they are not sold at the pier on the day.

Four days. Longji becomes a day trip instead of a rush. The terraces are about 100 km northeast of Guilin, roughly two hours' driving, then another 40 minutes from the ticket office up to Dazhai or about 30 to Ping'an. The walk between Ping'an's two main viewpoints alone takes two to three hours.

Five days. Sleep up at the terraces and catch sunrise, then give Xingping and Xianggong Hill a morning on the way back.

Getting between the pieces

Trains from Guilin North to Yangshuo Station run 22–30 minutes, but the station sits in Xingping, 35 km from West Street. Allow one and a half to two hours door to door once the road transfer is added. Guangzhou South is about three hours away by rail, Shenzhen North about three and a half.

Cruise seats and train tickets are worth fixing before you arrive, especially around public holidays. Operators charge more than the pier window but include the transfer to Zhujiang Pier, which is 20 miles southeast of downtown and not walkable from any hotel.

If you are still choosing where to stay at either end, compare all the main booking sites before committing.

Last checked: 2026-10-21