Anna

My husband and I are going to China in September for 2 weeks. We're doing it semi-independently, we have an agency arranging hotels, transfers, and flights for each of the cities. <BR><BR>Here's what the itinerary looks like right now:<BR>Beijing 4 nights<BR>Xian 2 nights<BR>Guilin 1 night<BR>Yangshuo 3 nights<BR>Hong Kong 4 nights<BR><BR>We'll take the boat from Guilin to Yangshuo, then spend 3 nights in Yangshuo at the Paradise Resort. This gives us 2 full days on our own. We want to take a bike ride into the countryside, do some hiking, and relax a bit. We are contemplating adding 2 more nights to Yangshuo, which would give us 4 free days. What do those who have stayed in Yangshuo think? We would still spend 4 nights in Hong Kong, we'd just extend the trip by 2 days.<BR><BR>

Sam

Hi. From what I've heard Yangshuo is a seductive place and looking at your itinerary I'm inclined to say (as a resident) you may regret rushing to Hong Kong.<BR>It's a hectic and expensive city which can easily be 'done' in two days (Peak/Stanley/Repulse Bay/Mong Kok markets/Soho bar) If you do stay longer try Lamma Island (a lovely ferry ride) or headout to New Territiories for walking and beaches. It's also entirely feasible to cross another border into Macau for a day trip. Have fun!

Les

Anna,<BR>I love Hong Kong. Don't give up any time there. Sam's suggestion of a day trip to Macao is a good one. A very nice way to fill a day.<BR>I'm not enamoured of Yangshuo, nut I love the surrounding area. I'd suggest a boat ride down the Li River from Guilin to Yangshuo, then spend some time in Yangshuo (3 days is plenty!). Don't waste any time in Guilin.

planner

Agree with Les. There is another place in HK you might like to see - Wang Tai Sin - fortune telling - at least you see the old Chinese culture which you will not see in any other cities you planned.

jorge

yep I agree with the rest.. yangshou is great litle place, but for a short time.. of course I stayed for much longer since I'm a budget travaler and the $2 rooms makes lots of us stay there for a while...<BR> <BR>KEEP with the plans you'll be fine.. have fun..

Alison

Hi Anna,<BR><BR>My husband and I were in Yangshuo last June and we stayed at the Paradise Resort. It is very nice (by Yangshuo standards) and in a good location. If I had to do it again, I would probably book 1 night at the Resort and then find a place on my own in Yangshuo, but not a necessary thing to do, there are just so many nice looking guesthouses (I didn't check out any of the rooms). We had 3 full days in Yangshuo which would have been perfect (our third day rained all day). Definitely do a bike ride through the country (we wanted to do this twice). We were approached by guides and were leary at first, but eventually hired one and it was the best thing we ever did...definitely hire a guide, you will never see these things on your own. Do this instead of the side-car or motorcycle tours. One night in Guilin is all you need, there is an interesting night market along the river by the Sheraton. Also an interesting park across the river. Beijing is fantastic, we had four nights there as well, that is a good amount of time. I think your itinerary looks really good, maybe just add one night in Yangshuo.<BR><BR>Have a wonderful time!

Gayle

Hi Anna, my husband and I did 5 weeks independently last October and for your amount of time I think youve planned it really well. Yangshuo really is nice and if its possible to add 2 days to your IT then go for it but if I was you Id consider splitting the 2 extra days between Yangshuo and Beijing (one each). <BR>Yangshuo you can get around easily and relax - Beijing is a bit of hard work with so many wonderful things to see and the place is so big. The extra day there would take the stress out of needing to put in huge days to see the must sees. (places like the summer palace takes hours to walk around - its huge - everything in Beijing is huge so its difficult to get through that must see list quickly ha)<BR>Dont worry though your original IT looks good if you decide to leave it as is. Enjoy - China is fantastic.<BR>Gayle