travlrgrrl

We are arriving in Guilin the evening of September 9 and plan to take a cruise down the river. Do we need to make reservations prior to arriving or can I just make these once we arrive. There are four of us.

Since we pretty much have flown to Guilin for this, I would not want to miss it. What does everyone suggest. We leave for Chongqing around 5 p.m. on September 11th. Does one have time in Yangshuo before having to take the bus back. Is this included in the price?

Are there any suggestions on how we should spend the extra time? My parents are 84 and 95 so biking is not an option. Shopping is always on my Mother's agenda -- me too.

gilawi01

Hi travlgrrl!

I was in Guilin last April and enjoy the 3 hour cruise greatly. You can make arrangements for the trip as soon as you arrive at your hotel. The cruise will stop at Yangshuo. There you can spend the rest of the day in the street markets and visiting the town (very pretty). you could go to the Reed Flute Caves (very impressive stalactites and stalagmites formations). Besides, Guilin city itself is very charming and colourful, specially at night. Enjoy the trip!

LynnieD

When you disembark in Yangshuo you are let off at the main touristy shopping area. Lots of neat handicrafts, coffee shops, etc. Its called West Street. There are alot of expaits in Yangshou and this area caters to them.

No idea of timeframe as we spent a few nights in yangshou after the river trip.

Reed Flute caves was really neat, but worth skipping if you've been to Carlsbad Caverns. I would spend the night in Yangshou and return by bus on the 11th to catch the flight. I think the bus is really cheap so even if you don't take the bus back you paid for with your river trip you could just pay the extra amount.

travlrgrrl

Thank you for the information. Since it's September and supposedly a busy travel season, can I wait to make reservations at the hotel or do I need to make them prior to our trip? Am I taking a huge chance or is this not a problem at all?

We are not part of any travel group. We thought it would be best to do all our traveling through China on our own which is really kind of fun. I just don't want to make a huge mistake by waiting too long.

The information you have given me has been great. It's sometimes hard to envision everything into you have done the trip yourself. I definitely will make us spend more time in Yangshuo and take a later bus back to Guilin. I have already made reservations at the Lijiang Waterfall in Guilin.

Thanks for your help!!!

LynnieD

I'm really not sure about how to get the tickets. Do you have a hotel yet? If not I think you could probably just email a concierge at one of the bigger hotels and you could ask them.

travlrgrrl

Thanks! That is a great idea. I will contact the hotel and make arrangements now.

BostonHarbor

Hi Travlgrrl,

I was in Guilin for a few days in November. We had a great trip. The cruise was a bit longer than I had anticipated and the diesel fuel from all the other boats was pretty strong. However, the scenery can only be called stunning. There is a fun shopping area at the end of the cruise. I was pretty good at bargaining by that point in the trip, so I bought many small souvenirs at great prices. Great silk scarves, small flat silk purses for teenagers, pashmina shawls.

I would also suggest that you get up early and walk around the pretty city lake in the morning. There are so many lovely people our dancing, doing Tai Chi and playing instruments. We walked each morning from the Guilin Sheraton to the Elephant mountain (about a 45 minute walk full of all sorts of interesting characters and very little hassling), we even joined in some ballroom dancing.

Here are some pictures of Guilin (these are my china photos--Guilin is the third folder.

http://photos.yahoo.com/guchinatrip


<a href="http://photos.yahoo.com/guchinatrip" target="_blank">Guilin Photos</a>

Fenno

I went last year with friends, stayed one night in Guilin. No trouble about booking for the boat trip as a travel guide came up to us at the check-in counter at the hotel, they will be waiting for you! Next 3 nights we stayed at the Paradise Resort Hotel in Yangshuo which was very comfortable, if you stay here, make sure you book rooms on 1st floor (that's what they call ground floor here) Otherwise your aged parents will have to walk up steps. This hotel is a short walk from the compact area of Yangshuo, which is a great chill-out place - some would say it's not the real China, but it may be better for your parents than Guilin as there is a lot of walking involved there. Once you get up the steps from the dock after the boat trip, everything is on one level. And don't worry about working out what to do in Yangshuo, once again a tour guide will be by your side at check-in to see what s/he can do for you! The compact area of Y is composed of small streets with no vehicular traffic, roadside cafes and shops, great for people watching and relaxing. The guide will assess you all and figure out what is the best activity but there isn't much time in any case as you leave again next afternoon.
In the evening in Y there is some extravaganza entertainment devised by a well-known Chinese film director. We instead opted for a private fishing boat to go see the cormorants, depends on whether your parents can get in and out of a small boat, but there would be the fishermen to help out.

Hope you enjoy, we loved it.

mandg

Hi: Re Yangshou, we enjoyed far more than Guilin, + we had a river view. Do try and see the night show, it was breathtaking. Take a torch. Light raincoats are provided at venue. For oldies, take a torch for footing, but path is wide and flat. You can buy binoculars (to keep) at the venue for about $10. We didn't but wish we had. Show is right on the river and you get there in little motorised open vans.
We booked a taxi via CITS for a morning drive to a (Ming) village about 20mts away and can wander through village. If you can find the undercover meat/vegies/fish market it is quite different, but wear enclosed shoes and floor is not even for oldies.
In main market area, if you want to buy a silk doonah, it was better than a factory price.
The large buses from Y'shou to Guilin leave frequently. The scenery is rural and beautiful with people working (hard) in fields. On arrival at the terminus in Guilin, you can't get a bus from there to the airport. We got a taxi as I ran out of ideas trying to communicate where we could get an airport shuttle.
I would not recommend the elders attempting to board a cormorant boat at night. Go to the night light show on the river. It exceeds the raves.
(Have toilet paper in pocket & small knob of soap. Wear enclosed shoes.) Bye - G

merckxxx

It is easy to book at any hotel, but the boat I was on had a scheduled stop at some caves. I dislike caves & could have sat on the boat, but went anyway and found it silly - one of those Chinese ways to get tourists to buy some junk. Ask to get the boat that does NOT stop at the caves since your people are old. I found some really beautiful horsehair & other fairly old miao woven things that I loved - so shopping in Y (altho I usu. hate shopping) is somewhat interesting. It is nice to walk around the area. I stayed overnight and took the bus back the next day and that worked fine.