Self-guided tour from Chongqing to Guilin and Yangshuo

The air ticket from Chongqing to Guilin in April should not be very expensive, so it is recommended to fly. You can search some travel agencies online in advance to help book accommodation. It should be easy to book during non-holidays, and the standard room on weekdays is less than 100 yuan. We contacted Guo Meilin of Zhongxin Travel Agency at that time. He was very nice, but the contact information is no longer available. You can search online.

You need to do a lot of homework in advance for self-guided tours, and have a good plan for the route and cost in order to have a good time. Let’s recommend our self-guided tour itinerary for your reference.

Four days, the first day is Longsheng Rice Terraces, stay in Guilin in the evening, visit Guilin Zhengyang Street, Two Rivers and Four Lakes, the second day Guilin Elephant Trunk Mountain, Seven Star Park, arrive in Yangshuo in the evening, see the impression of Liu Sanjie, On the third day, you can tour the Li River (bamboo raft, Yangdi - Xingping), Yinziyan, and tour West Street in the evening. On the fourth day, you can bike to Butterfly Spring, Big Banyan Tree, Moon Mountain, and Yulong River, and return by the evening train. The following are the details:

I arrived in Guilin around 7 a.m. on the first day. I bought a direct shuttle bus to Longsheng County in Guilin (27 yuan/person). I ate in Guilin while waiting for the bus. Authentic Guilin rice noodles, cheap and delicious. After arriving at Longsheng, transfer to the shuttle bus to the terraced fields (7 yuan/person). To go to the terraced fields, you usually go to Pinganzhai or Dazhai. If you have arranged a day, you can only choose one of them. If you want to go to both, Basically, you have to stay there for one night to have enough time. The terraced scenery of Ping'an Village is more beautiful, and Dazhai is more spectacular. In fact, it is enough to choose one. We chose Ping'an Village. The scenery of Ping'an Village's seven stars and the moon is pretty good. However, it takes about 3 hours to drive from Guilin to the terraced fields, and the round trip takes 6 hours. From this aspect, whether it is recommended or not, it depends on personal preference. , and the farm food there is relatively average (maybe the one we chose is not very good), but the soy milk on the mountain is delicious, and it is also fun to climb the mountain road and shuttle between the villages. A special reminder is that the shuttle bus to Pinganzhai Rice Terraces is very early. You must ask the latest return shuttle time before visiting, otherwise it will be inconvenient if you miss the action.

I returned to Guilin in the evening, had dinner, and walked all the way to Zhengyang Street in Guilin. I saw two rivers and four lakes on the way. There is no need to spend more than 200 silver to take a cruise to see two rivers and four lakes in one city. The night view can also be seen on foot. Zhengyang Street is Guilin’s commercial street. There is nothing special about it. You can still eat snacks. We stayed in Guilin at night. Due to the Golden Week, we booked a room in advance. If we had gone directly and looked for it during normal times, there would be no problem. There are many hotels that provide accommodation.

I slept in the next day and set off to Elephant Trunk Mountain around 10 o'clock. They are both in Guilin City. They are very close and can be reached by bus. I originally planned to go to Qixing Park after going to Elephant Trunk Mountain, which is just one station away from Elephant Trunk Mountain. However, after visiting Elephant Trunk Mountain, I felt that this is the feeling of a city park and not very interesting, so I temporarily canceled my trip to Qixing Park. For the park’s itinerary, we decided to head directly to Yangshuo. If you want to go to Reed Flute Cave, Fubo Mountain, or Diecai Mountain, you can take Guilin's public transportation or free scenic spot shuttle bus (it's been a long time since there was one, and we didn't see one) to get there.

Due to the National Day, there were too many people. Although we bought the tickets at noon, it was already past 4 pm when we arrived in Yangshuo. After buying the return tickets, we contacted the place to stay (it was also a family hotel booked in advance: Aunt Qin’s family hotel (standard rooms cost 180 yuan per day, very clean), it was already dinner time, and I asked the hotel owner, Uncle Liu, who said that the tickets for Impression Liu Sanjie that night had been sold out, and there were only VIP tickets for 280 yuan for the next day. So we decided to go to West Street for dinner and see if we could still buy ordinary tickets for Impression Liu Sanjie. When I walked on the road, I met someone selling wild tickets. I had the impression that villagers around the water area where Liu Sanjie’s live performance was performed had cut down the bamboo on their own waterside and set up a stand to sell tickets for people to watch. The ticket price was quite cheap (80 yuan, usually 80 yuan). It may be cheaper), but of course the effect is not as good as the feeling of watching it in the auditorium. If you go to watch it on a regular basis, it is recommended to buy regular tickets. I heard from the hotel owner that you can buy tickets for 130 or 150 yuan.

I got up very early on the third day and took the bus to Yangdi (about 5.5 yuan/person). Arrive at Yangdi Pier, board a bamboo raft, and start the highlight of this trip - the Li River Tour. (150 yuan per bamboo raft, one bamboo raft can carry 4 people) After the bamboo raft ended at Huangbu Reflection, we returned to Yangshuo from Xingping and went to Yinziyan in the afternoon (35 yuan/person, I can’t remember clearly). It's easy to catch a ride. You can go with a group and ask the owner of the family hotel to introduce it. Go to West Street in the evening to experience West Street. Be sure to eat the local specialties Beer Fish and Screw Stuffed Rice. They are both very good.

On the morning of the fourth day, you can go to West Street for breakfast (you may have to wait for a long time), rent a bicycle (20 yuan/car) and go to Yulong River and then back to Yangshuo. On the way, you can pass Butterfly Spring and Big Banyan Tree. , Moon Mountain, you have to buy a separate ticket to enter. It is your own choice whether to go or not. Then you can go to Licun to eat farm food. Cycling tours are very common there, so don’t worry about not knowing the route, it is easy to ask. You can also buy a unique hand-drawn map, which can not only guide the way, but also serve as a souvenir.

The above prices are all Golden Week prices. It can be almost half cheaper if you go there in normal times, and accommodation generally does not need to be booked. For accommodation in Yangshuo, you can choose family hotels, which are economical, and the hotel owners can provide you with many suggestions for your trip there.