Guilin is well known for its karst landscapes, clean rivers, idyllic countryside, majestic rice terraces, and ethnic minorities. Located in South China, it's an ideal destination to access from Hong Kong.
How to plan a Guilin Tour
When we talk about Guilin, it usually consists of three parts and you can choose according to your days to day:
- Downtown Guilin (1 day): Famous for its karst mountains and karst caves. Elephant Trunk Hill, Fubo Hill, and Reed Flute Cave are the most classic spots. They offer fantastic outlooks over Guilin and its rivers, weaving among its many hills.
- Yangshuo (2-4 days): Yangshuo is regarded as having the most beautiful countryside in China due to its idyllic landscape and leisurely rural lifestyle. As you venture out into the countryside, you can see water buffalos grazing in the rice fields, fishermen fishing with cormorants, women washing clothes by the river with karst peaks in the background, and old men chatting in a village square under the shade of a big tree…. This should be the China you imagined.
- Longsheng (1-2 days): The rice terraces in Longji look just like the scales of a huge dragon's back ("Longji" means 'dragon's back') as they proceed in tiers down the mountain ridges. The best times to see the rice terraces are around mid-May when they are irrigated and September to October when the crops are turning golden. A large number of hikers and photographers visit the area during these months
How to Get to Guilin from Hong Kong
Guilin city is a transport hub for your excursion tours to Yangshuo and Longji, taking about 1 hour and 2½ hours by car respectively.
High-speed Trains
Since September 23rd, 2018, direct high-speed trains have been taking travelers from Hong Kong to Guilin in 3 hours and 16 minutes. At present, there are two pairs of direct high-speed trains between Hong Kong and Guilin.
| Departure | Arrival | Train | Travel Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong (West Kowloon Station) |
Guilin (Guilin West Railway Station) |
G312 | 12:06–15:25 |
| Guilin (Guilin West Railway Station) |
Hong Kong (West Kowloon Station) |
G311 | 13:36–16:55 |
Flights
Taking a flight is a fast and efficient way to travel from Hong Kong to Guilin. Please note that direct flights are not available every day and the departure time varies from day to day.
Best Guilin Tours from Hong Kong
The following tours are the top Guilin tours to visit the highlights of Guilin, Yangshuo, and Longsheng. All of these Guilin tours can be used as inspiration and changed according to your needs.Tell us your preference for the transportation from Hong Kong to Guilin and our professional travel consultant will check the schedule for you.
4-day Guilin, Longsheng, and Yangshuo tour
3-Day Guilin and Yangshuo Tour
6-Day Guilin, Yangshuo and Longsheng Tour
5-Day Guilin, Ling Canal, Xingping and Yangshuo Tour
6-Day Yangshuo Li River and Longji Terraced Fields
7-Day Longji Rice Terraces, Li River, and Yulong River Hiking Tour
Discover real reviews of Highlights Travel Family's best-rated service across trusted platforms.
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Highly recommend Lele from Guilin China highlights
Guilin is absolutely breathtaking! The incredible views along the li river make those fantastical Chinese landscape paintings come to life. Walked around the rice terraces and rode a bike along the dragon river were unforgettable highlights. Our trip was made even better thanks to our guide, Lele from China highlights , who ensured everything went smoothly. Lele was helpful, professional, and provided just the right amount of insight about the area’s history and culture. more
Mar 2025, Teo O
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Guilin with great Lili from China Highlights
Guilin is a very beautiful city. And our guide Lili from China Highlights made our visit much more enjoyable. She is a very smart and kind lady, who is always looking out for us. She even teached us painting!! She helped us with everything, and gave us very useful advices and suggestions. Lili is also a very good photographer!! Without asking her to do so, she was always taking beautiful pictures of us, and sent them to us. We really apreciatte her attitude toward us. And love the pictures she sent to us. We traveled with her to Yangzhou, and I am sure Yangzhou would not had been so beautiful without her. Thank you Lili!! more
Mar 2025, Cecilia Ly
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Amazing Guilin
Our trip to Guilin with China Highlights was awesome. We did a boat trip on the Li River from Guilin to Yangshuo as well as staying in Yangshuo and Xingping. The scenery was absolutely fantastic! There were limestone pillars everywhere and the people were so friendly. Our guide, William took us to all the best spots and gave us excellent historical and cultural information. He was always attentive and engaging with us. We sampled lots of delicious food as well as being introduced to local people - we even got some cooking lessons. Our hotels - Moondance (Yangshuo) and XingPing Island resort were friendly and welcoming family-style boutique hotels. Everything was so well organised we never had to worry about anything. (Thanks also to our CHL consultant, Chandler, who converted our original wish-list into an amazing itinerary). more
Mar 2025, Richard
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