8-Day Itinerary for Gui Lin:
1-day/1-night in Gui Lin, 3-days/2-nights in Yang Shuo, and 4-days/3-nights in the Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces.
The following are suggestions for things that you could do each day, it is a flexible plan that can be switched around as fits your travel needs and time-table.
Day 1:
- Check out the scenes at the Two Rivers Four Lakes Scenic Area
- Elephant’s Trunk Mountain
- The Prince’s Palace (靖江王府）
Day 2:
- Take the bus to Yang Shuo (morning)
- Rent a bike and check out the surrounding area
- Hike the Moon Mountain
- Take the cave tours
- Rock Climbing (inquire with hostel owner as locations may have changed)
Day 3:
- Take the mini-bus to Xing Ping (you’ll spend most of the day there)
- Go to the 3 Liu Sisters Impression Show
Day 4:
- Take the bamboo raft ride on Yu Long River
- Head to Fu Li, explore the town and enjoy the Li River
- Take the bus back to Gui Lin and stay there for the night
Day 5:
- Take the mini-bus to the Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces (the village of Da Zhai)
- Locate your lodging (may be more difficult than it sounds)
- Explore the immediate area and get an early nights sleep
Day 6:
- Wake up early to see the sunrise from one of the viewing areas (bring flashlight)
- Explore the remainder of Da Zhai or as much as you can with the rest of the day
Day 7:
- Wake up early again and start the trek from Da Zhai to Ping An (bring your baggage)
- Stay one night at Ping An
Day 8:
- Explore as much of Ping An as you can
- At 12 o’clock take the last mini bus back to Gui Lin
- (Optional) – move on to your next travel destination, end your vacation with a night flight returning to wherever it is you call home or stay the night in Gui Lin and return the following day.
The Trick to Traveling Effectively With Baggage Through Gui Lin
I covered this a little bit in the Gui Lin section. Nonetheless, due to the fact that to you could spend an extended period of time traveling around this area you might want to pack a little heavier. The downside to this is the heavier you pack the more weight you have to lug around with you throughout Guangxi Province.
The solution to this problem is to set up a “base camp” so to speak in Gui Lin. What I mean by setting up a “base camp” is simply leave your luggage with a hostel in Gui Lin and tell them that you’ll be back in X amount of days to pick it up. Bring a backpack with you as well that way you could pack a few day’s worth of clothes in the backpack. This will reduce the overall weight that you will carry with you. Take a trip to Yang Shuo for a couple of days come back to your hostel and stay the night before going to the rice terraces. While there you can switch out your clothes and prepare for the next destination.
Side note: Bring all valuables (passport etc.) with you. In my experience there has never been an issue, but to be on the safe side make sure you keep your valuables with you.
International Kev 