Downstream, Then Up

Special Notes

A few things on this route follow the calendar, the season or a supplier's confirmation. Here they are, told straight.

• Available to book, confirmed item by item — This route can be quoted and booked by departure date. Before payment, confirm in writing, item by item, the Li River cabin class, whether the on-board lunch is included in the base price, who books and pays for the transfer to Guilin, and any items not specified in the quote. Bookable does not mean these are included in the base price, nor does it mean the schedule is locked.
• Getting to Guilin — Guilin has no nonstop service from any of the markets we sell to, so every trip here starts with a connection through Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Beijing or Shanghai. Shenzhen is the shortest, about three hours by high-speed rail. That leg sits outside this plan. Each quote states in writing the inbound and outbound connection plan, the hub used, and who books and pays for that leg.
• Group — Private tour exclusively for your traveling companions. Minimum of 1 guest; no fixed upper limit on group size.
• National holiday week — October 1 to 7 is a peak-crowd period on the Li River and around Yangshuo. Whether this route runs departures that week is under commercial review; until that is settled, every quote for those dates states the crowd situation in writing.
• Late-season water level — Day 3 of the itinerary will be a river voyage. For the autumn and winter river conditions relevant to the current booking window, we are confirming operational details with our partner operators. As of November 1, 2026, if operators abbreviate the route or divert to an alternate waterway on Day 3, the quote must specify the exact sailing arrangement in writing. If not explicitly stated, this leg will not be treated as a confirmed sailing. Itinerary inquiries remain open for the full route.
• Substitutions already agreed — If the bamboo raft service on the Long River is suspended on Day 4 due to water levels or safety regulations, the rafting will be cancelled, but cycling and the afternoon tea remain available. If the first evening's night cruise is fully booked, it can be rescheduled to the evening of the next day; the itinerary will still stay in Guilin, and the hotel arrangements remain unchanged. Both items are explained in writing before payment. Any pricing changes are subject to the specified quote; this text does not pre-commit to the price remaining unchanged.
• The pre-dawn start — day five leaves in the dark for the hill, which is why day four carries no evening item. Your day-five departure time is checked against the climb plus the drive back to Guilin before your order is taken.
• Visa window — the 30-day visa-free policy currently runs through December 31, 2026. Because this is a 5-day plan, departures on or before December 27, 2026 finish inside that window; later departures are quoted only after the official renewal is announced.
• US passports — U.S. passports are not on the current 30-day visa-exempt list. Confirm each guest's visa status based on their travel documents before payment; do not assume all travelers already hold visas. This itinerary enters and exits through Guilin, and the 10-day transit visa-exemption should not be treated as the default option.
• Confirmation and changes — the confirmation-time commitment and the change and refund terms are being finalized with our ground partners. Until they are settled, each quote states in writing its own confirmation deadline and its change and refund conditions.