Advertisement
Yulong River

Yulong River

Yulong River
4.5
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Monday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Tuesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Wednesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Thursday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Friday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Saturday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Sunday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Top ways to experience Yulong River

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles1,641 reviews
Excellent
1,081
Very good
455
Average
80
Poor
13
Terrible
12

JonasCN
Singapore, Singapore4,397 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2019
The Yulong river is located in a prominent area in the main town of Yangshuo. To experience the river and the karst mountains, you can get a short 1 hour long river cruise. It is a small raft with 4 seats. They will only leave when there are 4 passengers unless you are willing to pay more. The boat will ride is bumpy but you will experience beautiful scenery and even water buffalos swimming in the river. There is a photo booth mid way in the cruise where you can take a photo in ethnic clothes. But there are safety concerns. Life jacket is compulsory but the strings on the life jackets are all broke. There are also no safety belts on the raft. Thus this boat ride is not suitable for families with young kids or elderly who cannot swim. Thus the Yulong River is a beautiful trip if you can ignore the safety breaches.
Written 17 April 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Dawei
World26 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Family
We hired an electric scooter in Yangshou and drove up the valley, was a pleasant drive but roads busy, views were quite attractive. The river is swarming with fake plastic bamboo rafts and orange life jackets drifting down and punting up the river. People jockeying to get that selfy pic without the million other visitors getting in the way. My head hurt. Then some rando village aunty tried to stitch us up for rmb5 for parking in a normal space. I was here 15 years ago, it was just bucolic and undeveloped. Things do change I understand but it's a classic case of killing the golden goose. Will never be back.
Written 24 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ordinary Traveller
8 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2024 • Family
Very amazing experience! I went there at 7:00, air is fresh and water is very clear.

Jinling river to Jiuxian route is recommended if you want to try out bamboo raft drifting. I’m willing to say that this is one of the most impressive experiences in Guilin
Written 12 August 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

KodoDrummer
Buenos Aires, Argentina70,581 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2019
We had a fun time boating and rafting on the Boating on the Yulong River. The mountain/hilly views added to the exotic experience.
Written 16 December 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

InnaYYZ
Toronto, Canada1,493 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2019 • Friends
Beautiful mountains guard this portion of the Yulong River. Unlike many mountains, this is not a continuous range, but many seemingly unconnected mountains. Undoubtedly, they are somehow related.
Written 13 February 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

KodoDrummer
Buenos Aires, Argentina70,581 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2019 • Friends
Yulong River is a 35-kilometers long river which runs into and is a tributary of the Li River. It is mostly pollution free, with the majority of boat traffic being in the form of bamboo rafts. It is a great place to relax, re-energize and get away from the hustle and bustle of big city life. The lush green mountains which protect it, are very scenic and make for great photo ops.
Written 11 February 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

KodoDrummer
Buenos Aires, Argentina70,581 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2020
The waters are super great for peaceful rafting and magnificent mountain and scenic views. All in our group were in awe.
Written 17 September 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Carl J
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia8 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2012 • Couples
Our bamboo rafting trip - not really rafting but more floating - could have been such an amazing journey but instead ended up in a horrible experience!

After about only 10 minutes on the raft we were pushed by the raftman to buy beers. Being just a few minutes on the water we made a gesture (we can't talk Chinese and he couldn't speak a word of English) to continue our trip first but he insisted to buy him a beer now. I gently tried to explain that I would buy him a beer later but he got angry, got off and took the umbrella away and left us in the middle of the river in the baking sun for 30 minutes!!!

If it wasn't that we had our expensive camera with us we would have jumped off and swim to the shores but now we couldn't. While my wife was suffering in the sun I had to watch him amuse himself playing cards with his friends.

Eventually we got to the side by the assistance of another couple and my wife had a sunstroke which left her unwell for several days after.

This was a horrible experience and we really regretted having arranged this by ourselves but later on we heard about several similar experiences of other travelers with the raftsmen on the Yulong river forcing their passengers to buy them (over-priced) food and drinks.

Based on this experience I would strongly advise to be very careful with this tour and to enjoy the much more peaceful and quiet part of the Li-river near the center of Yangshuo, a much more authentic experience!

Written 4 September 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

weicreation
Mount Shasta, CA168 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2014 • Solo
You may find both Li River and Yu Long River offer bamboo rafting, the raft in Li river can take several people, with fixed canopy and railing, while Yu Long raft is only for 2 persons, optional umbrella for shade, offers a more free, personal experience with nature. Raft of twice wide of standard ones is also available, but normally only hired for shooting wedding photos.
Don’t sit on the chair, lay on the bamboo raft, you can play with water and watch the mountains pass over you, so peaceful and relaxing, but let your boat man know what you’re doing, don’t get them scared. If you can’t speak Chinese, just try doing it slowly, they may understand.
You can try to ask the boat man to sing a song, some have unique “country” vocal, will make the trip a more wonderful experience.
You can take bus No.1 from West Street to the North Bus Station for 1 yuan, then a bus to Yu Long Qiao, or continue to Jin Long Qiao, for 6 yuan. Jin Long drop you off directly over the rafting, Yu Long you take a 5 minutes walk through the village .Both dock same rafting price, majority bamboo rafts are located at Yu Long, which also has a historic bridge. To both destinations by bus, you will pass Bai Sha town, on the dates end with 1, 4, or 7 (24, for example), there is a big market gathering goods from surrounding villages, which can be interesting.
Yu Long Village is the only village in Yangshuo has guest house right next to the river, not separated by road or field. Rooms are basic but nice and clean. You can consider check out your Yangshuo town hotel for 1 day or 2 while keep your luggage there, and enjoy a river view room in Yu Long for less than half price in Yangshuo, before taking the bamboo rafting. You can also enjoy your meal on a spare bamboo raft that parked outside, lay on it just like floating on the river, for sun bathing or watching the stars at night, while all tourists are gone. One of the guest houses called “Yi Shan Ban Shui”, owned by a very friendly local family, with river to their doorsteps, offer rooms with balcony and hammock under the tree.
If you finish your rafting in Jiu Xian, it’s an old village date back to Ming \ Qing dynasty, with several historic houses, one of the rare old villages without a renewed look and over commercialized streets. You can drop by to see the houses before continue your trip and have your meal at a locally well know restaurant “Lao Gen Nong Jia Fan Dian”, or pay a visit to “Mao Mao Jia”, and adore the owner’s interesting collection of plow harrow, spinning wheel, coir rain coat and much more, or have the former soldier/guide/owener take you up to a mountain which over looks the whole Yu Long River area.
Written 30 December 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

MalikAdventures
London69 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2013 • Couples
The scenery is wonderful and the trip is relaxing but a word of caution. I wanted to do the noble thing of paying my boat man directly so he would receive 100% of the fare and what did I get, nothing but trouble. The guy asked for 300 and then literally chased us along the river bank when we said no, the price we settled on was for 180 from Dragon Bridge to jiuxian village. Everything is going ok, we buy him a beer to show no hard feelings, whatever and then the plonker drops us off at where he says Jiaxian village is right round the corner, five minutes walk. It took an hour! The scoundrel dropped us off 3KM's away from the village!
Really not happy, if you booked it through a tour agency, no chance this will happen as they have regulations to abide by. By us doing it ourselves, we had no protection. The boatman could leave us wherever and he wouldn't be accountable for it. It sucks because it is an exhausting job so I wanted to ensure no third party got their hands on his hard work but hey, sometimes the rotten ones ruin it for everyone else.
Don't make our mistake, please book through an agency and you will get exactly what you pay for. No fuss.
Written 1 August 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Showing results 1-10 of 967
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing

YULONG RIVER (2024) All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

All Yangshuo County HotelsYangshuo County Hotel DealsLast Minute Hotels in Yangshuo County
All things to do in Yangshuo County
Amusement Parks in Yangshuo CountyDay Trips in Yangshuo County
RestaurantsFlightsHoliday RentalsTravel StoriesCruisesCar Hire