Cruise or raft, decide by how much time you want on the water

The full cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo is about four hours and covers the whole river, lunch included, booked a day ahead. The bamboo raft from Xingping covers the best forty minutes of it — the stretch on the twenty-yuan note — and can usually be arranged on the day.

If you are already staying downstream, take the raft and spend the saved half day cycling. If this is your one day in the region, take the cruise and let the river do the driving.