Hangzhou: Day Trip from Shanghai featuring West Lake Cruise and Cultural Exploration

Embark on a day trip from Shanghai to Hangzhou and discover the rich culture, history, and stunning scenery of this UNESCO World Heritage site. Cruise on West Lake, visit the Six Harmonies Pagoda, and learn about China’s renowned tea at Meijiawu Tea Village.

Duration: 10 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • West Lake (Xi Hu) - Viewing Fish in Flower Harbor is located by West Lake. You will walk into this park and smell the beauty and peace in this world. After that is to have a cruise across West Lake to experience peace and serenity. The unforgettable scenery includes Three Pools Mirroring the Moon, Bai and Su Causeways, Solitary Hill, and Leifeng…
What's Included
  • English-speaking tour guide for easy communication and insightful commentary
  • Scenic West Lake cruise offering breathtaking sights and relaxation
  • Delicious lunch included to refuel during your adventure
  • Comfortable travel with in-vehicle air conditioning
  • Convenient hotel pickup and drop-off from the city center
  • Included admission tickets for hassle-free entry to attractions
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

Embark on a day journey to Hangzhou from Shanghai, a city famed for its rich cultural, historical, and scenic. With the company of an informed guide, marvel at the splendid structure of the Six Harmonies Pagoda, familiarize yourself with China’s most famous tea at Meijiawu Tea Village, and enjoy a boat ride on West Lake, a place whose beauty has…

Location
West Lake (Xi Hu)
West Lake Scenic, Xihu District,
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
3.3
(115 Ratings)
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Ray_z
Apr 1, 2024
Magical Shanghai evening - Wonderful show! We truly loved the show, it adds a modern twist to the ancient tradition of acrobatics! Our tour was very friendly, amicable, and attentive to all our needs. The evening with a wonderful dinner, and a new part of Shanghai that we had not explored.
Review provided by Viator
Woodseller
Sep 26, 2019
Wonderful Day in a beautiful City - The trip to Hangzhou was more then we expected. Our Guide Lynn kept us informed the whole trip. We had a great boat trip on the lake which Lynn explained all the history of the temples in the area. We enjoyed our time at the Tea Mountain and the history of Tea Making. The trip on the bullet train was the best way to travel.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Eliana_a
May 22, 2019
I really liked it - I really love meeting small villages and Im a tea lover, so I was very excited to visit a tea field. Unfortunately it wasn’t harvest season, but still was great to be there. Alina guided us through it all, including the temple, the lake and the boat trip, telling us about the history of the places and counting us the local legends and folkores.
Review provided by Viator
Lois
Oct 22, 2017
My tour guide was very knowledgeable... - <p>My tour guide was very knowledgeable and personable and I was fortunate to have him for all my tours in Shanghai and I received all that was promised.</p>
Review provided by Viator
Charjimkeeton
Sep 29, 2024
Very nice day - A little too far from Shanghai, but glad to have seen this part of China. We knew there would be a lot of drive time and there was. That left the time to visit the sites short. We did not have an opportunity to climb the temple and that part of the trip amounted to walking to the base of the temple and into a couple of exhibit rooms, and right back out to the car. Similarly, the Lake part of the trip was a quick walk through the park to the boat experience (nice) and then back to the car. More time in the park would have been good. A detour to a tea company presentation/sales pitch was included and the time would have been better spent at the temple or park. The guide was informative and spoke very good English (majored in it at college). If you want to include this part of China in your trip when in Shanghai, know that there is a lot of driving time. The guide and driver provided a good long day (9.5 hrs) and we got to see a part of China we wanted to see.
Review provided by Viator
Hilly1232015
Aug 4, 2019
Hangzhou day trip from Shanghai. - We were very pleased with the excellent service from our guide Tom, he communicated well in English and provided an interesting commentary of this amazing area. The only issue was sitting in traffic for a couple of hours. Understand this is unavoidable in these huge cities, one must put up with the delays to China's beautiful countryside. Pleasantly surprised at the clean cities, roads and the huge tree planting taking place every where on can see.
Review provided by Viator
Matthew_p
Jul 8, 2019
Fair - The tour was fair, they brought you to Hangzhou but at times the tour became rushed. In particular the boat ride on Hangzhou was a one way transportation ferry as opposed to the antique tour boats other tours use. Hangzhou itself however is BEAUTIFUL, I just wish the tour arranged to spend more time in the lake park.
Review provided by Viator
Pallavita_s
Jul 2, 2019
Good tour, not so good guide - The tour itinerary was good however the guide (Tom) was a disappointment. I have gone on tours previously through viator in the China region and with the same tour company (Han Tan Tours) and have had the most fabulous guides before so i was excited to see that this tour was also through Han Tan Tours. However this one was nothing like before - Tom was only interested in ticking the boxes, he gave no history or fun titbits and only focused on facts like numbers (height/depth/how large a city is etc etc) - he gave us no time in any place to just enjoy it on our own. Despite having reached Hangzhou earlier than expected, he took us to the West lake, showed us the pond with fishes and then made us wait for the ferry and the ferry took us across the lake and dropped us where the tour bus was waiting so we didn't actually get to walk around the lake or enjoy the sites on our own at all. Ideally he should have allowed us 30-45 mins to wander around the lake before taking the ferry. This was the case in every place and highly disappointing - we were rushed into the tea garden with the focus on doing the tea ceremony and getting us to the shop, no time to see the gardens. At the Pagoda of Six Harmonies, we insisted on going up the Pagoda on our own else he would have rushed us out (again no walk around the park there). He just seemed to be in this tearing hurry spoiling the whole tour for us. The lunch wasn't that great either - we were seated in a side room with uncomfortable seats and torn table cloths!
Review provided by Viator
Assya1980
Oct 8, 2019
I expected much more - Although Tom was extremely pleasant companion and I had great time chatting with him about life, i found this trip a waste of time and money. The description on tripadvisor is really fooling and way too exciting for what you actually get (plus some parts never take place such as the trail). The trip itself - out of 9 hours in total 6 was just on the road with crazy driving which made me quite uncomfortable. The lake - very nice but we spent very little time there, almost running through the park; the boat ride was 15-20min only. The lunch - very low quality. The tea ceremony - nice place but the whole ceremony was 2min, the rest was all about convincing you to buy their products which was extremely annoying; no time to walk around the fields. The pagoda - 1 pagoda that can be seen in 15min. That's it. Then we left. Out of 9 hours the real deal took around 1 hour and a half in total. All in all, it was WAY overpriced for what they offer and I will absolutely not recommend it. Please also read the reviews on viatar - they give a good overview of what you should expect and mostly share my opinion.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Anita
Apr 8, 2018
Our tour guide Frank made some... - <p>Our tour guide Frank made some conversation but al preoccupied on his phone. Hangzhou is beautiful but your very rushed. Appears they want to get home quick. Tea plantation amazing but more sales pitch no time to walk the tea terraces they want you to buy. Lunch less than average.do tour on your own</p>
Review provided by Viator
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up to 15 guests
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November 2024
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