Suzhou Private Day Trip from Shanghai with Bullet Train Option: Explore the 'Venice of the East'

Embark on a private day trip from Shanghai to Suzhou, the ‘Venice of the East.’ Explore the city’s canals, historical buildings, and classic gardens. Choose between a bullet train or private car for transportation and enjoy a customizable itinerary with optional upgrades for lunch and entrance fees.

Duration: 9 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Shanghai - Your wonderful day excursion begins with a comfortable hotel pick up in Shanghai, follow your guide travel to Suzhou with the transportation option you booked. If you book the fast train / bullet train option, you will enjoy an exciting 30-minute train ride to Suzhou. On the way, spend few mins to discuss with the guide for a tailor-made itinerary. As exclusive private tour, your itinerary is fully flexible and can be 100% customized around you. Following is the sample itinerary and you are welcome to tell your guide if need make adjustment during the tour.

  • Humble Administrator’s Garden - Upon arrival, visit one of the top four famous gardens in China-the Humble Administrator’s garden ,listed in the UNESCO World Heritage, immerse yourself in the charming and elegance of the ancient Chinese garden designed with the unique Taihu rockeries, delicate pavilions, ponds , beautiful flowers, lush greens ,150 Bonsais while learning the interesting history, culture, custom from your guide. If you prefer a more intimate garden, you could substitute to the other garden such as Master of Nets Garden, Lingering Garden, Lion Forest Garden etc.

  • Pingjiang Road - Next head to Pingjiang historic Road, here enjoy a leisure stroll along the stone paved canal streets, have fun explore the authentical water markets, appreciate the unique Jiangnan old architectures with traditional lanterns, step back to ancient history watching people dressed up dynasty costumes, if you like , choose to take a private rickshaw ride navigate in the old alleys to experience charms of old lifes.

  • GuanQian TaiJian Nong BiFengFang - After the wonderful morning activities, you will make the stop at Qianqian street, the infusion of ancient and modern pedestrian road that showcase city’s vibrant culture and history, here take a break and savor a delightful local lunch with the recommedations from the guide.

  • Tiger Hill - In the afternoon, head to Huqiu scenic area, take a leisure stroll in the historic park, admire the 1000 years old leaning pagoda surroundd by lush green park , see seasonal colors as peach blossom or foilage in different periods of the year along the mile long riverside.

  • Shantang Street - Next continue to Wuzhong gate,embark the sightseeing boat ( Boat ticket included if “ All Inclusive Package” is booked),cruise down the ancient grand canal while soaking up the picturesque water township scenery. Off the boat, hop on to China No.1 ancient street-Shantang street (Free entry) ,enjoy the dynamic cultural streets full of interesting arts, crafts, eateries while walking cross the “Fortune Bridge”, see acnient city wall and learn the loal custom, history from your expert guide.

As mentioned, the itinerary can be fully customized, if you prefer, you could also substitute the above-mentioned sites to the following other sites:

  1. Panmen Scenic area;
  2. Museums: Suzhou Museum, Suzhou Silk Museum, Garden Museum of Suzhou;
    3)Temple: Hanshan Temple, Xiyuan Temple etc.

After the wonderful excursion, you will travel back to Shanghai with the convenient drop off at your downtown Shanghai hotel or other downtown area as per your requests.

What's Included
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off in downtown Shanghai area
  • Professional guide
  • Transportation based on your tour option
  • Local tasty lunch with ‘All Inclusive Tour’
  • Boat ride in the canal with ‘All Inclusive Tour’
  • Entrance fee to a garden with ‘All Inclusive Tour’
What's Not Included
  • Entrance fees to the garden and boat ride (If”All incluisve” option is not selected)
  • Lunch, food and drinks (if “ All Inclusive “option is not booked)
  • Outskit hotel pick up and drop off(Can be arranged at surcharge)
Additional Information

Enjoy a fully guided private day trip to the renowned “Oriental Venice” of Suzhou, led by your personal expert guide with a fully customizable itinerary. Immerse yourself in the beauty of ancient Chinese gardens with UNESCO heritage status, and discover the unique charms of the water town with its picturesque network of ancient canals and bustling water markets. Various optional packages are available to cater to your specific travel needs.

  • Children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Passport name, number, expiry and country is required at time of booking for all participants (for fast train ticket reservation)
  • A current valid passport is required on the day of travel
  • Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
  • Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
Location
Shanghai
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
5.0
(233 Ratings)
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Keinicke01
Jul 26, 2024
Enjoyable and interesting tour to Suzhou - We had a very enjoyable and interesting tour to Suzhou with a privacy guide Rita. Very skilled guide. We could feel the passion and the knowledge and learned a lot through the day about history and daily life. Rita is easy going and we enjoyed spending the day with her. We went on a boat trip, shopped, walked and saw an old family home and had a nice Chinese lunch were we tasted some of the local dishes. Rita was also sweet to introduce us to local food and candy and other traditional foodstuff. Very insightful and inspiring. We can warmly recommend the tour and on top we got help booking train tickets for the next day and acces to WeChat. Not always easy being from Europe not understanding Chinese. 😅
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Xuemin_z
Jul 20, 2024
Great Day Trip to Suzhou - We really enjoyed the Private Day Trip to Suzhou with Annie on 7/10. We met the tour guide, Annie, at the Shanghai Train Station and took the high speed train to Suzhou. Annie and a driver took us around Suzhou in a 7-seater van. I would give Annie 10 stars if I could. 1. Great communications. Before the trip, Sunny and Annie connected with me on WeChat, Informed us how we meet and how to buy train tickets on our own (we chose to get the tickets ourselves). Annie reminded us that the road might be slippery due to the rain, we should wear comfortable shoes and bring umbrellas the day before our trip. 2. Annie is so knowledgeable with the city, its history and the culture background. We chose this tour because our kids don't speak much Chinese and we would like to have someone not just to show us around, but introduce more about the culture to our kids. Annie did it. Her English is great, each of us learned a lot of interesting things about Suzhou and the Chinese culture. 3. Annie cared about us and how we enjoyed the trip. My son was sick that day, Annie took my friend to a pharmacy and got what we needed. She waited for him to get better and then continue on the tour. We took a different train headed to a different city in the end of the day. Annie knew that was our first time taking the high speed train in China and explained in details and made sure we got on the right train. I would highly recommend this tour company for private trips around Shanghai and its neighboring cities.
Review provided by Viator
Blancabt4175qe
Jul 18, 2024
A walk through the past in Suzhou - One of the cities we visited during our trip to China was Suzhou. Brenda, our tour guide took us back in time and showed us how people lived and some still live in this beautiful city. We tried the local cuisine and learned a lot of history. Thanks so much Brenda for taking care of us, even after our tour together. What a great walk through the past and present.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rosemary_t
Jul 18, 2024
Wonderful day in Suzhou with Annie - From start to finish Annie provided the most excellent customer service. She is very friendly and extremely knowledgeable about all aspects of the tour. She explained the cultural significance of every place we went and shared stories that made each location come to life and created lasting memories. She guided us effortlessly through the train stations and the local streets with colorful markets. She was constantly looking out for my comfort and safety. We enjoyed a delicious lunch and a wonderful air conditioned scenic boat ride in Suzhou. She was so easy to talk with that I felt like I was traveling with a good friend. I highly recommend Annie and this private tour!
Review provided by Viator
Steven_y
Jul 14, 2024
Fun & Easy - We had a great time visiting Suzhou with Rita as our tour guide. She has ensured everything easy and smooth for us during this trip. Rita is amazing, extremely helpful and has very knowledgeable insights on China's history and culture. Very attentive and detailed. A memorable, Educational and fun trip under Rita's care. She also speaks well in English. Very fortunate to having Rita as our tour guide. Highly recommend this day tour to Suzhou.
Review provided by Viator
Thyagoohana2
Jul 14, 2024
A great deal of China must-sees in one day! - What a fantastic day trip! It was a perfect getaway from a 'huge city' to a 'big city' to visit the 'Venice of China' - beautiful walks around the canals and very interesting 'China-cliche' experiences such as finding the 'real-life' pet cricket like the one portrayed in the Disney classic Mulan, visiting local markets selling exotic insect menus or just taking a picture with one of the many ladies in traditional imperial outfits walking around the old town. Thanks for the fantastic day!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hifromny
Jul 13, 2024
A Great Itinerary and Excellent Guide Made This a Highly Recommended Day Trip - This was a terrific, well-designed tour that showed me many aspects of Suzhou, which has a charming old section and is an easy day trip from Shanghai. The guide, Annie, made the day both fun and educational. She has a great store of knowledge which she shared throughout the day in excellent English. I was glad I opted for the high speed train, since it saved time in traffic, and the “all inclusive” package, which included a garden, a delicious lunch, and a boat ride.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
229rosalbas
Jul 3, 2024
It was a great experience learn about the city's history. - Annie was great! She was knowledgeable of the history. She was on time an professional. I would definitely book other tours with her.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Arini_s
Jul 3, 2024
Totally recommended all inclusive private tour! - The tour is really enjoyable. You don't need to worry about anything. Transport from Shanghai hotel to station, bullet train tickets, transport around Suzhou, boat ride, park entry, lunch are all included. Our guide Annie really make the most of our limited time and give us a lot of insights about Suzhou and Chinese culture. Totally recommended for anyone looking for Suzhou private tour!
Review provided by Viator
Aileen
Jul 1, 2024
Will return to Suzhou again. - We really enjoyed our tour of Suzhou. Annie is very knowledgeable, and we had a great time with time. The city was amazing and lunch was awesome!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
September 2024
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