A private tour in Zhangjiajie is not a luxury version of the bus tour. It is a different shape of holiday: you decide the day before what time you start, you are not in a group of forty people, and nobody drives you into a shop. This page is how we run them.
What you are actually buying
Most multi-day tours sold in Zhangjiajie are built around a coach, a fixed timetable and a list of stops that includes at least one shop. Ours are built around one car, one driver and a licensed guide who stay with you for the whole trip. The difference shows up in small places:
- You set the start time. The Forest Park gates open at 07:00. Being inside at 07:10 instead of 09:00 is the difference between having Yuanjiajie almost to yourself and queueing behind four hundred people. Lots of visitors never find this out because their coach does not arrive until nine.
- The car is yours for the trip. A vehicle sized to your party and its luggage, one driver, and he moves it while you are up the mountain. You text him which gate you are coming out of.
- A real guide, not a driver who speaks some English. Our guides hold national licences — the numbers are on our team page and you can verify them.
- The park tickets are bought before you land. Entry is real-name and tied to your passport, so this has to happen days ahead, not at the gate.
- No shopping stops. Not as a “cultural visit”, not as a “tea tasting”. We do not take commission from shops, so we have no reason to drive you into one.
Trips we run
Every itinerary below is one we have actually driven and guided — not a template. Open the one that matches the days you have.
| Trip | Days | Where you sleep | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zhangjiajie in Two Days: Forest Park & Tianmen Mountain | 2 days | Wulingyuan → city | A weekend, or a stop between two cities |
| Zhangjiajie in Three Days: Avatar Peaks, Glass Bridge & Tianmen Mountain | 3 days | Wulingyuan, both nights | The version most people should book |
| Zhangjiajie: Forest Park, Tianmen Mountain & Baofeng Lake | 4 days | Wulingyuan → city → Fenghuang | First visit, want the three big ones without rushing |
| Zhangjiajie with Furong Town: Forest Park, Tianmen & the glass bridge | 5 days | Wulingyuan, all four nights | Five days, want the parks and a town alongside them |
If the number of days you have is not on that list, tell us the number. We plan to the days you actually have — we do not keep a fixed catalogue and try to fit you into it.
What is inside the price
We would rather you could work out your budget before you contact us, so here is roughly where a multi-day private tour lands.
Taking the four-day trip below as the worked example: a six-person group came to roughly RMB 1,550 to 1,750 per person, and that number included every park ticket, every cable car and elevator inside the itinerary, the nine-seat van and driver for four days, a licensed guide for four days including station pickups, four nights in four-star hotels, and VIP seats at the Xiangxi folk show. It did not include flights, meals, or the Fenghuang extension at the end.
That figure comes from one trip we actually ran in September 2024 — it is not a price list. Park tickets, hotel rates and season all move it, and a group of two costs more per head than a group of six because the car and the guide cost the same either way. What we do is send you one number in writing before you fly, with the list of what is inside it.
How the days are put together
Two things decide the order of everything, and neither of them is the scenery:
Where you sleep. Wulingyuan is next to the Forest Park. Tianmen Mountain’s cable car starts in the city. Those are an hour apart, so a sensible itinerary changes hotels rather than commuting. That is why our four-day trip moves from Wulingyuan to the city on the third night — it is not a hotel preference, it saves an hour each way on the morning it matters.
Weather. Fog is normal here, and it does not spoil the lower valleys — it often makes them better. It does spoil the viewpoints at the top. So we keep a lower-elevation day in reserve and swap them the night before rather than marching you up a mountain into a cloud.
Just the tickets
If you have the car and the hotel sorted and only need the park passes, we do that on its own — face value, no booking fee, and refundable before the ticket is issued. Start at our Zhangjiajie tickets page.
Practical question that comes up first: how do you pay for anything here? Start with how to pay in China before you fly.
Questions people ask
How is this different from joining a group tour?
A group tour is cheaper and it will get you to the same mountains. What it will not do is start at seven, change the plan because it is foggy, or let you spend an extra hour somewhere you like. You also share it with forty people and, in most cases, a scheduled shopping stop.
Do we get the same guide for the whole trip?
Yes, that is the point. One licensed guide and one driver for the whole booking, which is also why they can remember that your daughter does not eat spicy food by day two.
Can you change the itinerary?
Yes, and most people do. Swap Baofeng Lake for the Grand Canyon, add a day in Fenghuang, drop the show. Tell us what you want and we will tell you honestly if it does not fit the days you have.
What about the Fenghuang extension?
Fenghuang Ancient Town is about two hours further west and worth a night if you have the time. In the four-day trip below the high-speed transfer is included on the last day; staying over is an extra night we add on request.
Do we pay a deposit?
Yes, once the price and the itinerary are agreed, with the balance when you land. We tell you which payment method we are using before you send anything, and the number does not change after that.
Plan a trip
Send us your dates, how many of you there are, and how many nights you have. If you already know what you want to see, say so — if you do not, say how many days you have and we will propose something.
WhatsApp — +86 180 7449 1863. We answer in English, usually within a few hours and always within 24.
Email — lianjizhi0744@hotmail.com. Passport lists and flight numbers are easier this way.
Or just send us the six things we need to quote properly: dates, headcount, how much luggage, your hotel, what you want to see, and your flight number if you already have it.
Only need a car by the day rather than a whole trip? That is our private driver page. Landing at the airport first is covered on the airport transfer page.