Attraction
West Lake, Hangzhou 3-Day Itinerary 2026: Day-by-Day Plan
West Lake rewards an early alarm clock more than a checklist. Three unhurried days follow the water's own rhythm: mist on the Su Causeway before the city wakes, a wooden boat idling beside the stone lanterns, tea terraces in the hills, and a pagoda at closing time. Each day takes one shore, with tables for transport, tickets and meals, plus an indoor swap for wet weather.
Yes - three days is the right length for West Lake if you base yourself near the east shore and give each day one side of the water. Budget roughly CNY 250-300 per person for boats, pagodas and the tea hills, and start Day 1 by 6 a.m., when the causeways are still empty.
**Day 1 - East shore, the boat to Three Pools, Leifeng Pagoda** | Time | Stop | Transport | Entry fee | Meal stop | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 6:00 a.m. | Sunrise on Broken Bridge and the Bai Causeway | Metro Line 1 to Longxiangqiao, then a 10-minute walk west | Free | Coffee on Hubin Road | | 8:00 a.m. | Cruise to Three Pools Mirroring the Moon | No.1 or No.5 Park wharf | CNY 70 round trip, including the CNY 20 island ticket | - | | 11:30 a.m. | Lunch near Hefang Street | Walk or bus 4 | Free to walk | Noodles and xiaolongbao | | 1:30 p.m. | Leifeng Pagoda | Bus 4 to Jingsi | CNY 40; lift to the top gallery | Tea at the base | | 4:00 p.m. | Flower Harbor | Bus 4 or the lakeside shuttle | Free | - |
The hour matters here as much as the season. Sunrise in early October comes at 05:56, and the light stays soft until about 8, when the coaches reach Broken Bridge. Walk the flat kilometre of the Bai Causeway first, then be at a wharf when the island boats start selling at 08:00. The cruise crosses to Xiaoying Island, home of the Three Pools lanterns. Keep the afternoon for Leifeng Pagoda, whose lift spares the stairs. Last tickets go 30 minutes before closing and the site is cleared at closing time - 20:00 in summer, 17:30 in deep winter. The lakeshore below never closes.
**Day 2 - Su Causeway, Lingyin Temple, the tea hills** | Time | Stop | Transport | Entry fee | Meal stop | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 6:30 a.m. | Su Causeway, north to south | Walk from Beishan Road | Free | Steamed buns near Broken Bridge | | 9:00 a.m. | Flower Harbor | Walk 15 minutes south | Free | - | | 11:00 a.m. | Lingyin Temple and Feilai Feng | Bus 4 or taxi | Free since 1 December 2025; real-name reservation 1-7 days ahead | Vegetarian lunch by the temple | | 2:30 p.m. | Longjing and Meijiawu tea terraces | Bus 27 or taxi | Free; pay for tea by the cup | Longjing shrimp at a farmhouse | | 6:00 p.m. | Dinner in the tea village | Taxi back to the lake | Free | Farmhouse table, book ahead |
Lingyin is free, but not walk-in: every visitor needs a real-name slot booked one to seven days ahead through the official Hangzhou Lingyin Feilai Peak mini-program, and daily numbers are capped at 35,000 on weekdays, 50,000 at weekends and 65,000 on holidays. Go early - the Feilai Feng carvings and the temple halls take two hours or more. Spend the afternoon above the lake in Longjing or Meijiawu, where clipped tea terraces climb the slopes and a farmer pours the year's first pick with water just off the boil. Two sights a day is a full day here.
**Day 3 - Tea museum, the Grand Canal, old Hangzhou** | Time | Stop | Transport | Entry fee | Meal stop | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 8:30 a.m. | China National Tea Museum, Shuangfeng | Bus 27 or 87 to Shuangfeng | Free | Tea house on site | | 11:30 a.m. | Meijiawu village lunch | Taxi, 15 minutes | Free | Longjing shrimp, farmhouse prices | | 1:30 p.m. | Grand Canal and Gongchen Bridge | Bus or taxi to the canal | Free | Canal-side cafe | | 4:00 p.m. | Hefang Street and the Southern Song Imperial Street | Metro Line 1 to Ding'an Road | Free | Ding sheng cake and scallion pancakes |
Day 3 is the one to do without a car. The white around-lake sightseeing cart covers about 13.5 km from the Children's Palace past Yongjin Gate, Leifeng Pagoda and Yue Fei's tomb in 60-70 minutes, at CNY 10 per section or CNY 40 for the loop; the antique-style cart charges CNY 20 and CNY 80. In spring and autumn carts run about 08:30-18:30, winter shortens that to 09:00-17:00, and July and August add an evening service. They are flag-down, so a peak wait at Leifeng Pagoda can reach 25 minutes. The metro reaches the tea museum and the canal, with fares from CNY 2.
**The rainy-day alternative.** The plum rains settle over Hangzhou from mid-June to early July, and typhoon days can stop the boats. Swap Day 2's causeway walk for the China National Tea Museum at 88 Longjing Road: free, 09:00-16:30 and closed on Tuesdays, with a tea house and a garden that looks its best in drizzle. Follow it with a covered tasting in Longjing, then ride the lift up Leifeng Pagoda, where the indoor galleries keep you dry and give the finest wet-weather view. Finish under the arcades of Hefang Street, where snack stalls stay open in the rain.
High-speed trains run from Shanghai Hongqiao to Hangzhou East, 189 km, in as little as 45 minutes on G trains, about 200 pairs a day (China Highlights 2026 Shanghai-Hangzhou timetable). China Railway's published fare notice of 2 May 2024 set a second-class floor of CNY 48, and live October 2026 departures price at roughly CNY 57-87. Book on 12306 with your passport number: the presale window is 15 days and sales run 05:00-01:00. Metro Line 1 then reaches Longxiangqiao in about 20 minutes. Send ChinaMira your dates, and we will book the boats, the tea table and the lakeside room.
Good to know
- Getting there and rail booking
- Shanghai Hongqiao to Hangzhou East: 189 km, 45-70 minutes on G and D trains, about 200 pairs a day; second class ran CNY 57-87 in October 2026, against a published floor of CNY 48 under China Railway's flexible-pricing notice of 2 May 2024. Book on 12306 in English with your passport number; the presale window is 15 days and sales run 05:00-01:00. Metro Line 1 from Hangzhou East to Longxiangqiao: six stops, about 20 minutes, from CNY 2.
- Tickets and boats (2026)
- Island cruise to Three Pools Mirroring the Moon: CNY 70 round trip, including the CNY 20 island ticket, sold 08:00-16:00. Round-lake hop-on line: CNY 6-8 per section or CNY 70 for the full loop. Hand-rowed six-seat wooden boat: CNY 150 per hour, 07:00-18:00, last order 17:10. Leifeng Pagoda: CNY 40. Lingyin Feilai Feng: free.
- Opening hours and last entry
- West Lake, its causeways and shoreline parks are free and open 24 hours, so visitors may stay for sunrise and long after sunset. Leifeng Pagoda: 08:00-19:00 from 16 March to 30 April, 08:00-20:00 from 1 May to 31 October and 08:00-17:30 from 1 November to 15 March, with last tickets 30 minutes before closing and the site cleared at closing time. Island boats stop selling at 16:00 and self-drive boats at 16:30.
- Around-lake sightseeing cart
- White cart: CNY 10 per section, CNY 40 for the 13.5 km loop. Antique cart: CNY 20 per section, CNY 80 for the loop; both take 60-70 minutes. Spring and autumn roughly 08:30-18:30, winter 09:00-17:00, July-August 08:30-20:30 with an evening service. Flag-down and pay onboard by Alipay or WeChat Pay; peak waits at Leifeng Pagoda can reach 25 minutes.
- Rainy-day swaps
- China National Tea Museum, 88 Longjing Road: free, 09:00-16:30, closed Tuesdays per the museum's own visitor guide. Leifeng Pagoda, ticket price above: indoor galleries and lift, open daily. Hefang Street snack arcades stay open through rain. The lake itself does not close in light rain; heavy rain or a typhoon warning can suspend boats and carts.
- Best months and daylight
- Late March to April for blossom and fresh willows; late September to November for osmanthus and the clearest light. In Hangzhou on 7 October 2026, sunrise was 05:56 and sunset 17:37, so arrive before 6 a.m. for empty causeways. Plum rains run mid-June to early July; the first week of October and Lunar New Year are the busiest.
Frequently asked questions
Is three days enough for West Lake?
Three days is comfortable if you give each day one shore: the east shore and a boat, the Su Causeway with Lingyin and the tea hills, then the tea museum and the canal. Two days covers the highlights; a fourth day lets you add Xixi Wetland or a Suzhou day trip.
What time of day should I start at West Lake?
Be on the causeway or the water before 6 a.m. in spring and autumn, when mist still hangs over the lake and the coaches have not arrived. The lake itself never closes, so dawn and late evening are equally open to you; only the paid pagodas, boats and shuttles keep fixed hours.
Can you visit West Lake when it rains?
Yes, and drizzle often suits the lake better than sun. Keep the tea museum and Leifeng Pagoda for the wet hours, carry a light shell for the shoreline, and check the forecast before booking a boat, because heavy rain or a typhoon warning suspends the water services.
Do I need to reserve Lingyin Temple and the West Lake boats?
Lingyin Feilai Feng requires a free real-name time slot booked one to seven days ahead through the official Hangzhou Lingyin Feilai Peak mini-program, and visitor numbers are capped each day. The island cruise is bought on the day at the wharf, so start early in peak season.
How do I get from Shanghai to West Lake by train?
Take a high-speed train from Shanghai Hongqiao to Hangzhou East, then Metro Line 1 to Longxiangqiao and walk west to the shore. Book on 12306 with your passport number; the presale window, rail fares and metro fares are listed in the fact sheet below.