Hiring a private car, driver and English-speaking guide in Chongqing

Quick answer

Checked September 2026.

In Chongqing, the easiest way is to book the car, the driver and a licensed English-speaking guide together, through a licensed local travel agency. The driver drives and parks. The guide does the English, buys the tickets, orders the food and shows you the way. Most charter drivers in Chongqing speak only Chinese, so the English comes from the guide.

Book with us and the car is yours until 11 pm, and the guide stays with you for the whole route agreed for the day. A day in the city usually leaves your hotel at around 8:30 am (this can be changed). A Wulong day leaves at 7 am. If you only need a one-way airport pickup, station pickup or drop-off at the cruise pier, you can book that on its own. Send us your dates, group size, flight or train number and how many bags you have, and we can start planning.

Plan the car, driver and guide into your trip: WhatsApp +86 173 0744 5070, or see how our prices work.

How does hiring a car, driver and English-speaking guide in Chongqing work?

There are four steps. You send us your request, and we plan the route and send a written quote (free, with nothing to pay first). When you are happy, you pay a deposit to lock in your dates. Once you are in China, you sign a written contract and pay the balance. We send the car, driver and guide together, so on the day you only need to talk to one person, the guide, who also looks after the pace of the day.

• 1. Send your request: dates, group size, where you want to go and roughly what pace. A rough idea is enough to start.
• 2. We plan the route and quote: the written plan sets out where you go each day, what time you leave, and what is and is not included. You can change it as many times as you like.
• 3. Pay a deposit: this locks in your dates, and we start booking the car, the guide and the tickets.
• 4. Pay the balance when you arrive: once you are in China, you sign a written contract and then pay the balance.

For the deposit and balance rules, see payment and cancellation.

Why book the car, driver and guide together?

Because the driver does not guide and the guide does not drive. Book them separately and you spend the whole day passing messages between two people, with no one in charge of the pace of the day. In Chongqing this matters even more. The same sight often has an upper and a lower entrance, a dozen or so storeys apart. Someone needs to take you in at the top and walk down with you, while someone else drives the car down to wait for you at the bottom.

In Chongqing, this is what the guide and the driver each look after during the day:

• Drop-off on two levels: at Hongya Cave you go in from Cangbai Road above (the 11th floor), wander down, and come out on Jiabin Road by the river (the 1st floor). The guide walks down with you and the driver brings the car round to meet you below. Shibati, Baixiangju and Kuixinglou work the same way.
• Parking: spaces are tight around Hongya Cave, and on holiday evenings the roads nearby often have temporary traffic controls, so the car often cannot get to the door. The driver parks nearby and waits for a call, and the guide walks you there.
• Tickets: bring your original passport to the sights. Some ticket mini-programs only accept a Chinese ID card. When that happens, the guide takes you to the staffed ticket window to buy.
• Ordering food: how spicy the hotpot should be, whether you want a split pot, anything you do not eat. The guide makes it all clear to the restaurant for you.
• Luggage: on your arrival day, your departure day or the day you board a cruise, your luggage stays in the car and you walk around hands-free.

For more on getting between the upper and lower levels, see how to get around Chongqing's 3D city.

Do charter drivers in Chongqing speak English?

Usually not. Most charter drivers in Chongqing speak Chinese, and when other companies sell car hire, the English-speaking guide is usually an extra. On our trips, all the English goes through the guide: where to go, how long to stay, what to eat, a change of route on the day. Tell the guide, and the guide works it out with the driver. The driver knows the Chinese name of every sight and the upper and lower drop-off points, which is exactly what you need most in Chongqing.

As well as English-speaking guides, we can arrange Mandarin-speaking guides, or Spanish, Korean or Russian-speaking guides on request, subject to availability at the time.

How long do you have the car each day? What time do you leave and get back?

The car is yours until 23:00, and the guide stays with you for the whole agreed route. Car hire is commonly sold as an 8-hour day, with overtime charged on top. But Chongqing's best sights, Hongya Cave and the night views along the rivers, only start after dark, so our cars do not finish at 8 hours. Days out of town start early: for Wulong you leave at 7:00 and are back at Jiefangbei at about 20:00.

Common types of day

Arrival day: we send the car to match your flight or train time, and the driver meets you with a name sign and takes you to your hotel. A guide comes along only if there is sightseeing that day. If not, the guide joins you from your first sightseeing day. If you only need a one-way airport pickup, station pickup or drop-off at the cruise pier, you can book that on its own.

How long the guide stays each day: the car is yours until 23:00, and the guide stays with you for the whole agreed route.

Which vehicle fits your group?

Under national rules, a tour vehicle must have a dedicated seat for the guide, and guests plus guide cannot go over the vehicle's approved number of passengers. The driver takes a seat too. So 6 guests do not fit in a 7-seater: 6 guests, 1 guide and 1 driver make 8 people. When a guide comes with you, the guide's seat has to be counted.

Group size and vehicle

If you have a lot of luggage, tell us how many large suitcases and we match the vehicle to the bags. If you need a child seat, say so when you book and we put it in the quote.

What should you prepare and send us before booking?

Send us 8 things and we can put together a plan with no more back-and-forth: dates, group size and ages, flight or train, hotel, luggage, passport details, health, and food needs. Your flight or train and hotel decide the pickup points, your luggage and group size decide which vehicle we send, and your passport details decide whether tickets can be booked ahead.

• 1. Dates and group size: any children (how old, and whether you need a child seat), and any older travellers.
• 2. Flight number or train number: Chongqing has Jiangbei Airport T3, and several railway stations: Chongqing West, Chongqing North, Chongqing East and Shapingba. Each has a different pickup point. Chongqing North also has a South Square and a North Square, so check which one is on your ticket.
• 3. Hotel name: the Chinese name is best. We can pick you up wherever you stay, in Jiefangbei, Jiangbei or Nan'an.
• 4. Luggage: how many large cases and how many small ones. On the day you board a cruise or catch a flight, your luggage stays with the car.
• 5. The English name and number on each passport: we need these to book tickets ahead for places like Dazu and Wulong. The Yangtze River Cableway only sells same-day tickets, bought on the day with your passport. Bring your original passport on the day.
• 6. Mobility: who finds stairs hard, and who uses a wheelchair. In the city we plan where we can on the pattern of "get out at the top, walk down, get back in at the bottom", and the guide sets the pace to suit your energy.
• 7. Food: how much spice you can take, vegetarian, allergies, anything you do not eat.
• 8. The one or two things you most want: say you must see the Liziba monorail go through the building, or you must have a hotpot meal. We fit those in first and fill in the rest around your pace.

How can you check that a guide is licensed?

In China, a guide has to pass a qualifying exam and hold a guide licence, and must be sent by a travel agency. Guides cannot take work privately. The licence is electronic and kept on the guide's phone. Under the rules, you have the right to ask a guide to show their electronic guide licence and guide ID badge. We are a licensed local travel agency in Chongqing, licence number L-CQ-100787, and you can find us on both the city list and the Nan'an District list of travel agencies.

China's Tourism Law (Article 41) also says a guide must not ask tourists for tips, and must not lead, trick, force or indirectly force tourists into shopping or into activities that cost extra. Our trips have no shopping stops.

For our travel agency licence and business licence, see licensed Chongqing travel agency.

How is the price worked out? What is included and what is not?

We quote each day as one package: one vehicle, one driver and one licensed English-speaking guide. We do not quote the car or the guide on their own. Entrance tickets, meals, and meal allowances for the guide and driver are not included. Ticket prices follow what the scenic area posts on the day. We book them at the actual price with no mark-up, and every item is listed on the quote. The bigger your group, the less the car and guide cost each person.

• Want a rough idea first? Our pricing page shows our published starting prices, such as the per-person starting price at Comfort level for 3 days and 2 nights in Chongqing, for 4 days with Dazu, and for 5 days with Wulong and the Wujiang. See how our prices work.
• Quotes are free and you are under no obligation. The deposit, balance and cancellation rules are set out in writing before you pay.
• If you only need a one-way airport pickup, station pickup or drop-off at the cruise pier, you can book that on its own. Send us your flight or train number and group size for a quote. On sightseeing days, the car, driver and guide come together and are not sold separately.

Can I rent a car and drive myself?

You cannot drive in China on a foreign licence alone. You first have to apply to the vehicle management office for a temporary driving permit, which is valid for three months for short stays. Even with one, Chongqing's roads are hard to drive. One building can have several "ground floors", your sat nav cannot tell which level you are on, and parking near the popular sights is hard to find. All our cars come with a driver, and we do not rent them out for guests to drive. If you want freedom, hire a car with a guide: stop wherever you like, for as long as you like, and just tell the guide.

Taxi, metro or a private car: which should you choose?

For one or two people with light bags, staying on the Yuzhong peninsula, the metro plus walking is enough. If you take a taxi, show the driver the Chinese name and say clearly which level you want to get out on. If you are going to the airport or the cruise pier, travelling with older people or children, covering several places in a day, or heading out of town to Wulong or Dazu, a private car with a guide saves you the most time and energy.

For how to ride the metro, see our Chongqing metro guide.

Chongqing plus Chengdu: how do the drivers and guides work?

Each city has its own local guide: a Chengdu guide in Chengdu and a Chongqing guide in Chongqing, each covering their own city. On the day you change cities, your Chengdu guide sees you onto the high-speed train, and the Chongqing guide and car meet you at Dazu South station and take you straight on to the Dazu Rock Carvings. You do not have to drag your luggage around looking for another car. Each city has its own car too.

For how to plan the two cities, see Chengdu and Chongqing itinerary.

Send us your dates, group size and flights, and we arrange the car, driver and guide together. Or fill in the form for a free tailor-made plan.

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