Kunming Travel Forum

Helo VT Forum,

Please let me know how to get
1) from Kuming to Dali
2) from Dali to Lijang??

How long it takes?

After Lijang I need to go back to Guangzhou so what is the best way? How many days it will take?

And another question - if I am in Dali - how many days I should stay there taking under consideration that I do not have much time.
And the same about Lijang. In this case I have heard it is minimum 2 days.

Thank you in advance for help!

Kasia

You can get an overnight "sleeper bus" from Kunming to Dali. Dali isn't very interesting but there are some very nice and interesting villages nearby.
I got a minibus from Dali to Lijiang - that took about 4 hours, I think.
I think 2 days is just about enough in Dali. If you're in Lijiang you really should try and organise a day trip to the tiger leaping gorge and another day trip to Baisha. Another day to see the town, that's 3 days. Maybe 1 day in Dali, then.
Can't give you any advice about Guangzhou, I'm afraid, sorry!
Good Luck,
John

I have been to Kunming,Dali and Lijiang this October. Normally 1 night in Kunming,1night in Dali and 2 nights in Lijiang are enough. And from Kunming to Guangzhou,you'd better go by air which takes 1 and half hour.There're many flights available.If you want discount ticket,you'd better book from the agent.

We did the Kunming - Dali, Dali - Lijiang route in the second half of Nov.

From Kunming to Dali by bus, it takes about 5 hours by what was called the "luxury" bus (essentially, a large tour bus) that uses the expressway. We took a bus by a private bus operator, YNTAC, from their bus station in the Southern (关上) part of Kunming. There are also other buses which run from a bus terminal near the Kunming railway station.

From Dali to Lijiang, it takes about 3 - 4h by bus. We took a mini-bus, booked at one of the numerous travel agents in Dali old town. The travel agent claimed that the mini-bus gets to Lijiang faster than a large bus, which may be true as the roads the bus were winding mountain roads.

We spent 2 nights in Dali, and 7 nights in Lijiang. If you're short of time, I recommend that you spend less time in Dali and more time in Lijiang. There're incredible sights around Lijiang; we did a wonderful hike along the tiger leaping gorge.

If you're really short of time, you may also want to consider taking a plane instead of bus. There're planes that fly from Kunming to both Dali and Lijiang. There may also be planes from Lijiang to Guangzhou, but i'm not sure. Try checking http://www.elong.net/