Travel to Yangshuo: by air, train and bus

Travel to Yangshuo is easy from many different directions and with many different kinds of transport. In fact, there are few places in China so easy to reach.

It doesn't matter if you come from Beijing, Shanghai or Chengdu. Hong Kong, Thailand Vietnam have direct connections to Guilin these days. So, where do we start?

In general Guilin is the main transport hub in the area. Here is an international airport, the railway station with connections to all wind directions. There's a major bus station to travel to Yangshuo and other destinations around Guilin (and further away).

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Flights

Travel to Yangshuo by air means flying to Guilin. Guilin is located 65 km from Yangshuo. If you have limited time, it's certainly worth the time saving as traveling by bus or train over long distances can be time consuming.

You can fly from all the major cities in China to Guilin, Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Kunming, Xian, you name them. Booking tickets can be as easy as walk in to one of the many travel agencies in the city you are in China.

Guilin has transformed to an international airport. You can fly now from Hong Kong, Vietnam and Thailand direct to Guilin (and take a bus or taxi - Y300-400) to Yangshuo)

Train

The railroad in China is excellent organized. Trains usually run on time, even if the journey is 24 hours, a delay of more then 15 to 30 minutes is rare. There are 4 classes: Soft sleeper, hard sleeper, soft seat and hard seat (there's even a Hard Seat Cafe in Yangshuo! However, there is no railway station in Yangshuo, so you have to travel to Yangshuo from Guilin by bus or taxi (or bicycle)

Hard seats are OK for short distances. Hard seats are usually wooden benches without any comfort. For longer distances I recommend the hard sleeper. You can also take the soft sleeper but the prices of soft sleepers are around the price of a flight ticket. Worth the price? Well, in the soft sleepers you get sheets, softer mattresses and a you share the compartment with only 3 other people (4 in total) while in the hard sleeper section you have a 6 bed compartment.

The beds in the hard sleeper are still good, you get a blanket too. And it is more fun because you will most likely spend more time with local Chinese. And isn't that part of the fun?

The railway station in Guilin is easy to find as it is located right in the middle of city. In front of the railway station you will find mini busses for further travel to Yangshuo. It takes about 60 to 90 minutes by local minibus depending how full the bus is. Alternatively you can travel to Yangshuo by taxi that does the job in less then an hour.

Guilin is the main railway hub in this part of China with connections to Guangzhou, Nanning (for Vietnam), Kunming, Xian and Beijing. You can book in advance at the railway station or ask one of the travel agencies to book for you (for a small fee)

If you cross the Hong Kong - Shenzhen border to travel to Yangshuo directly, you can take a train at the border. There are no direct trains from Hong Kong. You have to take the KCR to Lo Wu (every few minutes, HK$33) and then get a train to Guilin.

Or you can take the train to Guangzhou from Hung Hom in Hong Kong (price is around HK$200). You will need to travel from the East Guangzhou Railway Station to the Main Railway Station in the heart of Guangzhou (taxi cost about Y40). There are 2 trains a day to Guilin:

• K36 departs at 17.36 from Guangzhou main station arriving at 06.40
• T38 departs at 21.04 and arrives into Guilin at 10.30.

Trains to and from Kunming take about 20 to 22 hours. They're a good alternative for flying. There are also trains north and east to Xian, Beijing and Shanghai. There are no direct trains to Chengdu (travel through Kunming or use airplane or bus)

To make sure you can travel to Yangshuo with the train you want. book a few days in advance. There is a foreigner window at many of the main railway station in China which makes purchasing tickets quite easy.

The Bus

Trains and busses are popular to Travel to Yangshuo. And no wonder, as everywhere in China, there are plenty of busses available. For the short distance to and from Guilin, you will take the minibus or express bus. For long distances you will use the sleeper buses. If you need to use the sleeper bus, make sure you have the new busses as the old ones can be dirty and smelly.

There are overnight sleeper busses to and from Shenzhen and Guangzhou (busses will stop in Yangshuo). If your next destination is Nanning, you have to go to Guilin and get a bus there. You may want to consider the direct sleeper bus to Liuzhou though that bus is slow and stops everywhere.

If you don't want to fly to Chengdu, you have only one option, an overnight sleeper bus that runs every other day. I did that bus a few times. The bus was usually quite empty so you have plenty of space.

Guilin to Yangshuo

There are three ways to travel to Yangshuo from Guilin (and back): boat, bus and taxi.

The boats to Yangshuo leave from the Zhujiang wharf and take about 4 hours. Here is more about the river cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo.html.

Taxis take about an hour, cost Y120-150 depending on your bargain experience and time of the day, night time will be more expensive then daytime.

In front of the railway station you can get a local bus for Y14. Beware of scams as some of the bus drivers try to drop you outside Yangshuo (for commissions of hotels) or want extra money for carrying your bags. There's no need to pay though the drivers can be very persisting.

If you travel to Yangshuo by these busses, you need to get off at the last stop of this journey, the bus station in the center of Yangshuo. The busses stop frequently to pick up passengers. Even if there are no smoking signs, you will most likely in busses were people do smoke.

You can take the express bus from the Guilin bus station for Y15

During peak seasons like the May week and Moon Festival prices can be doubled. This is not for foreigners only. All people have to pay double.

It may be a good idea to book your hotels, especially in those periods. Use China hotels website for some good ideas to find a hotel in the city where you want to stay.

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