Guilin Transportation

We flew with China Eastern air from Chonqing to Guilin . It was about an hour and a half. Good and easy trip . Snacks served...could really get used to that back home.The airport is about 30km from the town center. Taxis cost about $15.00 but there are shuttles that are cheaper. We were surprised by all the loghts on the shrubs and trees...looked like Vegas!

We took a sleeper bus from Guangzhou to Guilin and it was the worst experience. There were only 3 people on the bus who bought legitatmate tickets from the ticket office. The driver illegally sells tickets directly to locals at a lower price and overfills the bus. Not only was our bus old and disgusting with gross blankets, the aisles were packed with people sleeping right beside you. Never again! I hear the regular sitting buses are fine though. They are more expensive but probably worth the extra cost!

Here are your options to get from Guangzhou (Guangdong Province) to Guilin (Guanxi Province). Ranked by cost :

$ - 9 Hr bus ride from Hell (170Y) - very safe, there is a conductor on the bus to count pple so they don't leave you behind and she answers queries and tells u where to stop and get off. Free water is distributed on the bus. The bus runs abt 4 times a day and the latest is 22.35 hrs.

$$ - 13 Hour Sleeper Train
The price ranges from 160Y to 320Y for 5 different classes.
1- Hurt your ass hard seat class
2- Less pain in the ass soft seat class
3- Aeroplane like cushion seats
4- Backache hard sleeper class
5- Luxury soft sleeper with clean linen ! and pillow!

$$$- Guilin Airlines ( about 600Y not inclu. of taxes)
Just fyi, the locals told me that this airline is quite prone to accidents. The last 2 major crashes were in 1987 and 1997 ... wanna take the plane this year? Go figure.....

I took the bus and got there in 1 piece. There are 2 toilet stops on the way. Both are bad, so don't hold it in hopes of finding a better toilet.

IVECO mid size buse or 40+seats local buse runs between airport and Minhang Dasah downtown every 30 minutes.
Fare:15RMB/person.
Duration: 45-60 mintues.
Stops: rail station/long haul bus station before arriving the terminal.

I have also included this as a thing to do.

Recommend if you can, pay only 200 Yuan and take a small boat down the Li River. The big boats taken by most tourists are crowded and you do not seem to have the facility of getting up and taking photos easily. I could be wrong!!

By accident we came across a gentleman who offered us the chance of going down the Li River by boat for 180 Yuan each. The trip itself involved a 45 minute mini-van ride to the Li Crown River dock area where we had lunch and had to wait for about 2 hours for the boat. We then had a 2 – 3 hour small boat ride sharing with 2 other people. Along the way we stopped off at two villages.

The small boat allowed us the luxury of being able to take photos easily. The boat took us to two villages and we then had another 45 minute ride to Yangshuo town. We arrived at Yangshuo about 5pm.

Yes it was budget and pretty basic but we got to see a lot more than if we had gone down river by tourist boat and it was half the price. It was up close and personal.

If interested go to the White Pearl Hotel in Guilin and ask around.

In keeping with our routines (see General China page) we caught the Shuttle Bus from the airport to the CBD and then Taxi (12 Yuan )to hotel.

Shuttle Bus just outside main entrance and leaving within 5 minutes of arrival.
Painless, no hassling about taxi's ripping you off and travelling like the Chinese do!!

Cost of bus ticket: 20 Yuan.

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The plane left at 10.50 for Shenzhen and arrived 45 minutes later.It was actually very interesting as the plane flew over mountainous areas as well as a number of heavily populated cities. The views were excellent. (see photos). We were served a cold drink and biscuits.

A painless, quick way to get back to Shenzhen!

Cost of ticket 770 Yuan

This is a very small airport with several international flights, such as from Malaysia Airlines (Charter flight), Dragon Air, Asiana, etc. There is only one duty free shopping area where the prices of souvenirs, local produce and liquors are so expensive. Definitely not worth buying here.

Be sure to bring your own book or magazine to kill your time here while waiting for your flight. No magazine stand or convenience store are in sight. There is one small cafe at the corner of the airport but it is so empty and dark.

While your plane is descending for the runway and if you are having a window seat, be sure to look out from the window. The view is simply to breathtaking. You can see rice terrains and vegetables farms on every inch of the available land. They look like topography diagram on your Geography textbook. It certainly the greatest artwork from humankind.