Home > City Guides > Yunnan > Dali > Transportation in Dali

Transportation in Dali

Air
There has an airport in Dali. Located between Fengyi Town and Haidong Town, the Dali Airport (DLU) is 15 kilometers (7.5 miles) east of downtown Dali. There are scheduled flights from Dali to Kunming and Xishuangbanna daily respectively taking thirty and fifty minutes. One thing to note is that the flights to and from Xiaguan may change according to seasons, and during peak seasons there may be more Kunming-Xiaguan flights. The Dali-Guangzhou flight leaves once a day and takes about three hours. There are also flights to Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou with a forty-minute stop-over in Kunming.
Bus No.7 makes a round-trip from Xiaguan to Dali Airport. A ticket costs CNY1. In addition, airport buses go to downtown Dali. Taxis are also available to the airport for about CNY 80. Besides the ticket booking office of the CAAC on Yunling Street, most hotels and travel agencies in Jianshe Road offer ticket booking services.

Train
Getting to Dali by train is also convenient. Because there is daily trains run from Kunming to Dali. Located in Yunling Street, the Dali Railway Station can be reached by city buses No.6, 7, 8, 10, and 11. Trains run only between Dali and Kunming. There are five everyday trains and travel time is about seven to nine hours. The earliest train leaves from Kunming at about 08:00 and the other four all run at night from 21:00 to 23:00. The tickets from Dali to Kunming are only sold in the reception center of the No.35108 Army building on Jianshe Road from 09:30 to 17:30. Charges are CNY 30 for hard seats and CNY 49 for soft seats, and respectively CNY 52 and CNY 81 for trains with air conditioning.

Bus

Long-distance bus:
Located at No.21, Jianshe Road, Xiaguan, the Dali Bus Station is the largest bus station in Dali. Most of the Gaokuai (express and expensive!) buses start from here and there is a separate waiting hall for fast buses away from the normal buses. Gaokuai buses leave for Kunming every 30 minutes between 7:30-20:00. The price varies according to the type of vehicle from RMB89-RMB103.The trip takes 5 hours. Gaokuai Buses to Lijiang cost RMB50 and leave 4 times a day from this station 8:30, 9:30, 14:00, 19:00, the trip takes merely 3 hours.

It operates bus lines to Kunming and Lijiang, as well as cities in other provinces, such as Panzhihua in Sichuan and Putian in Fujian. That are cheaper but slower, the schedule may vary according to season. Most comfortable express buses depart from this station. Bus No.2 stops in this station.

In addition, there are several other bus stations. The Passenger Transport Service Station is adjacent to the Dali Bus Station, at No.78, Jianshe Road. Visitors can choose either company depending on their schedule. Xiaguan North Bus Station is located on North Taian Road and operates a bus line to Tengchong, Lijiang, Zhongdian and Shangri-La. The last bus to Lijiang leaves at 18:00 and the trip takes about three hours. The price is about CNY38 and it runs every 30 minutes. The Dayun Passenger Bus Station on Jianshe Road next to the Dayun Hotel operates bus lines to suburban counties and also lines to Kunming and Lijiang.

City-bus:
There are dozens of public buses running to every corner of Dali. Most of them are self-service buses that require exact change. Few buses run to a strict schedule but most end at around 9:30pm and starts at about 6:30am
Visitors can take them to some of the scenic spots. For example, visitors can take the No. 6 to Erhai Park or the No. 8 to the Ancient City of Dali. The ticket price from Xiaguan to the Ancient City is CNY 1.5. In addition, autobuses can shuttle visitors between various spots. For instance, the trip from Butterfly Spring to the Dali Ancient City by autobus costs about CNY4. Visitors can also tour Cangshan Mountain by cable car or on horseback.
Generally speaking, traveling around the scenic spots of Dali by city-buses is very convenient and enjoyable.

Taxi
For people who want to get to their destination as quickly as possible, taxi is a wise choice. Generally, the starting fare is CNY5, and CNY1.4 will be charged for each kilometer, while for Santana brand taxis, the starting price is CNY6. An additional CNY1.6 is added per kilometer. To rent a taxi should cost about RMB300 for the day.

Water
Erhai Lake has a long shipping history. In 1999, the Xiaguan Dock of Dali Port was expanded and renovated into a grand and well appointed dock with 13 berths. Nowadays, busy shipping around Erhai Lake is injecting new energy into the shipping industry of this area.
Cruise ships are indispensable to an agreeable journey on the Erhai Lake. Definitely, the navigable waterways of Dali mostly are concentrated around Erhai Lake. Visitors can enjoy a tour of Erhai Lake by boat beginning at around 09:00 every morning. Visitors can take Bus No.6 from Xiaguan and Bus No.2 from Dali Ancient City. The ticket price should be about CNY 60-100. It's a good idea to make your reservation one day ahead of time.