Dali Transportation
By air
Dali Airport is located 13 km west of city proper, on east bank of Erhai Lake. Flights have opened connecting Dali with Kunming, Jinghong (Xishuangbanna), and Guangzhou. There are several flights from and to Kunming and Jinghong every day. Flights to Guangzhou set out every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Tourist can take bus No.7, shuttle bus or taxi to get to downtown Xiaguan (new Dali, or rather Dali New City). A taxi from airport to Xiaguan costs about CNY60 and to Dali Old Town costs CNY90.
By train
Located on the No.261 Weishan Road, Dali Railway Station is the terminal of Kunming-Dali Rail and the origin station of Dali-Lijiang Rail. Passengers can get there by bus No 7, 8, 10, and 11. Bus No.8 brings people direct to Dali Old Town (Ye Yu). Up to now, there are special trains commuting between Dali and Kunming with 8-10 hours' drive.
By long-diatance bus
There are several bus stations in Dali: Dali Bus Station( No.372 Weushan Road), Dali North Bus Station ( No.30 Yuhua Road), Dali Xishenglu Bus Station( No.8 Xingsheng Road), Dali Express Bus Station ( Nanjian Road in Dalishi town) and Dali Southwest Bus Station (near the 320 National Road in Dalishi).
There are regular buses from Dali to Kunming, which runs every 30 minutes to 60 minutes from 08:00 to 17:30 daily at the price of around CNY105. In addition, there are coaches to Lijiang, Shangri-La (Diqing), Liuku, Tengchong and other cities of Yunnan Province.
City transportation
---By public bus
Bus No.4, 8 can take people from Dali downtown to Daili Old Town within some 30 minutes with ticket price being CNY1.5. Other public buses’ ticket price is CNY1. Public buses usually run from 06:30 to 21:30.
---By taxi
Taxi fare of Dali City charges CNY5 within 3 km and extra CNY1.4 for every km. A Santana taxi charges CNY6 within 3 km and extra CNY1.6 for every km. a taxi from Dali downtown to Dali Old Town should cost CNY40-50.
---By ship
Most tourists have a passion for cruise on the Erhai Lake. Taking a ship from Erhai Pier on the north side of Xiaguan should cost CNY70-80.
---Bicycle rental
Renting a bicycle to tour the Dali Old Town is a good choice, which costs CNY20 per day and requires a deposit.
