r/travelchina • u/FamImBloke • 1d ago

Planning 2 week trip to Yunnan; how difficult with the itinerary be?

Hello this will be my 2nd time traveling to China with my partner. We speak/write fluent Mandarin and have Alipay/WeChat set up.

We are planning our next trip 14 days max to Yunnan. Our goal is to make it to; Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, Shangri-La and Xishuangbanna.

Do you guys think it would be possible if we solo’d the trip or is having a personal driver/travel group a must for some cities?

The reason why I ask is because the 1st time we went to Hunan we went to some cities far away from Didi access which made us feel uncomfortable getting rides from random people.

Any other advice/tips appreciated!

Thank you in advance for your help.

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3

u/Lepadidae 1d ago

I've been in Yunnan for the past 10 days without knowing a single word of Mandarin and I survive just fine. You knowing Mandarin will make everything 10 times easier.

3

u/curioustreez 1d ago

Very easy to do this alone! Take high speed rail between the cities

2

u/kaasboer21 1d ago

Was in Kunming, Dali and Lijiang this Autumn, Didi worked perfectly fine there, can’t say anything about the other two

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u/FamImBloke 1d ago

Thank you, how did you travel to the other cities? Flight/train/bus?

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u/kaasboer21 1d ago

Flew to Kunming, from there I just tool the HSR, it’s a pretty accessible place up until Shangri-la

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u/AW23456___99 1d ago

I visited those places before Didi came along and I just relied on public transport (long-distance and city buses). I only speak elementary level Mandarin and it was easy enough. Those places are all extremely popular tourist destinations with well-connected transport network.

I flew from Shangri-la to Kunming to save time. The flight was very affordable.

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u/newmvbergen 1d ago

I was around Yunnan on my own without a smartphone and able to say only two words in Mandarin. You can be there on your own, a guide is far to be mandatory.

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u/MichaelStone987 1d ago

For those major locations you do not need a private driver. Trains are super convenient. I would suggest adding ShaXi old town. Easy to reach by bus or private transfer from Lijiang. Maybe too instagramable for my taste, but smaller and more cozy than Lijiang old town. Never been to Xishuangbanna, but when I suggested going there many of my Chinese friends went very silent (Chinese way of saying do not go there). I later asked them and they said it is a major tourist trap.

4

u/NotMyselfNotme 1d ago

considering you actually know the language, you will do 100000000000000 times better than any white person lol

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u/ChTTay2 1d ago

As others mention, those places are fine. You don’t need private driver or tour groups. We visited Dali, Lijiang and Xishuangbana without any issues. We got Didi and taxis. For longer itineraries we booked a car and driver through our guesthouse. For example, to see many Lijiang sights. Also recommend the Botanical garden outside Xishuangbana as a must visit. We got a car and driver for that. On the trip, we used Dali airport as a bit of a hub and took no trains.

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u/raspberrih 1d ago

If you're an extrovert or comfortable with a private driver then it's much more convenient. Some areas especially if you're heading up the mountains it's almost impossible to get a cab