Xishuangbanna Free Travel 5-Day In-depth Tour (Pit-avoiding Economic Guide).

Number of days: 5 days
Time: March
Average cost: 3000 yuan
With whom: With friends
Updated: 2021.03.29

Under the siege of the epidemic, the heart of wandering for a year has nowhere to rest! At the end of the two sessions, under the safety measures that have been vaccinated, the 5-day in-depth tour of Xishuangbanna finally began.

Xishuangbanna Xishuangbanna attraction map

[Air ticket: 08:15 JD5281 flight from Beijing Daxing Airport to Xishuangbanna Gasa Airport]

Friends who purchase tickets for this flight must carefully read the flight regulations and highlight the following points:

1. Luggage check-in needs to be paid separately (60 yuan for baggage tickets within 5kg purchased online in advance, a 20-inch suitcase, and you will be overweight if you pack something casually). Please be sure to weigh yourself in advance, otherwise the airport fee will be very expensive after being overweight; On the way back, there was no online purchase of luggage tickets, and the on-site payment of 140 yuan for 7 kilograms was too pitiful!

2. There are no free meals on board (2 small breads will be given on the outbound flight, and there will be no on the return flight);

3. During the flight, you need to stay in Lijiang for 1 hour, bring everything to get off the plane and wait, and then board the plane, so it will be particularly inconvenient for people with a lot of luggage. The flight time from Lijiang to Xishuangbanna is 50 minutes.

4. You cannot check in online to select seats, you can only queue up at the airport to check in and check in your luggage, please arrive at the airport in advance;

Summary: Cheap flights are full of pitfalls, and the implied costs are also very high (it is better to calculate carefully in advance).

[Transportation: Jinghong City Bus + Didi Taxi]

1. Most hotels or B&Bs in Xishuangbanna have free airport pick-up services (excluding free drop-off), so ask the customer service or host in advance.

Description: The airport is less than 10 kilometers away from Jinghong City (Xishuangbanna), which is very close.

2. There are buses available to Xishuangbanna to go to famous attractions, which is more economical.

The Jiangbei Passenger Transport ticket office (closer to Gaozhuang Shuangjing) has a bus directly to the Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (cost 23 yuan/person), ask in advance to remember the license plate number of the car you are riding when buying tickets at the station, and wait on the side of the road. After getting on the bus, tell the driver in advance that you need to get off at that attraction, and you need to wait at the drop-off point on the way back (return early before 4 pm, not too late).

Explanation: Because Xishuangbanna has three passenger stations found on the Internet, Jinghong North Station, Jinghong South Station and Banna Passenger Station. I don't know if there is the nearest passenger station because when I took a taxi to the passenger station, the local Didi driver told us that there is a bus directly to the Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

3. It is convenient to call a taxi in the city, although there is usually congestion in the handover, just spend more time to get rich. Many Didi drivers are locals, and the folk customs are relatively simple compared to Sanya and Dali;

Summary: There is no official information on the bus routes and times from Xishuangbanna to various scenic spots, and there are no through trains in many places, not to mention the through trains between attractions, which is very inconvenient for independent tourists, and too many attractions are tour groups and chartered buses (not close to the people).

[Accommodation: in Gaozhuang Scenic Area]

1. Gaozhuang Scenic Area is full of homestays and hotels, and the starlight night market and rushing market are very large, if you live in the market, pay attention to the noise.

2. The price of accommodation in Gaozhuang Shuangshuang Scenic Area is higher than that in the city such as Songshui Square, if you want to visit Xishuangbanna in depth, it is convenient to take a bus to other attractions, or accommodation near the passenger station is more convenient and affordable, saving the daily taxi fare to and from the passenger station.

Summary: The scale of Jinghong City (Xishuangbanna) is only a prefecture-level city, from environmental transportation to tourism supporting services, compared with the tourist cities in the east, it is still a little dirty, and the superior geographical and climatic conditions have not been fully utilized (lack of overall long-term planning and development, and the tourism score is barely 60 points (out of 100)).

[Scenic spots: scenic spots that I have personally visited]

1. Manting Park + General Buddha Temple + Starlight Night Market + Shwedagon Pagoda: One-day in-depth tour

The

end of Manting Park is the General Buddha Temple, which is enough for half a day. In the afternoon, you can go to the Shwedagon Pagoda next to the Starlight Night Market early. Shwedagon Pagoda is free and basically crowded with people taking pictures in various Thai costumes.

2. Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (East District + West District): One-day in-depth tour

Buy a ticket from Jiangbei Passenger Station (intermediate ticket point) and take a bus to the Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, because it is just a passing bus and you need to get off the bus and go more than 200 meters to the attraction by yourself, and the tour ticket and battery car in the East District + West District are 180 yuan/person. Because the tour group only tours in the West District, excluding the East District, if you have a day, you can avoid the peak crowds in the morning, first visit the East District (Natural Botanical Garden), and then visit the West District in the afternoon.

Description: There are very few tourists in the East District, and those who like the natural primeval rainforest can take a battery car to enjoy the quiet natural scenery. The West End is crowded with all kinds of tours, although the plants and scenery are also good.

Xishuangbanna

3. Manzhang Village + Riverside Night Market; One-day in-depth tour

There is no direct bus from Jinghong City to Manzhang Village, you have to take a bus from the Jiangbei Passenger Transport ticket office to Mengyang (a small county town) bus terminal (ticket 13 yuan/person), and then take a taxi (13 yuan) to Manzhang Village!

2 streets and 111 households in Manzhang Village will be quickly visited, and if you don't make paper by yourself (cheaper than making handmade paper in Manting Park in the city) to make pottery, you can shop in 1 hour.

Explanation: When returning to Jinghong City, I called a taxi in Didi in Manzhang Village for more than half an hour, and there was no car to answer, so I had to take a bounce car (20 yuan) to Mengyang Passenger Station and then take a bus (ticket 13 yuan/person) back to Gaozhuang Scenic Area (when getting off the bus, you must tell the driver in advance, otherwise it will be pulled directly to the end of the passenger station in the city). A lot of time is wasted on back-and-forth traffic, if there is a car or chartered car along the way, you can go there for a visit, there are fewer tourists, a typical Dai village.

After this toss, he decisively gave up his trip to Mandiu Village and Manyuan Village.

4. Xishuangbanna Museum of Ethnology + Tropical Flower Garden; One-day in-depth tour

The

Ethnographic Museum is built on the mountain, which looks majestic and magnificent from the outside, but lacks tourists. The museum has three floors, only the first and second floors can be visited, most of them are photos, antiquities and physical objects are very few, not to mention interactive or any high-tech displays.

Explanation: When taking a taxi to the Xishuangbanna Museum of Ethnology, the local drivers who live nearby do not know that the museum is open (because it has been closed), which shows that it is not popular.

5. Xishuangbanna Market (local in the old city)

The

market is a big farmer's market for locals in the old city, there is everything to buy, the price is more favorable than the scenic spot and the city, if you have time, you can buy some fruit or special items that need to be bought.

Summary: The tropical flower garden is more surprising, there are not many tourists, there are many varieties of flowers and plants, the scenery is beautiful, and it is recommended (the only place with surprises in Xishuangbanna)!

[Eat: Favorite Lao iced coffee]

1. Lao iced coffee; Night markets and streets can be seen everywhere, and people who like coffee will fall in love with it like me, and they must drink it every day. The taste of coffee will diminish with the increase of ice cubes, so it will be more mellow with less ice.

2. Thai pineapple: It is very sweet, you can buy a few less to eat and experience.

3. Dai cuisine: It is highly recommended to have a Dai restaurant There is a relatively large Dai restaurant behind Manting Park (about 60 meters from the left side of Manting Park), and the rice noodles and stir-fried vegetables are delicious.

Summary: Play well, eat well, and spend less is the biggest purpose of traveling for independent travelers!