Self-driving tour in Dali, Yunnan and Lijiang/family

Number of days：6 days
Time: July
Average cost: 5,000 yuan
With whom：parents and children
Tour kinds: Self-driving, free travel
Updated: 2025.01.07

4 adults and 1 child, 2 rooms per night, 7 days and 6 nights, self-guided travel, self-driving.

Day 1: Guangzhou to Dali by high-speed train, 10 hours and 45 minutes.

We arrived in Dali at 7:30 PM, still daylight. Before getting off the high-speed train, we contacted the car rental company we'd booked on the ZFB platform. We met at the hotel parking lot across from the station for the car pick-up. We purchased the highest insurance policy through the platform (they'll recommend it at the pick-up location if you haven't already). Thinking the rental car was reasonably priced, we decided to buy comprehensive insurance for peace of mind (it waives downtime and depreciation fees in the event of repairs). Prices are included at the end of this post.

We stayed near Dali Ancient Town on our first night. The drive from Dali Station to our inn was 50 minutes. It was peak summer season, and we arrived late, so parking was difficult to find. After the front desk helped us park our car, it started to drizzle. Upon check-in, we were told the hot water was out of order and we had no water all night. My mood was completely down. After a day of traveling, I still hadn't had dinner yet. It started raining. I finally parked the car and was so happy to check in, but I couldn't even take a proper shower. The room cost over 500 yuan per night, but since it was raining, I'd just make do with one night. Fortunately, it was only one night...

Day 2: We set off early to explore Dali Ancient Town. By the time we left around 11:00, it was already packed. It was hot, so I recommend leaving early.

We drove around the west route, renting bikes to explore S Bay along the way (we rented bikes just to park, as we were afraid of getting a ticket if we parked on the Dali Highway).

Taking pictures of the kids playing in the water at S Bay—it was too sunny, so wear sunscreen!

Continue along the west line to the inn for lunch and a short break. In the evening, stroll along the Erhai Lake to watch the sunset. Have delicious mushroom soup at a restaurant near the inn (Bodu Inn, highly recommended. I didn't want to leave after staying for 2 nights). At night, watch the stars at the inn, drink and play mahjong in the restaurant (bring your own food).

The entrance of the inn in Dali

The scenery of the inn in Dali

Day 3: We departed for Shuanglang Ancient Town. It wasn't particularly impressive, as there were many tour groups. The Erhai Lake view from Shuanglang wasn't as stunning as the one at the inn's entrance. We happened to wander past Yang Liping's former residence, but after lunch, perhaps because Shuanglang was crowded, we returned to the inn. The scenery along the way was even more beautiful. We had dinner at the same restaurant as last night. Afterward, we headed to Xizhou Ancient Town for some shopping.

Day 4: After breakfast, we departed for Lijiang Ancient Town. Arriving at noon, we saw a travel photography agency at a crossroads and paid a deposit. After lunch, we took some travel photography, which we weren't satisfied with. Feeling down, we went shopping at the supermarket and returned to our inn near Yunlong Snow Mountain (Yuhu Village, which is quite remote and not recommended unless we were planning to hike the snow mountain the next day). We arrived at the inn that evening and were tricked into ordering food. It wasn't very good. We waited until 8 p.m. to get tickets, and luckily, we managed to snag four adult tickets! We immediately drove to a nearby shop in Baisha Ancient Town to buy oxygen and Snickers snacks for ¥15/bottle.

Day 5: We set off early the next morning. Since we were staying close, there was no traffic, perhaps due to the traffic restrictions, as we had purchased tickets for the 12:00 PM cable car. We grabbed a bite to eat at KFC and waited until 11:53 AM for ticket inspection and a bus to the cable car entrance. The cable car reached 4506 at 12:53 PM. My sister and her family of three waited for 10 minutes, feeling dizzy and short of oxygen. We disembarked and took the free bus to Blue Moon Valley. My husband and I headed for the summit. The weather was unpredictable, with heavy rain along the way, so we made sure to bring our down jackets, umbrellas, and raincoats. You can rent clothes at the parking lot for ¥50/piece. We arrived at 4680 at 2:16 PM!!

After taking the cable car down the mountain at 15:22, we took a car to meet at Blue Moon Valley. The blue and green Blue Moon Valley~~

A sky without filters

Living in the clouds

It was already 6:15 PM when we reached the parking lot. We drove out to Lijiang Old Town to find something to eat. The scenery along the way was like the most beautiful highway. Lijiang Old Town is really crowded at night! We found a restaurant on the corner that didn’t require a waiting sign to eat. The food was surprisingly good.

Day 6: Returned to the B&B near Dali Station. Returned the car in the B&B parking lot in the afternoon. The extra gas money was refunded to us. We had hand-pulled rice for dinner. We drank, ate snacks, and played mahjong.

Day 7: Went to the market for breakfast in the morning. I bought some dried beef and some fruit to eat on the high-speed train.

Checked out and headed to Dali Station to catch the bus back to Guangzhou.

Tips 1: Renting a car for 5 days cost ¥500 + insurance for 5 days for ¥500, and gas for ¥400. For our group of 5, the total was ¥1400. For a round-trip trip from Lijiang to Dali, renting a car was very cost-effective and convenient.

Tips 2: We didn't make a travel guide for the entire trip, so we just went wherever we wanted. Now I feel a little regretful for not visiting some places. I didn't visit much in Lijiang, only visiting Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and Blue Moon Valley for some travel photos. I didn't visit much in Dali, only visiting the Old Town and Erhai Lake.

We focused on comfort and didn't check in for the sake of it. We'll save that for next time.

Tips 3: A good accommodation really makes the entire trip truly healing. The hotel we stayed at by Erhai Lake was so good, and the contrast with the other hotels I stayed at later made me miss it so much... Enjoying snacks, a breeze, and stargazing at the bar on the inn's balcony—it felt like staying there and not going anywhere—was the perfect place.

Tips 4: Mushroom soup, stir-fried water lilies, bacon, and Fenghuaxueyue beer...

Tips 5: Buying your own tickets to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain really saves a ton of money! The GZH group tour costs 568 per person, but buying our own tickets only cost 100 per person for the mountain entrance fee and 140 per person for the cable car, saving us half.