Getting from Dali Airport to the city

Two Dalis, two buses, one closing time

• Almost every visitor is going to Dali Old Town, and almost every timetable is written from Xiaguan, which is the built-up city. They are not the same place and the bus fares and journey times differ by more than double.
• Old Town (Fenghuaxueyue Hotel city terminal) to the airport: 25 yuan, about 90 minutes, calling at Dali Port on the way. Fixed departures 07:00, 08:00, 09:00, 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00, 18:00. Arrive ten minutes early; these leave on the clock.
• Xiaguan (Dali Port city terminal) to the airport: 15 yuan, about 40 minutes, direct. Departures 07:00, 07:40, 08:00, 08:40, 09:30, 10:40, 12:40, 14:40, 16:40.
• Both town-end operations run 07:00 to 18:00 and then stop. If your flight goes late in the evening, there is no bus, and the operator's own advice is to leave 90 to 120 minutes before you would otherwise, because of traffic.

Coming the other way is easier

• From the airport the bus is tied to flights, not to a clock. It starts when the first flight lands and stops when the last one is done, so a late arrival still has a bus.
• The route is airport, then Dali railway station, then the Old Town east gate. 15 yuan to the railway station, 25 yuan to the Old Town.
• Tickets are sold at a counter inside the arrivals hall and at the Dali tourist information shop in the rest area just outside it.
• The railway station stop is the useful one if you are going on by train, because there is no station at the airport.

Roadworks

• A phase three expansion of the airport is under way and the operator warns that sections of the approach road may be congested. That is the reason for the 90 to 120 minute advice, and it applies to taxis as much as to the bus.
• Enquiries and complaints: 4009001558.