Dali airport to the city centre: shuttle bus, taxi or DiDi

Take the airport shuttle bus: ¥15 to Xiaguan, ¥25 to Dali Old Town, running from the first landing of the morning until the last flight of the night. A taxi or DiDi costs about ¥50–60 to Xiaguan and ¥80–110 to the Old Town.

"City centre" means two different places here. Xiaguan (下关) is the real urban core — Dali Railway Station, the long-distance bus stations, most of the city's shops and offices. Dali Old Town (大理古城) is the walled town further north-west, where nearly every visitor books. Dali Fengyi Airport (DLU) sits in Haidong, about 13 km east of Xiaguan and roughly 30 km from the Old Town. Decide which one you want before you choose your transport.

Fares, timings and drop-off points

Option	Fare	Time	Drops you
Shuttle bus to Xiaguan	¥15	about 40 min	Dali Railway Station
Shuttle bus to Old Town	¥25	about 90 min	风花雪月 hotel car park, beside the East Gate (洱海门)
Taxi or DiDi to Xiaguan	¥50–60	about 30 min by road	your address
Taxi or DiDi to Old Town	¥80–110	40–50 min	a town gate; you walk from there

How to take the shuttle

1. Tickets are sold at the airport and at the city stops — buy at the counter in the ground-floor arrivals hall. No advance booking.
2. The airport has one city bus line. It boards outside doors 2 and 3 of the arrivals hall, ground floor.
3. Say where you are going. 大理站 is ¥15 and means the railway station in Xiaguan. 古城东门 or 风花雪月大酒店 is ¥25 and means the Old Town.
4. It is the same bus: airport → Dali Railway Station → Old Town East Gate. Old Town passengers stay aboard through the station stop.
5. In the other direction the Old Town departures are fixed — 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00 and 18:00 from the 风花雪月 hotel city check-in, ¥25. From the Xiaguan side the last quoted departure is 16:40.

Taxi and DiDi

The rank is to the right outside door 1 of the arrivals hall. Drivers at the airport frequently skip the meter, so agree the fare before you get in. No cars may enter the Old Town, so you will be dropped at a gate and walk in — check whether your guesthouse is nearer the East, South, West or North Gate. The terminal opens at 5:00 and shuts after the day's last flight rather than staying open around the clock, and third-phase expansion work is congesting the approach road.

If you are continuing by train

The shuttle's first stop is Dali Railway Station, where the fastest service takes 1 hour 52 minutes to Kunming and 1 hour 50 minutes to Lijiang.

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Last checked: 2026-10-10