How to Plan a Trip to Dali: Itinerary, Hotels, Transport (2025)

Dali is always on the top destinations list for a Yunnan tour. The famous Chinese TV drama Meet Yourself (去有风的地方) was filmed in Dali. People are attracted by its quiet and romantic vibe. In this article, you will learn about how to plan a trip to Dali through considering these aspects:

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• What Are the Must-Sees?
• How Many Days for a Dali Trip?
• Best Times to Visit Dali
• How to Get to Dali
• Where to Stay in Dali
• Find Your Ideal Dali Trip Here

What Are the Must-Sees?

"Wind, flowers, snow, and the moon" are Dali's romantic theme. This is also the best summary of Dali's scenery.

Here we have handpicked Dali's most popular five attractions suitable for all kinds of visitors.

• Some local cultural experiences are highly recommended to add into your trip plan, such as learning to make flower cakes and trying Bai tie-dyeing in a traditional Bai village at the foot of Cangshan.
• Fengyangyi Village is one of the main settings in the popular TV drama 去有风的地方. If you're interested, you could add it in your itinerary.

Also see Top Attractions to See in Dali to get some inspiration.

How Many Days for a Dali Trip

• 3-4 days (for essential highlights)
• 5-7 days (for deeper exploration)

Dali in 3-4 Days

• Day 1: Dali arrival + Dali Old Town
• Day 2: Cangshan Mountains exploration with tie-dyeing experience
• Day 3: Bike around Erhai Lake with flower cake making
• Day 4: Departure

On the day of touring Erhai Lake, if you prefer a more relaxed way of touring instead of cycling, or if you are not interested in making flower cakes, then you could consider driving instead.

We would arrange a car and a guide to drive you along the lake and stop at major attractions such as Xizhou Town, Shuanglang Ancient Town, and Xiaoputuo Island. End the day with afternoon tea at a lakeside hotel while enjoying the stunning view of Cangshan Mountain across the water.

Our guests trying Bai tie-dyeing

Dali in 5-7 Days

If you have more time in Dali, we recommend exploring beyond the city to discover the old towns and villages on the Tea Horse Road and learning about the traditions and history of the Bai people.

• Take one day to explore Shibaoshan Buddhist caves and Jianchuan Old Town, to learn about Buddhist culture and see traditional architecture and temples.
• Spend one day discovering Shaxi Ancient Town, to feel a quieter, more laid-back atmosphere with a focus on rural life and teahouse culture. It is also one of the main settings in the popular TV drama Meet Yourself (去有风的地方).
• Take one day to visit Nuodeng Village, to see the traditional residential houses and learn about how local people produce salt and preserve ham. It is a less touristy place.

Our guests in Shaxi Ancient Town

Extending Your Dali Tour

To fully enjoy the landscape of Yunnan, you could extend your trip to Kunming, Lijiang, and Shangri-La. A week's journey is recommended.

• Day 1: Kunming arrival + free time
• Day 2: Stone Forest + Yuantong Temple
• Day 3: Transfer to Dali: Xizhou Town + Erhai
• Day 4: Transfer to Lijiang: Lijiang Old Town
• Day 5: Dragon Snow Mountain + Baisha Village
• Day 6: Transfer to Shangri-La: Tiger Leaping Gorge
• Day 7: Songzanlin Lamasery + Pudacuo National Park
• Day 8: Shangri-La departure

Best Times to Visit Dali

Dali in December

The best time to visit Dali is from March to October. Erhai Lake and the Cang Mountains are especially beautiful in March and April when the flowers are in full bloom, and many ethnic festivals are held in these months.

In addition to the aforementioned best times, mid-October to December is another period we recommend. Dali enjoys a relatively mild winter with warm sunshine, clear skies, and a quiet vibe. If you are planning a winter tour to Dali, you could check out our 7-Day Kunming, Dali, and Lijiang Winter Tour

Dali has a relatively temperate climate year-round, with no extremes in summer or in winter. So, no matter when you travel to Dali, you are likely to have a good experience weatherwise (or at least better than most of the rest of China).

Weather Tips:

• Sun protection is important because UV rays in Dali is strong.
• The daily temperature variation is great, especially after the rain. Layered clothing that can be easily carried is advisable.
• Rain mainly falls in July and August. It is likely to spoil views for periods of a few hours.

How to Get to Dali

Dali has an airport and a railway station that connect with other cities in China and Yunnan.

Several domestic cities have direct flights to Dali, such as Beijing (4 hours), Shanghai (4 hours), Guangzhou (3 hours), Chongqing (2 hours), Guiyang (2 hours), and Kunming (1 hour).

Driving and taking a bullet train are the two main ways to get to Dali from other cities in Yunnan.

From Kunming to Dali, it is recommended to take a bullet train which may take about 2 to 2½ hours.

From Lijiang to Dali, it is convenient to take a 2 to 2½ hours' bullet train. Or if you want to make your transfer more hassle-free, we would recommend a private transfer direct from your hotel in Lijiang to the hotel in Dali. The driving time is about the same as the time of the bullet train.

From Shangri-La to Dali, you could take a 4-hour bullet train. There are no direct flights between them. 

Where to Stay in Dali

Hotels in the four best places to stay in Dali with convenient locations, regional features, and good reviews are recommended here for your reference:

Dali Old Town — Most Popular Choice

Staying in Dali Old Town is the best choice for a lively atmosphere, entertainment, and nightlife.

• Luxury and special: Honglongjing Hotel, The One Resort
• Boutique: Wucaiyun Garden Hotel
• Economical: Dali Landscape Hotel

Erhai Lake — Scenic Accommodation

If you want to enjoy a superb lake-view room and quiet environment, you could choose to stay around Erhai Lake. But there will be less entertainment in the evening.

• Luxury and special: Hotel Indigo Dali Erhai
• Boutique & Economical: Manshan Yise Resort Hotel, Munwood Panorama Resort Hotel

Xizhou Town — Quiet Relaxation

If you prefer staying in a hotel with a traditional residential ambiance and enjoy immersing yourself in local culture, staying in Xizhou Town is recommended.

While the evenings in Xizhou may not be as lively as those in Dali Old Town, they are more vibrant than around Erhai Lake, with some small shops open at night. 

• Luxury and boutique: The Linden Commons, The Linden Centre

Shaxi Ancient Town — Stopover between Dali and Lijiang

• Boutique: Shaxi Landscape Hotel, Sunyata Shaxi Hotel, Landscape Garden Hotel

Check out Where to Stay in Dali — 7 Best Boutique Hotels for more details.

Discover real reviews of Highlights Travel Family's best-rated service across trusted platforms.

Unforgettable Yunnan We did not know what to expect as this was as our first trip to China - we are into the outdoors so we picked Yunnan as a destination, as it was knownfor its scenic beauty. We had heard about China’s progress in the past 30 years, but that did not prepare us for the amazing infrastructure, the excellence of telecommunications what is essentially a remote part of China- Imagine perfectly paved mountain roads with not a single pothole and 5G signal even in the most unlikely of places - mountain tops, deep gorges etc . The tour destinations and highlights were amazing. Just when we thought we had reached the height of our tour the next day gave us more jaw dropping sights. We have traveled a lot all over the globe, but we must say this trip gave us the biggest bang for the buck in our experience Our tour organizer, China Highlights was great. - ours was a private tour, just the two of us - the car was comfortable and everything ran like clockwork. Every tour guide we had on each part of our tour deserve special mention: May from Kunming, Scarlett from Dali, Eleanor from Lijiang and Anna from Shangri-La displayed passion, knowledge and dedication to their role. They were motivated good natured, humorous, and anticipated our every need. They were always concerned about our comfort and satisfaction. Our Driver Mr. Wang who drove us from Dali to Shangri-La, was safe and steady. Given the wonderful service that we received from these individuals and from China Highlights, we are already planning our next trip to China within the next few months. China, we love you and wish we had discovered you sooner! more Apr 2025, John Chang Kheng Choi

Kunming-Dali-Lijiang-Shangri-la We booked a 9-day tour of Kunming-Dali-Lijiang-Shangri-la with China Highlights in late March with Leeky. We are very well taken care of by our guides: Lulu in Kunming, Scarlett in Dali, Martin in Lijiang, and Betsy in Shangri-la. All our guides are local people, which is a great advantage for their local knowledge. Be it local history, customs, food and shopping tips. This trip started in Kunming which is a mile high city and ascended higher and higher. Those who are not familiar with high altitude will be better off listening carefully to their advices. Special shout out to Scarlett, our guide in Dali who went out of her way to take care of us even after we moved on to another city.. She had very good burgers delivered to our hotel when we did not want to venture out for dinner. Hotels selected by China Highlights are all fine. Breakfasts at the hotels are all good, especially if you like Chinese breakfast. We think veggies and chicken meat are much tastier than back home. Late March could be colder than forecast at times. While we were there, most flower blooms were pinkish. Cherry blossoms are at their peak together with crabapples. At Kunming Botanical Garden, there are more flower varieties to see. It’s off the beaten track however, accessible using the Didi app. It’s not crowded and it is very pleasant to walk there. Allow 2 hours for walking around. more Apr 2025, Chet C

Very good experience in Dali - Thanks to Frank! Dali is a beautiful ancient town. We visited Er Hai 洱海, a huge lake. It was really scenic. Our guide, Frank, got us to walk along the lake. It was beautifully breathtaking. Frank filled us with a lot of interesting information about the place. We also learnt much about the culture of the land - the minority tribes, of which he belonged to one of them - Bai. Like us, Frank was a foodie and his recommendations were excellent, too. We also enjoyed our stay at Shaxi, a quaint ancient town in Dali, despite the fact that it was a little too commercialised. Nonetheless, it has many scenic places. Our trip would not have been that meaningful had not for Frank. Thank you, Frank! I think this private tour by China Highlights is a really enjoyable one. more Apr 2025, NinoNing

Find Your Ideal Dali Tour Here

All our itineraries are customizable. If you have any ideas or requirements, contact us. We will create a trip for you based on your group size, time, interests, preferences, and other requirements.

See our popular Dali tours for inspiration:

• 4-Day Dali and Tea Horse Road Experience Tour — The Past Prosperity of Dali
• 7-Day Yunnan Ethnic Minorities Tour — Kunming, Dali, and Lijiang