Dali travel FAQ & planning guide
Straight answers about visiting Dali in Yunnan, China — when to go, how many days to plan, how to get there — and exactly how our private tours work: what's included, what isn't, festival dates and how booking works. Still unsure? Send us a question and we'll reply in English within 2 days.
The best months to visit Dali are March–May and September–November. Spring and autumn bring the most comfortable weather, and autumn adds golden rice fields and the best light for photography.
Dali can be visited all year. Summer, from about mid-June to September, is the rainy season — it is also wild-mushroom season and the time of the Torch Festival. The snow on the Cangshan crest often lasts into early summer.
Whatever the season, try to avoid the Chinese national holidays (Spring Festival, 1–5 May and 1–7 October): they are the most crowded and most expensive dates of the year.
Three days is enough to see Dali's essentials. Each of our signature tours is 3 days and 2 nights — the Classic Erhai Loop, for example, covers Dali Old Town, the Three Pagodas, Xizhou and both shores of Erhai Lake.
Plan a fourth day if you want to reach Shaxi Old Town on the Tea Horse Road, Jianchuan and the Shibaoshan Grottoes, or to explore Nuodeng and hike Cangshan more fully. You can also add one-day festival or experience tours, or design a trip of any length.
Most international travellers reach Dali by air. Fly into a major hub such as Chengdu or Shanghai and take a connecting domestic flight to Dali Airport (DLU), or travel to Kunming, the capital of Yunnan, and take the train to Dali.
Our tours begin with a pick-up at your hotel in Dali; airport pick-up is not included. If you arrive early (the day before your tour), we offer an add-on: one extra hotel night plus the transfer from the airport to your hotel.
On our tours, hotel nights are included and placed along the route, so you never backtrack:
Dali Old Town is bustling and fairly commercial; Xizhou is a quieter, less commercialised Bai old town; Shuanglang is the liveliest base on the east shore, with views across the lake to Cangshan.
Dali sits at about 2,000 metres above sea level, beside Erhai Lake and beneath the Cangshan Mountains. Bring sun protection and warm layers — it is windy up on Cangshan and by the lake — and go at your own pace. For the Torch Festival, wear thick long sleeves.
Dali Journeys runs private tours in Dali, Yunnan, for groups of 1–4 guests — never a shared coach. Every itinerary is designed by a host who lives in Dali, with good pacing, fewer crowds and real local experience.
Every tour includes hotel pick-up and drop-off, all transport, the hotel nights listed and basic travel insurance. “3 days / 2 nights” means 3 full touring days and 2 hotel nights. On the last day we drop you at your hotel, the airport or anywhere in Dali city.
Not included: airport pick-up, meals (an optional meal plan is available), extra hotel nights, fuller travel insurance of your own, and bike or e-bike rental. If you arrive a day early, add one hotel night plus the transfer from the airport to your hotel as an add-on.
No — meals are not included in the default price. You can add our meal plan, which covers every meal on tour at a hand-picked list of clean, tidy restaurants and local favourites, including Bai specialities such as Xizhou baba flatbread and a vegetarian lunch at Jizhao'an.
Yes, we strongly recommend it. Basic travel insurance is included in every tour, but the cover is very basic, so please buy fuller travel insurance before you travel — especially if you plan to cycle or join a mushroom-foraging day.
Our guides speak English, Mandarin and Japanese. We answer every enquiry ourselves, in English.
Yes. All our tours are private for 1–4 guests, so a solo traveller gets the same itinerary and service. Solo travellers may need a little extra budget.
Yes — our Slow Living & Family tour is built for it. It is low-intensity, with free time and an afternoon break every day: Erhai beach play, an easy Cangshan walk with the cable car both ways, a farm café, a local market and flower-bike cycling with baby seats.
Family add-ons are matched to your children's ages — for example, the Duocai Fox Den kids' camp is from age 2, and Luji Park is not suitable for children under 2 years 10 months.
Yes — every route is fully customisable by days, budget, interests, group size and travel dates. You can mix our signature routes, add Shaxi, Nuodeng, Weishan or Jianchuan, or time the trip to a festival. See the Customized Tour.
The Torch Festival (Xinghui Jie) falls on the 25th day of the sixth lunar month — usually late July or August. Bai villages raise torches more than ten metres tall; after dark come the torch lighting, pine-resin tossing, song and dance, and often a Bai “eight-bowl” long-table feast. See the Torch Festival day tour.
Sanyue Jie runs from the 15th to the 21st of the third lunar month — usually in April. Held at the foot of Cangshan west of Dali Old Town, it is the grandest traditional festival of the Bai people, more than a thousand years old and listed as national intangible heritage in 2008, with horse racing, Dian opera, flower-lantern shows and a vast market. See the Sanyue Jie day tour.
Raosanling takes place on the 23rd–25th of the fourth lunar month — usually late May or June. Bai villagers in full costume sing and dance in procession between three temples along Cangshan and Erhai. See the Raosanling day tour.
The fishing-lantern season depends on official announcements each year — often in autumn, around Mid-Autumn and National Day. It is a real ecological fish-control period, not a staged show, so no fixed date can be promised. The lanterns are loveliest at blue hour, about 7:00–7:30 pm. See the fishing-lantern day tour.
Wild mushroom season runs from about mid-June to September, peaking in July and August. Always forage with an experienced local guide, never eat anything you cannot identify, and cook everything thoroughly. See the mushroom-foraging day tour.
Dali's traditional festivals follow the Chinese lunar calendar, so their Gregorian dates move each year. We confirm the exact dates for your year when you enquire — book early to lock them in.
Send a short enquiry with your dates, group size and chosen tour. Use the online form or email bookingdalitour@gmail.com. Within 2 days you will get a personal reply with a plan, timings and a clear price for your party. A small deposit holds your date, and the balance is settled on arrival in Dali.
Prices are quoted on enquiry for your group — there is no public price list. Prices change through the year: Chinese national holidays are the most expensive dates, and solo travellers may need a little extra budget.
We usually reply within 2 days. If you haven't heard from us by then, please check your spam folder or email us directly.
Avoid the Chinese national holidays if you can: Spring Festival, 1–5 May and 1–7 October. These are the most crowded travel periods of the year and the most expensive dates to book.
Book online
Tell us your dates and group size and we'll reply within 2 days with a tailored plan and price.