Kunming Travel Guide

• Kunming Overview
• Kunming Tours (4 Tours)
• Kunming Flights
• Kunming Hotels
• Kunming Maps
• Kunming Transport
• Kunming Weather
• Kunming Attraction
• Kunming Food
• Kunming Shopping
• Kunming Entertainment
• Kunming Miscellaneous

See Also

• Beijing Transport
• Shanghai Transport
• Xian Transport
• Guilin Transport
• more...

 

Edition HistoryEdit Kunming City Transportation

Bus

The buses in Kunming do not have any conductors. Passengers pay by inserting one yuan (That’s the fare for public buses throughout Kunming) into the slot of the fare-collecting box at the door of the bus. No. 5 and No. 3 buses run from south to north through Dongfeng Road and Beijing Road, the busiest streets in Kunming. Dongfeng Square, which is at the center of the city, is a place for people to transfer buses. If people want to go sightseeing in the suburb, they go to the bus stations situated at the four ends of the city (east, south, west and north) and change the scheduled buses to the suburb. Tourists should know where the scenic spot is located, and then go to the corresponding bus station to change bus. For example, if the scenic spot is located in the east suburb, people should transfer at the East Bus Station.

Taxi

The taxis in Kunming are Santana, Jieta and Xiali (brand names of cars). Taxi fares for Santana and Jieta cars are 8 yuan for the first three km, and 1.8 yuan for each additional km. Fares for a Xiali car is 7 yuan for the first three km, and 1.6 yuan for each additional km. A 50% additional fee is charged if the distance exceeds 10 km. It is 9.6 yuan for the first three km, and 2.4 yuan for each additional km after 10:00 pm.

Supervision telephone: 0871-3312533

Tips:

In Kunming, there are always a pattern of animal and a number printed in the taxi. One kind of animal represents a special taxi company. Pay attention to what the animal is when you take the taxi. It will be very convenient to find the car if you happen to leave something on the taxi.

Car rental

Car rental is another option in Kunming. It costs 250 yuan (including the insurance expense for the car) per day to charter a Fukang car, or 300 yuan to charter a Santana car. The distance limit is 230 km, and 1 yuan for each of the additional km. Tourists should pay the road toll and the fuel needed. There are some cheaper cars. For example, Yueda-Kia (200 yuan per day) and Changhe (120 yuan per day). What’s more, it is advisable to hire a driver when you rent the car. The cost is 50 yuan per day (not including the dinner and accommodation fee). If you hire a driver, you only have to deposit 500-1,000 yuan on the car. Otherwise, you should deposit at least 5,000 yuan. The driver can also work as the guide. Tourists should rent cars from the regular car renting companies.

Tips:

Foreign tourists should leave their ID cards and the ID card of one local person as a pledge when renting the cars. Foreign tourists should also show their International driving license, the ID card, and their passport. They should also get registered at the Transport Management Center.

Bicycle rental

It is convenient to rent bicycles in Kunming. There are bicycles for rent in Kunhu Hotel (44, Beijing Road, 0871-3133737) and Camelia Hotel (No 96, East Dong Feng Road, 0871-3163000). Generally it costs 2 yuan per hour or 15 yuan per day. Those who rent the bicycles should deposit 200 yuan for an old bicycle or 400 for a new one. Since Kunming is not so large a city, bicycling around it is convenient, economical and environmentally good. As more and more tourists are renting bicycles nowadays, it is necessary for you to telephone them beforehand. What’s more, if you want to stop for a while when bicycling around, you’d better put the bicycle at a place where there are people taking are of bicycles. Otherwise, if you lose the bicycle, you can’t take back your deposit.

Tips:

1. It is convenient to buy air tickets and Train tickets in Kunming. You can go the ticket office and buy the tickets by yourselves. You can also telephone the travel agencies to reserve your tickets.

2. You should book your ticket in advance during the Water Splashing Festival (a major festival of the Dai nationality that comes about two weeks after Qingming Festival in early April) and the golden weeks [Golden weeks refer to the May Day holiday, the National Day holiday and the Spring Festival (January 1^st of the lunar calendar) holiday, when Chinese people all have a week off. Many people go traveling or go hometown. Then it will be very crowded].

3. During the Spring Festival holiday, the fees for the long-distance buses rise for about 30%. Tourists should also choose to take those buses of the regular bus companies.