The nearest airport to Yangshuo is in Guilin. Though Yangshuo is a popular destination, there are no direct buses from the airport. There is an airport-bus you can take into Guilin and then take a bus or boat down to Yangshuo. If you book your accommodation ahead of time, most hotels in Yangshuo can arrange for a car to pick you up from Guilin Airport and take you to you’re hotel for about Y200 - Y250.

One of the best routes to take to Yangshuo, if you wish to head there directly, is to fly to Hong Kong, cross the border to Shenzhen, then take a flight from there to Guilin. Both China Southern Airlines and Shenzhen Airways serve this route. Flying directly from Hong Kong to Guilin can be quite a bit more expensive and usually involves a stopover.

Yangshuo is not on the train line and the nearest railway station is Guilin. Minibuses to Yangshuo conveniently depart from the bus station adjacent to Guilin railway station. For bus connections, see below.

From Guilin: There are minibuses leaving every 10 - 15 minutes, and express buses to Yangshuo from Guilin. All buses terminate at the bus terminal in Yangshuo. Minibuses depart from the bus station in front of the Guilin railway station (Tickets cost at most Y14. Buy tickets on the bus once it is underway – some people will try to sell you a more expensive ticket before the bus departs, even while walking to the buses. You are best off just ignoring them). The journey takes between one and one-and-a-half hours as buses stop along the way. Express buses (RMB 15 – 17. Check your ticket’s printed price when you receive it. Buy tickets from counter inside terminal) depart every half hour from the Guilin bus terminal off Zhongshan Zhong Lu and take just one hour.

In Yangshuo, wait for minibuses at the exit of the bus terminal at Die Cui Lu; the first bus to depart will be at the head of the queue. Express buses depart half hourly from 6:50am from their allotted bay inside the terminal. Buy tickets from the glass counter.

Note: Beware that on the bus from Guilin, many hawkers frequently stop the bus before the center of town (usually at the petrol station) urging you to get off while claiming this is Yangshuo and the bus will continue to another place. The bus conductor will often be in on the scam and even tell you that you've arrived at the bus station. The reason for this is to make you have to pay for them taking you to the centre of town and to their hotel. There is no other reason to get off the bus before you arrive at the station. It is obvious whether you have arrived or not.

From Guangdong: Overnight sleeper buses run direct to Yangshuo from Shenzhen on the Hong Kong border, from Zhuhai on the Macau border, and from Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province. These cost around Y100-250 depending on which station in Shenzhen you want to go to and how new a bus you go on. The buses to the border in Shenzhen are primarily more expensive. The bus will also be more expensive during Chinese national holidays (Chinese new year/spring festival, May 1 - 7 and October 1 – 7).

From Nanning: Two daily buses go to Yangshuo via Guilin. Tickets will cost about Y110. For departure times, inquire at one of the 2 bus stations servicing this route. They are Landong and Jiangnan bus terminals.

From Guilin: There are also boats down the Li River, slower and more expensive (RMB 400+), but it’s a very scenic journey and a nice way to kick off your Yangshuo experience. If you are a group of 5 or more people you can get tickets for about half price though. The boat terminates in the downtown wharf.

In the winter time, which is the dry season, the boats will often only start about halfway down the Li River from Guilin. A tour company will be able to inform you of this. It is still worth taking the journey though. You will have to travel part of the way by bus or private taxi, then meet the boat where the water is deep enough (this may vary).

Yangshuo is only a small town and can easily be covered on foot. There is an electric minibus network with 5 routes covering more popular parts of town and cost only Y1 per ride.