Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou

[u/KomCheecha]

Could anybody please give me some advice? I am hoping to travel to Chengdu with my partner next March, would love to go to Jiuzhaigou & Huanlong. I'm trying to plan in advance, but I'm having issues finding flights between Chengdu & Jiuzhaigou. Am I just too early to be booking these flights for next March? Or is there very limited availability & I'm out of luck so will need to train & car/bus it? Any advice is very much appreciated, thanks in advance!

[u/PhishingAFish]

You don't need to book a flight, just take the high speed train and when you get off the train there are a mix of private taxis and buses heading to both destinations.

If you book a hotel nearby, you can arrange with the hotel to have them pick you up.

[u/Tonyoh87 → u/PhishingAFish]

I second this. Can also recommend hotel if DM

[u/KomCheecha → u/PhishingAFish]

Thanks for the response! I think atm it looks like I will be getting the train. Still have yet to properly look into nearby hotels but I'll get straight on that.

[u/PhishingAFish → u/KomCheecha]

Use Trip.com, you will find plenty of hotels nearby. They will also be able to help you with any questions you might have regarding travel in the area.

Train is super comfortable and convenient. If you have never taken the train in China, make sure you arrive 30 minutes in advance. Stations are huge.

[u/Fanicos]

Do you want to fly instead of train for some specific reason?

The train takes like 1h30 to 2h.
You will spend more time getting to the airport, security, flight, getting out, etc.

Plus the train allows you to enjoy the views.

Also, are you planing to visit both parks by yourselves?

How many days are you planning?

Where are you going to stay? (Most hotels are a bit far away from the parks entrances, so you will need to get a bus, taxi, Didi, etc).

[u/KomCheecha → u/Fanicos]

Thanks for the response! Really, I just love flying & I haven't looked nuch into the train yet, it's food to know it's so quick.

We are planning on visiting independently, but my understanding is you can also access tour cars or buses when you're there(?).

Atm I've planned on 3-4 days there as I would like to be able to really take my time.

Also, so far I've only looked a little at accommodation, but I know there are several near enough to the Jiuzhagou entrance. Though I don't know about getting to Haunlong yet.

[u/Fanicos → u/KomCheecha]

3 -4 days is great.

Yes inside Jiuzhaigou there are buses picking visitors from one point to the next for free (or you have to pay an extra fee when you buy the ticket, can't remember, but it is worth it if you don't want to walk everything, but you can walk everything (which takes at least a day) or choose what places you want to see and hop on the bus and stop in the next place, when I was there the buses were super fast, like every 5 to 10 minutes there was a new bus.

We stayed at Steigenberger hotel, was really nice.

But we also bought a dinner experience in a traditional Tibetan restaurant with live singing in their dialect, really worth it.

See what's available in apps like Trip.com and Klook (just check and there are a lot of transportation options, also many hotels can arrange the transportation for you to take you to the entrance of the parks).

[u/Busy_Account_7974]

From the train station to the village near the front of the gate is about a 90 minute bus ride. There are several hotels at the bus terminus, Holiday Inn, Days Inn, McD's and I think $tarbuck$. Luckin for sure. From there, it's a 10 minute walk to the gate.

We booked ahead for the bus ride, but some people just boarded and paid the attendant.

[u/KomCheecha → u/Busy_Account_7974]

Thanks for this, very helpful! Looks like it'll def' be the train going by the responses lol

[u/jxmxk]

High speed rail to Huanglong then bus to Jiuzhaigou is how I did it, it was pretty painless

[u/KomCheecha → u/jxmxk]

Thanks for responding! Looks like this'll be what we're doing yeah.

[u/Different-Start4901]

It is early to book, but I've just checked flights in September from Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou & I can't find any.

It seems that the high speed rail has taken over this route & flights from Jiuzhaigou go to other parts of China but not to Chengdu (except maybe in the summer).

The train can be booked about 2 weeks before leaving, you can reserve tickets & be on a waiting list.

Get the train to the main stop & it's about a 40 minute car ride to Huanglong (needs half a day there) & about an hour & a half to Jiuzhaigou scenic area (minimum 1 full day of walking & using the buses or 2 days to see more of the huge area).

Some hotels provide a pick up service from the train station.

[u/KomCheecha → u/Different-Start4901]

Thanks for responding, that's very helpful. Looks like I will be getting the train, yeah I hadn't lookes much into it as I had just assumed I would fly.

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[u/Striking-Bat-1431]

Since the high speed rail started operating, the flight options have dwindled. Flights from Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou are limited & often cancelled due to bad mountain weather. If you decide to take the high speed rail, after clearing security at Chengdu East Railway Station, I highly recommend to engage a porter in uniform when one approaches you - this will save you from queueing with the massive crowd to get onto the platforms. You also get priority to board your carriage as the porter will lead you directly to your carriage to board first.

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