Dali Erhai S-Bay Cycling Route+Yunnan Tourism Guide: How to choose between Yunnan independent travel and group travel? Comprehensive Guide to Cost Budgeting

There are too many posts online about being tricked by following a group, which makes me scared to join the group; But the thought of grabbing tickets for the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, dragging suitcases to find homestays, and arguing with drivers in unfamiliar places makes me feel overwhelmed. In fact, the answer to this question is not that complicated. The key is which section of Yunnan you entrust to yourself and which section you entrust to others.

Today's article will first clarify the most healing S Bay cycling route in Dali Erhai Lake, and then sit down to calculate the expenses for individual travel and group tours. After reading it, you will probably know which path you should choose.

First, let's talk about a pit that many people have stepped on: S Bay is not for rushing, but for stopping and daydreaming.

S Bay in Chongxi Village has been extremely popular in recent years, and the combination of curved roads and Erhai Lake has indeed produced photos. However, if you plan to rush from Caicun for more than ten kilometers, and only want to collapse on the roadside and catch your breath after arriving, your photo expression will be awkward. The more comfortable rhythm is to watch the sunrise at Longkan, have breakfast, stop by S Bay on the way, and ride for one or two hours.

Renting a car is very cheap, you can get a bike at the village entrance for 10 to 30 yuan a day, and taking photos with flowers is more atmospheric. The route from Caicun Pier to Chongxi S Bay is flat and without slopes, with Cangshan on the left and Erhai Lake on the right, making it completely beginner friendly. There are rest stations every two kilometers along the way. When you get tired of riding, stop and take out your phone when you see your favorite bend. This is the correct way to open the Erhai Lake cycling.

In terms of time selection, it is most comfortable to depart before 9am or after 5pm. During the period from 11 noon to 3 pm, the ultraviolet rays are strong enough to make you peel your skin, and the light is too hard, so the photos taken do not have the soft layering of early morning and evening. Suggestions for dressing are light colors, such as white, beige, or light blue. When the wind blows, the skirt will match the color of Erhai Lake, and no matter how you take a photo, you won't make a mistake.

There is another Easter egg that only locals know about: under the shade of trees on the north side of the S Bay Observation Deck, there is a milk fan stall set up by a Bai grandmother. It costs 10 yuan per serving and is freshly baked and sold with plenty of rose sauce. Riding there happened to be a bit tiring, so I took a bite of the hot breast fan, which was sweet and creamy, more healing than any energy bar.

So the truly reliable choice logic is as follows:

Dali, Lijiang, and Kunming are given priority for independent travel. High speed rail interchange, Dali to Lijiang express train takes two hours directly, with a ticket price of 82 yuan; Kunming to Dali costs 145 yuan. The road conditions are mature, the commercial facilities are complete, and the pace can be completely controlled by oneself. The correct way to open Dali is to sleep until you naturally wake up and sit in a caf é by the Erhai Lake for an afternoon. Accommodation in the nearby seaside homestays near Caicun or Longkan Wharf, where you can enjoy a peaceful sunset, is much more comfortable than staying in the core area of the ancient city.

But if you want to go to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Shangri La, or run to Lugu Lake, playing in small groups is a more rational choice. It's not because I can't enjoy independent travel, but because of two things: ticket grabbing and road conditions, which consume too much energy. The tickets for the Yulong Snow Mountain cableway were released seven days in advance during the peak season, but they disappeared within a few minutes and were basically not available on site. The Shangri La route has a high altitude and many winding mountain roads, so the self driving risk coefficient is not low. The leader of a regular pure play group is familiar with the route, tickets, accommodation, and transportation are all arranged, there are no shopping stores, and you only need to be responsible for enjoying the scenery and catching your breath.

So the most comfortable way for 90% of people who go to Yunnan for the first time is actually: independent tour of mature cities+signing up for a one-day pure play tour of difficult scenic spots. Ride your S-Bay in Dali, and leave your stay in the Old Town of Lijiang. On the morning of the snowy mountain, follow the small group. Neither compromising oneself nor making things difficult for oneself.

If you take the classic route from Kunming to Dali to Lijiang, it takes five days and four nights, excluding round-trip transportation, and costs around 3800 yuan per person, which can be achieved without poverty or luxury.

If you want to save a little more, it's not impossible to reduce your accommodation to a youth hostel or economy type, and eat more at small shops lined up by locals, with an average of just over 3000 yuan per person. But what I want to say here is: don't save the wrong place in the experience. For example, the 20 yuan rental fee for cycling in Erhai Lake is worth more than buying a bag of Yiwu small commodities in the scenic area for two hours of wind and freedom.

The biggest fear in Yunnan is treating it as a 'must clock in' task. The bends of S Bay won't run, and the wind of Erhai Lake won't stop either. It's there whether you go early or late.

The real factor that affects the quality of travel is never whether you choose independent travel or group travel, but whether you know what you are choosing. Leave the rhythm of Dali to yourself, entrust the trivialities of the snow capped mountains to reliable people, and then stop at the bend in Qianxi Village, take a bite of the breast fan, and watch the wind blow the clouds over the Cangshan Mountains.