China Travel Advice

Q: I am travelling in a party of 5 Adults and 1 children.
I will be arriving into Shenzhen airport on a Friday evening at about 8.45pm. Is it advisable to go straight from the airport to Guangzhou (i.e. by the time we clear custom and immigration should be about 9.45pm)? Is it safe to travel , and how long is the journey to Guangzhou from Bao'an Airport? 100km? 1hour +? Should I rent a van? How much does it cost? In Guangzhou I intend to stay at either Landmark or Guangzhou Hotel near Haizhu Square. Please advise. Thank You.

It appears that the latest bus that goes from Shenzhen Bao'an Airport to Guangzhou departs before 7:00 pm. You can probably still catch a bus (K568) at the airport to go to Shenzhen Luohu Railway Station; the latest K568 bus departs at 11:30. The latest train from Luohu Station to Guangzhou, however, departs at 10:50 pm. So you don't have much time. Not to mention that you'll be making a couple of connections, in Shenzhen and after you arrive in Guangzhou, and that the train trip can cost you 100 Chinese dollars per person. Not a good option.

If you have to go to Guangzhou that night, you may consider traveling by taxi. You can probably hire a cab for 300 Chinese dollars. This is not a bad deal considering that you're a party of 6 - the daytime bus from Baoan Airport to Guangzhou costs 60 Chinese dollars per person, and it gets you only to the eastern edge of the city (Dongpu Bus Station in Guangzhou), not to your hotel. But all of you cannot seat in cab, can you. You may have difficulty finding a van upon your arrival unless you have made advance arrangement.

If you want to hire a cab or a van, you probably have to do a little negotiation with the cab driver as yours will be a long distance, out-of-town trip, and he may ask for payment for his return trip. for a taxi, three hundred Chinese dollars or so seem to be the going price for the trip between Baoan Airport and Guangzhou. Just so you know, the driving distance between Baoan Airport and Guangzhou is a little over 100 km; taxi rates in Shenzhen is about 10 Chinese dollars per km (there is a difference between those taxis in Shenzhen and those that operate north of Shenzhen, but the average is about 10 per km). The negotiation, of course, makes it a little tricky for someone who has just arrived.

You may contact a car rental company in Shenzhen or Guangzhou and hire a car (van) with a driver. That is different from hiring a taxi. You can probably get yourself a van, along with a driver, for about 700 Chinese dollars per day.

As for safety, if you choose a clearly marked taxi or contact a establish rental business, you should be all right. In the cab there should be the license number of the driver and the phone number to call if you feel you've been cheated.

If you can afford it, and have safety concerns, you may consider spending a night at a hotel close to the Baoan Airport and then traveling to Guangzhou next morning. You can still hire a cab for the trip, but maybe with the help of the people at the hotel.

You may also want to call the people at the hotel in Guangzhou where you're going to stay and ask them about your trip to Guangzhou.

Driving time from Baoan Airport to Guangzhou is a little over one hour. A bus ride lasts about two hours.