Guilin Liangjiang International Airport (KWL) is served daily by flights from major mainland cities and some other international cities in East and Southeast Asia.
Air Asia offers flights every other day from Kuala Lumpur to Guilin.
Jetstar flies twice a week from Singapore to Guilin.
The bus from the airport to the city costs ¥20, but it leaves from the south of the city center, from where you can take a cab for about ¥10 to most hotels. The bus only leaves when it is full, so there may be a wait when the bus fills up.
A direct cab from the airport to a downtown hotel costs about ¥100. For the return trip to the airport, a hotel can arrange the trip for ¥80.
Guilin has two train stations. Guilin Station (Guilin Zhan) is located in the city center, in Zhongshan Nanlu, while Guilin North Station (Guilin Bei Zhan) is far from the city center. Most, but not all, trains departing from or arriving in Guilin go to or from Guilin North, while trains passing through Guilin from other places usually go only to Guilin Station and not to Guilin North.
There are trains from the north (Beijing, Changsha, Wuhan, Shanghai, Xian), west (Kunming), south (Liuzhou, Nanning, Zhanjiang) and east (Guangzhou, Shenzhen).
- From Beijing – From Beijing to Guilin and vice versa, there are three trains in both directions. For Beijing, trains leave Guilin (not Guilin Bei) at 12:59 (train from Zhanjiang), 15:06 (from Nanning) and 19:30. The travel time is between 22 and 30 hours, with the 15:06 train being the fastest. The HSR G529 train leaves Beijing at 7:46 am and takes 10.5 hours.
- From Hong Kong via Shenzhen – Since 2015, there is a high-speed train that connects Shenzhen to Guilin and takes you there in about three hours. The MTR line that connects Hong Kong and Shenzhen splits into two at Sheung Shui, one to Lo Wu and the other to Lok Ma Chau. Be sure to get off at Lok Ma Chau and not Lo Wu if you want to take the high-speed train. After crossing the border, take the Longhua Line (4) to Shenzhen North Station, where all high-speed trains depart from. Train tickets are available from about ¥200. If you want to buy tickets in advance in Hong Kong, you can do so at Hung Hom station at the China Railway Service (not China Travel Service) counter. Please note that a fee of HKD 100 is added to the ticket price.
For long-distance trains, take the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) to Lo Wu via the East Rail Line. After passing through immigration and customs, stay to the left when getting off the train. To access the long-distance trains, you must pass the trains from Guangzhou. The T38 leaves at 5:51pm and arrives in Guilin at 6:42am. The ticket costs about 430 yen for a soft sleeping compartment and 245 yen for a hard sleeping compartment (prices vary slightly depending on the sleeping position). The return trip on the T40 train leaves Guilin at 21:28 and arrives in Shenzhen at 10:35.
- From Hong Kong via Guangzhou – There are only three trains per day between Shenzhen and Guilin, and they are quickly full on public holidays. On the other hand, there are many more trains between Guangzhou and Guilin. To do this, cross the Lok-Ma-Chau border and take the subway from Shenzhen to Futian (福田)or Civil Center (市民中心), then take the G train from Futian Station to Guangzhou South Station and then directly the train from Guangzhou South Station to Guilin North Station. Please remember NOT to go to Shenzhen North Railway Station or Guangzhou East Railway Station for this route.
- From Kunming – The fastest trains from Kunming go through Nanning and the scenic Nankun Railway and take about 20 hours to reach their destination. Trains through Guiyang take at least 28 hours. Trains to Kunming leave Guilin at 05:46 (from Zhengzhou via Guiyang), 08:52 (via Nanning), 13:34 (from Nanjing via Guiyang) and 19:00 (from Shanghai via Nanning).
- From Nanning – There are 3 high speed trains (less than 3 hours) and 10 conventional trains (6 hours). The high speed trains are D8212 at 11:35, D8258 at 20:25 and D8256 at 14:40. Conventional trains depart on average every 2 hours. All conventional trains stop in Liuzhou (2 hours from Guilin). A one-way ticket for a fixed seat costs ¥65.
- From Chengdu – There is one train a day from Chengdu, the K652. It leaves Chengdu at 3:15 pm and arrives 25 hours later. The cost is about ¥230.
As soon as you leave the station, cab drivers and other drivers will accost you indifferently. Although cab drivers are trustworthy, they may use some tricks to cheat you of a few yuan, such as aggressively imposing rides or adding fake charges to the bill. Another option is to take the public bus No. 100 to the city center for 1 RMB.
From Guangzhou, it is possible to go to Guilin by cargo boat via Wuzhou, but there are no more passenger boats to Guilin, except for the boats to and from Yangshuo. If you want, you can take a cargo boat from Wuzhou to Yangshuo almost for free.