Is our China travel itinerary too ambitious?!
Hi All!!
My husband and are taking a sabbatical across Asia for 6-7 months and planning to spend around 45-60 days in China across that time. We’re hoping to get some thoughts on our current itinerary.
For context we’re in our mid-30’s and experienced travellers. We’re “flashpackers” (e.g. willing to stay in hostels but not shared dorms) and normally spend 3-4 days in each location when we’re doing longer trips (more or less depending on the location/activities etc.). Our main interest is food, but love exploring cities by walking/public transport and hiking/seeing nature (but not interested in “trekking” or camping).
We’ve already dipped in and done Shenzen and Guangzhou in January after stops in Hong Kong and Macau. For our next entry in we are hoping to cover a lot more ground. Our plan is to bounce back into northern China in June and cover Beijing, Xian and maybe 1-2 more stops up north, so they’re not a factor for this part of the trip.
I’m from Ireland and can only stay for 30 days at a time so will need to do a visa-run to HK in order to extend the time in China which makes things a little more complicated.
We haven’t booked anything yet so can be very flexible, however we will definitely be entering China via Vietnam on the 25^(th) of March:
This is our current itinerary:
| Date | Weekday | City | Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25-Mar | Wed | Kunming | Cross border from Vietnam train to Kunming |
| 26-Mar | Thu | Kunming | Stone Forest |
| 27-Mar | Fri | Kunming | Western Hills or Green Lake Park |
| 28-Mar | Sat | Dali | 2 hr Train to Dali: Old Town & Three Pogodas |
| 29-Mar | Sun | Dali | Explore the lakes |
| 30-Mar | Mon | Dali | TBC - possible cut for more time elsewhere |
| 31-Mar | Tue | Lijiang | 2 hr Train to Lijiang: explore town |
| 01-Apr | Wed | Lijiang | Hiking day (half day) |
| 02-Apr | Thu | Lijiang | Spruce Meadow |
| 03-Apr | Fri | Shangri La | 2 hr Train to Shangri La: explore town |
| 04-Apr | Sat | Shangri La | Explore Shangri-la more |
| 05-Apr | Sun | Chengdu | 10 hr train to Chengdu |
| 06-Apr | Mon | Chengdu | Explore Chengdu |
| 07-Apr | Tue | Chengdu | Pandas |
| 08-Apr | Wed | Chengdu | Overnight Spa |
| 09-Apr | Thu | Chongqing | 2 hr train to Chongqing: explore |
| 10-Apr | Fri | Chongqing | Explore the city |
| 11-Apr | Sat | Chongqing | Explore the city |
| 12-Apr | Sun | Zhangjiajie | 3 hr Train to Zhangjiajie: no plans |
| 13-Apr | Mon | Zhangjiajie | Tianmen Mountain |
| 14-Apr | Tue | Zhangjiajie | Zhangjiajie National Forest Park |
| 15-Apr | Wed | Guilin | 7 hr Train to Guilin: no plans |
| 16-Apr | Thu | Guilin | Li River Cruise |
| 17-Apr | Fri | Guilin | Another day trip around Guilin |
| 18-Apr | Sat | Hong Kong | 3 hr Train to HK: Tim Ho Wan / night out |
| 19-Apr | Sun | Hong Kong | Dim sum brunch / chill evening |
| 20-Apr | Mon | Macau | Ferry to Macau (evening by the pool) |
| 21-Apr | Tue | Macau | Relax by pool |
| 22-Apr | Wed | Shenzen | Ferry to Shenzen: Oct Lofts |
| 23-Apr | Thu | Shenzen | Huaqiangbei and Walk along river |
| 24-Apr | Fri | Wangxian | 5 hr train to Wangxian: Dinner in valley |
| 25-Apr | Sat | Wangxian | Explore / dinner again in the valley |
| 26-Apr | Sun | Shanghai | 5 hr train to Shanghai: no plans |
| 27-Apr | Mon | Shanghai | Explore Shanghai |
| 28-Apr | Tue | Shanghai | Day trip to Suzhou |
| 29-Apr | Wed | Shanghai | Explore Shanghai |
| 30-Apr | Thu | Shanghai | Explore Shanghai |
| 01-May | Fri | Flight to Japan | Flight to Japan leaving 11pm (possibly 24 hour spa?) |
We know we’re stretching ourselves quite thin, but struggling to decide how to edit as there is just SO much we want to do/see.
Currently thinking we cut out Shangri-la and possibly Wangxian valley to put days back into some of the other stops and make it more manageable or to make space for something we've missed (maybe a day out from Dali as well?).
Any and all tips/suggestions/changes/questions welcome! Thank you in advance!!!
Posted Feb 23, 2026, 5:53 AM UTC