Zhangjiajie Hotel Location Guide
There are lots of beautiful places in Wulingyuan Scenic Area (often known as Zhangjiajie), but you may be having trouble deciding where to stay. Most hotels in Zhangjiajie are concentrated in three areas:
●Inside Zhangjiajie National Forest Park,
●At Wulingyuan (a small town adjacent to the national park), or
●In downtown Zhangjiajie.
Stay Inside the National Park — Close to Nature. Many travelers, especially photographers, recommend staying in the park.
Advantages
●Close to nature, with the towering pinnacles and forests all around
●Enjoy the beautiful scenery before the tourists crowd come: It takes about an hour to get to the main sites from entrance and most tourists arrive at 10 o'clock. You can appreciate the beautiful scenery with less crowded.
●Save time waiting in lines and stuck in the traffic while accessing the National Park (you don’t need to leave the national park to buy anther entry ticket after 3 days).
●Convenient for the stunning natural scenery of Yuanjiajie, Yangjiajie (see Avatar Hallelujah Mountain), or Laowuchang
Disadvantages
●No star-rated hotels and little variety between the local guesthouses
●Basic facilities, and the rooms are sometimes damp
●Far from the city center and airport/railway station
Recommended if you…
●Arrive at Zhangjiajie early: it takes about 1½ hour's drive from the airport/railway station, and it is more dangerous and expensive to drive there at night.
●Want to experience local life and get closer to the natural beauty of the national park.
●Want to hike or do photography in the national park for a number of days.
●Have enough time to catch your onward plane/train, i.e. late morning onwards departure.
● Don’t require luxury hotel service, and are tolerant of simpler conditions.
Stay in Wulingyuan Town — Highly Recommended. We recommend our customers to stay in Wulingyuan most of the time, as it is convenient for sightseeing in the national park, and you have more choice: from hostels to 5-star hotels.
Advantages
●Five star hotels
●Comfortable hotels and Western breakfasts
●Convenient transportation to many famous spots in the scenic area (central to Tianzi Mountain, Suoxiyu Scenic Area, Yellow Dragon Cave, and Baofeng Lake)
●More entertainment activities at night
Disadvantages
●Far away from airport/railway station (about 50 minutes’ drive)
●You will have to re-enter the national park every day (an entry ticket is only valid for three days worth of entries).
Recommended if you…
●Require high-quality hotel service.
●Have plenty of time to catch your onward flights or train.
●Want access to various parts of Wulingyuan Scenic Area, not just the national forest park.
Downtown Zhangjiajie — for Flight/Train/Tianmen Mountain. Most travelers spend more than 2 days touring Zhangjiajie. We don’t recommend you stay in downtown Zhangjiajie more than one night.
Advantages
●Five-star hotels to budget inns: the biggest range in the area
●Convenient access to Tianmen Mountain, on the south of the city, and other minor sights
●Close to the airport and railway station
●More entertainment at night
Disadvantages
●The city is not as scenic and natural as Wulingyuan or inside the national park
●Wastes time and transportation fees driving to Wulingyuan Scenic Area and drive back to your hotel (1 hour or more per journey)
Recommended if you…
●Arrive at Zhangjiajie late at night.
●Want to see the night show on Tianmen Mountain, or other city nighttime entertainment.
●Have to catch an early onward flight/train.
●Want to visit sights around Zhangjiajie city, such as Tianmen Mountain, Tujia Minority Customs Park, and Old Courtyard.
