I have a 5-7 hour layover at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and wanted to see if anyone recommends leaving the airport to explore. From what I've gathered, you can leave the airport in China for 72-hours on a temporary visa as long as you have an outgoing ticket, BUT it looks like traveling to the city is an hour each way. Not sure if it's too tight to pull off. Thoughts?
1 Answer
If you've got seven hours, I'd go for it. The city is indeed a bit of a hike away (~50 min), but since the connection is by subway, the trains are very frequent (every 5 min) and very reliable. To minimize hassle on return, make sure you have a boarding pass for your connecting flight before leaving the airport and time yourself to get back two hours before your flights, as immigration and security can be slow. This still leaves you with a good 2-3 hours of time to explore, and this site (no affiliation) has suggestions for various points of interest easily accessed from the airport, including travel times.
But if you've got only five hours, it's a bit more touch and go: it's technically possible, but you're unlikely to have more than an hour to actually see and do stuff, and staying at the airport would be the easy/safe option.
answered Oct 29, 2015 at 23:57
-
I agree. I had a stop there a few months ago of 15h. If you have more than 5h, I suggest to take the subway to the city centre at the park. Have a walk and some amazing cantonese food and enjoy the view of the buildings and make sure you're back on time since the airport is very big and there can be queues at security etc.– LewisOct 30, 2015 at 11:52