Trip to Yunnan, China in November 2025

Hi there, I’m planning a two-week trip to Yunnan in November. The ideal setup would be renting a car for four people and choosing accommodation from the amazing range of affordable hotels. If anyone has tips or is interested...

Hello,

As a seasoned traveler, I’ve been dreaming of going to China, but I’m worried that November might be a bit late in terms of temperatures—especially since every year, I escape for three months in the sun to avoid our cold winters.

Would early November or late November be better?

Best, Françoise from Bordeaux

Hi Cathy, I have the same plan for Yunnan at the end of 2025. I’m a retired woman, but still very active. I live in Paris. How about you? Maybe we could set up a meet-up to talk about it? Or, of course, I can come to you. Thanks for your reply. Wishing you a great day. Marie-Christine 0665471592

Hi girls, I see you're a group of 3 for this project. I spent a month in southern China back in 2019. I traveled solo with my backpack and met two French women along the way, and we journeyed together for a bit. So I explored part of Yunnan, from Kunming up to Lijiang in the north and the Yuanyang rice terraces in the south near the Vietnam border. It’s stunning!

China is a country 20 times the size of France, with 20 times the population, where an average city has 1 million people. First thing—renting a car in China seems like an impossible mission, even if it’s allowed. Personally, I wouldn’t feel comfortable driving there. A metro ticket from the airport to downtown Kunming costs 1 €! For getting around the city, tickets range from 20 to 40 cents. Public transport is super developed and easy to use.

As for the weather, November is a great month—dry season. In a month, I only had one afternoon of light rain. Kunming is at 24° north latitude, which is like southern Morocco, so the weather’s pleasant. When you head toward Lijiang or Yuanyang, it gets a bit chilly at night, but it’s fine during the day.

That said, I think two weeks in China is a shame. The flight ticket costs the same for four weeks, and life there isn’t expensive. Bonus this year: no visas needed!

If you want more details, feel free to write to me: rando2a@laposte.net I don’t post my phone number online, but I’ll share it later if you want more info. Have a great day! Roland

Hi Cathy, I wanted to apologize for the awkward placement of my photo. I’m not very tech-savvy and I’m not sure what mistake I made. I just wanted to visually introduce myself to discuss this project. I don’t know what steps I need to take technically to move my photo. I’m sorry. Marie-Christine

Hi Rando2a, thanks for your email with all this info. We might reach out if we have any follow-up questions. Have a great day! Marie2C

Seasoned traveler, I dream of going to China but I’m worried November might be a bit late in terms of temperatures—especially since every year I escape for three months of sunshine to avoid our cold winters.

Hi there,

I went in November (Xishuangbanna and Yunnan) a while back. In Xishuangbanna, the weather was really nice, but I remember it being quite chilly and overcast in Kunming.

Hi there, it was an amazing trip, but renting a car is something to think about. We traveled there for 7 months and driving was impossible. My husband tried to get the permit—total nightmare—and after 2 weeks of tests, the big boss told him... "If you were Belgian, you’d have the permit, but since you’re Swiss, no way." I was relieved because they drove like crazy. But that was 12 years ago. Things have certainly changed, but the trains are great and the buses work really well. I’m nostalgic for this beautiful country. Have a great trip

Hi Roland, I sent you an email at rando2a@laposte.fr but got an error message—maybe you changed your address? Anyway, I’d really like to get in touch because you must have tons of practical info that’d be super useful for me—I’m planning to go back to China in 2 or 3 months max! I’m starting to organize everything. Thanks in advance, Ines (from Paris too)

Hi girls, I see there are 3 of you on this project. I spent a month in southern China in 2019. I went solo with my backpack and met 2 French women along the way, and we traveled together for a bit. So I did part of Yunnan, from Kunming up to Lijiang in the north and the Yuanyang rice terraces in the south near the Vietnam border. It’s stunning. China is a country 20 times the size of France, with 20 times the population, where the average city has 1 million people. First thing: renting a car in China seems like an impossible mission, even if it’s allowed. Personally, I wouldn’t feel comfortable driving there. A metro ticket from the airport to downtown Kunming costs 1 €! For getting around the city, tickets cost between 20 and 40 cents. Public transport is super developed and easy to use. As for the weather, November is a great month—dry season. In a month, I only had one afternoon of light rain. Kunming is at 24° north latitude, which is like southern Morocco, so the weather’s nice. When you head toward Lijiang or Yuanyang, it gets a bit chilly at night, but during the day it’s fine. On the other hand, I think it’s a shame to go to China for just 2 weeks. For 4 weeks, the flight ticket is the same price. Life there isn’t expensive. Bonus this year: no visas needed. If you want more details, email me: rando2a@laposte.fr I don’t post my phone number online, but I’ll give it to you later if you want to know more. Have a great day, Roland

Hi there. I was wondering if your trip to China went well? We spent 7 fabulous months there without a car. My husband wanted to get his license, wasted several days, took the test in French—100 questions, failed. It was old-fashioned French. The next day, he was able to retake it in German, same thing, and that’s his native language—questions were incomprehensible. The big boss told him: "If you were Belgian, you would’ve passed, but not as a Swiss." The translator didn’t understand anything either. Buses and trains were great though.

Hello, The trip didn’t happen. People backed out or didn’t respond. I’m thinking of postponing this trip until next fall. Are you interested in this project? Have a great day

Hi! I was in Yunnan between November 5th and 20th—the temperatures were great. I also went to Jianshui, Yuanyang, Yangshuo, and Guilin, but not Sangri-La. It was all amazing by bus and train. Have a great trip!

Hi there, I was there for 6 weeks in October–November 2025. It’s a shame to only go for 2 weeks if you can do otherwise. There’s no need to rent a car—trains and buses are comfortable and affordable, not to mention Didi, the local ride-hailing service. The Lonely Planet guide is really well done—everything is easy. A VPN like LetVPN costs 6 € a month, and a SIM from China Mobile is 12 € a month. Happy planning, and wishing you a wonderful trip! This was my third trip to China, and it won’t be my last.

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Hi there I was there in November 2025—Kunming was hot, Yuanyang and the rice terraces were only cool at night.

Is it still that slippery?! 😏 The sidewalks were especially slick! My best memory: a restaurant that was also a cooking school. There was a small group of us from different nationalities, and we’d go there to eat in the evenings. We’d each order two dishes (different ones) because we never knew what we’d get on our plates, then we’d share everything with a local beer. It was so good! And dirt cheap! 😄 We didn’t pay with a phone or card but in Renminbi (RMB), and the owner would tally up the bill with an abacus! This was in Nov 1988

It’s spitting distance, but that’s about it since it’s officially banned. I went there for the first time 15 years ago and last time in 2025—really surprised by all the electric vehicles. I just love how easy it is to feel like you’re somewhere completely different.

It was frowned upon, but nothing more since it’s officially forbidden.

On TV, you could follow driving instructions like not spitting, not getting drunk, not littering... No need to know Chinese to understand. After spending a day in a police station and paying a fine for unknowingly entering a "forbidden district," China didn’t leave me with only good memories... Back then, the Chinese didn’t travel much; I can only imagine how things must have changed now, with crowds of tourists (generally not very respectful) rushing to the "attractions"... It doesn’t really tempt me, but I get why some people might like it.