Hidden ways to enjoy a family trip in Xishuangbanna, explained in one article! Read this before you go

🏠 Accommodation: The attractions in Xishuangbanna are all far apart. If you’re traveling with kids, I don’t recommend changing hotels because you’ll waste half a day and won’t get anywhere, plus it’s exhausting. This time I stayed at the Crowne Plaza the whole trip, which has lots of entertainment activities.
📍 Attraction choices:
1️⃣ Starlight Night Market: It looks better to the naked eye than in photos, so don’t have high expectations. I suggest going on the first day. We bought several sets of clothes there, wore a new set every day, and since they cost only 30-50 yuan, we didn’t mind throwing them away! It’s very walkable with lots of food options, but I was worried about hygiene affecting the trip, so I didn’t try any.
2️⃣ Chinese Academy of Sciences + Dai Ethnic Garden: These two are close to each other and can be done in one day. The Academy takes about 3-4 hours, and the Dai Garden 2-3 hours. Be sure to buy the park shuttle ticket because the Academy is huge! I recommend wearing ethnic costumes for great photos! Our kids were young, so we didn’t hire a guide, but we overheard a lot since the volume was loud. For kids above elementary school, hiring a knowledgeable guide is recommended. The main highlight of the Dai Garden is the Water Splashing Festival, held twice daily. Try to catch the first session and head straight to the splash square near the entrance—no need to take a shuttle! ❗Tips: Kids can wear raincoats to play! Adults should wear disposable raincoats so you don’t have to queue for showers. Bring swimming goggles because the water isn’t very clean. The atmosphere is lively, but small kids shouldn’t go to the center of the pool where everyone splashes freely. We had fun playing around the edges.
3️⃣ Manting Park: Not far from downtown, just take a taxi. It takes about half a day, mainly for photos. There’s a Dai King parade early in the day, which I missed. You can interact with elephants here; a basket of fruit costs 50 yuan. There are no shows❌. Many animals come up to the lake to beg for food, so you can play for over half an hour.
4️⃣ Wild Elephant Valley is very far, and the chance of seeing wild elephants is small. If you just want to feed elephants, Manting Park is enough.
5️⃣ Jino Ethnic Hiking: My 4-year-old was too young, so we skipped it. Recommended for older kids.
6️⃣ Hotel free experiences: Dai pottery, Dai umbrella making, indoor and outdoor kids’ playgrounds, a huge swimming pool, nightly bonfire parties and performances with a great atmosphere, plus Dai bamboo pole dance experiences.
🚗 Transportation: If you have kids, listen to me! Definitely hire a private car! The driver will drop you off at the attraction entrance and provide commentary throughout, saving you effort, time, and worry. You can even nap in the car. The driver can also buy tickets for all attractions, often cheaper than online 🤫.
🍜 Food: Breakfast is included at the hotel, and the Crowne Plaza breakfast is quite abundant. With kids, we didn’t visit special food spots but ate the Peacock Banquet at the nearby Pullman Hotel, which was tasty and good value. At the Starlight Night Market, we tried Wantai—delicious! No blind spots or bad choices.
❌ Pitfalls: 1️⃣ The random photographer we hired in Manting Park was terrible, so be cautious. 2️⃣ Xishuangbanna has rich natural resources and many reptiles, so be mentally prepared.

Post by Rodriguez Charlotte.12 | Aug 13, 2025