Planning a trip to Guangzhou but have absolutely no idea where to stay? When I was researching this interesting city, for my trip, I found it hard to work out where I should base myself. After visiting and having a great time, I’ve put together this guide to help you plan your trip.

Getting Oriented

If you haven’t been to Guangzhou before, look at a map and trying to work out where you should base yourself can be really daunting. The first time I looked at the map, I freaked out. Here’s the big, zoomed-out map of Guangzhou. I’ve taken this screenshot from Google Maps and it captures the major areas you are likely going to want to visit. On this map you’ll see gold stars, those are points of interest I wanted to visit on my trip.

This is something you might like to do as well. Make a list of all the things you want to see and do during your trip, then find them on Google Maps and mark them with a star. You’ll be able to see where everything is and this will help you make sure your accommodation is in the right spot for you.

Where to stay in Guangzhou Travel Blog Guide

Where to stay

We stayed in two places in Guangzhou. The first was a place called Guangzhou Yingshang Hotel and it was truly awful. The hotel was awful, the staff were awful and the location was awful. It was located near a railway station and shopping outlets, but there wasn’t much else around. We found it very difficult to get around from here, it was hard to find anything to do and there were very limited food options.

This hotel was based in the fashion district and if you’re there on a holiday, I don’t recommend staying here. People who might like to stay in this area are buyers for clothing stores or people on business trips with shops in the area. After two nights at this hotel, we moved. Do not be fooled by the photos on their Agoda page, it looks nothing like that. Trust me. Avoid at all costs. 

Our second hotel was fantastic, it was called South & North International Apartments. This place was brilliant! The location was excellent, it was located right near Beijing Road so it was very close to lots of shops, heaps of restaurants, the central train lines and all the things you want to see and do in Guangzhou. It was a great place to stay and I feel sad we only had 2 nights there, I would have loved to have stayed there the whole time.

Even if you don’t stay at South & North International Apartments, I would recommend finding accommodation close to Beijing Road. It’s a good place to base yourself as there are lots of people around, so it has a friendly feel to it. You are spoilt for choice with shopping, sightseeing and food and it’s easy to get to and get around from.

Locals at the park in Guangzhou
Locals at the park in Guangzhou

Getting around

Getting around in Guangzhou is pretty easy, all you should need is a map and a general understanding of where you are. We used the train to get around and it was really easy to navigate, just make sure you have lots of change on you to put into the ticket machine. We found the ticket machines at the stations had an English language selection, which made it easy.

When you’re trying to catch cabs, make sure you have taken a photograph or screenshot of the Chinese name and Chinese characters of the place you’d like to visit. That way you can show them to the cab driver or ask for help if you get lost. I found it was really easy to navigate my way around Guangzhou as everything you want to see is pretty close. The train system was easy to work out and it was easy to get around without any hustle. Also, the train felt very safe.

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