Real Cost Breakdown of the Qinghai-Gansu Grand Loop! Less than 10,000 yuan for two people for a week, I've laid out all the tips for you!

Just returned from the Qinghai-Gansu Grand Loop, and I've compiled the expenses and super practical tips for this trip. This is pure practical info sharing, so those planning to go, quickly save this! 💰Ticket Expenses We visited many super beautiful attractions along the way, and the ticket costs weren't too bad. Qinghai Lake Heimahe was 30 yuan, Chaka Salt Lake 60 yuan, Emerald Lake 50 yuan, Qarhan Salt Lake including ticket and bus was 100 yuan, Water Yadan 60 yuan, Heidu Mountain bus 60 yuan, Mingsha Mountain 110 yuan, Rainbow Mountains Danxia plus sightseeing bus 93 yuan. All in all, the tickets for one person came out to about 563 yuan. Compared to Xinjiang, it's half the price! 🚗Local Transportation Costs Some attractions are too large, so you have to take the park's internal vehicles, which also cost a fair bit. Emerald Lake was 60 yuan, for Chaka Salt Lake we bought tickets through a travel agency for 100 yuan (it's 108 yuan if you buy it yourself), Water Yadan 60 yuan. The total self-paid local transportation for one person was 220 yuan. Oh, and you must book Mogao Grottoes tickets yourself in advance! An A ticket for 238 yuan allows you to see 8 grottoes with a guide, while a B ticket is only 100 yuan but only allows 4 grottoes. I highly recommend going for the A ticket! 🍜Food, Drinks & Shopping We played for 7 days on this trip and went to night markets five or six times! Skewers, lamb offal soup, Tianpeizi... we ate until we were stuffed with all sorts of Northwestern delicacies, spending several hundred yuan on food. In Dunhuang, we also bought a bunch of cultural and creative products and souvenirs, spending over 500 yuan. But looking at these little trinkets, it feels like the memories of the trip are preserved~ 🚩Tour Group Fees We booked a small group for two people, with the group fee being 2750 yuan per person, totaling 5500 yuan for two. All in all, the transportation, tickets, and local transportation for one person came out to about 3200 yuan, or 6400 yuan for two. The round-trip airfare was 1460 yuan per person, totaling almost 2900 yuan for two. All in all, two people for a week cost less than 10,000 yuan! 💡Tips to Avoid Pitfalls 1️⃣ Be careful when booking a tour group: Many travel agencies claim to include tickets, but you often have to pay extra for local transportation. Even if they say Mogao Grottoes tickets are included, it's likely the B ticket! Make sure to ask clearly in advance! 2️⃣ Be cautious when choosing travel photography: Someone in our car booked travel photography, but after visiting Mogao Grottoes, it was already two or three o'clock when we returned to Dunhuang, and we were hungry and tired. If we had rushed to do travel photography, time would have been extremely tight. The four of us in the car didn't go, and it felt quite pointless. 3️⃣ Desert activities are a great value: The tour we booked included activities at the Mingsha Mountain Back Mountain Desert Camp, such as camel riding, motorcycling, hot pot, and a bonfire party! For an extra 10 yuan, you can ride a camel for a long loop, which is much more cost-effective than inside the Mingsha Mountain scenic area! 4️⃣ Be careful with horse riding in Qilian Mountains: Qilian Mountains offered horse riding, archery, and Tibetan costume experience. Unfortunately, it rained heavily on the day we went, so we couldn't do anything. However, I heard that horse riding and archery cost 80 yuan if you pay separately, which isn't expensive if you enjoy it~ We were really lucky this time! We met a super reliable driver who let us play for a full 3 hours at each attraction and never rushed us. The owner of the desert camp was also very enthusiastic; even though we arrived late, he still quickly guided us through various activities, just so we wouldn't have any regrets. Sisters, if you're planning to go to the Qinghai-Gansu Grand Loop, feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions! Also welcome those who have been to share your stories~ #QingganGrandLoop #NorthwestTravelGuide #TravelExpenses #NorthwestChinaTravel #TravelPitfallGuide