Chongqing before and after your Yangtze cruise

Quick answer

Checked September 2026.

• Downstream (you board in Chongqing): arriving the night before is the safest. Boarding usually opens around 16:00 and closes around 20:00, and many ships sail at about 21:00. Go by your travel notice. If you book our car, you check out on boarding day and leave your bags in the car, spend the day around Chaotianmen, and we take you to the pier in the early evening.
• Upstream (you get off in Chongqing): the cruise usually ends between 8:00 and 8:30 in the morning. For an international flight, pick one that leaves no earlier than 13:00. If you want to see some of Chongqing as well, book an evening flight.
• Chaotianmen to Jiangbei Airport is about 40 minutes to 1 hour by car, and to Chongqing North Station about 20 to 35 minutes.

Send us your ship's name, the sailing date and your flight or train, and we plan your day or two in Chongqing backwards from the ship's times. Message us on WhatsApp

Downstream cruise: how many days early should you arrive in Chongqing?

The safest is to arrive the night before. Boarding usually opens around 16:00 and closes around 20:00, and many ships sail at about 21:00. If an international flight lands that same day, we allow about 1 hour for immigration and bags, then it is 40 minutes to 1 hour by car to the pier, so you are racing the boarding cut-off the whole way. Arrive the night before and boarding day is a full day.

• Only one day: stay the night before. On boarding day, see Chaotianmen and the Jiefangbei area, and board in the early evening.
• Two days: see the night views on the day you arrive, see the city the next day and board in the early evening. Or put a full-day trip such as Dazu or Wulong on your first day after arriving.
• Three days or more: add a day at Dazu or Wulong.
• If you have to arrive the same day: try to book a domestic flight or high-speed train that gets in early in the afternoon. We do not recommend landing on an international flight and boarding the same day. We send the car to match your flight or train time.
• The boarding cut-off is the one on the travel notice you receive. Every ship is different.

Boarding day: what time should you get to the pier?

Most ships start boarding around 16:00, close around 20:00 and sail around 21:00. Check your travel notice. Some ships serve dinner on boarding night; to make it, arrive around 18:00. If dinner is not included, there is time to eat first and then board. The pier number often only comes with the travel notice one or two days before sailing. Send it to us as soon as you have it.

• Dinner: Century Cruises' downstream itinerary lists an embarkation buffet dinner on the first night. Changjiang Qiji's 2025 itinerary lists a simple Chongqing-style meal on board from 18:00 to 20:00, then a cold buffet on deck when the ship sails. For other ships, ask when you book.
• Pier number: Chaotianmen is a row of piers, and different ships use different numbers. Only the number on your travel notice counts. For which pier, see Three Gorges cruise from Chongqing.
• Night views: most ships sail in the evening, heading out along the edge of the Yuzhong Peninsula, and that stretch out of the city is Chongqing's night view. So there is no need to squeeze the Two Rivers night cruise into boarding night. It is more relaxed the night before.

Boarding day, worked back from the ship (downstream)

Boarding day: what do you do with your luggage?

If you book our car and guide, your bags stay in the car all day after you check out. You sightsee as normal, and in the early evening the car goes straight to near the pier. There is no need to find left luggage or go back to the hotel. At the pier, the car can only stop at the drop-off point, and you walk the last few minutes yourself. There are stone steps on the way, then a floating walkway onto the ship.

• The last stretch: cars cannot go inside the pier area. You get out at the drop-off point and walk a few minutes to your pier. At most piers you go down a flight of stone steps, then along a floating walkway that rises and falls with the river, onto the ship. With a lot of bags, or with older travellers, allow time for this part.
• Who carries the bags: some cruise lines have their own staff at the pier to help take large bags on board. There are also paid porters at the pier. If you use a porter, agree the price per bag before you hand it over.
• Taking the metro yourself: Chaotianmen station on Line 1 is the closest to the pier, but from the exit you still have to walk to your pier and go down steps, which is hard with big cases. Large luggage is also not allowed on metro escalators. With big bags, go by car. See the Chongqing metro guide.
• Without our car: when you check out, ask the hotel front desk whether they can keep your bags until the afternoon, then collect them after sightseeing and go to the pier. If you only need one ride from the hotel to the pier, you can book that with us on its own.
• What size of car: we match the car to the number of people. Two guests booking a transfer only get a 5-seat saloon. Two guests with a guide, or three to four guests, get a 7-seat vehicle. Five to six get a 9-seat vehicle, and seven to eight a 15-seat vehicle. For bigger groups, tell us how many you are and we match the vehicle to that. If you have a lot of large cases, tell us how many and we match the vehicle to the luggage.

Before you board: where can you go near the pier?

Chaotianmen pier sits right at the tip of the Yuzhong Peninsula, and in two or three hours you can cover several places nearby: the two rivers meeting from the Raffles City Exploration Deck, a covered-bowl tea in the Chaotianmen Chengli quarter that opened in April 2026, a ride across the river on the Yangtze River Cableway, and the stilt houses of Hongya Cave. If you have more time in the morning, go to the Three Gorges Museum and see the gorges once before you board.

• Why the museum first: the Three Gorges Museum has a digital model of the Three Gorges Dam and a panoramic film, Magnificent Three Gorges (ask at the museum for the showing times on the day). See it once and you will know what is what from the ship. Century Cruises' own guide also suggests a visit before a downstream cruise.
• Hotpot at lunch: there may be a meal on board in the evening, so have your hotpot at lunch. For how to order and what to do about queues, see Chongqing hotpot for first-timers.
• Short on time? Pick two: the Raffles City Exploration Deck and Chaotianmen Chengli are both right by the pier, within walking distance. At 16:30, go straight to the pier.

Two days before the cruise: how to plan them

With two days, keep the night views and boarding apart: on day one, see Hongya Cave lit up in the early evening and take the Two Rivers night cruise; on day two, see the city by day and board in the early evening. With three days, put Dazu or Wulong on day two, and on boarding day stay around Chaotianmen with no long drives.

Sample 1: two days before the cruise

• Day 1: after you land, we meet you with a name sign (if there is sightseeing that day, the guide comes too) and take you to your hotel. In the early evening, Liziba and Jiefangbei. At night, see Hongya Cave lit up from Qiansimen Bridge or the far bank, and if you want to go out on the water, take the Two Rivers night cruise.
• Day 2: check out, bags into the car. The Three Gorges Museum in the morning, hotpot at lunch, the Raffles City Exploration Deck and Chaotianmen Chengli in the afternoon, and to the pier in the early evening.

Sample 2: three days before the cruise

• Day 1: as above.
• Day 2: a day at the Dazu Rock Carvings (Baodingshan, about 1.5 hours each way), or a day in Wulong (the Three Natural Bridges close at 16:30 from September to April, so we leave at 7:00).
• Day 3: as Day 2 in Sample 1.

Where to stay: the Chaotianmen and Jiefangbei area is closest to the pier, so the drive on boarding day is the shortest. See where to stay in Chongqing.

Upstream cruise: what time do you get off in Chongqing?

On an upstream cruise you get off at Chaotianmen in Chongqing after breakfast, and the cruise usually ends between 8:00 and 8:30 in the morning. Cruise lines usually ask you to pack your bags in the morning and carry them off yourself, or hand them to the ship's staff. The whole day after that is still yours; you can leave in the afternoon or evening.

• Do not miss the arrival: on Changjiang Qiji's 2025 upstream itinerary, 6:30–7:30 on the last day is set aside for watching the ship come into port. Early in the morning the ship sails into Chongqing, and you can see the two rivers meet and the Yuzhong Peninsula.
• Bags go into the car first: if you are sightseeing with us that day, the guide meets you at the pier exit, your bags go into the car and the day starts straight away. If you only booked a ride to the airport or station, the driver meets you with a name sign. If you are staying another night, we take you to the hotel first. The hotel may not be able to let you check in early; we ask first, and if they cannot, your bags stay in the car.
• Getting off is uphill too: from the pier back up to the road, you climb stone steps just the same.

After the cruise: how much time for the airport or the train?

Chaotianmen to Jiangbei Airport is about 40 minutes to 1 hour by car, and for international flights we get you to the airport 3 hours before take-off. Counting the cruise ending at 8:30 and about half an hour to walk to the car, the earliest international flight you can make leaves at around 13:00. Chongqing North Station is about 20 to 35 minutes away, and trains after 10:30 leave you enough time. If you want to see some of Chongqing as well, book an evening flight or train.

Distances and drive times are reference figures from September 2026; on the day, it depends on the traffic. On boarding day, use the table the other way round: coming from the airport or a station, work back your time to the pier from the same figures.

• Moving on the same day: to Chengdu, trains from Shapingba or Chongqing West take just over an hour at the fastest, while most from Chongqing North take about 2 hours (see Chengdu to Chongqing by bullet train and Chengdu and Chongqing itinerary). To Zhangjiajie, trains from Chongqing East take about 2 hours at the fastest, and most take 2.5 to 3 hours (see Chongqing to Zhangjiajie).
• A whole day to see Chongqing after you get off: the Yangtze River Cableway is right by the pier, so you can follow the order of our one-day city tour: Yangtze River Cableway → Baixiangju → Shancheng Lane (lunch) → Liziba → Eling No. 2 Factory → Ciqikou, then to the station or airport in the early evening. If you are staying the night in Chongqing, the last stop is Hongya Cave at night. With only half a day, we take one part of this route; a half day works too, and we quote for your time slot. For the full plan, see one-day and half-day Chongqing tours.

If your downstream cruise ends in Yichang, can you get back to Chongqing?

Yes. A downstream cruise usually ends in Yichang around midday on day 4. Since the Yichang to Xingshan high-speed railway opened on 28 September 2026, there are high-speed trains direct from Yichang North to Chongqing North, taking about 3 hours, but only a few a day. More bullet trains run from Yichang East to Chongqing North, taking 4 to 5 hours. Back in Chongqing, we meet you at the station to match your train, and you carry on seeing Chongqing.

Yichang has two stations, Yichang East and Yichang North. The fast high-speed trains leave from Yichang North, so check which station before you buy. We can buy train tickets for you (we need your passport details). For the Yichang end, see the "After you leave the ship" section of Three Gorges cruise from Chongqing.

With older travellers or limited mobility: what to watch getting on and off

The hardest part at Chaotianmen is the last stretch: the car stops at the drop-off point, then you go down stone steps and along a floating walkway to reach the ship, and climb back up when you get off. If you walk slowly or have trouble with your legs, tell the cruise line when you book and ask whether they have someone to help at the pier. On boarding day, arrive early rather than in the last half hour.

• Hand your bags to the cruise line's staff or a porter, and take the steps with your hands free.
• Walk less on boarding day: at the Raffles City Exploration Deck a lift takes you straight up to the 47th floor, which is easier than the hilly old streets. The guide plans which places to see and how far to walk around your energy and pace.
• More in Chongqing for seniors.

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