Getting There
Xizhou is just over 20 kilometers north of Dali Old Town, from where it can be reached easily by car, bus or bicycle.

Car
Hiring a minivan in Dali will likely cost around 40 yuan one way. If you're planning on only stopping by for a day, there are plenty of bus, car and motortrike options in Xizhou that can get you back to Dali, so hiring a car for the day isn't necessary if you don't mind a little haggling.

Bus
Every day there are dozens of buses heading from Dali's west gate to Xizhou – these 19-seat buses should have signs for either Eryuan (洱源) or Hudiequan (蝴蝶泉) in their window and will likely charge seven yuan to take you to Xizhou.

Currently some buses will stay on the Yunnan-Tibet highway (滇藏路) running by the west gate for the entire length of the journey, dropping passengers for Xizhou off uphill from the town of Xizhou next to a small stream. From here, simply walk downhill for 10 minutes or pay a motortrike driver to take you the rest of the way for five yuan.

Other buses will head downhill to the Dali-Lijiang highway (大丽路), following it until reaching the western edge of Xizhou.

Taxi

For people who want to get to their destination as quickly as possible, taxis are wise choice. Generally, the starting fare is CNY5, and CNY1.4 will be charged for each kilometer.

Bicycle
In addition to the two highways mentioned above, there is also a scenic unsurfaced lakeside path from Caicun Pier downhill from Dali along Erhai Lake's west coast up to Xizhou. The rough surface makes it the slowest road to Xizhou but if you're willing to sacrifice speed, you can enjoy some nice lakeside scenery.

If you'd rather not take the scenic route, the Yunnan-Tibet highway is the fastest and least-trafficked way to get to Xizhou, although currently this requires a short detour through the parking lot of the Three Pagodas due to construction work. Once near Xizhou, make sure to descend eastward toward the town on one of the dirt paths near a large white villa development, which can be confirmed by consulting a map or asking locals.