Guangzhou Airport

We transited through CAN on our way from Xi'an to Hanoi. The incoming flight was late but the airline (China Southern) had a person waiting outside the aircraft who also collected our baggage straight from the tarmac and hustled us through the airport to our next flight. Immigration was efficient and we reached our next flight with 15 minutes to spare. Total time taken = 35 minutes.

Not sure what everyone is complaining about. I found the airport clean quiet with plenty of seating. Customs was a simple walk through. I think people expect a Dubai Singapore HK standard where ever they go bright lights blaring music and store owners seeking your money. Guangzhou was lovely and quiet so having a 7 hour layover was refreshing. Food was 'expensive' but isn't it at every airport?

My two complaints are that the drinking water had no cold water only hot? The alleged "free wifi" is only for Chinese sim card holders. How ridiculous is that? At least PEK allows you to swipe your passport to receive a 5 hour free account. However there was plenty of seating finding your way around was easy enough. Transiting from International to Domestic was fine.

We were stuck in this airport for 6 hours on a return flight from Australia to England. No seating really other than those at the Gates however we just set ourselves up at a random gate with no passengers waiting. Food and drink is expensive but I had read no ATM so at least we had some currency with us. We had 3 teenagers with us with absolutely nothing for them to do. The toilets were the most disgusting ones I have had the misfortune to use. Staff in the airport were rude and unhelpful and cannot speak a word of English which as an apparent stop over for international flights is not ideal.

I had a 4 hour layover on the way from Japan to Cambodia and a 19 hour layover on the way back both through CAN. I would not recommend it. On the way over our flight got in 4hours late at 3:30AM. We were waiting in the dirty bottom lower level where you had to walk through the smokers (about 20-25 at the time) in order to use the very dirty toilets. The food was way overpriced - about US$5.00 for a soda and US$10 for a piece of cheesecake. On my long layover I booked a room at Pullman Hotel (on premise and highly recommend) but it was a pain to get out. They had to type up some paperwork for an "extended stay" since I didn't have a China visa. Then they sent me with the wrong group almost to another hotel! The lady did not speak English - should have English speakers for an international airport! People kept jumping ahead in line Chinese folks were yelling no one seemed to know what was going on - very unpleasant experience.

All Chinese airports are bad for international travellers since you need to be proficient at reading 50000 Chinese characters and a fluent Chinese speaker to get anywhere. However Guangzhou is one of the easiest. The modern bus station outside is clearly marked in both English and Chinese in stark contrast to Pudong's Third-Worldish dust park where zero English is written and spoken. Having said this the ticket salesgirl did give me a ticket to the wrong destination but I had no trouble changing it to the right destination though although I did have to use Chinese to do this. If you are going to Guangzhou city you can go very cheaply on the metro. If you think Guangzhou Baiyun Airport is bad you should try some of the other Chinese airports. Try getting into the city by bus from Hangzhou Airport and see how you get on.

I transferred through Guangzhou when travelling to/from Australia and Europe. On the way to Europe they had us pass through a single-station security checkpoint and checked everyone very carefully and slowly which I felt was unnecessary and annoying. The lounge is OK. Notable things for me were that you need a credit card or $USD to buy things in the shops the food is expensive free drinking water was available but in high demand and available only in miniature cups (if you didn't have your own container). Having said that it wasn't too bad - I'd transit through there again.

By modern international standards a poor airport especially in the public 'comfort' areas. Where are the fast- food restaurants - not that I particularly enjoy this type of food but if you're in a hurry where can you go? In fact it might be a good idea if you were in a hurry because that way you spend less time there! Very little public seating is available. Where is the 'free' wi-fi - only if you have a Chinese Sim card. I'm not looking forward to the 8 hour layover I have in two days' time.

The airport has that common architectural "airport" feel but compared to even mediocre airports in the United States this one fails on many levels. There is no Starbucks no wifi and no English magazines. I flew to Guangzhou from Incheon then from Guangzhou to LAX. 4 hour layover which turned into a 5 hour layover. I had a meal at one of the restaurants. $15 dollars for a plate of dumplings and a Chinese soda. Even though your computer or phone may pick up the "free airport wifi" you will quickly notice that it requires a username and password and that the "English" link on the log-in website doesn't work. The bathrooms were dirty and required going downstairs. The seats were cramped and uncomfortable.

My husband and I recently transferred from international to domestic at Guangzhou when flying from Vietnam to Beijing with China Southern Airlines without any troubles. We had read other travellers comments before arriving and once we got there found it hard to believe that people were talking about the same airport. We found everything to be very well laid out with clear sign-age in both Chinese and English as well as most of the staff being able to speak enough English to help point us in the right direction. We arrived with 4 other flights and more staff were immediately added to process all of the travellers so that we did not have very long and booking into our next flight at the transfer desk was fast efficient and friendly. Airport security is very rarely full of smiles so why would this airport be any different? Having said this the security personnel were very professional and courteous treating us better than other international airports I have travelled through. On a whole the airport is clean there are plenty of shops restrooms smoking rooms and eateries and it is easy to navigate; I wouldn't hesitate to travel through here again.