The arrivals gate at Xi'an airport , outside the town of Xianyang, 40km northwest of the city, is thronged with taxi drivers, who should charge ¥120 for a ride into town, but you're better off getting the airport bus (¥20; buy tickets from an office on the right of the main airport entrance as you exit), as unscrupulous taxi drivers sometimes double their prices en route. The bus journey takes an hour and leaves you outside the CAAC office on Laodong Lu, where again you should be wary of taxi drivers. Don't take a taxi from inside the CAAC compound, as unlicensed drivers often ambush disorientated visitors - hail one from the street.

The busy train station , in the northeast corner of town, just outside the city walls, is a major terminus on a west-east line which splits just east of the city; one branch going north to Beijing, the other east to Shanghai. City buses leave from the north end of Jiefang Lu, just south of the station, and taxis congregate on the western side of the concourse outside. If you arrive from Beijing you will probably be met by one of the women from Mum's or Dad's, the two restaurants outside the Flats of Renmin Hotel, the main backpacker haunt, who will fight for the privilege of escorting you to the Flats. They'll also probably pay for the taxi. The women are friendly and trustworthy, and their altruism is sound business; they want you to eat at their restaurant, though they are not pushy about it. Even if you don't intend to stay at the Flats, accepting a ride to one of the restaurants is not a bad idea, as they are comfortable places to get your bearings, as well as have breakfast, and the English-speaking owners are helpful and knowledgeable, certainly more so than CITS.

Buses supposedly arrive in Xi'an at either the bus station just south of the train station or at the terminus at the southwest corner of the city walls, but in practice where you arrive depends a lot on the bus company, the direction you approach from and the whim of the driver. As most buses arrive at night, and you are as likely to find yourself standing at the side of a main road somewhere as in the terminus, it's best to have a destination in mind and hail a taxi.