How to get from Tianjin Cruise Port to Beijing – Four Options


How to get from Tianjin cruise port to Beijing?

This article gives four options that you can travel easily from Tianjin Cruise Port to Beijing.

1,Our Shuttle Bus Service from Tianjin Cruise Port

The journey from Tianjin Port to Beijing is 170km into the centre of the city, or 180km to the Beijing Capital Airport on the outskirts. It takes around 2.5 hours, and you can travel the distance quite quickly in a bullet train or taxi, but in many instances the best solution is to take our shuttle bus, because it is just as quick as a taxi, but the cost is shared between other travellers. In this article, we will cover the four ways that you can travel the 170km journey from Tianjin Cruise Port to Beijing. These include our Shuttle Bus Service, the bullet train, taxi and the public bus.

This is naturally our most highly recommended option, because it is the best value for money, it is quite fast and means that you do not have to deal with your heavy luggage more than once! Your guide and driver will pick you up and escort you to your terminal at Tianjin Port. It takes about 3.5 hours (no more than a direct taxi), and your private guide and driver can even help you with your luggage, and answer any questions you might have about China and Beijing during your journey. Just book with us and we will be waiting for you at the exit of your cruise port terminal. Tell us if you would like to join a large group of travellers for a group transfer, so that we can find a group that meets your requirements.

2,Catching the Bullet Train

This service is sometimes a little faster, but is also more inconvenient and expensive as you will have to be taken to one of the local railway stations by taxi, which will take at least 30 minutes and cost 100-400 yuan.

Tanggu Railway Station is the closest, but you will need to book tickets at this station far in advance, because there are only 8 bullet trains running from this station to Beijing daily and they are in high demand when a cruise ship arrives at Tianjin.

3,Taking a Taxi to Beijing

It is possible to take a taxi the entire way from Tianjin Cruise Terminal to Beijing, but this would cost more than 500 yuan and is not as comfortable as either the bullet train or bus.

4,Our Private Beijing to Tianjin Port Transfers

By far the most convenient method of travelling the 175km between Beijing city and Tianjin port is to use our private transfer service.Your private guide and driver can pick you up, help you with your luggage, and ensure that you arrive at the port two hours before the departure time of your boat.We can also put you into a group transfer with other groups of travelers. Ask us about joining another join of travelers so that we can match you with a group that suits your needs. This allows you to share the costs, meaning a cheaper fare (see below for a price comparison).

Taking a Taxi to Beijing South Railway Station

For the return journey, from Beijing to Tianjin Cruise Port, you can take the taxi to Beijing South Railway Station from your hotel and then catch a bullet train, followed by another taxi to get you to the port. See this option in the table below.

Alternative Ways to Get to Beijing Capital Airport

Other than taking a taxi to get to Beijing Capital International Airport, there is another train you can take to get to the bullet train at Beijing Capital Airport called the Airport Express (see this option in the table below).

In the other direction, there is a shuttle bus service connecting the airport to Tianjin (this is the cheapest alternative), but it departs from the Binhai Bus Station (滨海客运总站 Bīnhǎi Kèyùn Zǒngzhàn), which is 34km or about a hour’s drive by taxi from the port.

Departure Station Operating Hours Ticket Fare Duration
Capital Airport → Tanggu, Tianjin City No.15 Gate, 1F of T2; No.3 Gate, 1F of T3 10:30, 13:00, 18:30, 20:30 90 yuan (15 usd) 3 hours
Tangu, Tianjin City → Capital Airport Tanggu Passengers Transport Center 06:00, 08:00, 14:00, 16:30 90 yuan 3 hours

Getting to Tianjin Port on the Train

Bullet trains run from Beijing South Railway Station to Tianjin Railway Station and Tanggu Railway Station. Tianjin station offers more services, but the tickets are quite limited and the station is a long drive from the port. Tanggu Railway Station is much more convenient by comparison.

Traveling from Tianjin Railway Station

  • Time taken: 75 hours
  • Distance: 100km by train, 75km by taxi
  • Route:
    1. Beijing South Railway Station (北京南 Běijīng Nán)
    2. Tianjin Railway Station (天津站, Tiānjīn Zhàn, takes 0.5 hours by bullet train)
    3. Tianjin Port via taxi (天津港, Tiānjīn Gǎng, takes 1 hours, costs approx 200 yuan)

The bullet train services from Beijing South to Tianjin Railway Station are very frequent, costing 66 yuan (or $11 USD) for a first class ticket or 55 yuan (or $9 USD) for a second class ticket. Even though Tianjin Railway Station is a big station with frequent services, tickets are in short supply. If you do not pre-book your tickets, you may have to wait several hours for the next available seat on the train.

As for getting to Tianjin Railway Station from the port, taxi is the only way, because there are no direct connections via public transport. In addition, the public bus timetable is complicated and often changes, making this method a real hassle.

Traveling from Tanggu Railway Station

  • Time taken: 6 hours
  • Distance: 140km by train, 30km by taxi
  • Route:
    1. Beijing South Railway Station (北京南 Běijīng Nán)
    2. Tanggu Railway Station (塘沽站, Tánggū Zhàn, 1 hour)
    3. Get to the port via taxi (0.6 hours, costs 60 yuan)

This option is convenient because the distance to get to the port via taxi is lesser. As with the other stations, there are no direct connections by public transport so taking a taxi is the only real option.

Only seven trains make this trip to Tanggu Railway Station daily, so you will have to pre-book your tickets if you want to use this route. The tickets cost 80 yuan ($13 USD) for first class or 66 yuan ($11 USD) for second class.

Other Train Routes

There are a few other services running from the Beijing Stations that take much longer because they do not run direct to Tianjin. For this reason the journey will take more than an hour longer using these routes. So it is well worthwhile taking a short taxi ride from Beijing West to the Beijing South station, so that you can take the much faster routes mentioned above.

Traveling from Beijing by Train

Bullet trains depart from Beijing South Railway Station, bound for Tianjin Railway Station and Tanggu Railway Station. While there are more services running to Tianjin Railway Station, and only one service running to Tanggu Railway Station, Tanggu is much closer to Tianjin port, so this route would be more ideal if you can get the limited tickets.

Getting to the Port through Tianjin Railway Station

The many bullet train services running to Tianjin Railway Station from Beijing South Railway Station take around half an hour and cost 66 yuan ($11 USD) for first class and 55 yuan ($9 USD) for second class. We recommend that you arrive at least two hours before your cruise ship’s departure time.

The only real option for getting to Tianjin port from Tianjin Railway Station is by taxi, because there are no direct public transport connections. The taxi journey is about 75km in distance and will take about an hour, costing 200 yuan ($33 USD).

Based on the need to arrive at least two hours before your cruise ship’s departure time, the following services may be acceptable:

12:05 (C2037), 12:16 (C2215), 12:30 (C2039), 12:38 (C2041), 12:46 (C2217), 12:58 (C2043), 13:05 (C2099), 13:14 (C2045), 13:34 (C2047), 13:39 (C2219), 13:54 (C2049)

There is a duty free shop for souvenir shopping if you have free time at the port.

Getting to the Port through Tanggu Railway Station

The only bullet train running from Beijing South Railway Station to Tanggu Railway Station is listed below:

Train number Departure Arrival Journey time Cost
C2275 11:40 12:39 59 minutes 80 yuan ($13 USD) first class
66 yuan ($9 USD) second class

As with the other station, you must catch a taxi to get to the port from this station. This taxi ride is shorter, only about 40 minutes, which will cost 60 yuan ($10 USD).

The Entire Trip from Beijing to Tianjin Port by Taxi

This method is time consuming and expensive, taking 2.5 hours and costing 800 yuan ($129 USD). You should ensure that the driver agrees to take the expressway, because the longer route will take 5 hours and cost 1000 yuan ($161 USD).

This method would only be suitable if you cannot get onto a train service for several hours and need to get to Tianjin port by a certain time.

Public Bus Services

Public bus services cost around 80 yuan, but you will need to make your way from the cruise terminal to the bus station by taxi or by public transport. Some of these stations can be difficult to find, so we’ve list the stations with their Chinese translation below:

  • Tianhuan Bus Station (天环客运站)
  • Tongsha Central Bus Station (通莎公司客运中心站)
  • Tanggu Long-Distance Bus Station (塘沽客运站)

Some Useful Translations

Please take me to…                                 请带我到

Tianjin International Cruise Port                   天津国际油轮母港

Tanggu Railway Station                                    塘沽火车站

Tianjin Railway Station                                      天津火车站

Beijing Capital International Airport            北京首都国际机场