Yantai has high-speed rail connections to Qingdao (about 90 minutes), Jinan (about two and a half hours), and Beijing (about four hours) via the Jiaoji Railway and connecting lines. The main high-speed station is Yantai South; the older Yantai station handles some conventional services and is more central.
Yantai Penglai International Airport is one of the busier regional airports in Shandong, with direct flights to major Chinese cities and international connections to South Korea and Japan. Ferries run to Dalian (2–3 hours by fast ferry, 6 hours conventional) across the Bohai Strait, and to South Korea (Incheon and other ports) in overnight crossings, making Yantai a natural crossing point for travelers moving between Shandong and the Korean peninsula.