Hi. I did take a taxi from Lijiang, I think it was around USD20 one way but I took the bus back from the mountain and that was like USD2. So taxi isn't very expensive but it's still much more than the bus. Maybe you can do like me to save money. However I can't comment about how convenient I'd be of you stay at Baisha or Yushui. I went to Baisha by taxi and when I wanted to go back to Lijiang, there was no taxi. I had to wait a little bit and the taxi that was eventually there charged me a fix fee as opposed to using the meter. They seem to have buses in Baisha but mostly those tour buses for tourists. So the one you came with, you leave with. Might be easier from Lijiang. The old town is much bigger than Baisha anyway. More touristy as well though. Don't forget to book the snow moutain in advance if you can otherwise they'll tell you that it's full (as you drive in with the taxi). If they tell you it's full, go anyway and ask there how to get to the top. You don't need to buy a ticket at the very beginning, go through by showing your passport and buy the ticket at the cabin area (after the bus ride).