For my personal experience, I would say it's much better to take buses if you think you have plenty of time to do so. Though it's such a pain in .... to sit on buses for hours, it's worth it to do so as you'll get to see how people in each town differently live lives when buses stop for a brief break.

Try it!, especially if you're one of those people out there who have strong interest in people, nature, and cultures!

Jiuzhaigou is surely one of incredibly amazing places in China people want to visit. It's recommended to well plan this trip before you rock this place. You can try your best to cover every single spot in Jiuzhaigou, but you surely can't spend much time at each site. If you have time, give yourself at least couple days to explore this place.

You don't want to end up rushing walking or rushing shooting photos.

You probably want to re-consider if other places you plan to go are more worth it than to decide staying at Jiuzhaigou more couple days.

Jiuzhaigou is really really worth it to see. I wish I could have spent more time there just to sit still, enjoy and be with those unbelievably fascinating views longer than I actually did.

Try Sam's guesthouse if you like. This place provides good service, clean bedrooms, western bathrooms, tour packages, and internet access. (The internet access here is slow though)

You can directly send Sam e-mails to reserve for rooms if you like. He responses pretty quickly, and surely reserves rooms for you. Good luck!