By plane

Sanya has an airport with flights to nearby Chinese cities such as Guangzhou, Zhuhai or Hong Kong. Fares vary significantly, depending on season and the particular tour. You may be able to save money by first busing to Haikou and flying out of the provincial capital's larger airport, but the bus ticket and overnight lodging can exceed the difference and you should account for travelling 3-4 hours each direction. In addition to the bus, you will easily be able to find "heiche" taxis that will take you between the two cities, for between 350 and 500 yuan per car. Although strictly illegal, you can find drivers that are courteous, safe and reliable, although this is much more difficult without being able to speak at least basic Chinese.

By bus

The 3.5 hour bus ride from will cost about. Buses between Haikou and Sanya depart about every 30 minutes; the last bus from Sanya to Haikou departs around 11PM. Sanya's bus station is along Jie Fang Lu, a few steps south (away from McDonalds) of the east end of "Shopping Street".

By train

Sanya can be reached directly by train from Beijing (35 hours), Shanghai (36 hours) and Guangzhou (15 hours). The whole train is loaded on to a ferry for the journey from mainland China to the Island, then continues its journey around the west coast as far as Sanya. As trains leaving the island originate in Sanya, tickets from this smaller town are easier to obtain than if leaving from Haikou.

Perfume Bay, Dadong Sea, Nanwan Monkey Island, Betel Nut Ethnic Minorities Park, Water Sports

Perfume Bay

This stretch of beach is rather undeveloped and thus delightfully peaceful (it will probably be only you for a good kilometer on either side). Visiting here is a delightful and mind-cleaning day trip, especially if joined with some hiking around the surrounding farms. Watch out for strong rip tides and pack snacks.

Dadong Sea

Dadong Sea has Sanya's best balance between development and natural beauty. The town behind Dadong Bay is more expensive than Sanya, but has better restaurants and a gorgeous beach. The shopping, however, is not as good as Sanya city's. The ocean has algae blooms that vary the water from thick green to tropically clear. However, even when "tropically clear" the ocean bed is just sand with a rare school of fish or eel.

Nanwan Monkey Island

Actually a penninsula, Monkey Island is home to about 1800 endangered Macaque monkeys whose habitat you get to roam freely through. Be careful, these monkeys will jump on humans (playful) or attack for sweet drinks or food (hungry and thirsty)! There are also some circus-style comedy shows featuring monkeys doing stunts.

Betel Nut Ethnic Minorities Park

The park is very commercial with a large number of shops, snacks for sale and (paid) opportunities for photographs with locals in traditional costumes or with indigenous animals. Despite this, it appears that there has been a genuine attempt to show the traditional life and customs of the two minoritiese, and the park appears less tacky than some other similar attractions elsewhere in China. It is probably also a relatively good way for money to be returned to the local community.

Water Sports

Yalong Bay, Dadong Bay, and Sanya Bay all have a collection of jet skiing, parasailing, paragliding, snorkeling, scuba diving, glass-bottomed boat, and beach ATV enterprises. Prices aren't generally very negotiable (save for scuba and snorkeling), but duration of the ride, however, can. Do not go too cheap on scuba, for obvious safety reasons.

January - March
October - December

Information not available

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