Sanya travel guide

Sanya Phoenix International Airport is 20 km from the city centre. Airport buses run directly to Sanya Bay and Dadonghai for ¥15. A taxi to the city centre costs about ¥50, to Dadonghai about ¥70, and to Yalong Bay about ¥100.

Because discounts on direct flights to Sanya are usually small, and tickets are often hard to get in peak season, some travellers fly first to Haikou (where discounts are generally better) and then take a taxi, bus or the East Ring high-speed train to Sanya. The road journey takes about 3 hours and the high-speed train about 90 minutes. However, if you book about one month ahead, you can often get tickets at around 70% of the full fare even in peak season, and at below 50% in the off-season.

About 50 metres out of the airport, you can also catch Bus No. 8 to the city centre and the beach. For Dadonghai, get off at Luling Road Junction (鹿岭路口). For Sanya Bay, ask the driver where to get off for your destination. Bus No. 8 runs about every 15 minutes. The fare is ¥4 per person to Sanya Bay and ¥5 per person to Dadonghai. The last bus departs at around 23:00.

The high-speed railway along Hainan's east coast opened in 2010. Dozens of trains run daily between Haikou and Sanya, and the journey takes 1.5 hours. Fares vary by train: first-class seats cost ¥136–173 and second-class seats ¥100–128. Tickets can be booked up to 30 days in advance.

Around 20 long-distance coach services a day run from Sanya to Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Jiangxi and other provinces. In addition, express buses between Sanya and Haikou depart every 20 minutes during the day. The eastern route passes through seven counties and cities (Lingshui, Wanning, Qionghai, Tunchang, Wenchang, Qiongshan and Haikou), and takes only 3.5 hours. Fares are around ¥80.

From Haikou to Sanya, the provincial express bus (with aircraft-style seats and air conditioning) departs from Haikou South Station every half hour.

Sanya has more than 20 bus routes. Services generally run from 6:00 to 23:00, and fares are charged by distance, ranging from ¥1 to ¥4. Bus No. 8 is the express line from the airport to Hong Kong Department Store Plaza (香港百货广场). Bus No. 27 runs from the airport to Yalong Bay, Bus No. 28 connects the city with Wuzhizhou Island, and Bus No. 25 links Daxiao Dongtian with Yalong Bay. Buses are very convenient.

Sanya has plenty of taxis and they are convenient. Most parts of the central city can be reached for ¥8 without using the meter, and a trip to the airport costs ¥40. Fares to sights, however, sometimes have to be negotiated with the driver.

Star-rated hotels such as Sanya Kailai Resort Hotel (三亚凯莱度假酒店), Huandao Undersea World Hotel (寰岛海底世界酒店) and Nanhai Travel Agency (南海旅行社), as well as travel agencies and scenic areas, run fixed-schedule, fixed-point shuttle buses. The Nanshan Cultural Tourism Zone and the Tianya Haijiao Scenic Area also have electric sightseeing vehicles, priced at ¥25 per person. They allow unlimited getting on and off, but only one round trip.

If you want a more comfortable trip in Sanya, consider renting a car. Sanya's roads are relatively simple, and a basic road map is all you need. Driving from Sanya to any of Hainan's famous tourist destinations generally takes no more than 3 hours. Sanya hotels usually offer car rental services, and rate lists are displayed in the lobby for reference. There are also many car rental companies, so you can compare prices, after checking each company's credentials, before deciding.

Sanya may be the most suitable city in China for driving a convertible. Rent a car and take a drive along the famous Binhai Avenue and the Yemeng Corridor (椰梦长廊). Driving north from the south end, you can listen to the waves breaking on the shore, breathe fresh sea air, and enjoy the coastal views as the scenery unfolds around you, which is wonderfully relaxing. The avenue runs all the way to Sanya Bay, and the drive takes about 30 minutes from end to end. Along the way are open-air seafood stalls and resorts, where you can stop for a bite whenever you're hungry.

During Golden Week, taxi fares are the metered fare plus ¥5, regardless of distance. This is not a driver's unauthorised price hike; it is a regulation set by the transport authorities.

Most hotels offer car rental services, and traffic maps and local newspapers carry plenty of rental company ads, so it's worth contacting several firms to compare prices. For example, a Nissan Sylphy usually costs about ¥220 per day, but during Golden Week prices rise by 50%–100%.

88284600

Reservations: 400-678-3003

(Hailiang Car Rental)

To rent a car, you need the original ID card, a photocopy of your driving licence and a ¥5,000 deposit. ¥4,000 is refunded when you return the car, and the remaining ¥1,000 is refunded 45 days later. Rental fees can be authorised on a credit card.

When chartering a car for a round trip between Haikou and Sanya, don't book through a hotel, as they charge a lot. Contact drivers directly for a better price. For a one-way trip from Haikou to Sanya, the cheapest option is to look for a return car heading to Sanya (Qiong B plates) near Haikou Guesthouse in Haikou. In Sanya, look for return cars to Haikou (Qiong A) or Qiongshan (Qiong C); drivers often approach you at the Sanya Long-Distance Bus Station. Be sure to bargain: a Jetta can be hired for around ¥200, even during Spring Festival.

If you're travelling from Sanya to Haikou Airport, be sure to buy a ticket to Meilan Station.

Seafood is of course the main draw in Sanya. Prices aren't much lower than elsewhere, and the flavour and cooking methods can't match Guangdong, but Sanya's seafood stands out for its freshness, and eating it carries a rustic, countryside charm. Chunyuan Seafood Plaza began as a street food area set up by the local government to help laid-off workers find new jobs. It has since become Sanya's famous spot for indulgent feasting (“taotie”), so there are now counterfeit or similarly named seafood plazas and stalls everywhere. Apart from seafood, you can find Hainan's four famous dishes (Wenchang chicken, Dongshan mutton, Jiaji duck and Hele crab) in Sanya, but it's generally best to order them at a good restaurant.

Bargain for seafood too. When eating seafood, a moderate amount of baijiu and rice vinegar is fine, but beer is not advisable. Avoid cold drinks and watermelon for an hour after eating, and don't go swimming straight away.

If you want to buy plenty of cheap fruit, head to Hanggang Farmers' Market in Jiyang District, where prices are several times lower than at retail shops. Bargain here too. Don't overindulge in tropical fruit, or you may get heatiness. Avoid eating pineapple and star fruit on an empty stomach.

Ingredients bought inside Chunyuan cost considerably more than at Diyi Market (especially in peak season), but every processing stall refuses to cook anything bought from vendors outside Chunyuan!

Avoid anything sold by the piece (such as scallops or oysters), because processing for these is also charged per piece. A ¥2–3 oyster may cost ¥4 to prepare, which makes the total more than at a large restaurant, and the cooking is really quite average.

3. Don't Buy Overly Expensive Ingredients

Expensive ingredients such as grouper and Hele crab are best enjoyed at a high-end restaurant. At Chunyuan, it's better to use ingredients costing less than ¥20 per jin for hot pot or stir-frying.

Stir-frying or steaming: ¥5 per jin or ¥4 per piece. Hot pot (“dabianlu”): ¥10 for the pot base, plus ¥2 per jin for processing.

Among fish, sumei, grouper and qingyi are all good. Try them at a large restaurant, as Chunyuan's preparation of these fish is fairly average.

6. Street Food Stalls Are All Much the Same

If you're not especially set on visiting the authentic Chunyuan, the nearby street food stalls taste much the same, and anyway, Chunyuan isn't cheap these days.

Before buying fruit in Sanya, ask the vendor to weigh it accurately for you. They'll agree, but they may not actually do it. Once you've made your selection, tell them you'll use your own scale. They usually won't object, and will charge you according to your weight, then try to get you to buy more fruit. Just don't mention your own scale at the start, or you won't be able to bargain.

Lobster is tender and delicious, a premium item among seafood. Female lobsters taste even better than males, yet novices often find it hard to tell them apart when buying.

The method is simple: look at the end of the first pair of legs between the chest and abdomen. If this pair is forked at the end, it is definitely a female lobster. This is why female lobsters are also called “zhi” (指, meaning “finger”).

In Hainan, don't address restaurant waiters as “xiaojie” (miss). Call them “xiaomei” (little sister) instead, or you're sure to get some withering looks.

Recommended: red-mouth crab, large prawns and mango snails. Coconut juice and mango juice cost ¥15 per large cup (zha), and you can order a half cup. Mobile vendors' cold dishes are also worth trying (the spicy Chinese cabbage kimchi is delicious, and all the cold dishes are ¥10 for three portions), as are the Indian-style flatbreads (the egg version is very fragrant, ¥10 each).

For restaurants with unbeatable sea views, you can also try the restaurants at the Tianyu, Hongshulin (Mangrove) and Marriott hotels in Yalong Bay. They're expensive and the food is average; you're really paying for the setting. Each hotel has more than one restaurant, so it's worth walking around them all before choosing the most beautiful spot to eat. The lobby cafés at the last two hotels are also worth a visit, as the views are breathtaking.

Always bargain hard when buying crystal, aiming to pay around 50–60% of the asking price. Seawater pearls cost about 20% more than freshwater pearls, but they are more valuable as collectibles.

Located in Lu Hui Tou Square. As long as you are 18 or older, you can buy affordable clothing, perfumes, watches and other top international brands here. Note that Hainan local specialties are not covered by the duty-free allowance.

Sanya is a prime base for a holiday, home to about a quarter of the hotels on Hainan Island. However, during peak travel periods such as National Day Golden Week, New Year's Day and the Spring Festival, Sanya's hotels can still be fully booked, so if you can, it's best to book in advance.

If you just want the sea, sand and golf, and want to spend a few days in leisure and luxury, it's recommended to book a “flight + hotel” independent-travel package offered by Ctrip or major travel agencies, and you can choose a resort hotel directly in Yalong Bay.

If you don't want to spend too much, or want to explore the various scenic spots or experience local life more fully, consider hotels in Dadonghai or Sanya Bay. For family travellers who want to visit Sanya's food markets (genuinely worth a stroll, with an abundance of fresh fruit, vegetables and seafood) and cook their own meals, serviced apartments are especially recommended. If you have elderly family members and want to spend a month or two by the sea in winter, renting in Dadonghai or Sanya Bay is also a good idea: a two-bedroom sea-view apartment costs about ¥5000 a month, and you can easily find plenty of rental listings online.

There are many homestays for rent around Sanya Bay, most of them run by people from Northeast China. Prices are not too high and hygiene is fairly good. The main advantage is having your own space, without the constraints of a hotel. Suites generally have a kitchen you can use.

When shopping in Sanya, it's best to buy marine souvenirs of real value, such as seawater pearls, natural crystal and shell handicrafts. Do not buy coral or whole hawksbill-turtle-shell souvenirs, as the state prohibits their sale and they cannot be carried onto aircraft.

The Red Roof restaurant offers seafood processing. Hotel guests can buy seafood there and pay a processing fee per dish. If you enjoy cooking, you can also do it yourself!

Sanya's hotels all take kickbacks from taxi drivers, so it's best not to let doormen or other hotel staff hail a taxi for you. If you want to save some money, flag down a taxi on the street yourself; you can pay about one-third less.

Once night falls, the best thing to do is eat seafood at the open-air stalls on the main streets, such as Xinfeng Street Zhonghua City, Youyi Road, Yuya Avenue, Jiefang 2nd Road, Jianshe Road, Binhai Road and Xihe West Road. Fresh seafood of every kind will leave you reluctant to wipe your mouth. Alternatively, simply stroll around the night markets.

Sanya's nightlife is quite varied. The mainstream options include roadside tea stalls, barbecue stalls, seafood restaurants, lottery-explanation stalls, senior citizens' song-and-dance troupes, mahjong parlours, bars, massage parlours and night boat cruises around Sanya Bay. Roadside tea stalls are mainly places where locals chat and socialise, and are worth a visit if you're interested. In the city centre and along the roads of Dadonghai and Sanya Bay, barbecue stalls serve seafood barbecue in the evening, and nearby you'll find plenty of other snacks, such as qingbuliang (a cooling herbal dessert), fried ice and seasonal fruit. However, Sanya is currently cracking down hard on roadside barbecue, and urban management officers are strict about it, so if you still want to try it, it's best to go to a licensed barbecue restaurant.

Bars are concentrated around Dadonghai and along the Shidai Haian Bar Street. Massage parlours are a good place to unwind after a day on the go. You can also take the 19:45 boat to enjoy the night view of Sanya Bay, with song-and-dance performances and seafood barbecue on board. Or you can go night diving, though it costs more in the evening. For somewhere quieter, climb to the summit of Luhuitou at night, where you can look down on Sanya's countless neon lights.