• Understand
• Get around
• See
• Do
• Buy
• Eat
• Drink
• Sleep
• Stay safe
• Get out

Sanya (三亚) is on the southernmost point of China, at the tip of Hainan island.

[edit] Understand

It has beaches and modern hotels and is being touted as a "Chinese Hawaii".

You meet European tourists there and see a lot of Russians .Sanya is a popular escape from Russian winters. There are also many Chinese tourists. During the Chinese New Year in February it is quite busy and expensive. Fireworks are heard around the clock during that time.

There are four main areas in Sanya. Sanya Bay, Sanya city, Dadonghai, and Yalong Bay. Sanya Bay is a 30 km plus stretch of beach with many resorts, seafood restaurants, and some budget hotels. Sanya city is the downtown area. Dadonghai, east of the city, has a lot of budget hotels and restaurants, as well as a nice boardwalk on the beach. Yalong Bay is full of beautiful but pricey resorts.

[edit] Get in

[edit] By plane

Sanya has an airport with flights to nearby Chinese cities such as Guangzhou, Zhuhai or Hong Kong. Fares vary hugely, depending on season and the particular tour; you can often save quite a bit by flying to Haikou instead.

[edit] By bus

You can get to Sanya by bus from Haikou, about 70-80 RMB and 3.5 hours.

[edit] 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.

The new train station in Sanya is far from downtown, approximately as far as the airport. A taxi to Danonghai(Dadong Bay - Most popular with tourists)is approximately 25-30 Yuan.

[edit] Get around

Many people stay in beach areas with more-or-less everything within walking distance. Dadonghai (Dadong Bai) is popular with Mainland and Western tourists. Yalong Bay to the east has mostly upmarket resorts with less options for shopping and eating.

Taxis are cheap and plentiful. Check that the driver uses the meter for all journeys or else agree a price before commencing the journey for longer distances.

You can hire a van [1] with English-speaking guide for longer trips, out to isolated beaches or hill villages. It is also possible to rent a car in Sanya, ranging from beatup old Mitsubishis to two-seater Smart cars, and also larger, newer vehicles, with or without a driver.

You can also rent a motorbike. There are several places to do this, with (approx.) prices per hour (60RMB), 4 hours (150RMB), 8 hours (350RMB) or by week (1500RMB). Discounts are available outside peak times. It is not recommended that any inexperienced driver use a motorbike on the public roads on Hainan.

[edit] See

Nanshan:

A very touristy part of Sanya all the way to the West. The park there holds many buddhist temples, gardens, hiking routes, and a massive buddha in the ocean. A trolley type car services the large park taking tourists from one spot to the next. Very popular with Chinese tourists, few Westerners. It is about one hour from Sanya's main downtown area.

Monkey Island:

Just an hour East of Sanya's downtown area is Monkey Island. It is home to a large population of endangered Macaque monkeys as well as some Chinese fisherman. Be prepared to see these small primates running freely throughout the park. There are many shows throughout the day, including a comedy hour with the Macaques. You can either take a boat ride or ride a gondola to the island.

Monkey Island is actually a peninsula in Xincun, part of Lingshui. To get there from Sanya, take a taxi, charter a bus, or take a bus to Xincun (slow) and walk or take a motorcycle taxi to the cable car entrance, or take a bus to Lingshui, then another bus to Xincun, which will drop you off much closer to the cable car than the bus from Sanya to Xincun does. From the Lingshui-Xincun bus stop in Xincun, a motorcycle taxi to the cable car will cost 2 yuan. Upon arrival at the cable car entrace, you may be harassed by little old ladies telling you to take a boat to Monkey Island, but according to Monkey Island staff, you pay the full admission price (about 120 yuan) whether you take the cable car or not, so if what they say is true, you will actually save money by not taking a boat.

[edit] Do

• Yalong Bay hosts one of the best beaches in Sanya. Here, the clear blue water glistens and palm trees fill the beach front. Its no wonder Sanya is known as the "Hawaii of China."

Surfing- Hainan has pretty consistent surf most of the year. In the summer, the south winds bring waves to Sanya's south-facing beaches. In the fall through winter, the peak surf season, Hainan's east coast is the place to go. Hainan doesn't offer world class waves, but it offers fairly consistent tropical surf, which is almost completely empty. See www.surfinghainan.com for surf reports, forecasts, and more information on Hainan surf.

EAST YALONG BAY

In the east of Yalong Bay, you can find the Yalong Bay Central Square - a mini "theme-park" (I use that term loosely). It contains a Shell Museum, a Totem pole, and a food court that serves different meat/fish kabobs. The admission is 33 kuai, more tha it's worth. The Shell Museum contains several nice shells, most of which you can eventually see in the ocean, or in the souvenir shops. Don't bother viewing this Museum unless you're planning to buy some nice beach gifts for your friends and family, as the gift shop at the end of the museum contains very creative, well-crafted accessories (such as belts and purses) made from shells and coconuts.

The Yalong Bay Central Square also serves as an entrance to the Yalong Bay Beach. But don't be fooled into paying the entrance fee just to enter the beach, as you can travel a bit further west into the hotel resort area and enter for free!

WEST YALONG BAY

Here you can enter the beautiful pristine beach for free.

You can have a bit of adventure by doing any one of the following activities offered by Hte Hainan Yalong Bay Underwater World: - parasailing - deep-sea fishing - boating - scuba diving

Although a bit pricey, the Holiday Inn serves a great resort hotel to relax in, especially to give yourself a break from all that suntanning. They have an outside seating area for lunch/dinner, and a straw hut bar, which definitely give you the feel of Hawaii. Although their food items are pricey (50 kuai), it is well worth the 'qian' since a hefty portion is served.

TRAVEL TO YALONG BAY

Taxi From Sanya's city center, you can expect to pay ~20 kuai (meter off) and 50 kuai (meter on), so it's best to try to negotiate the price, meter off. With a bit of Chinese, you'll find yourself with the good deal, or else they might discover you for the tourist that you are and charge you an extra 10 kuai. But don't worry about it, its still better than 50 kuai!

From Dadonghai you will pay about 40 RMB by meter, though most drivers will want to charge you a flat rate of between 50-60 RMB. You are likely best of insisting on the meter, the drivers are familiar with the distances and will almost certainly get more out of you by negotiation.

Bus You can also catch a bus from Dadonghai. From the East Bus Station near Dadonghai, you can hop on the green or white #102 bus. If you see a double decker blue bus, that also goes to Yalong Bay for 5 kuai.

[edit] Buy

The area produces pearls in abundance and they are sold everywhere. Prices are highly negotiable; overcharging tourists is common. Tour guides get a fat (often 50%!) commission for bringing tourists to pearl shops; try to go without one and beat the price down.

Corner Deli

Located at RaiHai Shopping Park in Dadonghai, the deli offers a wide range of imported food and drinks. For anyone living in China and wanting to take back a few western groceries that can't normally be found, this small deli is worth the trip.

[edit] Eat

There are plenty of good restaurants, including many Sichuan places and some Cantonese.

Tropical fruits are cheap and common.

Hainan is famous throughout China for its coconuts and they are worth trying. Away from the beach, expect to pay about 3 RMB for a coconut. Prices increase as you get closer and you may end up paying about 15 RMB for a coconut on the beach.

• Rainbow Bar & Grill, 99 Yu Ya Road, Dadonghai; telephone: (86) 898 88215700. Western restaurant and sports bar with a wide selection of western favorites such as soups, salads, pasta, tex-mex, sandwiches, burgers and much more. There are usually good specials on draft beers and mixed drinks. Very friendly environment with countless big screen tv's showing all major sporting events around the globe. Also has typical bar games: pool, darts, foozball, etc. Meals range from 20-50RMB.

• Casual Caffe Snack Bar, located at Dadonghai, near Rainbow Bar & Grill, this cafe offers a set breakfast special for 30RMB. For Lunch, the menu includes pastas, pizzas and a "create your own sandwich" menu. The restaurant has a relaxed and intimate feel and a friendly owner known to occasionally give out free samples of wines and desserts.

• Marco Polo, located right beside the Casual Caffe, Marco Polo offers a slightly more upscale take on Italian. The prices here are a bit more expensive (expect somewhere in the range of 50-100RMB for a meal, but the advertise as being the best Italian in Sanya. There is a large, outdoor seating area and the pizzas are highly recommended.

• Mediterranea, [2]. Good and inexpensive. The shisha lounge and relaxed atmosphere make this a perfect escape from Chinese tourists after a long day at the beach. Owned and run by a Mandarin speaking Sicilian chef.

[edit] Drink

There are local pineapple-based beers. Odd, but worth a try.

The usual Chinese lagers are available everywhere too, of course.

The most popular local brew is Anchor (actually Singaporean but produced in Hainan). Ask for the 'red label' or 'old' brew, which is the original.

[edit] Sleep

In town there are lots of small, clean moderately priced (under 100 RMB) hotels.

• Blue Sky Hostel. International hostel in Dadonghai. 1 Lanhai Alley, Haiyun Road. Very clean and reasonably priced. The staff is extremely friendly especially the owner Peter, who speaks English, Russian and other languages. The hostel has many organized trips to offer all over Sanya and Hainan. it provides internet access, laundry service, food, drinks, towels, mats and hats for the beach. It is a block away from the beach, good restaurants are nearby, also a huge fruit stand, a shopping center and bars. It's recently been refurbished: repainted, retiled and with new furniture from Ikea, including soft mattresses, a real luxury in China.

• Eagle Backpackers Hostel. Another hostel in Dadonghai. Run by the charming and helpful Jane. They will help to arrange daytrips, activities, tasty breakfasts and plane tickets. Decent sized twin rooms with facilities are available for 120RMB. Internet, laundry, etc are all available.

Out around Yalong Bay are many Western luxury hotels, of course at high prices.

• Sanya Royal Garden Resort. Four-star resort along Dadonghai Beach. Offers 239 fully furnished rooms with lovely views of the mountains and Dadong Sea. The resort also has a restaurants, cafe, outdoor pool, conference rooms, and business center. Address: Luling Road, Dadonghai Beach.

[edit] Stay safe

There are many water sports activities such as parasailing, diving, and boating being offered by dive operators. If interested and for your own safety, you must be careful to choose the ones who have been professionally trained and certified.

There are a lot of people who prey on the tourists about -- beggars, prostitutes, people with overpriced or phony pearl items.

Hainan is considered an active malaria region. It is recommended to take the usual precautions against malaria.

Watch out especially for pickpockets. They are good at grabbing wallets, phones, bags etc as you get onto buses, and work in pairs. Another trick is to zoom past you on a motorbike and grab your bag.

Be careful in the traffic. Road discipline is non-existent. Cars drive the wrong way down bicycle lanes and motorbikes career up and down sidewalks.

[edit] Get out

You can hire a van [3] with English-speaking guide for trips out of town, for example out to isolated beaches or hill villages.

For smaller groups, consider hiring a taxi by the day.

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