Hainan | The Ultimate Guide to a Dreamy Treasure Island Trip
Hey guys! If you haven’t added Hainan to your travel list yet, I’ll be really sad, OK? Sunshine, beaches, coconut groves, delicious food… this place is basically a paradise on earth! Today, I’m bringing you a super detailed Hainan travel guide to make sure your trip here leaves no regrets 😎
🌟Preparation
Documents
ID card, student ID (don’t forget if you have discounts), driver’s license (if you plan to drive).
Clothing
Hainan is warm all year round. If you come in summer, bring light, breathable short sleeves, shorts, and skirts; other seasons only require a light jacket. Beach essentials like swimsuits, sandals, sun hats, and sunglasses are a must.
Skincare & Makeup
High SPF sunscreen, after-sun repair masks, moisturizing skincare products, waterproof makeup.
Medicine
Stomach medicine, cold medicine, motion sickness pills, insect bite remedies.
🚗Transportation Guide
External Transport
● Airplane: You can fly directly to Haikou Meilan International Airport or Sanya Phoenix International Airport. Both airports have many routes and plenty of options.
● Train: If you have time, taking the train to Hainan is also a great experience, as the train boards a ferry to the island.
Internal Transport
● Bus: Most attractions are accessible by bus, which is affordable but can be crowded and less punctual.
● Taxi/Ride-hailing: Convenient for travel, but prices may surge during peak tourist seasons.
● Car Rental: Highly recommend renting a car for self-driving, so you can freely plan your itinerary and stop at any scenic spots you like. Hainan’s coastal roads offer stunning views for drivers.
🏝Recommended Attractions
Sanya
● Yalong Bay: The water here is crystal clear, and the sand is fine and soft, making it a perfect place to enjoy sun and beach. You can join various water activities like diving and jet skiing.
● Wuzhizhou Island: Known as the "Maldives of China," the island is lush with vegetation and has high water visibility, a paradise for diving enthusiasts. You can also take an electric shuttle around the island to admire the beautiful coastline.
● Nanshan Cultural Tourism Zone: Home to the 108-meter-tall Guanyin statue at sea, solemn and majestic. The area also includes Nanshan Temple and other Buddhist cultural sites, offering a rich religious atmosphere.
● Luhuitou Scenic Area: Offers panoramic views of Sanya city and the beautiful coastline, especially stunning at night. Legend has it there’s a romantic love story here too 💕
Haikou
● Qilou Old Street: Filled with Nanyang-style architecture, full of historical charm. Here you can taste various Hainan specialties and experience the vibe of old Haikou.
● Holiday Beach: About 6 kilometers long, with sunshine, sea, sand, and coconut trees creating a picturesque scene. You can swim, surf, and enjoy a leisurely seaside time.
● Hainan Tropical Wildlife Park and Botanical Garden: Unlike other zoos, animals live freely in a natural environment here. Visitors can take sightseeing cars to get close to the animals, feeling like you’re in a wild jungle.
Wanning
● Shimei Bay: Praised by World Tourism Organization experts as the most beautiful undeveloped bay in Hainan. Here you’ll find turquoise sea, silver beaches, swaying coconut groves, and the Phoenix Jiuli Book House, where you can read by the sea and enjoy peaceful moments.
● Sun and Moon Bay: A famous surfing spot in China, hosting various surfing competitions every year. Even if you don’t surf, you can watch pros ride the waves on the beach and feel the passion and energy.
🍱Food Guide
● Hainan Chicken Rice: Tender chicken, fragrant rice, paired with special sauce, an absolute delight.
● Qingbuliang: Coconut milk base with red beans, mung beans, red dates, barley, and other ingredients. It’s a cooling dessert essential for Hainan summers.
● Coconut Chicken: Fresh coconut water as the soup base with tender chicken, resulting in a sweet and tasty broth and delicious chicken.
● Hele Crab: Full of roe and meaty, the crab meat is tender. Whether steamed or made spicy, it’s unforgettable.
● Lingshui Sour Noodles: Thin and long noodles served with dried beef, fish cakes, peanuts, and special sour vinegar sauce, offering a tangy and appetizing flavor.
💰Accommodation Suggestions
Sanya
● Yalong Bay: Mainly high-end hotels with complete facilities, attentive service, and private beaches. Perfect for those seeking a premium vacation experience.
● Dadonghai: Close to the city center with convenient transportation and relatively affordable hotel prices. Plenty of food and shopping options nearby.
● Haitang Bay: A newly developed area with beautiful surroundings, mostly high-end resorts, and the Haitang Bay International Duty-Free City for convenient shopping.
Haikou
● Near Qilou Old Street: Stay in Nanyang-style guesthouses to experience old Haikou’s cultural atmosphere, with easy access to attractions.
● Near Binhai Avenue: Offers beautiful sea views with many malls and restaurants around.
📌Notes
● Hainan has strong UV rays, so be sure to take sun protection measures to avoid sunburn.
● Pay attention to seafood freshness to avoid food poisoning. Choose reputable seafood markets or restaurants.
● Be cautious when swimming at the beach, follow staff instructions, and avoid dangerous areas.
● When buying local specialties, choose official stores to avoid counterfeit products.
Guys, the beauty of Hainan is waiting for you to experience it yourself! Hurry up and pack your bags to start this dreamy island trip 🌊 Remember to like, save, and comment. Feel free to ask me any questions anytime 😘
I hope this guide helps you have a wonderful holiday in Hainan. If you have other needs, like wanting a deeper introduction to certain attractions or adjusting the focus of the guide, just let me know.
A very beautiful zoo with stunning scenery! I highly recommend taking a self-driving tour. Wildlife parks in Jiangsu usually charge 100-200 yuan for a self-driving tour, but this one in Hainan is surprisingly free, only a few yuan for parking.
The Hainan Tropical Wildlife and Botanical Garden has beautiful scenery, with vast green areas that offer a pleasant visual experience. Visitors can drive into different areas to see the larger animals, and there are also walking areas where you can get up close to some of them. Overall, it's a pretty good place.
The zoo is huge. One hour visit via the tram and 2 hours by foot.
I came to Hainan Tropical Wildlife Botanical Garden to see the pandas. Gonggong and Shunshun. They are well cared for. They have their own elephant toys. The nanny is also live streaming. It's just a little far away. It's very convenient to buy tickets on Ctrip. There are also giraffes, flamingos and so on.
Hainan Tropical Wildlife Park is a national 4A-level tourist attraction with the theme of rare wild animals and plants science exposition, protection and breeding, sightseeing, leisure and vacation. It is located in Dongshan Town, Xiuying District, Haikou City, Hainan Province. The following is detailed information about the park: Park planning: Driving area (beast area): tourists can drive or take a sightseeing bus to see elk, wildebeest, zebra, lion, elephant and other animals. Walking area: including Monkey Mountain, Bird Park and other attractions, tourists can observe flamingos, giant pandas, monkeys, black bears and other animals up close.
There are indeed many tourists on May Day. When we took a taxi to a place 500 meters away from the entrance, there was a traffic jam. After getting off the bus, we walked to the gate to queue up for the scenic bus. If we drive a private car, we can also drive our own car directly into the wild animal area. The car tour part is divided into the beast area where you can get off the bus and the beast area where you can’t get off the bus. It takes about an hour to go around. The area is not large and not completely wild, so basically you can see animals, but they are not in their original state. After getting off the bus, we went to the walking tour area. We first had to pass a monkey mountain. Many things could not be brought. Baby strollers, food, backpacks, etc. were placed outside the entrance. After the walking tour area was finished, we came back to get them. No, if we went around, it would take about an hour and a half. The weather in Haikou is also very strange. It was sunny and hot in the morning, but it suddenly rained heavily in the afternoon. It was slow to tour with a baby. In addition, there were many tourists waiting in line during the May Day holiday, and it rained heavily in the afternoon. The total tour took about 4 to 5 hours.
It is still necessary to take the children to take a look. I rented a child's cart at the door, but it was really hot and hot. We drove to that place by ourselves. We walked first and then drove around by ourselves. As a result, because the walk in front was too hot and tired, I didn’t bother to get off the bus when I drove the route behind. It is recommended that the parents behind, if you are driving there, you must choose the self-driving ring first, and then walk
Because I like small animals very much, so as long as I go to a city with a zoo, I don't want to miss this place. As the capital of Hainan Province, I must go to the zoo! It covers an area of more than 1,500 acres, with more than 100 kinds of exotic animals and more than 3,000 heads (individuals); there are 280 families and more than 700 species of rare plants, and the forest coverage rate is as high as 99%. Ancient trees are towering, vines are intertwined; exotic flowers and plants, winding paths are quiet; lakes and green seas, autumn waters are long and colorful; thousands of styles and hundreds of charming postures. The park has a car viewing area and a walking viewing area. This is similar to the Shanghai Wild Animal Park. There is no prison pattern of high walls and iron cages. There is a car tour area. We sit in the car and can watch the animals running freely outside the window like the off-road vehicles crossing the African savannah in the variety show. For example, African lions, Siberian tigers, black bears and other beasts. This allows wild animals to have space to live freely in the tropical jungle to a certain extent, and their wildness can be fully displayed, but the scope is still limited, so it is not as terrible and spectacular as imagined. In the walking area, we saw Asian elephants, giraffes, panda houses, crocodiles, hippos, monitor lizards, pythons, emus, ponies, etc. We also walked into the man-made monkey mountain to watch monkeys playing and strolled in the tropical bird world. Almost every viewing area has food for feeding animals for you to buy.