This summer, two groups of our staff and their families went to Hainan Island. Another group is currently travelling to Xinjiang.

Why Hainan?

Doubt 1:It is only a beach destination. I have been to Sanya! We should continue to explore more interesting places！

Answer:Hainan is more than Sanya. We spend every night by the sea in different bays except Haikou, but they are all different. And mind you, Haikou is the capital and well worth a visit!

Doubt 2: Hainan is hot!

Answer: Surprisingly, most of the time it is cooler than popular cities like Beijing, Xian, Yangshuo etc. Especially on the east side of the island it is cool in the mornings and evenings. Sanya and the west side of the island are hot when the sun is shining, but not hotter than Beijing. The average annual temperature on Hainan is 22.5-25.6C.

Doubt 3: But there are somany tourists in Hainan!

Answer: The high season fortourism inHainan is from Oct to March. The rest of the time? Low season. The seashores we stayed at were oppositecrowded. Sanya has more visitors but still, the beach is not crowded at all.Officially the low season is from May to Sep when the entrance fees arelower.

Doubt 4: Is it easy to gothere?

Answer: There are flights to Sanya and Haikou from all major cities in China and you can also fly internationally via connecting flights. According to Xinhuanet, more direct flights to visa-free countries are planned. Hainan already has 57 international flights to countries such as Germany, Malaysia and Thailand, with plans for at least 16 new overseas routes this year. It aims to have at least 100 overseas routes by 2020.

The most appealing: Hainan offersvisa-free accessfor tourists from 59 countries from May 1, 2018. The China visa is a headache for most people and now this is a big encouragementfor people who don’t want to go through it and wish to come to China.

So lets have a look at our trip!
Im going to introduce the hotels very briefly as I dont want to make it too long. All the hotels except Haikou are located by the sea, have free wifi, nice breakfasts and swimming pools. Haikou is right in the city centre and has no swimming pool.

First, our group pictures:

Group A:

Group B:

First overnight stop: Wenchang Seaside
It is about an hours drive from Haikou airport. The beach is a bit remote, not many people there. The water is not very clear and the sand is a bit muddy. Not the ideal place for a beach experience, but we still had some fun spotting some sea creatures during the day and had a very quiet time observing the sea and sky at night. The breeze on the beach is very pleasant.

Wenchang Jinshi International Hotel
The hotel has huge rooms, huge lobby, huge public areas. The facilities are quite new. But as this area has more rain, the bed linen is a bit damp. It is a few minutes walk to the sea and there are some shops nearby.

Huanqiu Harbor

It is about 10 minutes by taxi to Huanqiu Harbour, where we can see a great variety of sea creatures. You can buy the live ones and take them to the restaurants in the area to be cooked. Very impressive seafood feast.

Xinglong Tropical BotanicalGarden

It is about 2.5 hours drive from Wenchang. It is a good place to see many kinds of tropical plants. With the free voucher you get, you can try 4 different drinks in their drink tasting area. You can also make your own chocolate here, which takes about half an hour and costs CNY98. Depending on your interest, you can stay here for 1-2 hours.

Second Overnight Stop, GroupA: Xiangshui Bay (Perfume Bay), Lingshui County

About 3 hours drive from Wenchang in the south. Same quiet and cool as Wenchang, but with better seawater and sand. We saw a big round moon gradually rise out of the sea. There are not many local restaurants here. Some eat at the hotel, some order food delivery (surprise!).

Xiangshui Bay Marriott Resort& Spa

Beautiful architectural design with great views of the many swimming pools and the sea from the lobby. Facilities are less new than Wenchang, but linen is dry (from Xiangshui Bay all hotels have dry linen). Very direct access to the beach with some sunbeds.

Second Overnight Stop, GroupB: Riyue Bay ( Sun and Moon Bay), Wanning County

It is about 2.5 hours drive from Wenchang, half an hour north of Xiangshui Bay.

Compared with Sanyaand other bays in Hainan, Riyue Bay has its own unique features. The seathere is blue and clear, and the beach is white and soft. It has been named "one of the top ten surfing bases in the world" by the fashion magazines. The waves here are very high and suitable for surfing, so it has become the host of some major surfing competitions in Hainan.

Forest Inn Riyue Bay

This is a hotel with a lot of Hainan elements, the service hereis very good. In the evening our children wereorganizedto go to the beach to catch crabs, which was very surprising and funny.

Third Overnight Stop: SanyaBay, Sanya City

This area is much more developed than 10 years ago, very lively and convenient, with lots of restaurants. But it doesnt feel noisy or crowded. It is a 22km long beach with a wide coastal road flanked by many coconut trees. The beach here is the beach we have in mind: very blue sky, clear water, fine sand, very hot during the day but cool in the morning and evening. This is my sons favourite bay. He collected lots of shells there. Despite being so close to the city, we can still see lots of stars at night.

Pullman Oceanview Sanya BayResort & Spa

A very popular hotel with good service. We see quite a few foreigners here. From the many choices of yoghurt and cheese for breakfast we can also conclude that they have no problem catering for foreigners. The facilities are a bit run down and not as clean as other hotels, which is understandable as there are definitely more visitors coming to Sanya.

Fourth Overnight Stop: QiziBay, Changjiang County

Situated on the west coast of Hainan, which is the driest part of Hainan, this bay feels more like a desert area. You can even see cacti on some parts of the shore! The special thing about this bay is that there are a lot of rocks of different shapes on the shore. At the shore where we spent the night, the waves are quite strong and you should not swim there. But some of us found some interesting sea creatures. In the evening, staring at the sea, the rocks and the setting sun, what would come into your mind?
This is the best place for stargazing. It has been many years since I have seen a sky full of shining stars. Nothing on my mind but the wonder of the universe.

New Century Resort Hotel,Qizi Bay

Yes, a resort hotel for relaxation. Grand architecturewith a palace like lobby, numerous big rooms with good facilities. There isnothing around this hotel but you can have much fun in the hotel itself. For thosewith kids, it is a nice place. There are indoor play grounds, outdoor waterparks to play and relax. There is a long wooden walkway connecting the hoteland the seaside. It seems no people other than the hotel guests come to thispart of the seaside.

Dajiao Beach, Changjiang

It is 2km north of New Century Resort hotel. Incontrast, this beach is a postcard beach. Very serene, without waves, clearwater and dry and fine sands. After you walk out of the water and the sands,your feet and shoes get immediately dry and the sands completely get shakenoff. But it is the most desert like place during the whole trip. Very hot.

Fifth Overnight Stop: HaikouCity

It is a very lively city with its own feature. I didn’texpect there to be a whole area consisting of nice old buildings which arestill in use. The Qilou Old Streets(Arcaded Streets) of Haikou, mainly builtduring the early 20th century, was announced as one of the first Top 10 “ChinasFamous Historical and Cultural Streets" in 2009. There are so many nicerestaurants here and we wish we could eat more. You can also find many localproducts to take as a gift for your families and friends. The amount of e-bikeson the street is phenomenal, even more than Zhengzhou City. Haha.

Huangma Holiday South SeasMuseum Hotel (Qilou Branch), Haikou Branch

Located right in the Qilou Old Street area, it has astrong historical feature which brings back to the early 20thcenture. The furniture are made of solid wood which feels cozy and stable.Breakfast is at a nearby restaurant including some local food like porridge andcustard buns.

We also visited several other places on the way, suchas the Boundary Island, Haiwei Wetland Park, Ancient Salt Field, Dongpo Academyand Feng Xiaogang Film Commune which may be of less interest for non-Chinesepeople so I am going to skip the details.

Overall, we enjoyed all the places visited. Actuallythe trip is not enough for us to know Hainan well. There are many other placesthat we have not been to. As told by our local partner, some villages andmountains which are not by the sea are worth visiting and more adventurous. Onthe way from place to place, we had a glimpse of Hainan’s inland landscape,lush and mountainous!

The three of us had the privilege of spending a day exploring the mountains under the guidance of an official from the Changjiang Tourism Committee. Will give a briefing in another article.

By Angie Guo – Charmission Travel