scubish.com: Scuba diving Sanya - China

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

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 Russian on shop signs. Perhaps it is a popular escape from their winters?

Get in

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.

By bus
You can get to Sanya by bus from Haikou, about 100 RMB and a few hours.

By Train

Since April 04 2007 you can take the train T201 from Beijing to Sanya. 588 rmb (hard sleep), 35h journey. Leave beijing West Station at 6.10pm and reach Sanya 5.06am one and half days later.

Get around

Many people stay in beach areas with more-or-less everything within walking distance.

Taxis are cheap and plentiful.

You can hire a van with English-speaking guide for longer trips, out to isolated beaches or hill villages.

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.

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."

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 Totum pole, and a food court that serves different meat/fish kabobs. The admission is 33 kuai, more that its worth.
The Shell Museum contains several nice shells, most of which you can eventually see in the ocean, or in the souviner shops. Don't bother viewing this Museum UNLESS your planing 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...