Haikou
Arcade houses, morning tea, a volcanic field and two buildings by the same star architect — the underrated half of the island.
| Hotels | 2 nights InterContinental on Haidian Island, then 3 nights Holiday Inn Express at Duty Free City |
| Light | Sunrise approx. 06:47 · sunset approx. 17:56 — north side, haze and drizzle possible |
| Reserve | Library (up to 7 days ahead, from midnight) · science museum (up to 3 days ahead, from 9:00) |
| In the city | Didi usually ¥10–30 · volcanic field: book the return trip |
What this section is about
Most Hainan travellers land in Sanya and see Haikou from the airport at most. Yet the capital in the north tells the island's story better than any beach. Here stand the arcade houses emigrants built with money from Southeast Asia, and the teahouses still keep alive the habit they brought back.
Add to that the exiles the empire sent to the end of the world, who brought learning to the island, a volcanic field with villages built entirely of lava right outside the city, and two new buildings by the same star architect. And finally the food: the island's four famous dishes and a night market where half the city eats.
Getting around Haikou
For the first two nights the hotel is on Haidian Island in the east, with the Century Bridge on the doorstep, the old town three kilometres away and the big night market round the corner. Then it's on to the west coast, directly opposite Duty Free City. From there the science museum and the ferry port to the mainland are quickly reached.
Within the city Didi usually costs 10 to 30 yuan. There are many buses; best check routes in Amap. Only the volcanic field and the lava villages need some planning: out there hardly any buses run in the evening, and Didi drivers are scarce too.
- Cloudscape Library: free, but reservation via the WeChat channel — up to seven days ahead; booking for each day opens at midnight, around 500 places a day. Best ask the hotel.
- Science museum: open only Thursday to Sunday. Reservation up to three days ahead, from 9:00 each day — so for 27 November from 24 November.
- For Duty Free City have your passport and flight or ferry ticket ready — nothing is sold without proof of leaving the island.
- Pack light rain protection: in the north it's cooler than Sanya in November, and haze and drizzle are more common.
Turquoise = blue hour · Gold = golden hour · Light = harsh midday light
Day by day
About 100 kilometres. Roughly an hour and a half by Didi, or by Didi to Wenchang station and on by high-speed train — check the timetable on the day.
On foot from the hotel: the illuminated bridge, the skyline behind you, sunset around 17:56.
Just a few minutes from the hotel: qingbuliang, sour noodles, grilled oysters. Around ¥50 per person.
Tea, pineapple buns and small dishes, and nobody expects you to leave. Around ¥10–30.
In Shuixiangkou lane, the food of the old dockworkers — for more than a hundred years.
About 20 minutes by Didi. The Li and the Miao, the Song wreck, the island's history — after three weeks you'll recognise a lot. Closed on Mondays.
Around 600 arcade houses built by returnees from Southeast Asia. Look up: the old company names on the façades.
From Haidian Island to Duty Free City, about half an hour by Didi.
Optional on the way: Su Dongpo's spring and the tomb the Red Guards opened in 1966. The park around the tomb is free.
Opened in 2022, 280,000 square metres — according to the operator the largest single duty-free store in the world. Bring passport and departure ticket.
Nearby, the ferries across the Qiongzhou Strait to Guangdong depart.
Around the crater of Saddle Mountain, then down to the crater floor. Go early, before the haze sets in.
Lanes on solidified lava, dry-stone walls, a watchtower with bullet holes.
Rural, hardly any buses in the evening — book Didi in good time.
The silver spiral, opened in 2026. Take the lift to the top, then walk down the ramp. Booking from 24 November.
Not a single straight line. Free, book up to 7 days ahead from midnight — best via the hotel.
A hundred metres from the library: golden and blue hour by the water.