Sanya Transportation

As a top tourist destination in China, the transportation in Sanya is convenient. You can get to Sanya by air, train, long-distance bus or ship.

How to Get to Sanya

By Air

At present, flights from all over China to Sanya are very frequently, with more than 200 direct flight routes covering more than 70 cities nationwide. Except Beijing, Shanghai and other first-tier cities, provincial capitals and popular tourist cities all have flights to Sanya, which can be easily reached.

In addition, Sanya phoenix international airport also opened more than 50 international routes. It includes international air routes from Sanya to Moscow and Seoul specially opened for tourists from the north, as well as direct flights to Da Nang of Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and other southeast Asia travel routes, which take no more than two or three hours.

Sanya Phoenix International Airport(三亚凤凰国际机场)
Sanya phoenix international airport is the only civil aviation airport in Sanya. Located 11 kilometers northwest of Sanya city at the southernmost tip of China, it is surrounded by scenic spots and beautiful scenery. With beautiful Sanya bay and Luhuitou park in the east, famous Tianya and Hiajiao in the west, Fenghuang Mountain in the north and South China Sea in the south, Sanya phoenix international airport is a modern 4E civil airport. 
Address: Jichang Road, Tianya Dsitrict, Sanya City三亚市天涯区机场路
Tel: 0898-88289390/0898-88289389

Transportation from Airport to the Downtown

1. Airport Bus 

Sanya phoenix international airport is not far from the downtown of Sanya city, only a 15-minute drive away. Sanya doesn't have a subway, so taking the airport bus is the most convenient choice. The airport bus is divided into two lines, one from the airport to Dadonghai sea, no stopping on the road, the ticket fare is 25 yuan. The bus runs from 09:00 to the end of the last flight, departing every 15 minutes(It leaves every hour after 24:00). During rush hours, the airport bus leaves once full up. The other is from the airport to Sanya bay, the running time and price is similar to the Dadonghai.

2. City-bus

The cheapest way to get from the airport to downtown is bus. No.8 bus runs from 06:00 to 22:30 every day. It goes from the airport to Luhuitou square(near Dadonghai) via Sanya bay and downtown. The whole journey costs 5 yuan. You can take the bus on the first floor, directly opposite the C door of the arrival hall.

3. Taxi

You can wait the taxi at the No.3 door of arrival hall of the domestic terminal building(the first floor) and the right side of the arrival hall exit of the international terminal building. Departing from the airport, it costs about 40-60 yuan one way to downtown, 60-80 yuan to Dadonghai and 100-120 yuan to Yalong bay. Many taxis in Sanya don't use meters, you can ask the driver before getting on the taxi.

Note: 

• According to the "new regulations against passengers carrying liquids on domestic flights", passengers on domestic flights are prohibited from carrying liquids with them, but they can check them in. Passengers carrying liquids such as coconut and mineral water, must check them in accordance with the regulations and cannot bring them on board.
• In the payment, you must check the price, there is no fuel charge for taxis in Sanya. Some drivers may charge one more 2 yuan fuel fee, you can be refused directly.

By Train

There is only one daily train from China's interior to Sanya, starting at Beijing west railway station and ending at Sanya railway station. The journey takes 39 hours and stops in Hebei, Zhengzhou, Hunan, Guangdong and other key provinces. The train from Beijing to Sanya is also the only cross-sea train in China. The train is loaded with Yuehai railway ferries in sections in the Qiongzhou strait and continues to run after it arrives in Haikou. Many train fans even buy tickets for this section of the train in order to see the cross-sea train.

The Hainan circular express railway, which was officially opened at the end of 2015, has further narrowed the distance between Hainan cities. The route is divided into two lines, starting from Haikou and driving in both east and west directions to Sanya. The route connects Wanning, Boao and many other emerging cities in Hainan province. It also reduced the time from Haikou to Sanya from nearly 4 hours to more than 1 hour.

Main Railway Stations in Sanya

1. Sanya Railway Station(三亚站)
Sanya station, located in Jiyang district of Sanya city, is a second-class station under the jurisdiction of China Railway Guangzhou Bureau Group co., LTD. It is the starting and ending station of Yuehai railway, Hainan east ring railway and Hainan west ring railway.
Address: No.10, Yuxiu Road, Jiyang District, Sanya City三亚市吉阳区育秀路10号
Tel: 0898-31887222

2. Yalong Bay Railway Station(亚龙湾站)
Yalong bay station is a passenger station of Hainan east ring railway. It is about 12 kilometers away from the main urban area of Sanya, connected to Sanya station and Lingshui station. It is called the east gate of Sanya.
Address: Jiyang Avenue, Jiyang District, Sanya City三亚市吉阳区吉阳大道
Tel: 0898-95105105

3. Yazhou Railway Station(崖州站)
Yazhou station, located in Yazhou district of Sanya city, Hainan province, is a railway station on Hainan Roundabout Railway and Hainan West Ring Railway. The station is about 1.5 km away from the center of Yazhou district. It is 25.8 km from Ledong station in the northwest and 28.1 km from phoenix airport station in the southeast.

4. Phoenix Airport Railway Station(凤凰机场站)
Phoenix airport station is located in Tianya district of Sanya city, about 14 km away from the downtown area of Sanya. The station is located about 180 meters to the north of Fenghuang airport terminal, 28.1 km from Yazhou station in the northwest and 9.3 km from Sanya station in the southeast. 
Address: Jichang Road, Tianya District, Sanya City三亚市天涯区机场路
Tel: 0898-95105105/0898-88289389

Trains From Beijing to Sanya
Departure Station: Beijing West Railway Station
Arrival Station: Sanya Railway Station
Departure Time: 17:54
Duration: about 38.5 hours
Price: 436 yuan(hard seat/no seat), 733 yuan(hard sleeper), 1254 yuan(soft sleeper), 2192 yuan(Advanced soft sleeper)

Trains From Meilan District of Haikou to Sanya
Departure Station: Meilan Railway Station
Arrival Station: Sanya Railway Station
Departure Time: 07:20-22:27(a total of 32 daily trains)
Duration: about 1.5 hours
Price: 95 yuan(second class/no seat), 152 yuan(first class)

Tip: 

• During the peak seasons of autumn and winter and golden week, the air ticket to Sanya is hard to get. Tourists can choose to fly to Haikou Meilan airport first, then take bullet train to Sanya railway station or Yalong bay railway station.
• There is a train station at Haikou Meilan airport, so you don't have to go to Haikou Railway station for taking train. When buying train tickets to Sanya, just buy the "Meilan-Sanya" section.

By Long-distance Bus

Hainan's expressways began to construct from Sanya and Haikou, forming a ring-type along the coast, connecting Lingshui, Wanning, Qionghai and other cities and counties. You can take a bus or car from other counties and cities in Hainan province to Sanya. Sanya's main highways include roundabout expressway and Tongsan expressway and so on. The long-distance bus from Sanya to Haikou takes 3 hours and 20 minutes. The passenger station with large flow in Sanya is the Sanya bus station.

Sanya Bus Station(三亚汽车总站)
Located in the center of Sanya, Sanya bus station has convenient transportation. Every day, there are long-distance buses to various counties and cities of the province.
Address: No.425, Jiefang Road, Tianya District, Sanya City三亚市天涯区解放路425号
Tel: 0898-88252656

By Sea

Sanya is a coastal city, so since ancient times, the local people live on fishing and shipping. The port is naturally a big window of Sanya, Yulin port to Sanya port has witnessed the development of shipping in Sanya. 

Sanya phoenix island international cruise port(三亚凤凰岛国际邮轮港) was formally completed and opened in 2007, Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Star Cruise and other world-renowned large cruise companies have chosen Sanya phoenix island international cruise port, opened many routes passing through Sanya. So far, it has received more than 380 voyages of international cruise ships. The beauty of Sanya originates from the ocean, and taking a cruise into Sanya is a most comfortable and cozy way to travel. Italian Costa cruises company, Hong Kong star cruises group opened non-scheduled voyages of Hong Kong-sanya-Vietnam, stopping at sanya phoenix island cruise port. 

Cruise ships are arranged with fixed itineraries, but the departure time is not fixed. The general schedule is about 5 days, and you may only stay for half a day in Sanya, so please choose according to your own situation. If you are interested, you can go to the official website to check the departure time of the route. There are also many agent websites where you can reserve the ship ticket.

How to Get Around Sanya

Public Traffic System

Sanya's public transportation system can meet the basic needs of tourists. Because of the city's proximity to the sea, subways cannot be built. So a dozen bus lines and a few tourist lines are the entirety of the local bus system.

1. City bus

There are ten something bus lines and several tourist bus lines in Sanya, the operation time is basically from 06:00 to 22:00, some lines will be closed in advance. So tourists need to keep an eye on the stop board information, so as not to miss the last bus. Bus fare ranges from 1 to 4 yuan. The route through the city is less spaced and more frequent. For some suburban lines, departures interval is half an hour apart and waiting time is longer.

2. Tourist Bus

There are currently three Yalong bay tourist routes. The tour line runs from 6:40 to 19:40 every day, leaving every 15 minutes. The ticket price ranges from 10 to 20 yuan. The traffic condition of tourist bus is better, it is coach or double deck sightseeing bus. The stations that stop on the road are also not as frequent as city bus, very convenient.

Tips: 

• If you don't want to spend too much time on the road, you'd better consider local taxis and private cars in Sanya first. It will be more expensive than taking the bus, but it will save a lot of time for sightseeing. Drivers are basically on call and you don't have to endure the pain of finding a bus stop in the hot sun.
• The bus in Sanya usually turns on the air conditioner. If it is a long journey, you'd better take a thin coat to avoid wind chill.
• There are free buses to and fro Tianya Haijiao and Dongtian park(Big and Small Dongtian), no stopping on the road. Tourist can get on the free bus at either of these scenic spots, but long queues may be expected due to the large visitors flow rate. 

Taxi

The yellow taxis in Sanya drive only in the downtown area and the blue ones can go to some distant scenic spots. The taxi fare starts at 8 yuan, 2 yuan per kilometer after 2 kilometers, when over 10 kilometers beyond the downtown area, you should pay no-occupancy surcharge for a return trip(1 yuan per kilometer will) and waiting fee is 2 yuan per 5 minutes. 

Reference Price
In the downtown: 8-10 yuan
Downtown to Tianya Haijiao: 65-80 yuan
Downtown to Dadonghai: 10-15 yuan
Downtown to Yalong Bay: 70-85 yuan
Downtown to Wuzhizhou Island: about 100 yuan

Train

Four railway stations in Sanya (including Sanya Railway Station, Yalong Bay Railway Station, Yaazhou Railway Station and Phoenix Airport Railway Station) are all on the Hainan Roundabout Railway. Therefore, there are trains from Sanya station to other three stations. It is convenient and swift to take train, what's more, taking train spends little money and time. 

Bicycle

Visitors can enjoy the charming scenery of Sanya by riding single and tandem bicycles. Many hotels and travel companies in Sanya have bike rental services, with prices ranging from 20 yuan to 100 yuan.

Reference Price(It's cheaper to rent for half a day than by the hour)
Sanya Bay(tandem bicycle): 20 yuan/hour(hotel price), 10 yuan/hour(family inn price)
Yalong Bay(tandem bicycle): 60 yuan/hour(holiday inn price); Some hotels offer free bicycle rental service.

Hainan Longxing Tianxia Bicycle Rental Service Center(海南龙行天下自行车租赁服务中心)
Address: No.741, Jiefang 4 Road, Sanya City三亚市区解放四路741号
Tel: 0898-88281559/18976285602

Yalong bay No.5 resort villa hotel bicycle rental service department(亚龙湾五号度假别墅酒店自行车租赁服务部)
Address: Yalong Bay National Resort, Sanya City三亚亚龙湾国家旅游度假区
Tel: 0898-88559999