Hǎikǒu Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Land

Bus

The new south bus station ; 6680 3800; Nanhai Lu) is the one you’re most likely to use. It’s home to most of the combination ferry/sleeper buses going to Guǎngzhōu and other mainland destinations, though you can also take the ferry to Hǎi’ān and pick up a bus there. It is also the place for buses to Sānyà (with/without air-con Y79/49, three hours) and Wǔzhǐshān (with/without air-con Y66/46, four to five hours, 223km, five daily from 8.15am to 3.15pm) and pretty much everywhere else. The latter two go via the eastern expressway.

Train

A relatively new and relatively comfortable train runs from Hǎikǒu to Guǎngzhōu (seat/hard sleeper Y138/265, 12 hours), via Sānshuǐ, Zhàoqìng, Màomíng and Zhànjiāng. For the trip across the Qiongzhou Strait to Hǎi’ān the whole train is bunted onto a ferry. It departs from Hǎikǒu daily at 6.48pm, and tickets can be bought at the train station, at the dedicated train counter in the China Southern Airlines (6666 8355; Haixiu Dadao) office, or most conveniently at (yes, you guessed it) the English-speaking CTS office (Zhōngguó Lǚxíngshè; 6530 6003; cnr Haifu Dadao & Haixiu Dadao).

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Boat

Hǎikǒu has two harbours, but most departures are from Xiùyīng Passenger Ferry Terminal (6866 1943). Bus 3 goes to Xiuying Harbour. The other harbour is Xīngǎng, served by minibuses 212 and 218 (or buses 14 and 22) from the stop opposite Hǎikǒu Bīnguǎn. A taxi costs about Y20.

Ferries depart from Xiùyīng roughly every 1½ hours for Hǎi’ān (Y32, 1½ hours) on Léizhōu Peninsula, where there are bus connections to just about everywhere, including Zhànjiāng and Guǎngzhōu. Boats leave at 4pm Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday for Guǎngzhōu (Y110 to Y450, 20 to 25 hours).

There are daily overnight boats from Xīngǎng to Běihǎi in Guǎngxī, departing at 6pm. Tickets cost from Y90 (seat) to Y230 (cabin).

Tickets can be arranged and departure times checked at the ever-useful CTS office (Zhōngguó Lǚxíngshè; 6530 6003; cnr Haifu Dadao & Haixiu Dadao). If you’ve got time, a sense of adventure and a desire to travel like few others do, it’s possible to take a boat from Hainan Dao to Vietnam. Boats are scheduled to leave Xiuying Port at 7pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but departures are actually less regular so check it with the CTS office in Haikou when you get there. If the boat is running, it’s supposed to take 13 hours and cost Y200/133 for a three/six-person cabin.

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Air

Hǎikǒu’s Měilán airport (www.mlairport.com) is well connected to most of China’s major cities. For English-speaking advice, head to the CTS office (Zhōngguó Lǚxíngshè; 6530 6003; cnr Haifu Dadao & Haixiu Dadao). Alternatively, the China Southern Airlines (6666 8355; Haixiu Dadao) office on the ground floor of Hǎinán Mínháng Bīnguǎn can book flights on most airlines.

Low-season, one-way fares are cheap, and include Běijīng (Y1010), Guǎngzhōu (Y350), Kūnmíng (Y500), Nánníng (Y610), Shànghǎi (Y790) and Shēnzhèn (Y540). Prices to major cities can double in peak season.

There are also flights to Hong Kong, Bangkok, Kaohsiung (Taiwan), Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Macau.

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