Haikou Travel Guide — The Slow Capital of Hainan Island

Five Officials Temple, museum & the old street. Morning: bus 1 or 11 to Five Officials Temple (¥19–20, 08:00–18:00) — "Hainan's first tower" with the Fusu Spring, the Song edict tablet and bronze bell; the Haikou City Museum sits inside the same gate. At the gate of the compound stands the Hainan Provincial Museum (free, Tue–Sun 09:00–17:00) if you want the 20,000-object version of island history. After lunch, the 20-minute walk to Qilou Old Street : Deshengsha, Zhongshan and Boai roads, then Shuixiangkou Lane for Hainan pickled noodles, beef-belly rice and fried zongzi. Late afternoon: the Clock Tower by the water and a laoban tea house. Evening: the Qilou Snack Street on Datong Road, with Qiong opera on stage.

The volcano & Holiday Beach. Morning: buses 7/16/24 to the Haiyu middle line, then the Xiuying–volcano shuttle to the Leiqiong Haikou Volcanic Geopark (¥45–60, 08:00–18:00) — walk the Fengluling crater rim, through rainforest and old lava channels. Lunch on Shishan slow-raised mutton , the volcanic-soil speciality. Afternoon: back to the coast for Holiday Beach — 6.2 km of coconut palms and white sand; swim, rent a surfboard, then the sunset and the open-air seafood barbecue plaza. If you time it before 20:30, the Impression · Hainan Island show fills the evening.

Five Officials Temple, old street & volcano. Morning: bus 1/11 to Five Officials Temple , the humanist core of the city. Walk 20 minutes to Qilou Old Street for a proper Hainan lunch on Shuixiangkou Lane. Afternoon: buses 7/16/24 to the Xiuying direction, alight at Haipo market on Xiuying Avenue, then the Xiuying–volcano shuttle to the volcanic geopark (¥45–60) — the rift-valley basalt crater and its rainforest, with Shishan mutton for dinner.

Wildlife park & Holiday Beach. Morning: the Dongshan-bound coach from the bus station direct to the Hainan Tropical Wildlife Botanical Garden (¥68, 27 km at Dongshan Lake) — tropical rainforest walk-through with animals in near-wild conditions. Back to the city, then the dedicated line out to Holiday Beach for the sunset: stroll, swim, barbecue plaza. Evening: Impression · Hainan Island before 20:30 if you like.

Mangroves, underwater village & Xixiu Beach. Morning: the Yanfeng minibus from Five Officials Temple (¥5) and a three-wheeler (¥2) to Dongzhai Port Mangrove Nature Reserve (¥25; boat tours ¥55) — China's largest mangrove, the "sea forest" boat to Wild Pineapple Island and the world-rare "underwater village" land-collapse ruins. Then drive back along the coast and walk the jade-green strip of Xixiu Beach — an unhurried last day for reading Haikou's human side.

Haikou's old city. Five Officials Temple and the city museum in the morning, Qilou Old Street and Shuixiangkou Lane at lunch, the Clock Tower and laoban tea in the afternoon, Qilou Snack Street at night.

Volcano & beach. The Leiqiong volcanic geopark at Shishan (¥45–60) and Shishan mutton for lunch, then Holiday Beach for the sunset, surf and barbecue plaza.

Rail south to Sanya. Morning at Wanlvyuan or Hairui Tomb , then the eastern-ring high-speed train from Haikou East (about two hours; second class ¥84) to Sanya. Afternoon on Sanya Bay for the first sunset, dinner on the Dadonghai seafront.

South-coast beaches. Yalong Bay for swimming and snorkelling, or Wuzhizhou Island for the day — the finish of the island loop. Fly out of Sanya Phoenix Airport, or take the train back north. See the full Sanya guide for sights, hotels and tours.