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Voykit pocket guide · China
Wanning
万宁
Go for 2 nights if you surf or want a resort beach: Riyue Bay for boards, Shimei Bay for hotels. Skip if you want city sights — Wanning is coast, coffee and golf.
Wanning is a small east-coast Hainan city whose tourist life sits in three separate places: the town itself, the surf beach at Riyue Bay, and the resort strips at Shimei Bay and Shenzhou Peninsula, with Xinglong's coffee farms inland. Two nights covers one beach plus Xinglong; three nights lets you add a second bay. Buses between them run infrequently, so plan around the timetable or budget for taxis.
- Country
- China
- Local name
- 万宁
- Best months
- Nov–Apr (dry, 20–28 °C)Nov–Apr (dry, 68–82 °F)
- Avoid
- Aug–Oct (typhoon season), Lunar New Year week (prices peak)
- Stay
- 2–3 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- CNY
- Money
- Alipay and WeChat Pay accept Visa, Mastercard, JCB and Amex cards; single payments over ¥200 carry a fee of about 3% on a foreign card (smaller ones are free), and per-payment and yearly caps apply — check the app. Keep a second way to pay.
- Daily spend
- Budget ¥250–450 excl. bed · Mid ¥500–900 excl. bed · High ¥1,200+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- A roaming eSIM from outside China routes traffic through its home network, so Google, WhatsApp and Instagram work without a VPN — the simplest setup.
- Emergency
- Police 110 · Fire 119 · Ambulance 120
- Plugs
- Types A, C, I · 220 V · 50 Hz · Many sockets take flat two-pin (A), round two-pin (C) and angled three-pin (I) plugs; UK plugs need an adapter.
- Tipping
- Restaurants: No tip; upmarket hotels add 10–15% service.; Taxis and DiDi: No tip.; Tour guides and drivers: Expected on organised tours: about ¥100–200 a day for a guide, ¥50–100 for a driver.; Hotel porters: Not expected; ¥10–20 in luxury hotels.
- Water
- Not for drinking from the tap; bottled water ¥2–5, and kettles and free bottles in hotel rooms. Restaurants serve hot water or tea.
- Toilets
- Public toilets are frequent and free; squat toilets outside hotels and malls. Carry tissues — many have no paper.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Xinglong coffee, cup | ¥25–40 |
| Noodle or rice plate in town | ¥15–35 |
| Seafood dinner, per person | ¥80–200 |
| Surfboard hire, per day | ¥100–150 |
| Kayak, 2 h / full day | ¥150 / ¥300 |
| Golf, non-member round | From ¥800; ¥2,480 at The Dunes (check) |
| Taxi across town | ¥15–40 (check) |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- HAK · Haikou Meilan International
- Has its own railway station; direct high-speed trains to Wanning, about 1 h
- SYX · Sanya Phoenix International
- Rail station at the airport; trains to Wanning, about 40–60 min. Some Shimei Bay and Shenzhou Peninsula resorts run shuttles — book ahead
- BAR · Qionghai-Bo'ao
- Closest airport but small; bus or taxi to Qionghai Railway Station, then train to Wanning
Typical fares
- Train Sanya → Wanning
- about ¥60, 40–60 min (check)
- Taxi Wanning Station → Riyue Bay
- ¥80–120 (check)
- Bus around town
- ¥2–5 (check)
Get around
Public buses reach nearly every sight, but on this coast they are thin: some lines run every 40–60 min and a few only a few times a day. Tourist bus routes link the station, Xinglong and the bays. Taxis and motorised pedicabs fill the gaps; agree the fare first. High-speed trains stop at Wanning Station (close to the centre) and Shenzhou Station (closer to Xinglong and the resorts, fewer trains).
See and do
Known for
- Riyue Bay surfing
- Xinglong coffee
- Shimei Bay and Shenzhou Peninsula resorts
- Dongshan Ridge temples
- Golf
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Lingshui (Clearwater Bay) | High-speed train to Lingshui, then taxi or bus to the bay | 1.5–2 h |
| Sanya | High-speed train from Wanning or Shenzhou station | 40–60 min by train plus transfer |
| Haikou | High-speed train from Wanning station | About 1 h |
| Wenchang | High-speed train north, then local transport | 1.5–2 h |
Sleep
- Wancheng (central Wanning)
- Around Wanning Railway Station and Renmin Middle Road: cheap hotels, local food, buses to the coast. Best for one night with bags.
- Riyue Bay
- Surf hostels and small hotels steps from the break; quiet at night. Best for surfers and budget travellers.
- Shimei Bay
- Two large beach resorts on a quiet bay; restaurants are mostly inside the hotels. Best for couples and families who want a beach base.
- Shenzhou Peninsula
- Resort cluster with the most frequent bus service of the coastal areas; golf and water sports nearby.
- Xinglong
- Inland coffee and hot-spring area, 30–40 min from the coast; cheaper resorts, Southeast Asian food.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | 你好nǐ hǎo |
| Thank you | 谢谢xiè xie |
| How much is it? | 多少钱？duō shao qián |
| I want to rent a surfboard | 我想租冲浪板wǒ xiǎng zū chōng làng bǎn |
| Can I pay by card? | 可以刷卡吗？kě yǐ shuā kǎ ma |
| Where is the bus stop? | 公交车站在哪里？gōng jiāo chē zhàn zài nǎ lǐ |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake and a nod; use surnames with a title; avoid: Hugs and cheek kisses
- Face: Disagree privately and indirectly; avoid: Correcting or embarrassing someone in front of others
- Gifts: Give with two hands; expect the gift to be refused once or twice and opened later; avoid: Clocks, umbrellas, white flowers, sets of four
- Business cards: Present and receive with both hands, read it, keep it on the table; avoid: Writing on it or pocketing it at once
- Queues and crowds: Hold your ground politely in scrums at buses and lifts; avoid: Taking pushing personally
- Temples: Walk clockwise around Tibetan stupas and prayer wheels; remove hats; avoid: Touching statues or photographing where signs forbid
- Politics: Listen; follow your host's lead; avoid: Raising Tibet, Taiwan, Xinjiang, 1989 or the party leadership
- Numbers and colour: Red and 8 are lucky; red envelopes carry money gifts; avoid: Writing names in red; the number 4
Scams and watch-outs
- Typhoons hit Hainan roughly Jul–Oct; check forecasts and keep a buffer day before a flight.
- Buses to the bays are infrequent and some stops are unmarked — hail from the roadside and confirm the last return bus.
- Beach swimming is not lifeguarded everywhere; rip currents at the bays are a real risk.
- Hotel rates jump hard during Lunar New Year and the May and October holidays.
- Some sights close for repairs without notice — check before a long bus ride.
Low street crime; the real risks are rip currents, typhoon-season weather and unmarked bus stops. Keep the 12301 tourist hotline and your hotel's Chinese address on your phone.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Wanning yet. Suggested stay: 2–3 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Riyue Bay surfing
- Xinglong coffee
- Shimei Bay and Shenzhou Peninsula resorts
- Dongshan Ridge temples
- Golf
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Wikivoyage: Wanning, revision 5257002 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5257002
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Wanning万宁
请到这个地址
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in Wanning; most are in Beijing with consulates-general in Guangzhou and Shanghai. Your country's nearest consulate for Hainan is likely in Guangzhou — check before you travel.
Screenshot your hotel's Chinese name and address; English is patchy outside resorts.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/wanning). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.