⚠️ Timetables, prices and access conditions may change without notice, for reasons beyond our control (season, weather, decisions by operators, venues or local authorities). Before every trip, check the information with the relevant authorities and service providers.
The official Chinese railway website, in English, for booking the high-speed train that loops around the island (Haikou–Sanya in 1 h 20 to 1 h 30 via the east). Tickets in your name, with your passport.
Official website12306.cn→Official page on renting a car and driving in Hainan: temporary licence, rental companies, toll-free expressways.
Official websitevisitsanya.com→Self-drive rental (from about 350 CNY a day, with deposit), help with the temporary licence, or a car with driver and tailor-made tours.
Official websitesunnyhainan.com→Major Chinese rental company in Sanya and Haikou, with an English app; you need a temporary Chinese licence and often a Chinese mobile number or an Alipay/WeChat account.
Official website1hai.cn→International driving permits are not recognised in China: to drive, you need a temporary licence, applied for online (with an official translation of your licence) and collected from the traffic police in Haikou or Sanya. Most travellers do without: the high-speed train loops around the island, taxis and ride-hailing (DiDi app) are cheap, and agencies offer cars with drivers. The island’s expressways are toll-free.
Header photo: Sanya Bay seafront — Anna Frodesiak, CC0 / Wikimedia Commons