Luoyang Departure: Sanya, Wuzhizhou Island and Nanshan, 7 Days 6 Nights

Land at Phoenix airport around midday and take the transfer to the Sanya Bay hotel. Nothing is scheduled for the afternoon: sleep, or sit in the pool. Go out at five, because the Coconut Dream Corridor is across the road, palms running for a dozen kilometres, and at sunset the sun drops straight onto the horizon line. Dinner at First Market, where you buy the seafood and take it to a shop to cook.

Attraction introduction: Sanya sits at the southern tip of Hainan, and from November it enters its best stretch of the year, twenty-six degrees by day with the humidity falling away. The Coconut Dream Corridor follows the Sanya Bay shoreline for more than ten kilometres and is where locals walk in the evening; at low tide the sand runs out a long way.

Tips: Do not rush into the water on day one, your body is still catching up after the flight. Guests generally find the common problem is overeating seafood on the first night and paying for it next morning. In practice dinner is arranged near First Market, where the cooking shops charge by weight, and we only use the ones with prices posted.

Sleep until you wake, then go to Yalong Bay at ten. The sand is fine enough that walking barefoot does not hurt, and the water runs through several shades of green. Lunch at the hotel, then up to the Yalong Bay tropical forest park at three, taking the park bus to the top and walking the cable bridge with the canopy directly under your feet. Back at the hotel by evening for sunset on the sand.

Attraction introduction: Yalong Bay lies southeast of Sanya, its beach about seven kilometres long with fine pale sand and shallow water inside the bay, the best stretch in the city for swimming. The forest park sits on the ridge north of the bay at over four hundred metres, covered in tropical evergreen monsoon forest, with the suspension bridge spanning two ridgelines.

Tips: The bridge is one-way and queues form when it is busy, and anyone uneasy with heights can take the bypass. Guests generally find Yalong Bay is at its best between nine and eleven, with crowds and hard light after that. In practice the morning holds only the beach and the park moves to after three, where the hill is cooler; the park ticket is bought on site at whatever the board shows.

At Houhai pier by eight for the ten-minute crossing. On the island head first for the far side, where there are fewer people and small crabs move across the rocks. Lunch on the island, then either hire the shuttle for a circuit or simply lie on the white sand. Boat back at half past four, and dinner in Houhai village, where the shops run a little cheaper than in town.

Attraction introduction: Wuzhizhou lies north of Haitang Bay and covers 1.48 square kilometres, with coral reef, white sand and a patch of original forest. Being well offshore, the water is clear enough that this is the main snorkelling and diving base for Sanya. The east shore is rock, the west is beach.

Tips: Entry starts at half past eight and closes at four, with boats running as they fill. Guests generally find prices on the island run above the city, so carry your own water and snacks. In practice we take the first sailing out and the half past four return, missing the worst of the crush; the 140 yuan ticket covers the return boat and the 128 yuan island shuttle is optional.

Leave at half past seven for Yazhou, an hour to Nanshan. Take the park train straight to the far end where the Guanyin statue stands a hundred and eight metres tall, and standing at its feet you have to tip your head back until your neck complains. Vegetarian lunch inside the park, then work back with stops at the gate and the golden jade hall. Out at half past three for Tianya Haijiao, where two inscribed boulders stand at the water line and the sand lets you walk right up at low tide.

Attraction introduction: Nanshan occupies the southernmost hills and shore of Hainan, and the Buddhist cultural park built from 1998 holds the sea Guanyin at 108 metres with three faces turned to different directions. Tianya Haijiao sits at the western end of Sanya Bay, where the Qing magistrate Cheng Zhe carved the characters for end of the sky into one boulder and another carries the corner of the sea.

Tips: Nanshan is large, nearly two kilometres from the gate to the statue, so the train is not optional. Guests generally find Tianya Haijiao is worth the hour before sunset, since the rock is too hot to touch at midday. In practice Nanshan takes the morning and Tianya Haijiao starts at half past three; the gate is free from 2026 with a real-name booking and the shuttle is 24 yuan.

Leave at eight and drive north about forty minutes into Lingshui, then cross to Fenjiezhou by boat. The island is small, an hour to walk right round, rock on the north side and sand on the south, with the sea changing colour along a line between them. Back ashore at three, buy two coconuts from a roadside stall and finish them in the shade before moving on.

Attraction introduction: Fenjiezhou lies off the northeast coast of Lingshui county and marks the climatic divide of Hainan, subtropical to the north and tropical to the south, which is where the name comes from. Coral and reef fish surround it, and it was among the first dive sites developed in this stretch.

Tips: Wind here runs stronger than in Sanya, so hats need a chin cord and umbrellas get turned inside out. Guests generally find the northern rock shore is the better half, quieter and clearer. In practice this day sits fifth, when the first two have taken their toll. Boat and gate tickets are bought at the site and the add-ons are left to you rather than bundled.

Morning at Daxiaodongtian, a shore of rock and coconut palm, walking to the inner cave where the sea shows through a gap in the stone. Lunch back in town, then the Haitang Bay duty-free mall in the afternoon, cosmetics and watches on the lower level where the crowd is thickest. Return to Sanya Bay to sleep, with one last dinner by the water.

Attraction introduction: Daxiaodongtian sits at the foot of Nanshan about forty kilometres west of Sanya and was among the first sites opened to visitors on the island, with inscriptions carved into the shore rocks over successive dynasties. The Haitang Bay mall is one of the larger duty-free centres in the country, purchased against an outbound air or rail ticket.

Tips: Duty-free shopping needs outbound documentation, with the identity card matching the flight, and cosmetics are capped by item count. Guests generally find the last two days are when impulse buying happens, followed by repacking problems at the airport. In practice the afternoon holds three hours, enough to browse without losing control; Daxiaodongtian has no gate ticket, only a scan at the entrance.

Nothing scheduled in the morning: a slow breakfast, the swimwear dry and folded into the case. Check out at ten, and the road to the airport runs along Sanya Bay for one last look at the water. A midday flight, and Luoyang in the afternoon, from twenty-six degrees back to ten, so keep a jacket within reach on landing.

Attraction introduction: Phoenix airport sits west of the city right against Sanya Bay, and on take-off the coastline passes the window. The trees along the bay are mostly coconut palm and casuarina, the latter planted last century to hold the sand, now grown into a continuous belt.

Tips: Duty-free goods are collected at the airport, with the counter in terminal three and a queue that needs forty minutes. Guests generally find the last day is where flights get missed, between slow checkouts and traffic. In practice checkout moves to ten and the airport run is budgeted at an hour; if you have bought a lot, reweigh the case the night before.