The next morning at seven o'clock, we took a bus to Marina Grand Hotel. It should be noted that, except for the small downtown area, other places in Sanya (such as Sanya Bay, Dadonghai, Yalong Bay, etc.) have no bus stops or signs. You need to ask the locals or observe where the buses stop. When the bus comes, you can just ask if it goes to your destination. Isn't this confusing?
Also, I want to mention that when staying in hotels in Sanya, besides the room fee, there is also a government regulation tax or fund, generally around 10 yuan. Sanya has no other industry except tourism. After checking into the hotel and putting our luggage away, we were ready to go to the Forest Park. The hotel staff recommended renting the hotel's private car. This must be carefully considered. The driver said it would cost 200 yuan per day, and we could go wherever we wanted. It sounded reasonable, so we continued to discuss the details to see if there was any catch. In fact, the driver kept introducing us to certain scenic spots, suggesting four of them to visit within one day. They could help buy tickets, which might be cheaper since they are members. Actually, buying tickets through them is cheaper than buying at the gate. However, in the middle of this, the driver earns a high rebate. Each ticket costs almost 150 yuan or more. Visiting these spots in a rush is both tiring and boring. Later, I said that we had already bought our tickets online and didn't plan to visit other spots, just asking him to take us to eat and drive around the seaside. The driver immediately revealed the truth, saying his business couldn't be done because the reason their car rental is cheap is to earn rebates by taking tourists to scenic spots. There are rest areas for them at each scenic spot. So, this matter should be clarified beforehand to avoid disputes. Later, the driver said he could take us to the Forest Park for 80 yuan. I said forget it, we'll take the bus. He then said the lowest price was 60 yuan, and we wouldn't find such a cheap car. But we found a taxi on the side of the road, and the driver asked for 50 yuan, which we bargained down to 40 yuan, asking him to use the meter.
Chatting along the way, I found out this driver was also a tour guide. In Sanya, almost all drivers are guides. They are all members of the scenic spots. They will introduce you to certain spots, how to play, and leave a phone number if you want to rent a car. And they are mostly from outside the province, with Northeasterners being the most, followed by Anhui, Hubei, and Sichuan people. We hardly met anyone from Hainan. Before we got off, the Anhui driver was very sad, saying the meter showed 43 yuan but we only paid 40 yuan, and we had already bought our tickets to the Forest Park, so he couldn't make any profit. I felt sorry for him, haha. I heard that some drivers don't even charge for the ride, just to make the high rebates.
Also, in Sanya, don't use the meter in taxis. The starting price of the meter is 5 yuan, and it's capped at 7 yuan within the city. But we usually go to scenic spots and beaches far away, and using the meter would cost over 50 yuan, which is more expensive. You need to bargain. The principle of bargaining is to do some homework beforehand, understand the distance on the map, and estimate a price. OK.
All scenic spots' entrance fees in Sanya include the sightseeing vehicle fee. The Forest Park is the filming location of "If You Are the One 2". Before the movie was filmed, there were only 1,000 visitors per day, and after the movie, there are 10,000 visitors per day. This is the development brought by movies, haha. The park is full of memorabilia from "If You Are the One 2". The suspension bridge that Shu Qi walked on used to be free, now it's 20 yuan per person, and everyone wants to cross, spending money without hesitation.
Riding the sightseeing vehicle feels dangerous. On narrow mountain roads, the sightseeing vehicles and some private cars all go on the same path, like roller coasters, which is actually quite fun. When the uphill and downhill vehicles meet, people on both sides scream loudly to scare each other, which is quite interesting. At the top, you can see the panoramic view of Sanya, and you can also see the bird's nest where "If You Are the One 2" was filmed. Private villas are not allowed to enter, but we sneaked into the living room with some insiders and took a few pictures, ha ha. Living in the bird's nest is actually quite comfortable, with a swimming pool on the top of the mountain, quite romantic. At one point, there was an online group-buying deal for one night for more than 1,000 yuan, my husband almost booked it, but I stopped him. The original price is definitely over 2,000 yuan, and it's really not necessary to experience. If you are economically well-off, staying here for a month would be more reliable and relaxing. Impressive is that people here are good at doing business. When crossing the suspension bridge or at some beautiful spots, someone will take a picture for every passing tourist. Two minutes later, when you arrive at the next spot, they will swarm up and hand you the printed picture, asking if you want to buy it for 10 yuan. This efficiency and adventurous marketing method is quite good, and 80% of tourists will not care about the 10 yuan and buy it, not wanting to leave their lonely pictures on the display rack abandoned.
There is only one place in this scenic spot selling food. We found it when we were going down the mountain. What normally sells for 5 yuan outside is sold for 20 yuan here. We planned to try it, but at 2 PM, they said they were resting and not making it anymore. We wandered around hungry for half a day, so friends, when you come here, make sure to prepare food and drinks in your bag. When going down the mountain, we found a place for free tea tasting, drank a lot of tea, and Languiren and Micha were very fragrant. The cute little girl pouring tea made us buy two packs of tea. Later, we compared the prices with the supermarket, and they were quite reasonable. Personally, I think the Forest Park is worth visiting. For fans of "If You Are the One 2", choosing one of the spots like Yada or Forest Park is enough. Coming to Sanya is to see the sea, play in the water, relax, and experience the tropical ocean climate. Sightseeing parks and mountains in a rush is absolutely wrong. There are corresponding scenic spots in your own city, so why spend the effort and money? You will find that the regular price of the ticket and the joy brought by the scenic spot are not proportional. If you want to visit scenic spots, make sure to search for group-buying tickets online, ha ha.
When coming out, transfer buses. Buses are generally 1 yuan or 2 yuan, and if it's a tourist bus, it's 5 yuan.
In the evening, we went to Luhuitou Park to see the night view. Sanya is also known as Luhuitou, because there is a love legend about a boy chasing deer here. Since we were on our honeymoon, we went to this park that doesn't levy love tax. The same sightseeing vehicle, not many people, the scenic spots are some Luhuitou sculptures, love stones, and vows monuments, just taking pictures. Seeing the night view of Sanya from the top, and then we went back. Our hotel was not far from the park, but the round trip on a tricycle cost 16 yuan. The regular price of the park ticket is about 60 yuan, and according to me, it should be free.
Finally, we could enjoy the happiness of staying in a sea-view room. The big balcony overlooks the sea, and we swam in the pool in the evening. It was so pleasant. When coming to Sanya, you must stay in a sea-view room to experience it. You really want to have a sea-view room there to stay, on the beach, letting time flow comfortably. But staying in a sea-view room every day is not sensible, because you are always rushing around outside, the sea is right outside, and paying a high price for a sea-view room is purely a waste. This is my advice to friends!
On the third day, we decided to stay in the room until check-out, enjoying the time inside, and meanwhile, booked the return flight online. The return ticket was booked from Sanya to Hangzhou because during the search, we found that the ticket price to Hangzhou was less than 1000 yuan per person, while returning to Shanghai was 1300 yuan. We originally planned to book a one-day tour ticket to Xidao, but there was a problem with the computer payment, so we didn't book it, which was quite regretful. After checking, we found that the beach and seawater on Wuzhizhou Island were the most beautiful, but it was a bit far. Qingdao Liancheng International Tourism reminds everyone to be careful about shopping in scenic spots and travel scams. Xidao was also nice, with more sea entertainment. You must choose one to visit, but in the end, we didn't go.
In the evening, we took a taxi to Dadonghai, a hotel not far from the sea. During dinner, we asked several local passers-by what they usually ate, and she said Northeastern small restaurants or Lanzhou noodles, no wonder there were so many restaurants from outside in Sanya. Except for the downtown area, you couldn't find local snacks. On Dadonghai Food Street, the bad wonton soup was 10 yuan per bowl, all prepared for tourists. After judging, we walked into a lane and found a Northeastern restaurant, eating Northeastern cuisine, ha ha. The price was similar to that in Suzhou, and we found that most of the diners were locals, ha ha. That's right, adapt to local customs, don't get yourself scammed.
To ensure no important details are missed for your reference, I may have written too much, ha ha. Below, I'll only write the travel tips.
Besides Sanya Bay and Dadonghai, the truly beautiful bay is Yalong Bay. Accommodation in Yalong Bay is relatively more expensive, but Yalong Bay is a must-visit free beach. The water here is bluer, and the sand is whiter, completely different from other beaches.
Since we wasted a day, we didn't go to Wuzhizhou Island or Xidao. Therefore, besides playing in the water, we also chose to dive here. We followed the hotel vendor, each costing 220 yuan, taking a speedboat to shore dive on another island, touching a pile of corals. The instructor didn't take me to deeper waters, I mentioned deep diving, but it turned out to be shallow diving within 5 meters. If you know how to swim, breathing through your mouth feels natural and easy. I suggest that if you want to dive, you must go to those two scenic islands because the underwater scenery is more beautiful, which is the key.
For seafood, everyone recommends Chunyuan Night Market. We didn't go there. For convenience, we chose to eat at Coconut Grove Seafood City in Dadonghai, spending 300 yuan. We loved eating coconut rice, it was so delicious. A tiger fish cost 168 yuan, we chose to make it into tofu fish soup, and we ate less than 6 pieces of fish meat. The waitress explained that this fish weighs more than one catty, and after removing the fins, there wasn't much edible part left, ha ha. Just the shellfish and shrimp were fresher and juicier than usual, ha ha.
There is a duty-free shop in the city center, mainly luxury bags, perfumes, clothing, etc. I planned to buy a bottle of Dior perfume, but the small bottles were all sold out, and there wasn't anything else I wanted to buy.
For the return trip, you must go to the supermarket to buy some Hainan specialties, such as coconut powder, coconut/litchi... candy, etc. I think they're pretty good. Bring some candy back to share with colleagues as wedding candy, ha ha. You can check fruits on the plane, and fruit stalls generally pack them for you. I just bought some starfruit, jackfruit, king litchi, plums to eat, and felt there wasn't anything special I wanted to bring, so I didn't arrange for checked baggage. I bought a 15-yuan jackfruit, so much that I couldn't finish it in two days. It's not allowed on the plane, and I threw away two-thirds of it. The jackfruit I ate in Sanya was much better than the one I previously bought in the supermarket.
If you go to Sanya, you must self-tour, don't join a group. Except for going to Xidao or Wuzhizhou Island, suitable for a one-day group tour, you should leave plenty of time for the beach. Don't visit too many scenic spots. Blowing sea breeze, looking at the sea, swimming, surfing are all worthwhile. Don't waste a lot of time rushing around like herding people, wasting a lot of entrance fees, and not enjoying the beauty of the island well.
Sanya, the international tourism island, is not as developed as I imagined. The downtown area is still relatively backward, and people's wages are not high. All the sea-view rooms are hyped up by foreign businessmen, with prices over 30,000 yuan per square meter. There are many outsiders, Northeasterners account for more than half. Almost everyone is a guide, maybe because they see too many tourists, there is no transparent pricing system anymore. So, when self-touring, you must learn about various prices. Life on the island is a bit different from usual, with a sense of isolation. Eating is not very convenient. The days we went, it wasn't too hot, occasionally cloudy during the day, very hot at noon, but cool with sea breeze at night. Once we returned to Suzhou, it was unbearably hot, ha ha.
OK, that's all the memories. I hope it helps friends who are planning to go to Sanya.