Journey to Nowhere

The recent trip to Sanya, Hainan Province, gave me a good impression about the city and the province. It is swelteringly hot, but air is fresh, there are nice beaches, and sunshine is abundant. Luxury hotels are also abundant. It is said that the Yalong Bay area in Sanya has the largest number of luxury hotels that any place in China has ever seen.

If you want to have a relaxing holiday and are a beach person, Sanya would be a good choice.

And if you go via Hong Kong, I suggest you use the tour package offered by the travel agents here. I joined the tour to Sanya organized by Sun Flower, a major travel agent in Hong Kong. A 4-day 3-night tour, with stay in the five star hotel Kempinski Resort and Spa Sanya, costs only HK$2000. That includes direct fight to Sanya and three-night stay in Kempinski, with some meals and some activities included, and   plenty of free time for tour members to do things on their own. (Well, the Hong Kong tour guide and local tour guide both speak Cantonese – as the tour is for Hong Kong people. If you cannot understand Cantonese, that may be hard.)

Kempinsiki in Sanya is very nice – a huge complex with beautiful gardening and plantation. You are like in a tropical garden. The swimming pool is big and there are kids playroom and pool. Good for family visit. But the food in their restaurants is expensive and tastes bland. That is a big minus point. The hotel has its own private beach but is not suitable for swimming, though you can chill out there. That is another minus point. This is because Kempinski is located in Sanya Bay, closer to city, but  the beach quality is so so. The best beaches are located in Yalong Bay, which is much further away from the city.

If it is a tour, it will usually bring you to some spots for shopping. It is no exception with the Sun Flower tour I joined. But you don’t need to buy if you don’t want to – no one will force you to buy. Some people in the tour just appeared on the first day and last day for coming to and departing Sanya. You don’t need to follow the tour activities if you don’t want to.

Hong Tai is another major travel agent in Hong Kong. It offers similar tours to Sanya, for similar price. But its tour to Sanya has one feature – no arranged activities at all, including the shopping activities, and its choice of hotel (including Marriot) is in Yalong Bay, where the best beach is. The tour is designed to let you enjoy the hotel facilities and the beach. It is like a package but in the form of a tour. It has a tour guide on hand to instruct you about the activities you want to do, and arrange all the flight and hotel stuff for you. So if you like total freedom but a good price, this tour would be the one for you.

If you buy a direct flight ticket to Sanya from Hong Kong, and book the hotel for 3 nights by yourself, it is impossible that you can get the price of HK$2000. Just the return flight ticket alone costs more than HK$3000. Even a package offer with flight and accommodation included cannot offer you such a good price.