Hainan Island Coastal Loop
A coastal tourist highway around Hainan Island, linking Haikou, Wenchang, Boao, Wanning, Sanya, and the Qizi Bay and Yulin Zhou sites on the west coast.
The Hainan Coastal Loop Tourist Highway is about 988 kilometers long. It follows the Hainan coastline and connects 12 coastal cities and counties. The whole route was completed around 2024 and has many viewing platforms and service stations. It runs alongside the Hainan Ring Expressway and the Hainan Ring High-Speed Railway, so you can drive slowly around the island or travel by high-speed rail in sections.
The east coast route starts in Haikou and passes the Dongzhai Harbor mangroves to Wenchang, with its space launch site, Tonggu Ridge and Stone Park. It continues south along the coast to Boao in Qionghai, with Yudai Beach, then to Wanning, with Shimei Bay and Riyue Bay for surfing. Pass the Fenjiezhou Island and Qingshui Bay in Lingshui, and reach Sanya, with Yalong Bay, Wuzhizhou Island and Tianya Haijiao. The west coast is quieter and more natural. It passes Longmu Bay, Yinggehai and Jianfengling in Ledong, Yulin Zhou in Dongfang with its black-faced spoonbill reserve, Qizi Bay in Changjiang, and the Longmen Surf in Danzhou, before returning to Haikou via Lingao Cape.
Allow 6–10 days. The east coast route is well developed, with plenty of hotels. The west coast is more natural but has fewer dining and accommodation options. Winter (November to March) is peak season, and hotel rooms in Sanya are expensive. In summer, sections of coast may close when typhoons arrive. Some parts of the coastal highway share lanes with city roads and are busy at weekends. The inland Wuzhi Mountain and the Baoting rainforest can be added as a middle-route extension.