On our first night, we did what many visitors to the island do, which was to walk along the beach and boardwalk. Dadonghai Bay has a good number of bars along the water. They can be expensive, with a medium-sized beer costing about 30 yuan. They are an excellent location to people watch, and many of the bars have live bands doing covers of western and Chinese pop songs. If you're lucky, they may even ask you to join them on stage to sing a song.
The beach at Dadonghai Bay is a major reason many people come to Sanya. Visitors can swim, play beach volleyball or soccer, parasail or surf. Some areas in the water are roped off for those not confident in their swimming abilities. To get protection from the summer sun, we suggest renting one of the big beach umbrellas, which costs 30 kuai for two people. Also don't forget to bring sun block, as both of us got nasty sunburns.
Being the university students that we are, we looked for budget meals wherever we could. Luckily, Sanya is filled with budget cheap restaurants. Although hygiene standards may not be what some Westerners are used to, the food at most places is delicious and cheap. Rice, a vegetable, a meat dish and a drink for two people can cost about 20 yuan per person. One night we decided to splurge and went to a Brazilian barbecue, where for 68 yuan, one of us ate more meat than any normal human being should ever ingest.
The city is also filled with people trying to sell tropical fruit like mangoes, coconuts and pineapples. We got talked into buying 8 mangoes for 10 yuan, and the fruit ended up being a delicious snack during our time on the island, even attracting a bit of a crowd when one of us used them for a juggling session.
As for getting around, Sanya has a bus system and plentiful taxis. The taxi drivers can be a bit aggressive. They constantly followed us around, honking to get our attention and even driving on the sidewalk to try and offer their services. There are also motorized rickshaws, which we took one day while going to lunch with friends. The driver actually took us around in a circle and we ended up back where we started. After some words from our Chinese friends, he took us to where we needed to go for 3 yuan.
On our second day we went to Yalong Bay, one of the nicest beaches near Sanya. The taxi driver charged only 15 yuan for about a half hour ride, but visitors can also take a bus. Once we arrived, we had to walk through the Sheraton Sanya Resort to get there. The Sheraton is a plush hotel for those with more refined tastes. After some investigating, we found that it costs between 1000-2000 yuan a night for two people and that it books up early for Chinese New Year. We were impressed with its architecture and nicely tendered lawns. It will be awhile before either of us can afford to stay there.
The beach at Yalong Bay is impressive. It was less packed and cleaner than the beach at Dadonghai, although it reputedly fills up fast during peak season. Here, women walk up and down the beach trying to sell pearls, and we couldn't help but get something for our loved ones back home.