Hi all,
Just wondering if anyone has visited Hainan since the Visa changes? We are travelling there in September and the information online has been a bit confusing…
Is it true you have to book a tour with a Hainan tour group before you travel to be exempt from paying the Visa? If so, who did you book through and did you book all hotels and transfers?
Thanks:)
And the right photos etc otherwise you won't even get on the plane.
Also be prepared to spend an hour in line for every 10 Aussies ahead of you, because they are sloooooowwwwwwww in processing VoA
They probably pack goods for Slapaz when not processing VoA. :)
Isn't that where chickens and rice met?
Hainanese Chicken Rice is actually Malaysian/Singaporean whereas the one in Hainan is Wenchang Chicken. Wenchang Chicken is really tough, at least the few times we had it.
It's a tough country for chickens.
It looks like you need to get a local (Hainan Island) travel agency to organise your stay in Hainan, more details here: https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowTopic-g297423-i8931-k1147…
That's the visa free entry deal. The older VoA deal is still available.
We flew into haikou last month. In Sydney the check-in person requested evidence of passport sized photo and yuan (China currency) for voa. Because we didn't apply for visa as we heard it is cheaper to do it in haikou.
When we arrived they asked and verified if we were part of a tour group which we weren't. They rang the hotel where we stayed and in the end as long as we didn't go out of haikou or sanya didnt have to pay visa fee.
Be prepared. Hardly any one speaks english.even the taxi cabs don't. Its frustrating. So be prepared with a translating app. We couldn't order food because it's all in chinese. Most people travel with their phone on Wi-Fi. But we couldn't connect because Macias KFC n pizza hut requires a phone number to validate the connection.
None the less would do it again in a heart beat. Ask me more if you need to know my experience
Was there any fees for visa at all when you arrive at Haikou and how much is the fee in CNY? How did you get from Haikou to Sanya (was it by high speed train or taxi)?
No, you can be an indie traveller and pay the visa fee on arrival. Be prepared with the right cash.