Sanya's beaches each have a different character, and choosing where to stay matters as much as choosing when to go.
Yalong Bay is the most upmarket — a 7.5-kilometre crescent of fine white sand 25 kilometres east of the city, ringed by international resort hotels. The water is the clearest of any beach in the area.
Dadonghai, 2 km from downtown, is the most central beach. It is busy, bordered by a tight strip of hotels and restaurants, and the easiest beach to reach if you are basing yourself in town.
Sanya Bay is the longest beach, stretching 22 km along the city's western edge. Less developed than Yalong, with a coconut-palm promenade that is the city's main evening walking route.
Haitang Bay, 35 km east, is the newest resort strip — sprawling, dominated by very large international hotels, and home to Atlantis Sanya and the Sanya International Duty Free Mall.
For diving and snorkelling, take the ferry from Haitang Bay out to Wuzhizhou Island, where the reefs are in better shape than on the developed mainland coast.