Riyue Bay Surf Resort: Plan a Trip to the Hainan Wave Pool in China

Planning a surf trip to Hainan? Here is what you need to know to book the PerfectSwell wave pool in China.

The tropical island of Hainan has long been an underrated surf destination in Asia. Its coastal stretch between Sanya (三亞）and Riyue Bay（日月灣）in Wanning boasts several surf spots and, with the addition of the new world-class Perfect Swell wave pool in Riyue Bay, has begun to attract surfers from all around the world.

When the wave pool in Hainan offically launched at the end of 2025, we scoured the web looking for information on how to book, how to get there, wave levels and where to stay…and I was, quite frankly, stuck. And that’s with zero language barrier as I can speak and read Chinese!

Fast forward a few months on, I managed to navigate the somewhat confusing process of booking a stay at the Riyue Bay Surf Resort – read on for everything you need to know to visit the Riyue Bay wave pool in Hainan!

Important things to know before visiting Hainan in China

✈️ To get to Riyue Bay in Hainan you’ll want to fly into Sanya International Airport (SYX) or Haikou Airport (HAK). You can fly direct to Sanya from Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok or some Russian cities, otherwise there are connecting flights via most major Chinese cities or Hong Kong. We flew with Hong Kong Airlines there and Hong Kong Express back – the flight time was just over an hour each way.

There is no major difference between Sanya Airport or Haikou Airport – the former gets you to Riyue Bay in about 90 minutes by car, or the journey from Haikou Airport to Riyue Bay is a little closer to 2 hours and 15 minutes.

🛂 You may be eligible for visa-free entry into China. Tourists from 59 countries including Australia, France, Germany, Norway, New Zealand and more can receive a visa waiver to visit Hainan for up to 30 days for the purposes of business, tourism, family visit and transit. This visa waiver policy may change without warning, so it’s always best to double check to make sure you are all set on the visa front! You will need to complete the China pre-arrival card before your scheduled arrival.

🚗To get from the airport to Riyue Bay Surf Resport I highly recommend pre-booking your airport transfer so you aren’t left dealing with touts on arrival. We booked a private driver and vehicle here to pick us up from the airport and drive us to the Hainan surf resort, and used the same service for the airport drop off – both times, the driver was punctual and the vehicles were spotless. Click here to book a private Hainan airport transfer ahead of time!

💱 The currency is the Chinese Renminbi. The exchange rate is approximately US$1 to 7 RMB. Cash is now pretty much obsolete in China, so I highly recommend setting up Alipay or WeChat payment (download the app, and then “bind” your international credit card to it). This is a fairly detailed guide on how to set up WeChat Pay. With the WeChat app you can easily order food delivery or order a DidiTaxi (the Uber equivalent in China) – you can also book your Riyue Bay Surf Resort hotel and wave pool tickets – more on that later.

💬 English comprehension in Hainan is not as high as in cities like Beijing or Shanghai, but you can still get by with a translation app. Many signs and information about pricing/timing at the wave pool in Riyue Bay are in Chinese and English, however you may find that not many of the surf coaches will be able to converse fluently in English.

🚗 Get around Hainan by taxis and ridesharing. Uber China was acquired by Didi Chuxing, a local taxi and ridesharing app. If you are staying at the Riyue Bay Surf Resort, you can walk to the beach in less than 10 minutes – we did not venture much further beyond the resort itself as there were plenty of restaurant options on-site.

📱 Stay connected and buy a local SIM card or rent a WiFi device at the airport, but remember – Google services, Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp are blocked in China so you will need to use a VPN service if you want to access any of those apps. Make sure you subscribe to the VPN before you arrive in China as the majority of the VPN websites are also inaccessible from within the country. You can pre-purchase a China eSIM here.

🌤️ Hainan is essentially a tropical island – the best time to visit Sanya or Riyue Bay in Wanning is from about September to April, however you can expect warm days throughout the year. That being said, you’ll want to make sure that you avoid traveling around China during the Chinese New Year (typically in February but varies each year according to the lunar calendar), around Labour Day on May 1st and the Golden Week holiday during the first week of October each year. Traveling in China during these national holidays is guaranteed to be crowded and more expensive.

Where to stay for the wave pool in China

This was one of the things that really tripped me up when booking our surf trip to Hainan. It can be confusing booking a Hainan wave pool trip because the location is referred to by a few different names…the Sanya wave pool, the PerfectSwell China wave pool, Surfland, Riyue Bay Surf Resort (or 日月灣中旅逐浪度假區) , Riyue Bay wave pool and so on. Let me break it down for you!

The wave pool itself, or “Surfland”, is located in a surf resort called the Riyue Bay Surf Resort. This resort is located in Wanning, a city in Hainan about 90 minutes away from Sanya. There are 2 boutique hotels and a number of excellent restaurants and cafes located within the surf resort.

The first boutique hotel is named Uechao Hotel or 樾潮酒店. This lovely property offers a pool, rooms with balconies or a courtyard, 24-hour gym, on-site restaurant and laundry facilities. Because it is located within the surf resort you are a literal 5-minute walk from the wave pool. We loved the spacious and modern rooms with all the amenities you could ask for, and were able to watch surfers on the wave pool from our private balcony. Our room rate also included breakfast for 2 and 20% off wave pool tickets.

There are a few different ways to book this Hainan surf hotel – you can book Uechao Hotel via Trip.com, book Uechao Hotel via Booking.com, or – what I highly recommend is booking directly via the WeChat mini program.

In order to do that, you should click on Discover –> Mini Programs or 迷你程序 and 1) search for “中旅逐度假区” or 2) Discover –> Scan the QR code above within WeChat to load the mini program. You can then click on 酒店预订 to enter your dates and check availability and rates.

Tip: to change the language of the mini program, click the 3 dots in the top right corner and click on “Translate” and then “Change Language” to English.

The second hotel at the Riyue Bay Surf Resort is Yuyue Atria Hotel or 遇悦艺术酒店. The only difference between the 2 hotels is that the latter is more upscale and has a higher price point – for those looking for a more peaceful and quiet luxury hotel I would recommend booking here instead of Uechao. You can book via the same links above as this property doesn’t seem to have its own listing yet on third party booking websites, or via the WeChat mini program: book via Trip.com, book via Booking.com.

Do you have to stay at Riyue Bay Surf Resort to visit the wave pool? No – but I highly recommend it because it is so easy to walk down for your surf session and in-house guests get slightly discounted wave pool tickets. It is also easier to join the night surfing sessions!

What to know about the Hainan wave pool in China

China’s first artificial wave pool at Riyue Bay Surf Resort is powered by PerfectSwell technology developed in the U.S. The surf calendar changes from month to month (the calendar is published via the WeChat mini program) and allows almost all level of surfers to surf world-class waves.

Update: there is a chance that the wave pool may undergo maintenance for a few weeks beginning the end of August 2026 – I will update once the new calendar comes out!

In general, public surf sessions range from the beginner-friendly B2 level to the more advanced A2 level and begin at 8:30 AM in the morning, with the final session beginning at 8:30 PM (finishing at 10 PM). The different levels are B2 and B4 for beginners, I1 and I2 for intermediate surfers, and A1 and A2 for advanced surfers, and each session is limited to a maximum of 18-20 people (not including in-water coaches).

The wave direction for B4-A2 waves changes on a daily basis – on one day all the waves will be a left-hander, and the next day they will all be right-handers and so on.

Pro-level waves are also available if you book out the entire session, otherwise they might be put on the schedule once or twice a month – in July there were no scheduled pro sessions. Generally, the more advanced wave sessions will be held in the early morning and/or late evenings.

🌊 Ready to book your visit to the Hainan wave pool in China? Stay at Uechao Hotel at the Riyue Bay Surf Resort and book your wave pool entry tickets here.

Surf sessions last 90 minutes but consist of approximately 55 minutes to 1 hour of actual surf time. For example, if you are booked into the 9:30 AM session you will only be allowed to enter the water at 10 AM as the first 30 minutes is for land-based prep.

Personally, I booked into the B4 level and the waves were more than big enough for me! In-water coaches help when they can and the entire process is very orderly as the coaches direct a queuing system, but catching the wave independently feels weird as the water is not as buoyant as seawater and it is easy to undershoot. If you have never surf at a wave pool before, I highly recommend hiring an in-water coach for at least one session.

My husband surfed the I2 and A2 sessions and said that it was some of the best waves he’s surfed – there were only ever a maximum of 6-7 people booked in for these more advanced sessions, which meant that he was able to catch 15-20 waves during the hourlong sessions.

Because the water temperature is fairly warm throughout the year, you are unlikely to need a wetsuit but you will need sun protection or a rashie!

Can children surf at the wave pool in Hainan? Yes, children over the age of 6 can join, however you must book the one-on-one lessons with a coach. Our kid loved it and his coach (number 13, Ah Bing) was fantastic with young kids!

How to book the wave pool in Hainan

Once again, the easiest and most direct way to book is via the WeChat mini program under “冲浪门票”, or alternatively book via Trip.com here. You can also book in person once you arrive at the Surf Center.

Each level is priced differently, with tickets starting at RMB458 (Peak)/398 (Off-Peak) for a 4-person group lesson for a complete beginner, to RMB 528 (Peak)/498 (Off-Peak) for the Advanced A1 and A2 sessions.

Remember: if you are staying at Uechao Hotel or 樾潮酒店 you can get 20% off your wave pool session tickets! If you book via the WeChat Mini Program the hotel is supposed to disburse the discount coupons to you via the app – we had some issues with this as I don’t have a China phone number, so we just let the ticketing staff know when booking and showed our room key, and they applied the discount for us.

If you book via the WeChat Mini Program, after you choose your level, it will show how many slots are remaining so you can get a sense of how crowded your session will be – when we visited in July over a weekend the sessions were not full, and we typically booked in-person at the booking counter the day before/the morning of. If you are visiting during the peak travel season, you will need to book in advance!

Here are the peak season dates when you can expect the Hainan wave pool to be busier, and when peak rates apply:

• New Year’s Day: January 1 – 3 (3 days in total)
• Tomb-Sweeping Day: April 4 – 6 (3 days in total)
• May 1st Holiday: May 1-5 (5 days in total)
• Dragon Boat Festival: June 19 – 21 (3 days in total)
• Mid-Autumn Festival: September 25 – 27 (3 days in total)
• National Day: October 1 – 7 (7 days in total)
• Summer Holiday: July 1 – August 31

Once you receive your booking confirmation, simply collect your wristband at the Surfland booking counter ahead of your session, and head straight to the wave pool to pick up your board and/or to meet your surf coach.

There are also a number of add-on options – all of the tickets include a softtop surfboard, but you can also use your own surfboard or rent a hardtop board for an additional RMB80 (with a refundable RMB500 deposit) – this can easily be arranged at the booking counter. You can also hire a coach here – it costs approximately RMB 228 for 1 hour for a 1-on-2 coaching session, or RMB 368 for 1 hour for a 1-on-1 coaching session.

🌊 Ready to book your visit to the wave pool in China? Stay at Uechao Hotel at the Riyue Bay Surf Resort and book your wave pool entry tickets here.

Not sure how to navigate all of this? There are companies like Surfway Hainan or Surf China Co. that can take care of your hotel, transportation and wave pool bookings from end-to-end. Local surf coaching companies like Hong Kong Surfing Lesson also occasionally run group trips if you don’t want to travel alone. I have no affiliation or experience with any of these companies but you can read reviews to see if they are a good fit!

Facilities at the wave pool in Riyue Bay in Hainan

In addition to the board rental and coaching options, there are also spotless toilets, changing rooms and showers available. You can also rent a locker at a small fee to store your valuables.

On-site surf photography at the Hainan wave pool

I also highly recommend hiring a professional videographer/photographer at the wave pool in Hainan. We used the official photographer – 行也逐浪 – you can get in touch via WeChat by scanning the QR code here, or search by the number: 18689771085.

Where to eat at Riyue Bay Surf Resort

Not all of the restaurants are open at the resort yet, but we really enjoyed the hotel’s in-house restaurant for breakfast and a-la-carte dinner, Italian food at Flow Coast and the Mexican-inspired food at Inga Beach Club – on days when the waves are left-handers you can watch the surfers right from the pool at Inga! In the evenings I was partial to a craft beer at Logger.

For coffee lovers there is an artisanal coffee museum on-site as well as % Arabica – absolutely perfect. Lawson’s has a storefront at the resort as well for all of your convenience store needs.

The resort is also a short walk away from the beach (about 8-10 minutes on foot or an easy RMB5-10 Didi Taxi ride) – here we really liked Maiya Cave as well as P7 Bistro and 216 Beach Club right in front of Riyue Bay beach.

The verdict – is it worth visiting the wave pool in China?

100% yes! While wave pool surfing is a very different experience from ocean surfing, we absolutely loved our time at Riyue Bay Surf Resort. The waves are very consistent and allowed our family of different-leveled surfers to surf on the same day.

Wave sessions were uncrowded and you never had to jostle for a wave or worried about getting snaked, and sessions were extremely reasonably priced.

My husband was able to run out and surf his brains out and catch 15-20 waves in 1 hour while we were at breakfast, swimming in the pool or after I put our kid to bed. Whereas, in other surf destinations around the world like Bali or Sri Lanka, it would take him a minimum of 2-3 hours to pop out for a surf due to travel time, paddling out and so on.

As artificial waves are not weather and swell-dependent, it also meant that we could surf even when conditions were not ideal – as an example, multiple surf forecasts said that Riyue Bay was going to get a huge typhoon swell during our time in Hainan. That swell never really materialized, and the wind was on-shore the entire time – if we had flown to Hainan specifically to catch that swell, we might have been left slightly disappointed.

There is also zero compromise in terms of the hotel and food – Uechao Hotel at the Riyue Bay Surf Resort is excellent and easily accessible from the two airports on Hainan island, and the entire team was so friendly and accommodating. This new wave pool in Hainan is a fantastic new addition for surfers and their families – we will definitely be back!

🌊 Ready to book your visit to the wave pool in China? Stay at Uechao Hotel at the Riyue Bay Surf Resort and book your wave pool entry tickets here.

If we had more time, we could also have ventured beyond Riyue Bay to do some sightseeing around Hainan to take in more of the island’s stunning landscapes. I hope this guide helps you with your Hainan surf trip planning!

🎥▶️ Let me show you around Riyue Bay Surf Resort and the Surfland wave pool in Hainan ▶️🎥

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