Haikou is a transport hub with flights to many cities and boats to nearby mainland cities such as Beihai and Zhanjiang.
By ship
There are frequent daily ferries between Haikou and Haian. Takes around 1.5 hours and costs about ¥42. There are bus connections from Haian to other cities, but the options are limited compared to Haikou, especially in the evening.
There are daily Haikou-Beihai ferries, taking around 12 hours and costing between ¥120-230 per person, depending on number of people sharing a cabin.
Ye Xiang Gong Zhu, capable for 800 passengers, connects Guangzhou and Haikou. One-way trip takes 18 hours. It leaves Haikou at 2PM ten times a month.
By bus
Buses connect Haikou to many cities on the Chinese mainland, including Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guilin, and Nanning. Most buses are overnight sleepers. Buses are loaded on to ferries and arrive in Haikou at either Xingang port or Xiuying port. Here's a few examples showing journey duration and price.
By plane
Flight examples below with full cost economy class prices, but notice that discounts up to 50% are not unusual.
Local airlines Hainan Airlines (http://global.hnair.com/) and China Southern Airlines (http://www.csair.com/en/i...) have domestic flights to many Chinese cities, as well as some international flights to neighbouring countries. In addition, Haikou is well-served by other Chinese airlines.
In addition, there are also international flights to Hong Kong on Hong Kong Airlines, Seoul on Asiana and Singapore on Tiger Airways and Jetstar.
By train
There is a train link between Haikou and Guangdong province the trains are loaded onto ferries to cross the sea. So you can get the train from Guangzhou to Haikou. The trains actually start and finish in Sanya, but it takes about an hour by bus to get from downtown to the train station, and the train station in Sanya is also far from that city's downtown area.
Train schedules below