MapChinaHaikou, HainanChina

Haikou, Hainan

beginner-friendlyquietgear rental

Established

External renown — how known this place is in the kite world. Not a quality rating.

1 spot 1 school

When to comeOct to MarWindiest modelled monthNovember · 11.3 kt · Haikou / Holiday BeachThe short answers

On this page

The feel of the place

Haikou is Hainan's provincial capital — a real city with old colonial-era shophouse streets, temples and volcanic parks, not just a beach town, making it the most culturally rounded base on the island. It suits riders who want city amenities and sightseeing alongside kiting on Holiday Beach.

The short answers

The essentials before the detail

When to come

Oct to Mar

The spot here is in season then

January, 1 spot in season.
February, 1 spot in season.
March, 1 spot in season.
April, 0 spots in season.
May, 0 spots in season.
June, 0 spots in season.
July, 0 spots in season.
August, 0 spots in season.
September, 0 spots in season.
October, 1 spot in season.
November, 1 spot in season.
December, 1 spot in season.

Filled months: the season the spot here names.

Windiest modelled month

November · 11.3 kt · Haikou / Holiday Beach

The month the wind model rates highest; the season above is when riders and schools go.

modelled

the month's average wind in November at Haikou / Holiday Beach, the strongest month any spot here models

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. What it holds here is the month's average wind, month by month; it does not count how many days carry a three-hour window at 12 kt.

What it costs

no cost level recorded

Schools

in the directory

Getting there

1 airport

Haikou Meilan International Airport (HAK)

Getting there & around

Permits & rules

1 spot

with a rule of its own for permits, zoning or the bathing season, on the conditions below

The rule at each spot

Where to ride

1 spot

mixed water

Levels this spot suits

beginnerintermediateadvanced

The conditions in full

Conditions

1 spot · Haikou / Holiday Beach

Getting on the water Rules & access Wind Water

Holiday Beach is Haikou's west-side resort beach on Hainan's north coast, facing the Qiongzhou Strait. It works mainly in the October-March winter monsoon, when Hainan riders move north for NW/N/NE wind and the water runs chop to flat on roughly 15-25 knot days.

The launch is long public sand rather than a lagoon, with small to medium waves possible and a developed sea-sports zone around it. The competition history is real: PKRA world-tour stops here in 2012/2013/2014, and a Hainan kitesurfing invitational on the same beach in 2020.

Sharing the beach

The awkward part is everything else using the sand. Swimmers, resort craft, municipal zoning that changes and a bathing line that gets enforced all share the beach with you.

Bring a thin wetsuit or shorty for January-February northerlies, and read the tide table, because Haikou moves a lot of water and the strait next door is tide-driven.

Getting on the water

The launchWide sandy beach on Haikou's west coast within Holiday Beach's public beach and sea-sports area. The full beach runs roughly 6-7 km, but the practical kite-usable stretch is a narrower section of about 3 km; it is also a developed public recreation beach with swimmers and other water-sports users.

If it goes wrongRescue teamThe beach has a permanent, free water rescue team run by the site's operating company, set up in April 2005: 15 certified lifeguards aged 24 to 51, equipped with AEDs, oxygen and rescue boards, drilling at least twice a month, with more than 200 drowning call-outs handled in its first 19 years.Scope of coverageIt covers the managed central bathing beach and the water immediately off it, and it is swimmer cover, not kite cover — no rescue boat or jet ski for riders, no paid rescue for kiters, and nothing patrolling beyond the supervised zone.Outside the zoneOutside that strip, a buddy and a practised self-rescue are the plan.

Room to righuge

Rules & access

1 min read

2026: no kite permit, licence or club membership requirement was found for Holiday Beach, and no kite-specific municipal notice; nothing newer contradicts the 2014 guidance that no special local kite rules apply beyond normal right-of-way.

Park zones

The park is zoned into four functional areas: a marine sports zone, a beach sunbathing zone, a sea dining and culture zone and a leisure-resort zone, and only the sunbathing and marine sports zones are in operation.

Rig and ride from the marine sports side and stay out of the bathing area.

Swimming regulations

March 2023 provincial rule: managed beaches, hotels and guesthouses must keep bathers inside the marked bathing area, must staff enough properly qualified lifeguards, and unmanaged 'wild' beaches must carry no-swimming warning signs.

Expect the swimming line to be enforced by loudhailer on busy days.

2018 beach guidance to swimmers was to stay within about 15 m of the shore, with 'take care' flags set every 30 m along the water, which is a useful read on where the supervised strip ends.

Wind

Charactersynoptic

AverageHaikou Airport long-term observed annual average is 8 knots with 23-knot average gusts; this is an airport/all-year statistic, not a beach-season kite average.

Typical15-25 knots is the typical winter kite range; a broader range of 15-35 knots is also reported for October-April. Haikou Airport's 8-knot long-term annual average is a non-seasonal, airport-wide statistic and not a useful planning figure for the beach.

Dominant directionNW, N, NE in the October-March Haikou season

Angle to shoreCross to cross-on. The beach faces north onto the Qiongzhou Strait and the winter NW/N/NE monsoon arrives side-shore to side-onshore along it.

Local namenortherly / northeast winter monsoon

Kite sizesSizes in use at the spot run 9-14 m. For a 75-85 kg rider that maps to a 9 m at the strong end of the 15-25 kt winter band, 11-12 m through the middle, and a 13-14 m for the 15 kt shoulder days at the start and end of the season.

QualityBest in the winter monsoon once the wind turns northerly, and reportedly strong and reliable by Hainan standards, though no live beach station backs that up.

Best monthsJan · Feb · Mar · Oct · Nov · Dec

SeasonHaikou is the north-island choice when the October-March winter monsoon turns NW/N/NE. October-March is the season most often given for Haikou, and some accounts stretch Holiday Beach to April. In spring and summer the riding and the courses shift toward Bo'ao, Wenchang and other coasts as the wind turns S-SE-SW.

Water

Typemixed water

Standing depthShallow only in the band closest to the sand. Past that inshore strip the bottom drops away, so Holiday Beach works as a launch rather than as a stand-up teaching lagoon, and there is no wide waist-deep flat to practise in.The tide moves that band in and out over a range of roughly 0.3 m to 2.0 m, so the walk-out distance is very different at low and high water.

TidesTidal; the Haikou tide table for 27 August 2026 shows a low of 0.29 m and high of 1.95 m, with other late-August/September 2026 predictions roughly 0.12-2.21 m at the Haikou tide station.

Summer, °C: 29
Winter, °C: 20

WetsuitUsually boardshorts/lycra in warm months; a shorty or thin wetsuit is recommended for January-February and colder north-monsoon days.

CurrentsThe Qiongzhou Strait is tide-driven, with strong semi-diurnal tidal energy and opposing tidal waves running through it. What that does at Holiday Beach itself is unconfirmed.

NotesHaikou/Holiday Beach runs chop/flat with small to medium waves, not a dedicated wave spot. The beach faces the Qiongzhou Strait and is an open public bathing and sea-sports beach rather than a lagoon.

Schools

1 in the directory

Flyin' Circus Kiteboarding School

Doeslessons · rental · boat support

RidesHaikou / Holiday Beach

Getting there & around

Nearest airports

Haikou Meilan International Airport (HAK)

Kite bag rules for your airline

Type the carrier you are flying: what it charges for a kite bag, and the year of the policy that says so.

Your airline

Checked so far for China:Hainan Airlines / China Southern / Air China (domestic + international carriers serving Haikou/Sanya)

Every carrier, with limits and what riders report at the counter →

Practical

LanguageMandarin Chinese

VisaHainan-specific visa-free entry applies (see general notes).

Internet & working

SIM & internetSee Hainan general practical notes below.

What riders say

The trade-off

Pros

Winter trade-wind window (Nov-Mar) matches most other Hainan spots
Clean water quality noted, medium sandy beach, short walk from parking
Kitesurfing has been significant enough at Holiday Beach to host competitions historically

Cons

Chop rather than flat water conditions
Kiting there is reportedly 'occasional', not the beach's primary watersport
No current rider community/forum presence found

Wind micro-knowledge

Through the season

Through the seasonThe nearest matching entry (Xiuying Beach, Haikou) lists Jan-Mar and Nov-Dec as best months, trade winds mainly NE

Scene & life

VibeCity vibe — old town streets, night markets and dining rather than a beach-resort bubble.

Must tryHainanese chicken rice (Haikou is a namesake city for the dish)

Rider hangoutsFlyin' Circus Kiteboarding (Holiday Beach)

Activities

Qilou Old Street — preserved colonial-era shophouse architecture along Zhongshan Lu
Five Officials Memorial Temple (Wugong Ci), Ming-era temple complex
Hai Rui's tomb (Ming Dynasty official, built 1589)
Huoshankou National Geopark — volcanic craters and lava formations
Cycling routes past beaches, historic sites and parks

Day tripsHuoshankou National Geopark

Pairs withA natural pairing with Bo'ao and Sanya for a full Hainan itinerary combining city culture, kiting and beach resort time.

Events

Hainan International Kitesurf Festival (PKRA Hainan)

competitionNovprorecurring

Held at Holiday Beach, Haikou (matches the batch spot); crowned PKRA Freestyle World Champions and had hosted 3 consecutive years as of 2014. No evidence found confirming a current/recent edition, so status beyond 2014 is unconfirmed.

OrganiserPKRA / Hainan Kitesurfing Association

last seen 2014

iksurfmag.com

History & trivia

2 items

Hai Rui's tomb honors a Ming Dynasty official exiled to Hainan.
The Five Officials Memorial Temple commemorates officials and scholars historically banished to Hainan.

Itinerary idea

Use Haikou as the cultural/city leg of a Hainan trip, pairing beach days at Holiday Beach with old-town and volcanic-park sightseeing.

FAQ

When is the best time to kite at Haikou?

The main wind window is the winter monsoon, roughly October to March, when riders get NW, N or NE wind on Hainan's north coast.

What is the water like at Holiday Beach?

Kite guides describe conditions on Haikou's west-side resort beach as chop to flat water facing the Qiongzhou Strait.

Is Haikou just a beach trip?

No, it's Hainan's provincial capital, with colonial-era shophouse streets, temples and volcanic parks, so it suits riders who want city sightseeing alongside kiting, not only a beach base.

Where should I stay in Haikou?

The Longhua District/Haikou Bay area is central and close to major attractions, while Binhai Road puts you closest to Holiday Beach itself.

How this place scores

Scores out of 10, compared with other places. The data figure under each label is how much of this record that score had to work from, so a high score on thin data is a thin score.

Flat waterdata 100%6.1
Off the waterdata 100%5.8
Wavesdata 100%5.4
Beginner friendlydata 88%4.4
Familydata 89%4.4
Room on the waterdata 100%4.3
Safetydata 100%3.8
Kite communitydata 75%3.8
Wind reliabilitydata 0%not scored
Ease of accessdata 0%not scored
Affordabilitydata 0%not scored
Long staydata 0%not scored

A paler bar was scored from less than half of the record.

Scores by trip type

Freestyle and flat waterdata 55%5.4
Wavesdata 70%4.8
Family tripdata 100%4.6
Learning to ridedata 90%4.3
Kite and workdata 20%3.8

Nothing here carries a figure for a long stay, affordability and wind reliability, so every line above is built without them.

Still open

Things we could not verify. If you have ridden here, you can help.

Show the 4 open questions

Are Xiuying Beach and Holiday Beach in Haikou the same launch?
No wind season/direction data found for Haikou kiting specifically
No current rider testimony — most-recent identifiable source is from 2014
Unclear how active kitesurfing actually is at Holiday Beach today versus historically

When to go and nearby places

Last updated: 1 September 2026