Do you need to book Weizhou Island in advance?
Yes — Weizhou Island in Beihai runs on real-name advance reservation. Release rule: Book the ferry a few days ahead in summer and on Chinese holidays — daily sailings are capped and do sell out; online sales close 30 minutes before each departure, the port window 15 minutes before. A foreign passport works as the real-name ID. Book on the official channel linked below — there are no authorised resellers.
Verified 2026-06-13 · rules change; confirm on the official channel before you travel
The booking rule, in detail
- Reservation
- Required in advance
- Tickets release
- Book the ferry a few days ahead in summer and on Chinese holidays — daily sailings are capped and do sell out; online sales close 30 minutes before each departure, the port window 15 minutes before
- Foreign passport
- A foreign passport works as the real-name ID.
- Official channel
- https://www.laiu8.cn/
How a foreign visitor actually books it
Two charges, not one: a real-name ferry ticket across, and a separate island entrance fee (shang dao fei) to set foot on the place. Both are real-name and a passport is explicitly an accepted ID for boarding — bring the physical passport, a photo won't clear the gate. The official channel is the ferry company's own platform (Laiu8 / 来游吧, web and WeChat) or the port ticket windows; the interface is Chinese-first, so the easy path is to have your hotel book it for you. Don't assume you can just walk up to the pier in season and get on the next boat.
What else to know
officialBookingUrl is the ferry operator's official Laiu8 (来游吧) site — book the boat there or through your hotel, not a tout at the port. Crossing is from the Beihai International Passenger Port to Weizhou's Xijiao Pier. Expect roughly ¥150–300 each way depending on cabin class, plus an island entrance fee on top (commonly quoted around ¥98 for adults); treat both numbers as indicative and confirm current pricing when you book. It's a volcanic island with a national geopark, lighthouse and a quiet Catholic church — genuinely worth the trip, but it's a half- to full-day commitment because of the boat schedule, and the last sailing back is in the afternoon.
If the official channel does not work
The two reliable fallbacks are your hotel front desk, which books these through domestic apps every day, and the on-site manual window where one still exists. What does not work is buying from someone who approaches you or from a marketplace listing: entry is real-name, so a ticket registered to another person’s ID will not admit you. The mechanics are in buying tickets the official way and booking without WeChat.
Full city context, hotels that register foreigners, and what to eat: Beihai guide. Release times across every city we track are in Reservation Radar.