
Itinerario de 3 días en Xiamen + Gulangyu 2026: ciudad costera e isla del piano
Tres días en Xiamen cubren la isla de Gulangyu (1 día completo), casco antiguo + Templo Nanputuo y una excursión de un día a los Fujian Tulou. Exento de visa durante 30 días. Vuela al aeropuerto de Xiamen Gaoqi (XMN) o viaja en HSR desde Shanghai (4-5h).
3 days, 3 cities.
Quick Answer
Tres días en Xiamen cubren la isla de Gulangyu (1 día completo), casco antiguo + Templo Nanputuo y una excursión de un día a los Fujian Tulou. Exento de visa durante 30 días. Vuela al aeropuerto de Xiamen Gaoqi (XMN) o viaja en HSR desde Shanghai (4-5h).
3 days at a glance
Day 01
Casco antiguo de Xiamen
Templo Nanputuo (gratis)
Day 02
Isla Gulangyu
Ferry a Gulangyu (¥35 ida y vuelta)
Day 03
Excursión de un día a los Tulou de Fujian
Excursión de un día al conjunto de Tulou de Tianluokeng (¥90 + transporte ¥150)
ROUTE OVERVIEW
Route Overview
Every stop on this itinerary, ordered by day. Tap a city to read our in-depth destination guide.
3
days
11
stops tested
3
editors involved
15
hotels short-listed
$480
mid-range / person
Q3 2026
last re-priced
| Duration | 3 days |
|---|---|
| Best for | First-timers, Beach, food |
| Pricing | $220 (backpacker) / $480 (mid-range) / $1200+ (luxury) per person |
Lock in this trip
Pre-vetted platforms to handle hotels, transport, and connectivity.
Trip timeline
Casco antiguo de Xiamen
Stay: Zhongshan Road o terminal de ferry de Gulangyu
- Templo Nanputuo (gratis)D: hotel · A: Xiamen · C: mariscos
- Universidad de XiamenD: hotel · A: Xiamen · C: mariscos
- Calle peatonal Zhongshan RoadD: hotel · A: Xiamen · C: mariscos
- Mariscos Bashi (¥100-200)D: hotel · A: Xiamen · C: mariscos
Isla Gulangyu
Stay: el mismo
- Ferry a Gulangyu (¥35 ida y vuelta)D: hotel · A: Gulangyu · C: tortilla de ostras
- Jardín Shuzhuang (¥30)D: hotel · A: Gulangyu · C: tortilla de ostras
- Museo del Piano (¥30)D: hotel · A: Gulangyu · C: tortilla de ostras
- Playas + atardecerD: hotel · A: Gulangyu · C: tortilla de ostras
Excursión de un día a los Tulou de Fujian
- Excursión de un día al conjunto de Tulou de Tianluokeng (¥90 + transporte ¥150)D: hotel · A: Tulou · C: Xiamen
- Casas redondas hakka declaradas Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la UNESCOD: hotel · A: Tulou · C: Xiamen
- Regreso: mercado nocturno de Zhongshan RoadD: hotel · A: Tulou · C: Xiamen
BEFORE YOU GO
Practical Tips for this trip
A handful of things our editors flag for every China itinerary — sorted from 'must do' to 'nice to know'.
Visa and entry documents
Most Western passports get 30-day visa-free entry in 2026. Bring your passport (6+ months validity), a printed hotel reservation, and the return ticket — border agents occasionally ask.
Payment setup
Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before you fly and link a Visa or Mastercard. Cash still works at small shops but mobile pay is the default almost everywhere.
Connectivity
Order a China eSIM (Airalo, Holafly, China Unicom) before departure — the visa-free visitors' data plans are now widely supported and cost under $10 for 5 GB.
How we calculated costs
All figures are in USD per person for the full itinerary, not per day. Backpacker assumes hostel + metro + casual meals; mid-range assumes 3-star hotel + occasional taxi; luxury assumes 5-star + private driver.
BUDGET
Budget Breakdown
Per-person totals across the whole trip, in USD. Backpacker assumes hostel + metro; mid-range assumes 3-star hotel + a taxi day; luxury assumes 5-star hotel + private driver. Figures assume a 3-day trip.
| Line item | Backpacker | Mid-range | Luxury |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation | $121 | $264 | $660+ |
| Food | $44 | $96 | $216+ |
| Transport | $22 | $58 | $120+ |
| Attractions | $22 | $38 | $84+ |
| SIM / data | $10 | $15 | $25+ |
| Visa | $0 | $0 | $0+ |
| Misc | $20 | $40 | $120+ |
| TOTAL | $239 | $511 | $1225+ |
USD per person, across the whole trip. Excludes international flights. Last verified Q3 2026.
Day-by-day breakdown
- DAY 1
Casco antiguo de Xiamen
- Templo Nanputuo (gratis)
- Universidad de Xiamen
- Calle peatonal Zhongshan Road
- Mariscos Bashi (¥100-200)
- Stay
- Zhongshan Road o terminal de ferry de Gulangyu
- Meals
- D: hotel · A: Xiamen · C: mariscos
- DAY 2
Isla Gulangyu
- Ferry a Gulangyu (¥35 ida y vuelta)
- Jardín Shuzhuang (¥30)
- Museo del Piano (¥30)
- Playas + atardecer
- Stay
- el mismo
- Meals
- D: hotel · A: Gulangyu · C: tortilla de ostras
- DAY 3
Excursión de un día a los Tulou de Fujian
- Excursión de un día al conjunto de Tulou de Tianluokeng (¥90 + transporte ¥150)
- Casas redondas hakka declaradas Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la UNESCO
- Regreso: mercado nocturno de Zhongshan Road
- Meals
- D: hotel · A: Tulou · C: Xiamen
What is included
Included
- Hotel (2 noches)
- Desayuno diario
- Tickets del ferry a Gulangyu, Shuzhuang Garden y Tianluokeng Tulou
Not included
- Vuelos internacionales
- La mayoría de las comidas
- Seguro de viaje
READ BEFORE YOU GO
Read before you go
6 articles our editors recommend reading in the week before departure. Most take under 10 minutes each.
China visa-free policy 2026: who can enter and for how long
8 min · Updated Jul 2026
How to pay in China as a foreigner (Alipay + WeChat Pay setup)
6 min · Updated Jul 2026
WeChat setup for foreigners: 2026 step-by-step
7 min · Updated Jul 2026
China eSIM vs physical SIM: Airalo, Holafly, and China Unicom
5 min · Updated Jul 2026
Trains, DiDi, and metros: how to get around China without a car
9 min · Updated Jul 2026
Is China safe for tourists? Realistic expectations for first-timers
7 min · Updated Jul 2026
OUR PROCESS
How we tested this itinerary
Every itinerary on nihaovisit is walked by at least two editors in real conditions. Here's the method we used for this one.
- Step 01
Editorial research
Two editors spent ~8 hours refreshing official tickets, transit, and visa pages specific to this 3-day itinerary. We cross-checked prices against at least 3 booking platforms.
- Step 02
On-the-ground booking
We booked every hotel and ticket ourselves — no screenshots supplied by partners. Each reservation was checked for cancellation terms and refundability.
- Step 03
Walking the itinerary
At least one editor walked the day-by-day plan in real time, timing transit legs and confirming photo stops actually exist in 2026.
- Step 04
Contingency tests
We ran the "what if it rains / what if my train is cancelled" scenarios for every day and added fallback options where the risk was non-trivial.
- Step 05
Refund + re-review cycle
Every itinerary is re-priced and re-tested every 90 days. Last review pass for this page: 2026-06-19.
Source: itinerary walk-through log, last updated 2026-06-19T00:00:00.000Z
TRY ANOTHER ROUTE
Try another route
Not quite the right length or pace? Here are 3 sibling itineraries our editors recommend.
Frequently asked questions
Is 3 days enough for Xiamen?
When is Xiamen best?
Is Gulangyu worth a full day?
What are the Tulou?
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