A Two-Day Family Trip to Qingdao’s Polar Ocean World

Qingdao is a coastal city right by the sea, and its iconic red tiles, green trees, and sweeping blue sea and sky are what come to mind. Our child had long been wanting to go to Polar Ocean World to see the dolphin show, but we’d been too busy to make it happen. Finally we found a window, and the season was perfect. With a free weekend, we decided on a two-day family trip to Qingdao — no more planning, just go. Friday after work we hopped on a high-speed train and in about an hour and a half we were at Qingdao North Railway Station. It was our first time in Qingdao and we weren’t familiar with the routes, so en route I checked Ctrip for good hotels near the station. The first recommendation was Blue Sea Hotel (Qingdao Junfeng Road Metro Station Branch). Reviews looked great — good service and all-round quality — so we booked a king room for our family of three. The hotel is in the center of Licang District, close to the commercial area, and we’d read it’s only a ten- to fifteen-minute taxi ride from the North Station, or four or five stops on Metro Line 3. Not yet street-smart, we took a taxi and indeed arrived in fifteen minutes.

At check-in, the front desk staff saw the three of us and mentioned that our king room might feel a bit snug. They recommended a room type called the “Hollywood,” which has a super-wide 2.2-meter bed. Noticing we had a child, they thoughtfully asked if we’d prefer a non-smoking room, and we ended up in a non-smoking room on the 11th floor. They also reminded us that breakfast starts at 6:30. Knowing we were in town to visit Polar Ocean World, they even wrote out a route map for us, including how to get to Qingdao’s famous spots by public transport.

Once in the room, we found it very spacious, with a separate wet and dry bathroom that made showering convenient, and all the amenities you’d need. The hotel had even prepared child-sized toiletries — a nice touch. The hotel was extremely comfortable, and the staff were especially warm and attentive. When the bellman accompanied us to the room, as it was dinnertime, he told us the hotel had its own restaurant specializing in Shandong cuisine and local small seafood, plus a well-priced buffet. When we said we wanted to explore the neighborhood, he pointed out a huge night market just a five- or six-minute walk away, with loads of street food. The mention of snacks made my wife’s eyes light up — she’s the foodie in the family. We dropped our bags, freshened up quickly, and made a beeline for the market.

What a fantastic night market! Nothing like the grubby, chaotic ones I remembered; it felt well managed. The star was the food. An entire zone was dedicated to snacks — grilled squid, crispy fried noodles, grilled gluten, giant chicken cutlets, big sausages, braised pork offal, stinky tofu, stir-fried yogurt, rice noodles, duck intestines, lotus seed porridge… the list goes on and on. You really have to experience it yourself. Everything we tasted was delicious. My wife ate until she was stuffed, and even our picky son managed a good amount. We’d definitely go back to that night market — it alone was worth the trip. After eating, we strolled to the nearby Lecheng Mall, with Ginza just across the street, but it was too late so we headed back to the hotel to crash. Waiting in our room was a plate of fresh fruit.

The next day was, of course, the Polar Ocean World my son had been dreaming about. We woke at 7, got ready, and went down for breakfast at 7:30. I have to say, big hotels are something else — the breakfast spread was huge. The three of us all have different tastes, but whether you fancied Western or Chinese, it was all there. We’d planned to eat light but ended up every one of us with a bulging belly — at least we had energy for the day!

After breakfast around 8:30, we grabbed our backpacks from the room. When we passed the front desk, the staff member who had checked us in, Xiao Shi, gave us three bottles of water and more fruit, and again explained how to get there by metro. We took Metro Line 2, and in just over half an hour we arrived.

Our Polar Ocean World experience: The venue was packed, buzzing with excitement. We followed the crowd to the animal show hall. Dark, glossy sea lions waddled and glided into the limelight to thunderous applause. They did ball balancing, one-handed spins, hoop jumping, even math — all-round entertainers. The funniest bits were the hoop and maths acts. When the audience deliberately threw hoops off target, the sea lion sometimes looked exasperated, but then it would scoop up the hoop with its mouth and toss it perfectly onto its neck, wiggling as if to say, “I didn’t lose!” — that brought the house down. During the maths part, the audience gave addition and subtraction questions, and the sea lion cocked its head, listened, then without hesitation picked out the card with the right answer. Brilliant!

Then the dolphins — so lively and adorable. They darted and danced freely through the water, raised their heads and called out cheerfully, and when the music played, they spun hula hoops… Wait, where did the dolphins suddenly go? Just as we wondered, a massive splash erupted — it was the dolphins lifting their trainers from underwater with their snouts! Before we knew what was happening, the trainers came flying toward us riding the dolphins like speedboats, swift as arrows. Spectacular! Our son was so captivated he didn’t want to leave.

Back at the hotel after a full day, our boy was still excited but a bit tired. He rested a while and said he didn’t want to go out to eat. We remembered the hotel buffet, called, and found out that in-house guests get a discount. Dinner started at 5:30, and we were there right on time. The buffet was excellent — a wide variety of distinctive dishes, unlimited helpings. There was seafood, grilled meats, hot dishes, and so on. The desserts, in particular, were superb; my wife and son went straight for them and ate way too much. As a lovely surprise, when we got back to our room the hotel had set up a footbath for us, with a note saying they knew we’d be tired from the day and hoped a good soak would relax us. Another gold star for Blue Sea service.

On the third day, we took Metro Line 3 direct to Badaguan. This season, Badaguan is breathtakingly beautiful. Other Qingdao landmarks like Zhanqiao and Yan'er Island are also about thirty minutes away by metro — super convenient. We spent the day at the Badaguan Scenic Area, and it was pure magic. Yellowed leaves carpeting the ground made every spot picture-perfect. There were tons of Instagrammable corners; most sights were free, a mix of modern architecture, geographical landmarks, and historic cultural sites.

We hadn’t checked out in the morning because we wanted to make the most of the day. We called the hotel to say we might be late, and they proactively extended our checkout to 2 pm. A whole day along the coast was incredibly fulfilling. In the afternoon we checked out, rode the metro for just seven or eight minutes, and were back at Qingdao North Station.

Two days of wandering flew by so fast we didn’t want to leave. The hotel was as comfortable as a five-star stay, with great service and a brilliant location. We’d definitely come back to Qingdao — and stay at this hotel again: Blue Sea Hotel Qingdao Licang.

Family of three, 2 days & 2 nights

Best hotel in Licang District (around 800 yuan for two nights)

Hotel buffet and street snacks (around 400 yuan)

All major Qingdao sights (free)

Round-trip travel for three (around 400 yuan)

Total trip cost: about 1,600 yuan, averaging just over 500 yuan per person.