2021 Qingdao Latest May Day, Dragon Boat Festival, National Day Holiday Family Trip Self-driving 2-Day 3-Day Itinerary Guide
Speaking of Qingdao, with its red tiles, green trees, blue sea, and clear sky, I had been longing for it. The just-passed May Day mini-break was simple, joyful, fulfilling, and unforgettable. Let me share this wonderful time of two or three days with you. The upcoming Dragon Boat Festival and National Day holidays also offer opportunities to go and have fun.
For a trip, the first thing is to book accommodation. Here’s a key point: when traveling on a mini-break, you must book rooms in advance—book in advance, book in advance. We confirmed our itinerary about half a month early, and the room rates were still quite nice at that time. On the day itself, we heard the rates had risen to three times what we paid, and rooms were hard to find. Let me secretly gloat for a moment, haha.
Let me talk about the hotel we chose. The reason the trip was so pleasant is that the first hotel left a great impression on us. We chose the Blue Sea Hotel (Qingdao Licang Junfeng Road Metro Station branch). Initially we planned to take the train, and it was a star-rated hotel very close to the North Railway Station, with good online reviews. From Qingdao North Station to the hotel was only a 10-15 minute taxi ride, or about four or five stops on Metro Line 3. Plus, it was a food hotel, which attracted us. Our family of three originally wanted to book a king room. After booking on Ctrip, we called the hotel to ask about it. Hearing that we had a child, the young lady who answered recommended a room called "Hollywood," which had a super-large bed 2.2 meters wide. We took her advice without hesitation. Later, as departure approached, we decided to drive instead, and found that the hotel had a huge parking lot, which was quite rare.
To avoid the heavy traffic on the 1st, we chose to depart at noon on the 2nd. The drive went smoothly. Upon arrival, we found the hotel thoughtfully arranged a non-smoking room on the 11th floor and reminded us that breakfast started at 6:30 am. Knowing we were tourists and wanted to visit the Polar Ocean World, they even wrote us a route map of Qingdao and suggested we take the metro, because there would be too many cars on holidays and parking might be hard. On the first day, we ignored the hotel’s advice, and indeed parking was difficult—more on that later. The room was spacious, the bathroom had separate wet and dry areas for convenient showering, and all amenities were provided. The hotel even gave us free children’s toiletries. The hotel was extremely comfortable, especially the staff—they were very warm and attentive. Since it was dinner time, the bellboy who took us to our room also introduced the hotel’s own restaurant, which mainly served Shandong cuisine and local small seafood, as well as a budget-friendly buffet. When we said we wanted to stroll around, he recommended a large night market nearby, just a five- or six-minute walk away, where there were many snacks. My eyes lit up at the mention of snacks. Once in the room, we dropped our luggage, freshened up quickly, and headed straight for the night market.
What a fantastic night market! Unlike my previous impression of night markets being dirty and chaotic, this one seemed to be uniformly managed. The highlight was the food. Right at the entrance was a snack area with grilled squid, grilled cold noodles, grilled gluten skewers, giant chicken steaks, giant sausages, braised offal, stinky tofu, fried yogurt, vermicelli, duck intestines, lotus seed porridge... so many varieties—too many to list. You have to experience it yourself. The taste was great too. That night we ate until we were stuffed. If you get the chance, you must have a meal at the night market—it’s truly worth it, and it didn’t cost much. Even eating as much as we wanted, it didn’t reach 100 yuan. Afterwards, we went to the nearby Lecheng City mall to look around. Across the street was Ginza mall, but it was too late so we didn’t go there and headed back to the hotel. When we returned to our room, the hotel had prepared fruit. The bed was indeed super-large and even more comfortable than sleeping at home.
Now let me share the itinerary.
Day 1: We got up at 7 am, got ready, and went for breakfast at 7:30. I must say that as a food hotel, its breakfast was indeed special. I often stay in star-rated hotels on business trips, but rarely have I seen such a variety. Our family of three had three different tastes, but whether it was Western or Chinese, everything was satisfying. We originally planned to eat lightly, but we ended up eating until our bellies were full. Well, a full stomach gives you energy for fun. After breakfast, we went back to the room, packed our backpacks, and passed by the front desk. The young lady who had received us yesterday gave us three bottles of water and some fruit, knowing we were going out. Since we were driving, she also asked for our license plate number to waive parking fees, so parking was free.
Day 1: Polar Ocean World – Zhanqiao Pier
After a full round of sightseeing, we were a bit tired. We had a simple lunch at the Polar Ocean World, then went to Shilaoren Beach to feel the sea breeze. Fortunately, the weather on this May Day was good. In the evening, we returned to the hotel’s commercial area, went to Lecheng City for a while, and had dinner there. Back at the hotel, they thoughtfully provided a foot bath basin. Their service was truly excellent. To my surprise, they even gave us two facial masks. I was so moved I almost cried—on the way I had complained about forgetting to bring masks, so this was like timely help. I remembered that at the front desk when registering for membership, I learned that Blue Sea is a chain group with hotels in many places. With this level of service, in the future I won’t have to rack my brains choosing hotels—if there’s a Blue Sea, that’s the right choice.
Day 2: Zhanqiao Pier, Zhongshan Park, Zoo
Probably tired from the previous day, we slept until nearly 9 am. I thought breakfast was over, but it turned out breakfast lasted until 9:30. After breakfast, we packed up and went to Zhanqiao Pier. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed. I came because of the saying "You can’t say you’ve been to Qingdao if you haven’t been to Zhanqiao Pier." But when we got there, all I saw was a sea of people—where was the pier? We didn’t dare to go onto the bridge with the child, so we just admired it from afar. Then we went to Zhongshan Park. The cherry blossoms were past their season, but the park was really huge, and it even had a zoo at the back. My son insisted on seeing animals, so we indulged him. Surprisingly, the ticket was only 8.5 yuan, and children were free. Ha, ha. Along the way we saw lions, tigers, and pandas, and the little guy was overjoyed. In the afternoon, we walked along the First Bathing Beach, bought a kite, flew it, and dug in the sand—the whole afternoon passed. We returned to the hotel to rest. After a full day of walking, we were quite tired. When we entered, the young man at the lobby reminded us that it might rain at night and suggested we bring rain gear or avoid going out, so we had dinner directly at the hotel. We had heard there was a buffet, and based on the good impression of breakfast, we went straight for it. Overall, it was good.
Day 3: Weather turned bad.
Originally I planned to buy some local specialties on the last day, do some shopping, and then head back. But it rained and cooled down the night before. Plus my son was tired, so we decided to rest well and return directly. Fortunately, the room had a seafood gift pack, and the hotel’s shopping center had some small souvenirs, so we could bring a little something back. Happy time always passes quickly. This simple yet fulfilling trip to Qingdao was full of plain and easy happiness. Looking forward to the next holiday. If there’s a chance, I’ll come back to Qingdao.
Two days of walking and sightseeing passed very quickly. I felt like I didn’t want to go home. Next time I come to Qingdao, it might be during the summer break.
