Gulangyu Island 鼓浪屿

Yes — ferry is real-name and must be booked online in advance; pier windows sell no same-day tickets. Channels: 厦门轮渡有限公司 WeChat 公众号 and 屿见厦门 / 厦门轮渡+ mini-program. Book 1–3 days ahead normally, 3–7 days in peak season (May Day, National Day, summer), up to ~14–15 days for holidays; tickets for the 7th day are released at 08:00 daily. Round-trip ordinary ferry ¥35 (return valid 20 days); daytime tourists depart from 邮轮中心厦鼓码头 to 三丘田 or 内厝澳. Foreigners can book with a passport and must show the original at boarding.

Island open 24h

Entry is free. Island entry is free (no gate ticket); only the ferry and individual attractions are charged. Five-site combo ticket is quoted as ¥90 (Baidu Baike, gochinatravel), ¥95 (Sina) and about ¥100 (Trip.com), covering 日光岩 (¥50), 菽庄花园 (¥30), 皓月园 (¥10–15), 风琴博物馆/八卦楼 (¥15–30) and 国际刻字艺术馆 (¥5–10); buying 日光岩+菽庄花园 alone costs ¥80, so the combo adds ~¥10 for three more sites. 故宫鼓浪屿外国文物馆 (~¥25) is not in the combo. Student/senior half-price discounts apply to combo and some single tickets.

Plan about 6 hours.