Things to do in Taitung and Green Island and Lanyu
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Taitung and Green Island and Lanyu
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best all round window: warmer, seas calming after the monsoon, and Lanyu flying fish season runs about March to June.
Hot and humid, balloon festival in July and August, but typhoon season is most active and can cancel ferries, flights and balloons.
Northeast monsoon builds: Chishang rice turns gold and Dulan surf picks up, but island crossings get rough and often cancelled.
Monsoon at full strength, islands least reliable. Compensations: Zhiben hot springs, empty coast roads, best surf, low city prices.
What's on
- Taiwan International Balloon Festival 4 July to 20 August
At Luye Highland, closed Tuesdays, dawn launches about 5:30 to 7am and evening sessions about 5 to 6:30pm. Watching is free.
- Flying Fish Season, Lanyu March to June
The centre of the Tao calendar, not a tourist festival. Opening ceremonies around February, season closes about June to July. Ask before photographing anything.
Best things to do in Taitung and Green Island and Lanyu
National Museum of Prehistory
Taiwan's best museum for Austronesian cultures and the Peinan site, with good English labels by Kangle Station.
Tiehua Music Village
The old station grounds turned into the city's evening living room, with live music, stalls and lantern lit lanes.
Taitung Forest Park
A flat shaded park of beefwood forest and lakes including Pipa Lake, best explored by rented bike in an hour or two.
Taitung Seashore Park
The city's Pacific front lawn for the famous east coast sunrise, with driftwood art. Look and photograph, never swim.
Green Island Human Rights Memorial Park
The former White Terror prison island's memorial park. Give it quiet time and read the names on the monument wall.
Yeyin Village
Lanyu's most complete traditional settlement of low underground houses. See it only on a village led visit, with permission.
Where to stay in Taitung and Green Island and Lanyu
Taitung City centre
the base for almost every trip
Walkable to Tiehua Music Village, the night market and the station, with the full range of beds and food.
Zhiben hot spring valley
a hot spring night
About 30 minutes from the city, for a resort soak night paired with, not replacing, a city stay.
Dulan village
a surf excursion night or two
The east coast surf and arts village, 40 minutes north. An excursion stay, not a Taitung base.
Think twice about
- Unguarded Pacific beaches around Taitung for swimming
Dangerous currents and signed swimming bans, including at Taitung Seashore Park. Look at this coast, do not swim in it outside guarded, local advice.
- Green Island and Lanyu as a last night before an onward flight
Ferries and small planes are cancelled by weather often, above all in the northeast monsoon. Keep the last night in Taitung City.
Best restaurants in Taitung and Green Island and Lanyu
Night Moon
A reservation only, no menu izakaya in Changbin built on the day's catch. A destination dinner, 90 minutes from the city.
Xiang Luo Lei Restaurant
A tribal style restaurant in Beinan known for Indigenous cooking: urn roasted chicken, grilled fish and Puyuma abai.
Mahimahi Today
A small popular city seafood spot built around the day's mahi mahi and local catch, simply cooked.
Rong Shu Xia Rice Noodles
The city's beloved cheap bowl of rice noodles under the banyan trees. Lunch, not dinner, and closed Wednesdays.
Taitung Tourism Night Market
The city's main night market, Wednesday to Saturday evenings only, for oyster omelettes and Indigenous snacks.
Outdoor things to do in Taitung and Green Island and Lanyu
Xiaoyeliu
Wind and wave carved sandstone in sculpted shapes on boardwalks above the sea, the first easy stop north of the city.
Sanxiantai
An offshore islet reached by the famous eight arch bridge, best late in the day when buses thin and light softens.
Dulan Beach
The east coast surf beach by an arts village, with board rental and lessons. Beginners should only go out with an instructor.
Mr. Brown Avenue
Flat lanes through famous rice fields with no power poles in the view, ridden by rental bike from Chishang station.
Luye Highland
A grassy plateau above the Rift Valley where dozens of balloons launch at dawn during the summer festival. Watching is free.
Zhiben Hot Spring
Taitung's historic hot spring valley south west of the city, ideal for a day soak after a coast or valley day.
Zhaori Hot Spring
One of the world's few saltwater hot springs, tiered pools at the sea edge for a night soak under the stars or at dawn.
Dongqing Bay
Lanyu's most beautiful bay, with traditional Tao canoes on the shore, clear snorkelling water and the island's best sunrise.
Best hotels in Taitung and Green Island and Lanyu
Sheraton Taitung Hotel
The city's top full service hotel on Zhengqi Road, walkable to Tiehua Music Village and the night market.
Hotel Royal Chihpen
The grand resort of the Zhiben spring valley, built around extensive hot spring facilities. A soak night, not a base.
The Gaya Hotel
A smart, well run hotel near Tiehua Music Village with a rooftop pool, the mid range pick for most visitors.
Formosan Naruwan Hotel and Resort Taitung
A big resort style hotel with pools, several restaurants and a spa, good for families who want facilities in the city.
On My Way Taitung Hostel
The city's backpacker standard, with dorms, a shared kitchen, bike rental and staff used to island ferry logistics.
WaGaLiGong Dulan
A small surf hostel in Dulan with dorms, pizza, board rental and lessons, and a rooftop facing the Pacific.
Is Taitung and Green Island and Lanyu expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | NT$1,800 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | NT$3,800 a person |
| Splurge | NT$9,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Zhaori Hot Spring: a few days ahead
- Green Island Human Rights Memorial Park: a few days ahead
- Dongqing Bay: a few days ahead
- Yeyin Village: a few days ahead
- Sheraton Taitung Hotel: a few days ahead
- Hotel Royal Chihpen: a few days ahead
- Night Moon: weeks ahead
- Xiang Luo Lei Restaurant: a few days ahead
- Island ferries, flights and guesthouses in summer, at holidays and during flying fish season.
- Night Moon for dinner, and balloon festival tethered rides, which open for pre-sale in late spring.
Is Taitung and Green Island and Lanyu safe?
- Crime rates are extremely low.
- Typhoons from May to November and earthquakes are the real risks. Follow Taiwan Central Weather Administration alerts.
- Police 110, ambulance and fire 119, coastguard 118. Drug laws are severe, including for cannabis.
- Ferries are cancelled by rough seas often, most in the northeast monsoon from about October to March. Take seasickness medicine before boarding.
Taitung and Green Island and Lanyu travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Scheduling an island night or island return on the day of an onward flight or train you cannot miss.
- Eating a big breakfast before the Green Island crossing, which is famous for seasickness even on ordinary days.
- Treating Lanyu's flying fish ceremonies, canoes and traditional houses as tourist photo props. Ask first, every time.
Getting around Taitung and Green Island and Lanyu: public transport and more
- Trains run down the east coast from Taipei and Hualien and from Kaohsiung on the south link line, plus domestic flights from Taipei.
- Walk or cycle in Taitung City. The East Coast and Rift Valley need a rental car or scooter, as buses are infrequent.
- Ferries to Green Island and Lanyu leave from Fugang Harbour, north of the city. Small planes fly from Taitung Airport.
Who Taitung and Green Island and Lanyu suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Taitung and Green Island and Lanyu your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App Store