Things to do in Yilan
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Yilan
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Autumn is the best all round window, with typhoon risk fading, good surf and soaking weather arriving by late autumn.
Winter is the wet northeast monsoon season and peak hot spring season, and Guishan Island is closed from December to February.
Spring is green and kind, Guishan Island reopens on 1 March, and plum rain brings heavier spells around May.
Summer is hot, busy and best for surf and boats, and it is typhoon season, when beaches close and tours cancel.
What's on
- Yilan International Children's Folklore and Folkgame Festival July to August
A big summer festival at Dongshan River Water Park, the county's headline event and a strong reason to come with children.
- Toucheng Qianggu (Ghost Grappling Festival) end of the lunar seventh month, usually August or September
Teams climb greased poles in a traditional Ghost Festival rite unique to Toucheng.
Best things to do in Yilan
Kavalan Distillery
Taiwan's famous whisky distillery in Yilan, where the paid tastings in the visitor centre are the real point of the visit.
National Center for Traditional Arts
A large traditional arts park on the Dongshan River with craft streets, temples and daily opera and puppetry shows.
Jimmy Park
A small plaza by Yilan Station filled with installations from Jimmy Liao picture books, charming for 20 minutes.
Lanyang Museum
The county museum by Wushih Harbor, covering Yilan mountains, plain and sea in a slanted landmark building.
Jiaoxi Hot Spring Park
The public hot spring park in Jiaoxi, with free foot soaks and paid forest baths at town prices.
Luodong Forestry Culture Park
The old Luodong timber yard and log pond, now a free park of ponds, locomotives and timber sheds.
Zhang Mei Ama's Farm
A small Sanxing farm where families feed capybaras, deer and kangaroos in timed entry pens.
Where to stay in Yilan
Jiaoxi
hot springs, couples and first trips
The hot spring town closest to Taipei, with the county's deepest hotel market from hostels to luxury resorts.
Yilan City
food led trips and onward transport
The county capital with the main station, Jimmy Park and the cherry duck tables, in the middle of the plain.
Luodong
budget stays and night market evenings
The liveliest town in the south of the plain, with the night market, the forestry park and cheap beds.
Toucheng and Wai'ao
surfing and early Guishan Island boats
The coast base by Wushih Harbor and Wai'ao Beach, with small surf guesthouses rather than named hotels.
Think twice about
- Neipi Beach, Nanfang'ao, for swimming
A beautiful bay with a steep drop off and a record of drownings. Look at it, walk it, and do not swim there.
- Yilan City as a surf or hot spring base
The city is central but has neither the springs of Jiaoxi nor the beach at Wai'ao. Sleep in Jiaoxi or Toucheng for those trips.
Best restaurants in Yilan
Red Lantern Cherry Duck
The famous cherry duck banquet at Silks Place Yilan, carved at the table and served across several courses.
Daxi Fishing Harbor
A working harbor market at Daxi where stalls and small restaurants sell and cook the day's catch.
Weng Yao Chicken
Jiaoxi's best known jar roasted chicken restaurant, serving whole crisp skinned chickens to share at the table.
Luodong Night Market
One of Taiwan's best night markets, the place to graze Sanxing scallion snacks, mutton soup and peanut roll ice cream.
Ke's Scallion Pancake
The famous Jiaoxi scallion pancake stand, frying thick puffy pancakes loaded with Sanxing scallions to order.
Outdoor things to do in Yilan
Guishan Island
Turtle shaped volcanic island reached by licensed boats from Wushih Harbor, with capped landings and dolphin watching.
Wai'ao Beach
Yilan's main surf beach at Wai'ao, a black sand beach with board rental shops and beginner lessons by the station.
Honeymoon Bay
The quieter surf bay at Daxi, a curved beach backed by hills, best for experienced surfers and campers.
Taipingshan National Forest Recreation Area
A high forest recreation area with the Bong Bong Train, Cueifong Lake and a long mountain road up from the plain.
Qingshui Geothermal Park
A geothermal valley park where visitors boil eggs and corn in hot spring pools and soak their feet.
Wufengchi Waterfall
A three tier waterfall in the hills above Jiaoxi, the natural morning walk to pair with an afternoon soak.
Linmei Shipan Trail
A shaded circular stream trail at Linmei near Jiaoxi, about an hour under trees to the Shipan waterfall.
Best hotels in Yilan
Hotel Royal Chiao Hsi
The Jiaoxi flagship luxury hot spring resort, with big open air spring pools and rooms with spring water baths.
Wellspring by Silks Jiaoxi
A design led luxury hot spring hotel in central Jiaoxi, with a rooftop spring pool and deep tubs in the rooms.
Evergreen Resort Hotel Jiaoxi
A large family hot spring resort in Jiaoxi with multiple pools and full facilities below the luxury price tier.
Silks Place Yilan
The top city hotel in Yilan, in the Luna Plaza complex, and home to the Red Lantern cherry duck restaurant.
Just Sleep Jiaoxi
A smart budget hotel and hostel hybrid near Jiaoxi Station, the honest cheap base in the hot spring town.
Norden Ruder Hostel
A well run hostel near Luodong Station and the night market, the cheap base for the south of the plain.
Is Yilan expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | NT$2,200 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | NT$4,500 a person |
| Splurge | NT$12,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Kavalan Distillery: a few days ahead
- Zhang Mei Ama's Farm: a few days ahead
- Guishan Island: weeks ahead
- Wai'ao Beach: a few days ahead
- Taipingshan National Forest Recreation Area: a few days ahead
- Hotel Royal Chiao Hsi: weeks ahead
- Wellspring by Silks Jiaoxi: weeks ahead
- Evergreen Resort Hotel Jiaoxi: weeks ahead
- Guishan Island landing tours need booking days ahead, and a week or more ahead in summer, because daily landings are capped.
- Reserve the Red Lantern cherry duck banquet and the duck itself ahead, and book Jiaoxi luxury rooms early for weekends.
- Book Kavalan paid tasting sessions ahead on weekends.
Is Yilan safe?
- Surf and swim only where shops and lifeguards indicate, respect beach closures, and check road and trail notices after heavy rain or earthquakes.
Yilan travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Arriving at Wushih Harbor without a Guishan Island booking and expecting to walk onto a boat.
- Swimming at unpatrolled beaches, above all Neipi Beach, where the drop off and currents have killed swimmers.
- Building a Wednesday around Guishan Island or Lanyang Museum, which close on Wednesdays.
Getting around Yilan: public transport and more
- Local trains on the Yilan line connect Toucheng, Jiaoxi, Yilan City and Luodong in one string and are the backbone of a car free trip.
- Taipei to Yilan takes about an hour through the Hsuehshan Tunnel in normal traffic, and two to three hours at weekend peaks.
- For Taipingshan and multi stop farm days, a taxi charter or rental car earns its money over county buses.
Who Yilan suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Yilan your trip
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