Yilan

Yilan makes for a nice 3-day weekend destination from Kaohsiung, and if you are living in Taipei,  it can easily be visited in a normal weekend or even on a spontaneous day trip. There is something for everyone to do in Yilan: hiking, surfing, paragliding, or simply relaxing on the beach with a good book.

It took us 8 hours to get there from Kaohsiung because we took the bus to Taipei, and then the train to Wai’ao. If we had taken the High Speed Rail (as we did on the way home) the journey would have taken only about 4 hours.

For accommodation, we stayed at the Rising Sun Surf Inn, which was a great spot to call home for a couple of nights; good people, great location, and clean rooms. They rent boards, have sunrise yoga classes, and offer free bicycles. The owner Candy is a gem, and she is happy to arrange any other activities such as paragliding, whale watching, etc. As for camping, I did notice some foreigners camping on the public beach, and they didn’t seem to be bothered.

Directions:

From Kaohsiung- take the High Speed Rail (90 minutes) or bus (5-6 hours) to Taipei.

From Taipei, take the slow train to Wai’ao station (this is within walking distance of the Rising Sun Surf Inn) or take the fast train to Toucheng station. In Toucheng, there are places to rent scooters, and it’s only a 15 minute scoot to Wai’ao.