Around Taiwan in Three and a Bit Days

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Preparation:

You may wish to prepare: towels, bathing suits, beach and trekking footwear, a hat, sunglasses, sun cream, highway toll tickets (purchased at petrol stations or at the "Cash" toll booth on the Freeway), three days worth of clothes as well as an extra pair just in case, plastic bags, Insect repellent, plenty of cash (not many places accept credit cards). You should prepare warm clothes and water proof jackets etc, even during the summer months in case of severe weather conditions and/or high mountain climates. All areas are prone to flooding in heavy storms.

Please read our article "Prepare Yourself"

Around Taiwan in Three and a Bit Days

This video is in four parts and will play in sequence.

The first leg of the trip begins from Taipei County and simply consists of the number 3 highway (South) for the first few hours of driving. It's a long, plain and comparatively featureless drive, but which is the fastest way of getting anyone to the very South of the island without the stress of country or mountainous roads getting in the way. This is a three and a bit day trip, so it makes the most of the time by cutting out much of the west coast which aside from several interesting destinations, consists of some of the less flattering roadside scenery on the island, and besides, it allows more time for some of the most stunning island coastal and mountain roads, but more of that later.

(Around six hours driving from Hsindian to Kenting)

Highway-3 South From Hsindian

This first stretch on this fast highway road when travelled on a typical workday will take you through a total of nine toll stations, eight service stations and rest areas in about four and a half hours. There is a very large “Nantou Service Station” at kilometre 231, approximately at the half way point on this leg, where one can enjoy a selection of different food offerings in the style of local dishes which includes snack food such as Taiwanese sweet and spicy sausages, dried shredded squid etc, plus rice and meat dishes and even pastries and coffee.
The rest stop’s offerings don’t just end with food either, but are impressive with free children’s play area, an indoor ceramics museum, outdoor coffee area seating and wireless internet to boot. As far as service stations go this is quite an oasis indeed. And the toilets are clean!

Back onto highway 3, South, and continue to almost the end of the highway. Ignore any signs to 'Kanding' at this point as this will result in a wrong turn. Turn off at about kilometre 430, just about one kilometre before it runs out of road, at which point, turn left and onto road 17 heading East. Road 17 continues straight, but changes its number to ‘1’ and then '26' before finally arriving in Kenting.

About Kenting
Kenting is a small township which predominantly caters for tourists. The last few years have seen considerable sums of money invested in the area to improve facilities and amenities to attract and cater for the increasing number of tourists who desire and are able to escape from the pressures and noise of the cities. The area is one of the few in Taiwan that gets anywhere near competing with foreign resorts and it has become more accessible due to the improved highway network.
Due to the fierce competition between the smaller privately owned guest houses and also the larger hotels.
There are numerous eating establishments which cater for a wide variety of tastes and offer a variety of cuisines, from road-side vendors selling snacks and drinks to up-market restaurants. Clothes shops and stalls can be found everywhere which tend to sell anything associated with a typical holiday resort area, from hats to T-shirts to flip flops. Other roadside vendors may also be found selling sunglasses, jewellery and gifts etc.
Kenting road itself offers quite a lot of fun in the form of games such as hoopla, Pachenko, basketball, target shooting, balloon popping, and more. There’s certainly something for everyone here which should keep all age groups entertained for hours.
For the adults there are many bars and clubs scattered up and down the streets, playing anything from techno music to Rock and Roll. There are also the quieter restaurants and bars which are more family orientated too. That’s just the evening entertainment. During the daytime there’s a host of other activities for all to enjoy. There are scuba shops for those who fancy a dip in one of Taiwan’s most famous diving areas, and for the kids there’s the beach of course, or perhaps they might prefer the large indoor swimming pool and slides at the southern end of the main drag.
As far as beaches, there’s no shortage of choice really. There are plenty of them dotted all along the coast, some of them sandy, some of them volcanic rock, some are even covered in shells.

Accommodation

There’s literally not enough space on the page to go through all of the hotels, guest houses and various lodgings that can be found in Kenting as well as campsites which are also sprouting up to cope with the recent trends in camping and cycling around the island. Considering the rate that accommodation in Kenting continually changes and reinvents itself, then there are likely to even be a few more additions and alterations by the time anyone has taken time to read this.

We stayed at the Langtaosa Guest House ((08)-8862899, 0921-598-866) which is situated parallel to the main Kenting street in a quiet back street (down this small alley). If you go during the off-peak season like we did, you can expect to bargain down your room price to around 1,300NT for either a twin or double room for the night. On-peak would see some similar rooms rise in price by several hundred Taiwan Dollars and they may become extremely difficult to book close to these times.
Our advice is to take advantage of the smaller, local guest houses as unlike the larger hotels such as the Howard Beach Resort, or the Cesar Park, you aren’t paying for the upkeep of swimming pools, large lobbies and restaurants in the facility. There are plenty of restaurants out on the main Kenting drag and no shortage if places to swim, including several beaches of course and a large indoor pool with slides called “Water Space” which is a short drive down the road.

Camping

For those that prefer the traditional idea of camping in a tent then Kenting shouldn’t disappoint. There are sites dotted all around and many of the former go-cart racing tracks which were once found dotted along the exit road from Kenting have now been demolished and have been turned into ever popular campsites. For a few hundred per night you can pitch your own tent, and enjoy the feeling of actually pushing pegs into grass, which is quite a change from some of the concrete pitches found in other areas on the island. Of course if you don’t fancy the hard work, then there are also tents ready pitched for rent. There are basic showering facilities as well as places to wash dishes and dispose of rubbish.
There may be little or no choice of onsite food however and so you might wish to prepare in advance if walking around at night seems less appealing and assuming you aren't staying in one of the sites situated closely to Kenting main street.

Food

Kenting is packed with places to eat and can’t possibly leave anyone hungry, but some typical takes and styles of dishes to be expected include Italian, Thai, Taiwanese, seafood, Mexican as well as many others, not to mention the plethora of roadside vendors who sell everything from sausages, to Mongolian BBQ, to fresh fruit smoothies.

Breakfast in Kenting can be a much less interesting affair than the evening’s offerings as there are few places that cater for the early risers. Many people choose to eat later in the day and so the few places that are open tend to be local breakfast shops which offer things such as bacon and egg sandwiches, ‘danbing’ savoury pancakes and turnip cake. There is always the MacDonalds at the entrance to Kenting for those that require something perhaps a little more familiar though, or you can check the restaurants at any of the larger hotels.

Leaving Kenting

Drivers Beware!: All motor vehicles are now required by law to have their headlights on at all times when travelling the majority of mountain and coastal areas. Fines have been recently introduced for those who don't.

On the way out of Kenting there are a few interesting places to stop, including beaches, road-side eateries, entertainment facilities, Kenting lighthouse and surrounding walk area and more. You may wish to allow some extra time and leave a little earlier to make the most of these offerings as well as beautiful vistas so as not to feel rushed and tired later in the day. You will still have to save energy for the three-hour drive to the Taitung area later. One word of warning when taking pictures; don’t get so carried away with taking them that you end up dropping your video camera down a small embankment…Oops!

Kenting Lighthouse

Kenting Lighthouse and Walk Location

Onto Taitung

(About three hours of driving to the next stop)

We leave Kenting on route 26, heading South initially. This takes us past Kenting lighthouse and then just a few short kilometres to Longpan Park, which can be easily located as its just a very short distance farther down the road from a large military radar base on the left. The entrance to Longtan Park is a simple roadside parking area on the right hand side, with little in the way of signposting.
Longtan Park offers one of the most spectacular coastal views perhaps anywhere on Taiwan island.

Carrying on down the road there are plenty of small streets and villages which can be explored, but for the purpose of our trip we skip through most of them, as our trip is only three and a bit days long and we must stick to our tight schedule. Some additional treats, which may be found however are sweet potato stands, coconut and ice cream vendors, walkways, pretty waterways small picturesque suspension bridges, as well as opportunities for canoeing and sometimes even horseback riding, depending on the season.

Read This First:
Towards the end of 2010, Road-26 (from Kenting) is said to be “scheduled to be completed”, and will eventually link the west of the road all the way to the East coast road and then Road-9. At this time of writing the road is not yet complete and so the inland East-200 Road is the only practical way to link up to the other end of Road-26 on the East side and then Road-9.

Just after the HaiQi Bridge our route takes a left off road-26 towards Central Manjhou. This road is first named Chasan Rd. then GonGuan Rd. and then later GangKou Rd. although don't worry as it doesn’t change in direction at all even though it changes its name. Stick to the road with the yellow centre lines on it as it changes name yet again to QiaoTou Rd. on Google maps.

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Sticking to the East-200 you will eventually come across a 4x4 centre at a place Signposted Ganz or GangZi according to Google maps which offers both quad bikes and Jeeps for rent. The guides will take individuals or groups out onto the East coast dunes for some excellent fun. They'll even offer to take pictures for you.

Quad Bikes and Jeeps Location

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After a spot of off-roading, its time to continue the journey Northwards, along the coast. A quick right turn at a traditional archway shortly after the 4x4 centre takes us onto the Eastern side Road-26, also signposted 199. This is beginning of some of the spectacular coastal scenery which is impossible to become tiresome of. Its also the beginning of some of the twistiest roads that can be expected on the island and so the travel sick should take plenty of precautions before this stage of the route.

Take a left turn at the police station in Mudan onto Road-199

Left Turn at the Police Station

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Next Turn Right at intersection onto North-199

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Next, take a right turn onto Road-9, followed by another right at another policestation in Daran township.

This keeps you on Road-9 until you arrive in Jinluen.

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