Hualien Travel Guide – Visit Hualien – Budget Travel In Taiwan

Situated on the east coastline of Taiwan between the Pacific Ocean and the central mountain range, Hualien is considered to be one of Taiwan’s most scenic natural areas. It also serves as a gateway to the Taroko National Park; one of nine national parks in Taiwan.

Arriving In Hualien

We were travelling from Keelung to Hualien by train. This involved a short train journey before we had to transfer to another train to complete the journey. The whole trip took around 3-4 hours. We arrived in Hualien train station where we saw the mountain range that overlooks the city.

Our hostel was half an hour walk away but there is a bus station right outside the station. The information on Google Maps didn’t appear to be too accurate but we asked a bus driver and he told us which bus we needed to catch. The bus was cheap and dropped us off with just a 10 minute walk to our hostel.

Where To Stay In Hualien

These are some of the best budget hostels in Hualien, according to user reviews. These are affiliate links to the Agoda web site. I found Agoda to be much better than booking.com in Southeast Asia. I receive a small amount for any bookings made through these links at no extra cost to you.

• Lovely Bean Hostel
• You Liang Hostel
• Ai Yin B&B
• On My Way Hualien Hostel
• Hometoo Hostel
• Fun Hualien Hostel
• Hualien Bird’s House Hostel
• Phoenix Hostel
• Station Sea B&B
• Sleeping Boot Hostel

Cave Hostel

We booked a dorm room in a place called ‘Cave Hostel’ (map). Unsure whether it was in a good location, it was only a five minute walk to the Hualien night market and was surrounded by restaurants and 7-elevens so it seemed to be central enough.

We had a double upper-bunk bed in a room with 7 other beds. The hostel was modern and all the facilities were in good working order. The WiFi was great and there were always hot showers.

That’s not to say it was all good. There were not enough showers for the amount of people staying, meaning there was often a wait. Not all the showers were in great condition and one shower was without shower gel for at least two days. The staff were obviously not checking the bathrooms as often as they should.

Breakfast was decent but again could be improved with the addition of another toaster so people aren’t having to wait too long. The staff could also be a little quicker getting the food out. It seemed they waited until plates were totally empty before preparing more. Breakfast time was between 7 and 9 which seemed a little early.

The room had a weird ‘biscuity’ smell that was a little sickly. There was air-con but as soon as you pulled down the blind on your bed, it became quite hot and stuffy.

Maybe we had been spoiled by our time at the excellent ‘Space Inn’ hostel in Taipei but some of the issues here could easily be fixed. We had a decent stay here but we were ready to leave after 3 nights.

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We paid £68 for 3 nights in a double bed in a dorm with shared bathroom.

Click here to book a stay at ‘Cave Hostel’.

Hualien Pizza

Once we got settled into the hostel, we ventured out in search for food. Or, more specifically, pizza. Joanna had started having pizza cravings at an increasing rate. There seemed to be a couple of options nearby. The first option that Google Maps gave us didn’t seem to exist but we were in luck with the second suggestion. ‘Prince Pizza’ (map) might look like a children’s restaurant (and it is very family friendly) but they serve decent pizza for around $200 (£5). Don’t expect the most authentic Italian pizza here, but it will do the job in satisfying any pizza cravings you might have.

As is usually the case after a day of travel, we had an early night in preparation for our trip to the national park the next day.

How To Get To Taroko National Park

There are a number of options to get to Taroko National Park from Hualien. Buses can take you directly to various parts of the park, though online information is conflicting and the bus schedules are inconsistent. There are two companies that provide all-day tickets but I would advise against these as you may find yourself letting a bus pass as your ticket is not valid and then having to wait another hour for your bus. I would speak to the staff at your hostel as they will almost definitely have the latest information.

We decided to take a train to ‘Xingcheng Station’ (map) and from there we took a bus which took us directly to the main park entrance. We bought single tickets meaning we could take any bus on our return journey.

Klook.com

Taroko National Park

The bus dropped us off at the main entrance. There were a number of walks to choose from. We decided to do the ‘Shakadang Trail’. This meant a short walk to the beginning of the trail. We had to leave the entrance and walk through a tunnel which led us to the short ‘Xiaozhuilu Trail’.

Shakadang Trail

In less than half an hour, the ‘Xiaozhuilu Trail’ became the ‘Shakadang Trail’. This trail runs alongside the river which is famous for its turquoise water filled with huge boulders. As we started the trail, we came across a few warning signs.

We didn’t see any wild animals, killer bees or poisonous snakes but there were plenty of HUGE spiders.

The water level was very low (non-existent in parts) but it was still very beautiful.

Aboriginal Sausage

At around the 2 km point, there are a few small stalls selling refreshments and one selling Aboriginal mountain listen sausage that is made with the local wild peppercorn. You have to try them when doing the Shakadang Trail. It’s the law.

From this point, the trail is another 3-4 km, at which point you reach a sign telling you to turn around and return the same way from which you came.

The notices say that the whole trail (return) takes between 4 – 6 hours but we did it in less than this. We probably came in just under the 4 hour mark. It is an easy trail as it is flat and paved for the most part. We found that most tourists walk as far as the food stalls and then turn back, missing out on much of the natural beauty that lay ahead.

Once we returned to the entrance, we had a half hour wait for the bus which took us back to the train station and another 15 minute wait for the train to take us back to Hualien.

Toroko National Park Opening Times: Visitors Center near eastern gate open 8:30 – 5:30 pm. Closed on Monday of the 2nd week every month and the day before Lunar New Year.
Toroko National Park Entrance Fee: Free admission.

Hualien Night Market

We had already experienced great night markets in Taiwan so we were expecting good things from ‘Dongdamen Night Market’ (map) but it still managed to surprise us. It was clear right from the entrance that this place was going to be something special.

The market was busy with stalls running down both sides of the wide road.

Many of the vendors sold alcohol and you could buy a drink and walk around the market. We had some simple food to start off with; Joanna had cuttlefish balls and I had a huge sausage (second of the day)! There was live music at various locations, meaning you could sit at any of the stalls and enjoy a soundtrack to your food and drink.

Vegetarian Food In Hualien

Joanna found a vegetarian place where she enjoyed a noodle dish whilst I sat and had a large beer at one of the bigger restaurants. She returned but only to then go and buy some stinky tofu fries, which were very stinky and still tasted like sewers to me. Joanna enjoyed them though. After I had finished my beer, I had a pork bun which I had to wait a while for but was worth it as it had plenty of chunks of pork!

There seemed to be a festival of some sort taking place as there was also a huge stage with hundreds of people gathered to watch what appeared to be some sort of teen idol.

‘Dongdamen Night Market’ is a must-visit in Hualien. The atmosphere is buzzing as locals and tourists mix to enjoy drinks and a wide variety of food. There is also a small funfair for children and more stalls near the ‘Railway Culture Park’.

Dongdamen Night Market Opening Hours: 5 pm – 12 am, every day.

Hualien City

The next day, we decided we didn’t want to return to the national park so we decided to spend the day in the city itself. We had found a few places that looked interesting. We had no idea at this point that we would end up having one of the best experiences of our travels!

A-Zone

Our first stop was ‘A-Zone’ (map) which was nearby and which Google Maps described as “warehouses converted into industrial-style restaurants & shops”. It looked like an interesting place but, unfortunately, it was under renovation and everything was closed.

We continued walking and headed towards the area around the ‘Zhong Zheng NIght Market’ (map) which we had discovered the previous night. In the night time, shops are open and there are people enjoying the food and music. However, despite it being midday on a Saturday, most shops were closed and it was empty. Looking at the opening hours on one of the shop doors, we discovered that most of the shops opened around 2 pm. On a Saturday!

Pine Garden

We continued our journey to the ‘Pine Garden’ (map) which is a cultural centre based in a former military site. You have to pay to visit but we just wandered around the free part as the paid area didn’t seem that interesting. There were various sculptures but lots of mosquitos and it wasn’t the most thrilling place to visit.

Pine Garden Opening Hours: 9 am – 6 pm, every day.
Pine Garden Entrance Fee: 60 NTD

It was now extremely hot so we decided to skip some of the other places on our list and head towards the coast.

Beibin Park

‘Beibin Park’ (map) is located on the coast. It has the feel of a place that tried to turn Hualien into a coastal resort but didn’t quite manage it. We did find a random ‘3D Art’ building (map) but there wasn’t much else of any interest.

We headed back into the city to make our way back to our hostel, passing an interesting looking cafe along the way that was, inevitably, closed.

Ocean Home Festival

Whilst having breakfast in the hostel that morning, Joanna overheard some people talking about a small festival that was taking place near a hotel further south on the coast. We were in two minds whether to go as we knew we’d be relying on public transport to get home and it wasn’t the most reliable. In the end, we decided to go for it.

Google Maps showed us how to get there by bus and it came on time. It took a little over half an hour to reach the festival site. We found a spot where people were entering and we followed them in.

Once we came out of the bushes, we discovered a small festival with two stages, many clothes and craft stalls and food and drink options. We had a wander around the site and then settled down to enjoy a guitar duo playing original songs.

We immediately fell in love with the small festival. It had such a great atmosphere and the music was good. As we sat enjoying the music, it became much busier. People were clearly ready for a good time!

The toilets were up to usual festival standards.

Not many festivals boast such views.

Not many festivals boast such great weather!

As night time falls, Chiku Toshiaki performs a wonderful set. Bizarrely, he used to be in a famous J-pop band.

And then it’s time for some ROCK!

Great vibes as the reggae band take over.

The festival was amazing. We had originally planned to leave on the 8.15 pm bus but Google Maps told us there was another bus around 10.30 pm so we decided to stay longer. When we finally left, a guy selling great sausages informed us that there were no other buses. This was not what we wanted to hear. It was a 2 1/2 hour walk back to our hostel and there didn’t appear to be any taxis around. We spoke to some locals who were also leaving and they offered to take us back to our hostel in their car. Within half an hour, they dropped us off right at the front entrance to our hostel. Big thanks to those guys!

Is Hualien Worth Visiting?

Most people visit Hualien so they can explore the national park but the night market is also worth a visit. Our visit to the festival was one of the most unexpected highlights of our travels; it really made the visit special. My advice is to find out when the festival is happening and try to time your visit so you can include it. You will not be sorry!