Taitung Travel Guide – Visit Taitung – Budget Travel In Taiwan

Visit Taitung on the eastern coast of Taiwan to experience mountain ranges, forest parks and long coastlines.

In contrast to other places in Taiwan that we had visited, we arrived in Taitung with no idea of what the city had to offer. It is not as much of a tourist destination as the other cities we had visited. On arrival, we found a city with a relaxed atmosphere.

Travelling From Hualien To Taitung

We took a train from Hualien which took approximately 3 hours. The Taitung station is located quite far from the town so we had to take a bus which dropped us about 15 minutes walk from our hostel.

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Where To Stay In Taitung

These are some of the best budget hostels in Taitung, 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.

• Hostel Who Knows
• The Kite
• Enjoy Sleep
• Mr. Red Tea B & B
• Bonito Inn
• Navel Orange Hostel
• K2 Hostel
• 1981 Hostel
• Utopia Hostel

Enjoy Sleep

We booked a three night stay in dorms in a hostel called ‘Enjoy Sleep’ (map). We arrived before check-in and early check-in was not available. The initial impressions were good. The manager was very helpful, giving us advice on what to do in the city. There were a couple of things going on that we would not have known about without her information. The entrance to the hostel is a bar where you can have coffee, soft drinks and alcohol.

The rooms were fairly basic but clean. The beds were not entirely private as the curtains only ran along the side, not at the ends, so people could see into the beds. There were 10 beds in our room with only one shower/bathroom but we were allowed to use the bathroom on the floor below and we actually never had to wait to use the facilities.

WiFi is provided in the communal areas but not in the rooms which we were aware of before booking. We had purchased an unlimited data sim for our time in Taiwan, meaning we could use our phones as a hotspot and connect our laptops through that.

In the basement, there is another communal area with games and guitars, a piano and a drum box, meaning guests could have jam sessions. This was a great touch. The instruments were in great condition.

The rules stated that outside alcohol was not allowed which was a big negative for me. Beer was over twice the price as from a 7-eleven, making it not so budget-friendly to your average backpacker. However, I took my own into the communal area in the basement and the owner did say this was fine in a reply to my online review.

There are washing facilities available but it didn’t do the best job with our clothes. It made them cleaner, but not exactly spring-fresh!

Overall, this was a decent place to stay. The communal areas are superb and the staff very helpful. I felt it just needed a couple of small changes to make it even better.

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We paid £56 for a three night stay for two in a mixed dorm room.

Click here to book a room at ‘Enjoy Sleep’.

Things To Do In Taitung

ABC Deli

We were hungry so we used the time available before check-in to grab some food. We walked quite a distance before any options became available. It appeared we had chosen the wrong time to eat; after lunch but before the night food stalls began business. We found a small deli called ‘ABC Deli’ (map) that offered pita wraps with various fillings. It is a family-run deli and the two children that were playing in the children’s area seemed quite bemused by our presence! My cheeseburger wrap was decent and did the job of filling my belly. For now.

Taitung Night Market

The manager of our hostel informed us that the ‘Siwei Night Market’ (map) was open on our first night so we decided we would check it out for our evening food. It was early when we arrived but most of the stalls were open.

As you would expect, there were all kinds of interesting treats available.

Our choice was pretty dull considering what was on offer; I opted for fried chicken and Joanna had sushi.

Taitung Night Market Opening Times: 5 pm – 11 pm, Thurs – Sat.

Railway Art Village

The hostel manager had also informed us that there would be also be an art market with live music and dance on our first night in the city at the ‘Railway Art Village’ (map). We arrived to see many stalls selling various arts and crafts, with music provided by the many buskers.

We had arrived in the city during its annual hot-air balloon festival and this was represented by the many models on display.

We arrived just in time to see a performance of traditional dance.

We had noticed a few bars in the area but, as is usually the case on a day of travel, we were tired so we opted for an early night.

Taitung Coffee Shop

There was no breakfast option available in our dorm so we headed out on our first full day looking for coffee. We chose a VERY small coffee shop called ‘Solo Studio’ (map). The shop has been in the family for generations (it used to be a hardware shop) and is now much smaller since the council widened the road. There is literally one table inside! However, the coffee was very good and the host was very friendly.

Cycling In Taitung

We had decided to hire some bikes to explore the outskirts of the city. We were heading to a place called ‘Aloha Bicycle Rental’ but we ended up hiring from the shop literally next door (map) as we came to this first and they took no time in approaching us. The bikes were 120 TND each (£3) for the whole day. They were in very good condition so this was a good price.

We had a cycle around the park near the coast to get used to the bikes then headed to the forest park.

Taitung Forest Park

Having paid 30 TND admission to the park, we set off on the bike trail. The trail is paved all the way and is flat so it is very easy going, apart from the heat. It was extremely hot. So much so, Joanna had to fashion her sarong into a head piece. I think she did a good job.

The park is very well maintained but I’m not sure the maps are accurate as we ended up back where we started after cycling for half an hour. Obviously, this had nothing to do with my map reading skills.

We cycled around the park for around 2-3 hours, enjoying its lush greenery and its many lakes before returning to our hostel to relax.

Taitung Forest Park Opening Times: 6 am – 7 pm (fee time: 7:30 am – 5:30pm).
Taitung Forest Entrance Fee: 30 TND

Vegetarian Food In Taitung

There are a number of vegetarian food places around the city and one that came with some great reviews was ‘明隆春捲專賣店’ (map). I ordered veggie pork ribs in noodle soup. It was very bland. The ‘ribs’ turned out to be more like veggie pork scratchings (probably a translation failure) but the broth tasted of nothing. I was very hungry before eating and I knew this was not going to suffice.

I went back to the hostel and had a few beers before venturing out again. I wandered for a while with no success when I came across ‘Mos Burgers’ (map): a Taiwanese fast-food chain. The food is what you’d expect; a Mcdonald’s style burger and fries. It isn’t a place I’d recommend but it did save me from having to wander further to find food.

Saxiantai Arch Bridge

The next day, we headed to the bus station at the Railway Art Village to take a bus to ‘Saxiantai Arch Bridge’ (map). The bus was full and took around 90 minutes to reach our destination.

We headed towards the bridge, passing through ‘Pebble Beach’ on our way.

Some tourists were happy to just walk on to the bridge and turn back, rather than explore the small island it connects to. We opted to explore the island, which I recommend. You don’t travel all this way and NOT make the most of it!

The island is small and takes around 90 minutes to explore; the lighthouse being the furthest point. There is a pathway to a point, then it becomes rocky terrain and it’s not always clear which way to go.

There is a small cave to explore just before the lighthouse. Once you reach the lighthouse, there are a number of steep steps before you can rest and take in the views from the top.

After we had taken in the views, we headed back to the coach pick-up point, stopping for some much-needed refreshments. It was VERY hot.

Sanxiantai Arch Bridge Opening Times: 8.30 am – 5 pm, every day.
Sanxiantai Arch Bridge Entrance Fee: Free admission.

Fish And Chips!

We took the bus back towards Taitung City, stopping off at Dhonge Township as we had discovered that there was an actual fish and chips restaurant there. This was something we had been looking forward to since we found out about it a couple of weeks previously. We arrived in the town only to realise that the restaurant was open every day except Tuesdays. Guess what day it was? Gutted!

Instead, we found a local cafe and I feasted on a local dish of minced pork and rice. It was good but not what we had been looking forward to.

Dulan Sugar Factory Cafe And Art Gallery

Just opposite where we had lunch was the ‘Dulan Sugar Factory and Art Gallery’ (map), a former sugar factory that now hosted galleries, cafes and bars. In the evenings, they sometimes host live events. As we were here in the mid-afternoon, it was fairly quiet, but still an interesting place to wander around.

Dulan Sugar Factory Cafe And Art Gallery Opening Times: 10 am – 7 pm, Wed – Sun.
Dulan Sugar Factory Cafe And Art Gallery Entrance Fee: Free admission.

Water Running Upward

We had no time to visit the Dulan Forest, but we had enough time to visit the natural ‘wonder’ of ‘Water Running Upward’ (map), a former irrigation channel where, as the sign says, water does appear to be flowing uphill. Obviously an illusion, despite Joanna’s insistence that the water actually was flowing upwards. It was a pleasant enough way to spend half an hour but don’t go out of your way to see it. There is access 24 hours a day and the site is free admission.

We waited at the side of the road for the bus, which arrived almost on time and took us back to the Railway Art Village. We called into an interactive exhibition of a local artist before heading back to the hostel.

Is Taitung Worth Visiting?

Taitung might not be the first place on most travellers’ itinerary but that’s not to say it has nothing to offer. The Railway Art Village is very pretty in the evening and the night market is also worth a visit, as is the Forest Park. We didn’t explore the Dulan Forest but other travellers told us it was very beautiful. It is certainly worth at least a couple of days of your Taiwan trip.