Where should I go? | Asia - North-East Asia - Lonely Planet Forum

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Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:28:43 +0000

Hi,

I am reserved on a flight to Taipei at the end of October and am slightly confused as to where to go...

I am planning on being in the Taiwan for 6 days only and am on a break from my job in Seoul. I am wanting to relax and take in some incredible scenery - swim in the beautiful water, meet some interesting and friendly people, enjoy myself (not necessarily in the 'party' style way) and just rejuvenate somewhere quite special.

A few of my friends have suggested I head to Taipei for a couple of days and then head south to a beach town. Having looked in Lonely Planet I have seen some amazing looking places, and do have a real fascination with Taiwan. But my problem is, am I heading there for too short a time? It seems this amazing place has a million and one things to explore, so should I hold off and head there for a longer time at a later date?

On the other hand...is there anywhere in Taiwan that anyone can recommend to recharge whilst exploring quite an amazing culture and landscape?

Can anyone who has been recommend somewhere that is all of the above..?? If it exists (which I am sure it does in Taiwan!!)

Any advice is much appreciated...

Thanks :-)

ONLINE

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 12:03:59 +0000

I cannot believe that nobody has responded to this. Our Taiwan experts are usually quick to respond to this kind of thing.

The best beaches seem to be in the south, but as I have not gone to Taiwan for this reason, I have no personal experience. The best scenery and the most interesting towns are not near the beaches, so I really don't have a good suggestion on how you can do both.

Maybe one of the regulars will respond now that I have responded in a way to this. Or maybe you can post again at the end of the month and see if you have better luck then.

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Sat, 26 Sep 2009 14:33:24 +0000

The high speed rail has made it a lot easier to traverse the west coast of the island, so in 6 days, you could do the entire west side with no problem. I live in the south, but I would definitely spend most of my time in Taipei if you've never been here. It's the easiest place to get around if you only have a short time. There are beaches in the north, such as Fulong Beach, but I haven't been there in a long time and don't know what it'll be like in October.

The most popular beach area is Kenting, and it is beautiful. It's become a bit murky recently because of all the typhoons (especially Typhoon Morakot), but it's still a great place to chill out. You can take the high speed rail (1.5 hours) from Taipei to Kaohsiung, then take a bus from there. Or you can take the regular train or long-distance buses (about 4-5 hours) to Kaohsiung, and then transfer to a Kenting-bound bus too.

Taiwan's one of those places that has a lot of hidden gems, but for the average traveller/tourist, it's quite difficult to find them because most things are all in Chinese. My favourite area of Taiwan is Nantou County, which has got rolling hills and lots of aboriginal villages. It's not impossible to get to, but it is more difficult and I wouldn't recommend spending so much time travelling if you're only here for 6 days.

As much as I love Taiwan, it's not really a "relaxing" place if you're imagining a Thai beach resort. There are lots of ways to relax though: foot massages and hair wash places that give great massages, great food at nightmarkets, etc.

If you want to do both sightseeing and beaches, I would tell you to spend a few days in Taipei, take the high speed to Tainan (if you want to see a traditional, more preserved Chinese city) for the day, and then head further south to Kenting. It'll be quick, but it's doable.

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