"Why do backpackers rarely go to Taiwan?"

And, frankly, as a traveler, I DO visit places for the food.

A few year back the Taiwan tourism bureau had a photo contest in which local (Taiwanese) photographers had to submit photos in 5 different categories. One of the categories was "Taiwanese Night Markets." I don't know that the contest attracted many tourists, but having been there myself, while I clicked through the photos I practically salivated on my keyboard.

Taiwan's biggest undeveloped tourist resource is it beaches. That has nothing to do with 'travelers' perception, that s reality. The place is a lot like Hawaii but ~90% of its beautiful semi-tropical natural beaches still have no road access, no lifeguards etc.. thousands of people go to Thailand or the Philippines and take photos of palm trees in the sand . . . and then complain about the heat.

I've driven, bused and trained around the Taiwan coast a few times and haven't seen that many great beaches, to be honest. So where are these beaches you're talking about? The only ones I've seen even from windows as I traverse the coast are all fairly well-known, and I've only been to one that I felt was truly good (on the east side of Kenting). And of course Penghu, which is fantastic.

Lanyu (my favorite island) doesn't have sand beaches. Penghu does, but I really hope they never develop them more. I don't think I'd go back if they did.

My biggest disappointment in Sri Lanka was the loud, garish, commercialized beach culture. It totally ruined the natural beauty. I actually DON'T want to see that developed in Taiwan, to be honest. Call me a stodgy old hippie, but the last thing I want to see is the Thailand beach scene imported to Taiwan. What a nightmare.

But then I am not a natural beach person. I am only impressed by a beach if it has really stunning natural scenery (think El Nido in the Philippines), or very white sand and clear blue water (again, El Nido), or good snorkeling (ah, El Nido). If it's just a regular yellow sand and plain-colored water beach with a palm tree or two, I'm not interested, doubly so if it's full of people. So I don't really get what people see in places like Kending Town, Fulong or Baishawan...I'm just not that impressed. I have no desire to do the usual beachy things.

I do like Cow Mountain Beach on the east coast (sand and water are not great but the scenery kills) but it doesn't seem safe for swimming.

Taiwan has some great (albeit narrow and under developed) beaches on its eastern coast. but the road is 100 feet above the beach and there is no way to access them.

When the current is strong, the current washes away everything and beaches become rocky. (Think Kenting). That can sometimes be cool because it also, under the right circumstances) allows coral reef to develop ( Western Kenting, Lu Dao, Lan Yu Dao).

When the current is at certain levels, a muddy slat flat develops (most of Western Taiwan). Thus while Eastern Taiwan has beautiful beaches that are inaccessible, western Taiwan has mud flats because no one has piled up the right number of rocks in the right places to control the current.

Miami Beach USA, Myrtle Beach USA, Ocean City USA, Wildwood USA, the French Riviera, many Hawaiian beaches, etc. etc. all these beaches have been created or maintained by piling rocks in appropriate quantities and locations. The Taiwanese don't do that except to create shipping harbors.

Given its latitude, and the beaches that are "almost there" or "there but not accessible" it could easily become a beach location that equals Hawaii and surpasses the ridiculously hot places like Thailand and the Philippines.

I actually DON'T want to see that developed in Taiwan, to be honest. Call me a stodgy old hippie, but the last thing I want to see is the Thailand beach scene imported to Taiwan. What a nightmare

Agree completely, and as much as I love Thailand, I tend to spend most of my time there "up north" instead of at the overdeveloped and usually-not-all-that-impressive-anyway beaches.

One of my favorite beaches in the world on the east coast of Taiwan, north of Taitung. It's wide, clean, covered in soft sand and backed by natural vegetation, with views to a mountain range behind. It is gently shelving and suitable for swimming in calm conditions, and surfing when the waves are high. There are no tourist facilities, restaurants, or lifeguards. In fact, there's usually no one there at all - on a recent Saturday afternoon, my girlfriend and I had the place completely to ourselves.

It's about half a mile from the coastal highway, accessible only by dirt road, and you would never stumble across it by accident - you have to know exactly where to look.

I really, really hope it stays that way.

Interesting thread...

I will be visiting Taiwan as an 'independent traveller'/backpacker in a few weeks time....hopefully to stay for a couple of weeks at least,and travel around the island.Looking forward to great food,cultural stuff and nature.

I've already been to China (indeed lived there for a while,years ago),Japan (several times) and many other parts of Asia but had never really thought of Taiwan until recently.Now it is time to have a look.....

But it is certainly under promoted and rarely seen as a backpacker/tourist destination.Indeed i think it will be almost my last destination in East/South/SE Asia,and something like my 107th country in total........

Agree completely, and as much as I love Thailand, I tend to spend most of my time there "up north" instead of at the overdeveloped and usually-not-all-that-impressive-anyway beaches.

One of my favorite beaches in the world on the east coast of Taiwan, north of Taitung. It's wide, clean, covered in soft sand and backed by natural vegetation, with views to a mountain range behind. It is gently shelving and suitable for swimming in calm conditions, and surfing when the waves are high. There are no tourist facilities, restaurants, or lifeguards. In fact, there's usually no one there at all - on a recent Saturday afternoon, my girlfriend and I had the place completely to ourselves.

It's about half a mile from the coastal highway, accessible only by dirt road, and you would never stumble across it by accident - you have to know exactly where to look.

I really, really hope it stays that way.

You, Sir Dominick have described Taiwan exactly, except that the reason the handful of developed beaches are over developed is because the other ones are completely untouched.

I think it's to do with promotion and marketing. Here in Australia travel agents see Taiwan as just a place that business people go to, not tourists: tourists do not like to go to boring business-type destinations, so there can be nothing there to offer tourists, right?

I'm planning my second trip to Taiwan. I don't know anyone who lives there. I'm not a foodie, and have never yet visited a destination for it's cuisine. I don't speak Chinese (but this wasn't a problem in Taiwan).

What I do like is to visit countries that haven't been altered by tourism.

I've never been to China, and I never want to go to China - I'm happy with Taiwan.

We all admit that Taiwan does have an image problem. But so did Syria when I went there in 1998, Burma when I visited in 2008, and Ethiopia in 1997. So there is hope for Taiwan yet - things can change! But I will personally be happy if it doesn't change. They're wealthy enough without the extra $$$ that tourism brings, and better off without the countless problems it brings.

What I do like is to visit countries that haven't been altered by tourism.

Just because Taiwan doesn't attract large numbers of visitors from Western countries doesn't mean the country hasn't been altered by tourism. Taiwan has a thriving domestic tourism industry, in addition to the great number of tourists from other Asian countries, including Japan, South Korea and Singapore. And, of course, there is the growing number of Chinese traveling to Taiwan for sightseeing. Compared to how things were when I made my first visit there in 1999 (and later took up residence), Taiwan has, in fact, been greatly altered by tourism.

I think saying "Taiwan has an image problem" slightly overstates it, especially in the context of discussing places like Syria and Ethiopia.

Among backpackers it is thought of as a great place to work and have fun. More fun than Japan or S. Korea. But when they start naming destinations where they want to spend the money they've earned Taiwan is seldom on the list.

That's less than ideal for Taiwan, but it does not conjure Syria or Ethiopia to mind.

As per earlier:
- Hospitality, hot springs, good public transportation and night markets are great, and those are among Taiwan's many strengths. But their travel value is frequently underestimated by travelers when making travel decisions.
- What brings in travelers is things like cultural/historical sites, great mountains and great beaches.
- Taiwan has actually done a better job than the mainland of preserving its cultural and historical sites, but some how that is not the common perception.
- Taiwan has not developed its beaches, nor even provided road access to many of them, and it requires permits for many of its best mountains.

I spent three nights on Emei Mountain (Mainland, Sichuan). I needed no permit. I simply walked on, fed the monkeys, slept in monasteries and ate with the monks and nuns.

It takes 33 days to apply for a permit for Yu Shan on Taiwan.

Edited by: LongIslandBob