Taiwan Round-Island by Train - Itinerary

If you're reading this, you're probably considering this legendary 2-week route for your next vacation.

To the Taiwanese themselves though, the Round-Island Trip is much more than a vacation. It is a once-in-a-lifetime, bordering-on-spiritual journey often undertaken by young adults as a coming-of-age rite, vaguely akin to Route 66 for Andy Warhol and his generation of Americans. For the bragging rights that you get, transportation for the circular route is effortless and very cheap by Taiwan Railways and the occasional highway bus for about TWD 2500 (CAD$110) at the time of writing.

Day 0: Arrival at TPE Airport in Late Evening - Taoyuan Station (Bus 706, 45 min)

Day 1: Taoyuan Station - Store Luggage - Daxi (Bus 5096, 45 min) - Sanxia (Bus 5101 then Bus 702, 1 hr) - Taoyuan Station (Bus 702 then Local Train, 45 min) - Taichung Station (Express Train, 1.5 hr) - Fengchia Night Market

Day 2: Taichung Station - Changhua Station (Local Train, 15 min) - Store Luggage - Lukang Township (Bus 6936, 40 min) - Changhua Station (Bus 6936, 40 min) - Tainan Station (Express Train, 1.5 hr) - Dadong Night Market

Day 3: Tainan Station - Store Luggage - Anping (Bus 88, 40 min) - Tainan Station (Bus 88, 40 min) - Kaohsiung Station (Express Train, 35 min) - Liuhe Night Market

Day 4: Kaohsiung - Store Luggage - Qijin Island (Metro then Ferry, 30 min) - Pier 2 Art Center (Ferry, 15 min) - Kaohsiung (Metro) - Kenting (Highway Bus, 2 hr) - Kenting Night Market

Day 5: Kenting - Private Tour (Taxi, 4 hrs) - Hengchun Town - Kenting (Local Bus, 15 min) - Hit the Beach

Day 6: Kenting - Fangliao Station (Bus 9188, 1 hr) - Taitung Station (Express Train, 1.5 hr) - Store Luggage - Taitung Town (Bus 8186A, 20 min each way) - Hualien Station (Express Train, 2 hr) - Dongdamen Night Market

Day 7: Hualien Station - Store Luggage - Taroko National Park (Bus 1133A, 45 min) - Hualien Station (Bus 1133A, 45 min) - Ruifang Station (Express Train, 2 hr)

Day 8: Ruifang Station - Store Luggage - Jingtong Station (Local Train, 1 hr) - Pingxi Station (Walk, 20 min) - Shifen Station (Local Bus, 15 min) - Ruifang Station (Local Train, 30 min) - Jiufen Town (Bus 788, 30 min)

Day 9: Jiufen Town - Keelung Station (Bus 788, 45 min) - Store Luggage - Yehliu Geopark (Bus T99, 1 hr) - Keelung Station (Bus T99, 1 hr) - Taipei Station (Local Train, 45 min) - Ningxia Night Market

Day 10: Taipei - Shopping Day - Shilin Night Market

Day 11: Taipei - Store Luggage - Shopping Day - Depart from TPE Airport in Evening (Taipei Metro then Taoyuan Metro, 1 hr)