Cant believe I am asking this either, after all we are on an Island. I am up near Taipei, and I would like to know where is a good beach?
Requirements in no particular order:
[]Clean Beach sand / Clean Water
[]Lots of people that are there to enjoy the water ( not just stand around starring into space at each other.)
[]Some decent shops/toilets near by.
[]Travel. Easy to get to.
Can be very native and plain, or very western style with lots of noise and boats and jet skis, and screaming kids.
We are on an Island, seriously… cant believe I have to ask this. :loco:
Fulong fits the bill.
There are tons of brilliant beaches, of course, but you have to hunt them down. And you need your own transport. Other than that, I don’t know. My idea of a good beach only matches No. 1 on your list. The rest are basically deal-breakers for me. Would NEVER go to such places.
Baisawan beach on the north coast fits your criteria.
What is the name on the way to Toucheng, Yilan, where you just cross the road from the train station and there is a Mr. Brown cafe anmd a lot of Greek themed cafes and the becah is like Andrew wants it, with surfers, and banana boats and open showers and such? Easy to get to when you get on teh train toYilan from Main Station. Less crowded than Fulong.
Wai’ao.
Faster to take the bus through the tunnel if you are going to Waiao.
The best beaches by far are in Penghu. But Baishawan, Fulong, and Waiao are all good. I like Fulong because it’s the easiest to get to and both the seafood restaurant near the temple and the Fubar are good. You can also do some good walking/hiking in the area (Caoling trail).
Kinmen has excellent beaches as well.
[quote=“Feiren”]Faster to take the bus through the tunnel if you are going to Waiao.
The best beaches by far are in Penghu. But Baishawan, Fulong, and Waiao are all good. I like Fulong because it’s the easiest to get to and both the seafood restaurant near the temple and the Fubar are good. You can also do some good walking/hiking in the area (Caoling trail).[/quote]
Good cycling near Fulong too.
Penghu has awesome beaches, and few people on them.
Kending area has some decent beaches, not really on the main strip though as a bit polluted and overcrowded.
This info is circa 1999 and of course all may have changed. But back then I liked going to Lung Tung. Which is right after the tunnel on the way to Fulung. Theres a small entrance fee and you swim in essentially ocean pools. They were ex “9-hole abalone” ponds. Nice facilities to change and shower and the pools are huge and deep enough (bout six feet deeP) and have fish to look at too.
Then just a bit further down the road was an unattended beach called GinShaWan (gold sand beach) that had a small hotel across from it where you can buy drinks. There was a tiny shower/changing room. But the shower was often not working though.
Still the beach is nice and safe, no strange currents and shallow for a long stretch. Only thing bad was the jellyfish that float by now and then ( a problem in all taiwan beaches). At least they are not the deadly kind. Rubbing wet sand on the skin usually helps remove the tentacles.
Loved swimming there. Quiet, only a handful of people. And a place to buy beer. The bus to keelung and taipei stops right there.
Fulung has always been one of my fav beaches all and all though. At least its somewhat well run.
Anyone know any really good beaches on the forest?
You really have to forgive continentals because they have beaches on lakes !! The Great Lakes are really fresh water oceans ! So of course he just mentioned beaches on oceans just as an aside. Forgetting that TAiwan really doesnt have the other kind.
Are there any beaches on SunMoon Lake for example.
Any really great sand on the beaches?
individual particles may vary, some could be descended from the mainland
My favorite beach is Wai’ao (外澳) in Yilan. I take an express train to Toucheng (頭城), rent a scooter, then drive five minutes back to Wai’ao. Since there are basically no services in Wai’ao besides B&Bs and that Mr. Brown café, it’s convenient to have a scooter to jet back to Toucheng for food, but there are infrequent buses and local trains also.
Last Sunday I wanted to walk along the surf and meditate, so I drove my scooter from Taoyuan to Baishawan (白沙灣). That was a BIG mistake for my purposes, as the beach was crowded beyond all belief. I couldn’t even walk along the water in the small area reserved for swimmers because of the mass of bodies, so I went to the surfer’s area. A couple of other people had the same idea, but a lifeguard was instantly whistling and waving us away. It seems that in the surfing area you’re not allowed to set foot in the water unless you have a surfboard with you. I understand the safety concerns for swimmers mixing with surfers, but I didn’t understand why we couldn’t just walk along the shore. :s
It’s amazing how popular wai ao has become over the last few years. The north east coast has improved quite a bit.
I have to add that I agree with the others who’ve mentioned the beaches on Penghu…simply beautiful.
In May I went to Penghu for the first time, and while scootering around I stumbled upon a beautiful, white-sand beach with crystal clear water, called Nei An (內垵), located on Xiyu (西嶼), the westernmost island in the main chain. I had the beach completely to myself for about 45 minutes before a family arrived. I really felt like I’d found paradise.
In addition to the beautiful beach, there are clean, modern showers and changing facilities.
My photos of Nei An:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/-3CG3rC_LstQ/T6ivTv8zxII/AAAAAAAADh4/SErfXXCWviE/peng117-8x6.jpg?imgmax=800
http://lh3.ggpht.com/-q6TsaJaanM4/T6ivVxk_YII/AAAAAAAADiI/8_aAPFfQAI8/peng118-8x6.jpg?imgmax=800
http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ryswT3iExZI/T6ivX8O_eKI/AAAAAAAADiU/7JeazSiojh4/peng119-8x6.jpg?imgmax=800
Just ignore him (if you have no Chinese) or tell him that if he doesn’t blow his whistle and attract attention then he won’t lose face by being ignored (if your Chinese is good enough).
[quote=“urodacus”]
Just ignore him (if you have no Chinese) or tell him that if he doesn’t blow his whistle and attract attention then he won’t lose face by being ignored (if your Chinese is good enough).[/quote]
LOL. I was thinking of doing this to him, but then I’m sure you’d see my photo splashed all over the Apple Daily News.
[quote=“Steve4nLanguage”]My favorite beach is Wai’ao (外澳) in Yilan. I take an express train to Toucheng (頭城), rent a scooter, [quote]
Do you need a local license and where is the shop?
[quote=“Mucha Man”]
Do you need a local license and where is the shop?[/quote]
I have a Taiwanese scooter license, so I don’t know if they’ll rent without one. I used to have only a 50cc license, and previously at the two shops below they let me rent a 125 scooter. Since they were lax on this, perhaps you can rent one with your ARC or Int’l License.
One shop is steps from the train station. When you exit the station, turn right at the first street you come to (Zuan Xiang Lu 纘祥路), then walk to the next intersection. There’s a shop on the corner. It’s NT$400/day at that place.
Another shop is only NT$300/day. It’s a Sym shop that’s catty-corner from the big temple on the corner of Kai Lan Lu (開蘭路) and Ji Xiang Lu (吉祥路). Takes about 5 minutes to walk there from the train station.