Hi!
are ferry schedules to Ludao and Lanyu islands available anywhere on the internet? A google search did not bring any results. How frequent and reliable are ferry connections in February? Are cancellations common at that time of the year?
I am planning a 12-days trip to Taiwan in February, flying in and out of Kaohsiung and I am considering spending a couple of days on either of the islands.
Many thanks in advance!
Have you considered flying there? That is one of the most nauseating ferry rides in the world.
I recently flew to Lanyu and took a boat to Green Island.
I strongly recommend you to go by plane, at least in winter. It’s a rather jumpy plane ride to Lanyu with a nice 90 degree turn right before touching down, but 3 hours of what I took while taking the boat to Green island???
Now, I have taken overnight ferries over the North Sea in winter, ferries struggling through storms, where we nearly sailed into the jetty, and what have you not… Nothing beat the ride to green island, and I would have thrown up if another 2 hours of it.
If you are crazy enough to take the boat, then get 2 bottles of the motion sickness tonics they sell next to be boat, and down both. They will knock you out, and you should survive.
I coped by standing outside and getting sprayed over by thye sea spray, however 3 hours of that would be deadly, I think.
I recommend flying into both as well. The ferry to Green Island should be named “The Barf Boat” because even if you have a strong stomach, the smell of all the Taiwanese passengers puking will make you want to empty yours.
Some of the boats have decent ventilation, so it’s less of an issue there.
People throw up like it was going out of style.
I’m glad you guys have said this, as Eddy from Green Island Adventures has given me shit for continuing to mention the vomit-inducing nature of the ferry rides in the latest Lonely Planet. He seems to think it’s not an issue anymore. I think I’d be cursed by readers if I left it out.
Well, truth be told, it’s an issue when the winter monsoon blows, so I would think that it would be OK during summers.
I only tried it during winter and it was not funny.
Yes, summer is not an issue, unless a typhoon is out there. Winter the swell is bad for the ferry, great for surfers, summer it is a big lake.
oh man, that sea is nasty, even now lol. It is these boats that i have my family send me “Gravol” pills from back in Canada. I took my mother and sister on the green island boat in winter and the waves were so big the windows were sipping under the water line, no one could stand, go outside etc and the only sound louder than puking was crying. My mom had a blast, she took a video of my sister (31 years old) crying and praying to god hoping not to die. It was on this trip that my wife, whom i have never seen puke from a flu or traveling in our entire relationship, puked up here pink cake and made me take it to the trash, at which point my stomach also went.
They are fun boats, but you need a stomach of fucking steel on them sometimes. I have not once not gotten severely sick form the ferries, and its not the boats problem, its the ocean is just insane sometimes.
I dont knwo about green, but if you are flying to orchid book well in advance. We have had super bad luck for many years with flights being full because you dont need to pay until you get there, but they will reserve seats for you still. so many people back out at the last minute.
If you don’t have chemicals to help your sea sickness, they sell these hard candies with a dried salty plum inside, no idea the name, common in taiwan. I hate the taste, but they do work very well to suck on and suppress the upset a bit. green island is only 40 mins though, so its not that bad i guess, orchid i wouldnt be caught dead on the ferry.
Been on the boat to Lyudao three times, once in September and twice (there and back) in July.
You WILL throw up. The only way I didn’t throw up was the listen to music and keep my eyes out of the window, after having a few sickness pills. Pick a cloud and stare. But then I get terribly seasick everywhere, so maybe I’m not the best one to listen to. The Lonely Planet book for Taiwan has good advice about the boat to Lyudao from a sea hardy traveller which pretty much amounts to ‘It will be awful and you will want to die’.
The plane from Lyudao was brilliant. It’s a teeny little plane and the clouds actually come into the cabin (not sure how safe that is, but it’s a surreal experience and very beautiful on a clear day). Worth it just for that.
Advice taken, thanks, I will reconsider. However, just in case, does anybody know those schedules? People apparently survive those scary boat rides 
and I am not sure that I’d prefer flying a small plane in such a windy weather. Even if the plane does not crash, my wife would probably kill me once she sees it on the tarmac.
You can check here:
They sell bottles with anhihistamines on the pier going back. They work.
I did not use them, I get a little queasy, but do not throw up.
Regarding the praise for Lonely Planet’s writeup of the roughness of the ride, yes, he is as always spot on. I hope that no homestay owners out there will convince him to change.
Already several things are out of date in the guide sadly. The campground is closed but there are supposedly nice trailers there with hot spring water pumped in. Jack’s Boutique Hotel has moved location. And the island’s no longer green.
Btw, hiking the trails across the middle of the island are fun and offer a good chance to see sika deer in the wild.
[quote=“Pingdong”]oh man, that sea is nasty, even now lol. It is these boats that I have my family send me “Gravol” pills from back in Canada. I took my mother and sister on the green island boat in winter and the waves were so big the windows were sipping under the water line, no one could stand, go outside etc and the only sound louder than puking was crying. My mom had a blast, she took a video of my sister (31 years old) crying and praying to god hoping not to die. It was on this trip that my wife, whom I have never seen puke from a flu or traveling in our entire relationship, puked up here pink cake and made me take it to the trash, at which point my stomach also went.
They are fun boats, but you need a stomach of fucking steel on them sometimes. I have not once not gotten severely sick form the ferries, and its not the boats problem, its the ocean is just insane sometimes.
I don’t knwo about green, but if you are flying to orchid book well in advance. We have had super bad luck for many years with flights being full because you dont need to pay until you get there, but they will reserve seats for you still. so many people back out at the last minute.
If you don’t have chemicals to help your sea sickness, they sell these hard candies with a dried salty plum inside, no idea the name, common in Taiwan. I hate the taste, but they do work very well to suck on and suppress the upset a bit. green island is only 40 mins though, so its not that bad i guess, orchid i wouldnt be caught dead on the ferry.[/quote]
Well, when you get the monsoon winds coming from north to south, pushing against the Kuroshio current which flows from south to north, then it’s no surprise that the waves are a bit crazy.