I have been to Green Island twice.
First time took the boat, got the green feeling too.
Second time was wiser and took the plane!!
Hey there.
I’ve read this thread from top to bottom and now have a pretty good idea of what I’ll be doin when I get there.
My girlfriend blows chunks on long car rides… poor her. The boat ride sounds nasty.
I hope the sharks are there. I just want to do a few “fun dives”. In Thailand, I think they’re about $30 US so I hope I can get suited up and thrown on a boat for 1000nt a pop (it’s funny how much more expesive NT looks). I heard of some serious currents and some sketchy guides though. Any input on that?
I’ve spent a week here in Kenting from Jan 21~27th. It’s amazing how much this place changes during the week. There’s nobody here. I’ve been surfing Ja Le Shui BY MYSELF… I can’t believe it.
I’ll be leaving here this afternoon and heading for Green Island on the Barf Express. Chinese New Year officially starts on Jan 28th. I hope Green Island isn’t a popular CNY destination. I’ll take some pics of Green island (and people spewing, for all you sickos) and leave them on my site.
I hear there’s a boat that leaves from Kenting… I’d rather leave from here.
I worry about my surfboards in my van just sittingin the harbour parking lot 
. Oh well.
Take it easy.
Never heard that one before. Let us know if it’s true – it would be a long ferry ride!
Hey there.
I’m here! It’s busy. Fisherman’s Restaurant is closed and in disrepair (looks like it’s been down for a while). The ferry was 750nt and got a scooter for 1 free day (after bartering).
I’m at the campground and it’s nice. 350nt for a covered site and 100nt for just the wood pad. I’ve been asking about diving. I heard a japanese fishing boat caught almost all the hammerheads this year… people are pissed. I found one guy that saw a couple after his 5th dive over 1 week. I’m going in to try to find some tomorrow morning… wish me luck.
The flights aren’t 1064nt return… or they aren’t at the moment. It was 1088nt each way. We decoded to take the S.S. Barfster and it lived up to it’s reputation. I took some nice candid shots of people smiling before we left and then of them holding thier bag of barf half-crying 20 mins later. I nudged my girlfriend (she barfed, too 
) so she’d see just how much this one guy barfed… it looked like he downed 2L of milk before boarding. Then she nudged me back so I could see how he’d just dropped it on the floor and was mopping it up with his everythings. I had to dart before I hucked my breakfast into her lap… hahaha. There were people all over the boat walking around like they’d been shot in the abdomen.
Good times.
Have a nice day.
How’s the weather and the water? I mean is it really throw on your shorts and go for swim for hours warm or what? I only ask cuz I’ll be there next week like…
The water is 24~26 degrees. Is perfect for trunks and a snorkel. I saw the famous Hammerhead sharks, too. It was more expensive than I was expectiing but it was worth it. The dive is a bit sketchy the water was ROUGH a few people barfed on the way out… When you get there, you have to jump off and go striaght down through a surface current and then quickly down to 30m. There was a wall of sharks, maybe 60 of them.
bring your trunks and sunscreen… this place rules.
Brilliant. Thanks so much. I was there in early December last year and it was gorgeous. Was a little afraid that by February it would have cooled down some. Someone said once that there is a warm ocean current from the south that flows by there all/most/some of the year. Wonder if that’s true. 
Went there last summer, and had a great time.
Sometimes on the shopping channels you have great deals, so look out for them. My package included flight from Taipei to Taitung, then boat to Green Island (all return), one night-two days accomodation at a lodge, with scooter hire; then another night at the Hoya Spa Resort in Chipen Forest Recreation Area, all for NT$6000. Just the flights alone costs more than half that amount!
Green Island an intersting mix of natural beauty of mountain and ocean, with history and adventure! Scooter is the best and most convenient way to travel around. Don’t worry if you, like me, don’t have a license…police don’t seem bothered about that, as long as you wear a helmet at all times.
Try the seaweed ice served in a big seashell! Go on a night safari and you may spot a few wild Formosan deers and shooting stars. And snorkelling is definitely a must, as is bathing in the ‘Sunrise Hot spring’ (Zhaori ), especially in the middle of the night.
Really should go there if you have the chance. It’s probably one of the few places in Taiwan when you don’t meet bus loads of tourists (though you do get the occassional ‘scooter-gangs’). Try going on a weekday when there are not so many people around, and as I gather accomodation seems cheaper too.
Though avoid typhoon season, or you could be stuck there for days (which may not seem too bad, as every moment there seems wonderful).
There are some pictures and writings about my trip on my blog, so feel free to take a look.
formosa1984.blogspot.com/2005_06 … chive.html
Useful websites:
East Coast National Scenic Area (東部海岸國家風景區)
eastcoast-nsa.gov.tw/en/
Green Island (綠島)
eastcoast-nsa.gov.tw/en/trav … p?travel=5
What are the conditions usually like around the end of May- Beginning of June?
I am thinking about heading over there to do some diving. But the people I am diving with only have their Open Water. Are there any sites for newbies?
Basically I would like to not spend a moment under a roof of anysort (except maybe a shelter from the sun) so camping it is.
Anyone know about prices and/or contacts to do some diving?
What are the camping facilites like? I have my own gear but was wondering about showers etc…
Any info. would be appreciated.
Could anyone provide me with a link to boat timetables from Taidong to Green Island and back? If not, could anyone give me a rough idea of how many boats a day and what times?
Also, is the main place for snorkelling that beach on the south of the island, or are there other good spots too?
My sister and her boyfriend are coming to visit and they’re keen on snorkelling. One snorkelling session would be fine for me but they’d like to do go snorkelling twice while we’re on Green Island.
One more thing: how are the currents? I don’t remember them being strong when I was there, but I want to check anyway. I’m an average and not particularly strong swimmer.
Thanks for any information!
Could anyone provide me with a link to boat timetables from Taidong to Green Island and back? If not, could anyone give me a rough idea of how many boats a day and what times?
Also, is the main place for snorkelling that beach on the south of the island, or are there other good spots too?
My sister and her boyfriend are coming to visit and they’re keen on snorkelling. One snorkelling session would be fine for me but they’d like to do go snorkelling twice while we’re on Green Island.
One more thing: how are the currents? I don’t remember them being strong when I was there, but I want to check anyway. I’m an average and not particularly strong swimmer.
Thanks for any information!
I’m just bumping this up to reask Joesax’s question about a ferry timetable. We’re flying from Taipei to Taitung and our flight doesn’t get in until 4:30 p.m. (on Dragonboat day). Will we be able to catch a ferry to Green Island that day or do we need to wait until the next morning? Thanks!
Can’t tell you the ferry schedule, as there are different companies and variations with time of year. In the off-season (winter), you’re lucky to get one ferry a day (you have to stay overnight), but in the summer season, there are several trips a day by multiple operators. I don’t know the date cut-off from off-season to season. Here is some info that I’ve been meaning to share, but never got around to before. Note that all of the ferry info is in Chinese. If you zoom in on these images a little, they are still readable.
Info page of brochure – one ferry company:
img157.imageshack.us/img157/3405 … fo18to.jpg
Photos from brochure – first ferry company:
img157.imageshack.us/img157/1953 … es18lm.jpg
Info page of brochure – another ferry company:
img140.imageshack.us/img140/6486 … fo21jv.jpg
Photos from brochure – second ferry company:
img157.imageshack.us/img157/14/g … es22dn.jpg
Contact info from Tourism Bureau:
img140.imageshack.us/img140/2231 … nfo4lj.jpg
Map of Green Island:
img140.imageshack.us/img140/7215/gimap0ls.jpg
The trip is about 50 minutes one-way.
Prepare to puke on the ferry or to do something specific to avoid it.
Hope it helps!
P.S. – If anyone has similar info for Orchid Island and is willing to post it in an appropriate thread, that would be great.
ANyone got any hotel news from GI recently?
Talk to Ironman. They had a pretty sweet place & deal when they stayed there in CNY.
When I return, that is where I am going.
Is it possible to rent a car on Green Island? We’ve got four people traveling as a group, and I can’t see my mother-in-law hopping on a scooter. 
she can ride on YOUR scooter
Any updates on Green Island? Most of these posts are fairly old and I am thinking about heading down there next weekend instead of spring scream which gets more depressing year after year…
I took my parents there about a month ago. It has been about a year since my last visit to Green Island and I must say the number of tour buses on the road was very annoying. There seems to have been a big increase in the number of buses.
We stayed at the “Green Island Bali Resort” http://www.greenisland-bali.com.tw and their rooms were probably the best I’ve seen on Green Island. We used Green Island Adventures to do all our arrangements and their service was very good.
what is the quickest way to travel to Green Island, except for flying? We are considering a road trip from Hsinchu, I was wondering whether it is faster going all the way down to Pingtung with the highway and cut over the mountain to Taitung, or is it better [faster] to go round the East side of the island? Any ideas?