Hey everyone, I’ve been staying in Taipei for a few months now, and while I love the city, my sleep schedule has gone to trash, I haven’t been doing much running at all, and feel like I’ve just been chilling in concrete for awhile now.
I know there are lots of naturally beautiful areas within a bus ride’s reach from Taipei, but I’m kind of looking to head to the East Coast, around Hualien, for a small reset or “escape” for a couple weeks.
This is kind of hard to describe but I’m looking for some areas that feel a bit more remote and maybe more “wide-open” or natural feeling: basically nice views, nice areas to run from where I’m staying, fresh air, etc.
The one catch is that I still need to work and do some daily video calls, etc., so having a decent internet connection is still important, and ideally a few cafes in the area or places to work out of would be good too. So I guess I’m just looking for a compromise area, if one exists.
I’m going to start in Hualien but I’ve never been there before and don’t know if it’s too “city” feeling still, and will probably look to go a bit further out, but I don’t have any good ideas as to where to go from there. I’m hoping there are still Airbnbs or Hostels or something available wherever these places may be.
Anyone know some places that fit the bill? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
If you’re not on a budget the fancy hotel in Taroko sounds like what you’re looking for. Fresh air and beautiful scenery in abundance. I forget the name of it but there is only one hotel. It might be called the Regent Taroko. There’s also the Catholic hostel if you’re on a budget but last time I was there it was pretty run down.
Oh damn, I mean I’m definitely not on a budget but this place is nearly $400 USD/night it looks like hahahah. Seems like a great place to try when I can share that budget with someone else
Very cool suggestion overall and will certainly save it for the future if I want something particularly special!
For now, I’m moreso looking for a place to stay for 2-ish weeks, maybe anywhere up to like $60 USD/night would be fine for that
Hualien is city feel, but of course that’s gets less as you head further out. Plenty of B&Bs north, south and west of town, in more open countryside or farmland. You might still have to head into town for cafes etc.
Or head further south in Hualien County to a smaller town: Yuli has enough infrastructure for you, I think.
The places inbetween (Guangfu, Fenglin, Ruisui etc.) provide a more challenging living experience, smaller but very local.
There’s also action at Dong-Hua Uni in Shoufeng, and that’s nice and natural - and most of the cafe/restaurants will re-open soon, when the students get back.
Maybe a place in Jian in Hualien County? A B&B would have the price range you stated, and would also have wi-fi. Rent a scooter for the two weeks so you can head into town (Hualien City) whenever you want. Walk out the door with your running shoes and just start running around on the country roads.
You could rent a scooter at the train station and drive to the B&B. Around 20 minutes.
Thanks for all the suggestions so far guys! I have a couple of questions:
Regarding the B&Bs in these types of areas, is Airbnb a good bet, or are there other platforms that I should be checking out? I grabbed an Airbnb in Hualien for the first few days and I figured I’d get a feel for the area over a long weekend and then branch further out into the countryside from there, but not sure what the best way to go about booking a place would be
I’ve read an international license is required sometimes for scooters. I only have my passport and my U.S. drivers license – would it still be possible to rent a scooter from a train station etc.? I’ve done this with no issue in SEA before, but not sure about Taiwan.
I wouldn’t mind taking a scooter in/out of town to work or get food (~10-20 minutes) – it’d feel like a regular little commute anyway, though WiFi in my place of stay would still be a must.
Most licensed B&B places aren’t on airbnb. Sadly, Taiwan’s tourism industry is still in the year 1998 when it comes to accessibility. I try to find stuff on Google maps, filtering by location and review score.
If outdoor activity is important, i wouldnt suggest most low elevation areas right now due to heat. depends on you and your body, but Hualien is pretty hot right now. And hualien is still pretty humid. if it were me i would go higher elevation and can escape the heat a bit.
almost everywhere has wifi, thats virtually a non issue now.
Scooter makes most things easy, especially if you have basic chinese then food is also very rarely an issue.
I get what you mean with sleep and the city here. some people are ok with it, but i have never managed to get used to it. even in the countryside. Taiwan is a country of no silence and no darkness haha. it can get pretty bad. eye shades, ear plugs go a long way in a pinch.
if hualien is a must, the coast is hot. the valley through route 9 is nicer for heat but still hot and humid. if you go in through toroko into the hills its much more comfortable, but food and all that is limited quite a lot. its gorgeous though and still wifi available. the western side of the central mountains has more crowds and buildings and higher up in the hills and much cooler. but different vibe. i love hualien a lot, but the weather is horrible in summer for the thick bloods.
Just got back from Green Island and I ran into this problem. We ended up renting electric scooters since no license was needed. I have no idea if this is a Green Island rule or something all over Taiwan. And I have no idea if the electric scooter was a special type that doesn’t require a license. Maybe others would know.
If this would be possible in Hualien, be warned that if you need to swap batteries, this could be a bit of a pain/risky if your B&B is far away.
Hualien is definitely not a must, just thought I’d check out the city for a few days and use it as a springboard to access some other places in the area.
Definitely very open to high elevation areas to stay at which fit the original bill if there are any solid options!
It’s more like a racist rule. Been able to rent scooters (or travelled with others who were able to rent scooters) at multiple places (ludao, lanyu, kenting, xiaoliuqiu) without being asked to produce a license. Look like a local, talk like a local = no license needed.
I’ve also been with foreigners in Lanyu where we could rent with it being apparent not everyone was local and had a license. Can’t say the same can be done on the main island though.
“Racist” seems a bit of a strong word for this situation. I also wasn’t able to rent a scooter on Green Island a couple of years back (I had a Thai motorbike license, but that’s all).
I looked into it a bit and I remember it apparently being due to some fatal accident involving an American a few years ago. Since then the rental places have apparently been more strict.
Yeah the famous Dulan, every time I went there all I got was the sound of …Crickets. Everybody had vanished and nothing was open just like in a bad horror show.
I’m sure there are people there somewhere.
I’d say Penghu islands would be a fantastic option for a week or two but it’s just super hot there now. There recently so I know what I’m talking about. It will start cooling down soon and in the off season will be nice and quiet with so many places to your self (but if you are looking for mountains forget it lol). Only issue is some ferries stop operating between islands I’ve also been on green island and xiao liu qiu in off season , but a bit small.
Higher altitude you have Alishan area/Meishan/Ruili/Ruifang area,(it’s often roughly called Alishan but there actually a much bigger area to explore that is better than Alishan mountain ) you could look for a b and b in some of the newly built aboriginal villages after Typhoon morakot. There you can enjoy the slower pace of life , tea, coffee , aoborinal cultural activities if they are on , visit some forests and waterfalls and go hiking . I was there recently and enjoyed it very much the weather is very pleasant. This is really a world class place and many of the towns have great 4G signal (can check with propietors). Later I went down elevation to Chashan which is another aboriginal town behind zengwen reservoir, very secluded and tropical , where I enjoyed swimming under waterfalls and observing nature (very wild there).
Another option is Maolin valley in Pingdong , very deep mountain valley , aboriginal area famous for typhoon morakot , butterflies , snakes and wildlife , some nice places to stay there .
Another option is Qingjing farm area with the sheep farm in Nantou although it’s basically just one mountain. Or sun moon lake Yuli township .
Another area is Hengchun peninsula /Kenting area, it will get pretty quiet now kids are back in school. Some good snorkelling and hikes if you explore.
Another area is Luodong/Dongshan river valley in Yilan, not remote but nice especially if you like cycling and great bike paths along green riversides. I would also mention Taiping mountain but it’s really just for a day or two imho.
