I will soon visit a friend there…
Please do tell the best way to get there and any random travel tips.
Thanks!
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High speed rail to Zuoying HSR Station.
Connecting express bus to Kenting.
Ferry connection to Orchid Island.
Hat tip to Michael Turton for recommending this ferry route and not the barf express from Fugang Harbor in Taitung. I hope it’s still running!
Guy
According to the link, the ferry from Kenting to Orchid Island doesn’t run from October to March, so plan accordingly.
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Train from Taoyuan Airport to Taipei Main Station.
Puyuma Express train from Taipei Main Station to Taitung (five hours).
Taxi or shuttle bus to Taitung Airport (close).
Then flight from Taitung Airport to Orchid Island (Lanyu). There are normally ten flights a day, first one at 7:50, last one at 4:00 pm, (may be less due to covid), takes half an hour.
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@curiousteacher I think you live by the Taoyuan train station, right? Mike’s advice above it good, but you could also catch a fast Puyuma/Taroko train from Taoyuan station to Taitung. However, the fast Puyuma/Taroko trains have more scheduled stops in Shulin than in Taoyuan, so I usually take a local train to Shulin than catch a fast train in Shulin, which is a few stops before Taipei Main. Just another option, because it can be difficult to get those fast train tickets.
Another option if you didn’t want to spend so much time on the train is to take a flight from Taipei Songshan to Taitung. It’s not as expensive as you might think (around 2,000NTD) and much faster. UniAir and Mandarin Airlines fly this route.
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Flight or nothing. Both ferry routes are literally hell if you get sea sick. The kenting one is no better. Sometimes fluggts are hard to book as alot of the locals book ahead and they cancel at the last minute. Lots of non aboriginal travelers just go and wait for a cancellation, but that risks a lot of wasted time.
I also suggest the fast train down the east coast. Its way faster than the west (unless you take hsr) and a million times more scenic. Will work out cheaper too probably.
Isn’t there a daily flight from songshan ?
If not then fly to taitung and take one from there ?
I been trying for years to catch a fluggt. Very elusive. 
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No direct flights, but as you said, there are flights from Songshan → Taitung → Orchid Island
Memory fades but they used to have a Daily Air from songshan to orchid island on a dornier I think or was that green island