After a morning swimming in the crystal blue water in Kenting (read about Taipei to Kenting here), we jumped in a car to head up the east coast. Where the west coast roads were wide freeways, the east coast has narrow twisty mountain-and-cliff-lined carriageways. It’s not only the roads that differ, the nature, the views and the pace of life all vary markedly on the east coast from the busier more built up west corridor. 

Breaking up the journey on Taiwan’s East Coast

Our ultimate destination on the east side of Taiwan was Hualien, and more specifically Taroko Gorge, the most popular tourist destination in Taiwan. And while it would be possible to drive from Kenting to Hualien in a day (perhaps 7 hours), we decided to break up the journey. In hindsight we could have spent longer and added a trip to one of the islands off the coast near Taitung. 

Our overnight stop was in Donghe, a small village / town that felt surprisingly international due to the presence of decent waves and a surfing crowd. Clearly I donned my wetsuit and paddled out into the Pacific to Hang Ten, and then I woke up. The accommodation was great, we stayed at the Moonlight Lodge, a hugely welcoming small bed and breakfast, the breakfast was a never-ending arrival of courses. Again our trusty friend Google Translate did us proud…what will we do without Google services in China?!

As we continued up the coast the roads continued to offer spectacular views, and I continued to avoid speed cameras, scooters and the addition of crazy cyclists riding the coastline of Taiwan. We had a few stops along the way, with geography lessons continuing as we crossed the Tropic of Cancer, juvenile jokes as we drove through ShiTiPing and the kids even found a couple of geocaches at Sanxiantai, the Platform of the Three Immortals (no Pokemon in this family).

3 Days in Hualien & Taroko Gorge

We spent 3 days in Hualien, using the coastal city as a base to explore Taroko Gorge which was about 40 minutes away. Ask the kids their highlight and they will say ’the double bed bunk beds’ at We Love Inn where we stayed, not Taroko the world’s deepest marble gorge. The road cutting through the gorge offered one of the highlights, with it memorable for the tunnels, the spectacular views and the occasional ‘Dave you can’t fit through there’, ‘Dave you are too close to the edge / cliff’ etc. Over the two days in Taroko we joined the throngs of people walking the Shakadang Trail, Eternal Spring Shrine (partly closed) and Swallow Grotto, and found relative solitude walking along the Tunnel of Nine Turns and the Baiyang path (the end takes you through a waterfall in a cave where a glamorous poncho is the order of the day). We definitely could have been more adventurous and preplanned either the Lushui-Wenshan Trail Hike or Zhuilu Old Trail Hike, but both would most likely have served up unimaginable moaning and as such too many temptations to nudge one of the kids over the edge.

The waterfall wasn’t the last moment of getting wet during the day. We stopped off at QiXingTan beach on the way back to the hotel. In case of emergency, the impressive waves on the beach at Hualien offered a decent insight into self preservation and survival instinct. While we all built stone stacks we were caught off guard by a big wave rushing up the beach. In an effort to avoid getting wet and swept away; Molly ran and kept dry; I grabbed Rory who was nearest to me and ran just keeping dry; and Jennie ran for her life forgetting she had kids leaving Elsie to get soaked. For folks who know Jennie and I, you will know I was devastated at leaving our 2nd born to fend for herself in the water! 😉 

Both Hualien and Taroko were particularly busy due to the annual Chinese National Holiday. On our last night, after 3 years living in Berlin and seeing the majority of the population cycling with no helmet, rather than navigate the traffic carnage a public holiday brings I decided to jump on a hotel bike to grab a takeaway from the night market. However, upon arrival I was greeted with theme park length queues for most stalls (you can really tell the questionable food with zero queues), and instead opted for that well known Taiwanese delicacy, Tacos! The kids recommend the quesadillas.

Goodbye Taiwan

After a couple of overcast days, as expected the sun came out again on the morning we drove the final leg to Taipei airport. Basically if you are reading this, you should have perfect weather if you follow the route one or two days later than the Price Family. The highlights of the drive back to Taipei were undoubtedly Qingshui cliffs offering our last breathtaking view (and daunting drive) on the east coast and a final view of Taipei 101 as we drove back through the city.

Taiwan has exceeded all our expectations, and we can only recommend the country to others, whether you are travelling alone, in a couple or with the family. Just like our kids, the weather hasn’t been perfect…but we’ll only remember the sunny days in the months to come. Taiwan has everything…amazing scenery, super friendly people, easy travel and delicious food. Even the late last day discovery of Carrefour with its stocked aisles of western food couldn’t take the shine off. We’ve loved every day and look forward to discovering more of Asia…with a slightly fuller suitcase of treats from Carrefour!