Kenting: a place of nature, sunshine and sandy white beaches

Kenting Taiwan is a place where tourists and locals alike go to to experience the warm sunshine and sandy beaches, especially in the months of October to April where it is cold and raining in the northern parts of Taiwan.

All You Need To Know About Kenting, Taiwan

The amazing warm tropical weather attracts tourists all year long. Kenting is a beautiful city inside Pingtung County, which is specifically located in the Hengchun Peninsula (townships of Hengchun, Checheng and Manzhou). It is attractive climate, which is inclusive of the mildly hot winters, makes it a pleasant holiday destination. Kenting is pregnant with beautiful sceneries like cliffs, meadows, and tropical forests. Thus, making it a fun and activity filled paradise. Its beautiful beaches will astound you. Kenting is rich with culture and due to this holds various festivals all year round to appreciate and share their cultures.

How Do You Get To Kenting?

It is daunting for a foreigner to simply google on the map how to get to kenting (9 to 10 hours) and that puts tourists off. I drew a straight line cutting across from Taoyuan to Kenting and it was over 350km.

In reality, with the introduction of the high speed rail or HSR, the traveling time has significantly dropped. So fret not, if the cold is what you are escaping from, Kenting welcomes you with a warm embrace!

To get to Kenting, you can use either a high-speed rail, train or bus. Either of the aforementioned is available from Taipei to Kaohsiung. After arrival at Kaohsiung, you can take a bus to Kenting City, as I will explain below.

High-speed rail

Go to the Taiwan Main station and take a high-speed rail to Zuoying high-speed rail station. To get information on the high-speed rail station, visit the Taiwan high-speed rail station website. This is usually about two hours travel time. From there, buses to Kenting are available on the station first floor. We posted more information about navigating from the Taiwan Main Station and also on how to purchase HSR tickets here.

Train

Trains are available from the Taipei main station. See the Taiwan station website, for more information. After an estimation of six hours travel time, you will be at Kaohsiung main station. On arrival, you will find buses at the opposite side of the station to Kenting.

Bus

To travel by bus, take one at Taipei bus station to Kaohsiung. This bus station is near the Taipei main station. Travel time by bus takes about six hours. There are various buses for various routes so make sure you take a preferable route. You can take the regular bus or the express one. The express one takes the provincial number eighty-eight highway.

The main form of transport in Kenting is via scooters and motorbikes. They are the most preferred transport method since the speed limit is up to thirty kilometers per hour. Licenses are not necessary when it comes to riding scooters and motorbikes. Scooter rentals are readily available and accessible from all hotels. This is the same for scooter charging stations. Car rentals are also available for those who prefer traveling in comfort.

The Top Three Most Interesting Activities There

Rent a scooter and explore the grounds

Seeing as to how Kenting is rich in sceneries, make sure that you do not waste this opportunity. Explore the lands via scooter. Renting a scooter would be more logical. This will help you see the city more personally. The accessibility of the scooter will aid you in navigating all through Kenting. You will have easier access to food stores and markets. As you rent the scooter, ensure that your scooter rental person has given you a map of the nearest scooter charging stations. This will prevent you from getting stranded in a foreign destination. Charging a scooter takes around forty minutes to an hour. Make sure that you visit Kenting Main Street. It is a hive of activity like restaurants, pubs, night markets, pop-up accessory stores, and pharmacies among others. The night market is full of games with amazing prizes at stake. Make sure that you stop by the schezung river hot springs and the forest recreational center.

Visiting the beaches

Take advantage of the amazing Kenting climate and beaches. Eat and enjoy the sunset or sunrise at the beach. The beaches are full of gigantic rocks. Tourists line up to take pictures and climb the rocks. Kissing rocks and the Eluanbi lighthouse will be the highlight of your trip.

Engage in water sports

Kenting is full of numerous water sports. Use the sea sports sellers in the heart of Kenting Main Street. Each sea sport has a coach who ensures that you are ready to start and that you will safely enjoy yourself. Life jackets are always available. For a more adventurous and wild time ensure that you try every water sport with the aid of the experienced coach. Once you are exhausted, you can just walk along the beach. The fine soft and fine beach sand, mixed with the climate and water mass has a calming effect.

What Scenery Does It Offer?

The first thing you will notice about Taiwan is the unique cultures it offers. The people are a site to behold as well. The culture and people are very different from those of the North. Apart from this, there are many other captivating types of scenery. They range from markets to temples to historic monuments.

1. Kenting National Park

This famous tourist attraction is readily accessible from Kaohsiung. Tourists flood here to see the natural serene environment. It is a hive of activity, ranging from swimming to surfing to simply relaxing. This forest is good for family bonding trips and stress relieving. The beautiful landscape leaves you feeling rejuvenated and ready to explore the rest of the city.

2. South Beach Bay of Nanwan

The small village of Nanwan is famous for fishing. Due to its blue seawater, locals often refer to it as Blue Bay. The South Beach stretches to over six hundred meters (600M). Most of the tourists who visit there enjoy activities like swimming, boat riding and even picnicking. This serene environment is amazing for intimate bonding.

3. Cingwashih or “The Frog Rock”

Just as the English name suggests, this rock takes up the shape of a frog. You can find it within the Kenting National Park. The rock resembles a frog that is jumping into the sea. The scenery around it has coral reefs, erosion cliffs and shell fossils, and volcanic rocks.

4. Fongchueisha or “The Windblown Sand”

This scenery is in existence solely because of the specific climate of Kenting. The windblown sand is a spectacle to behold. It consists of sand hills, rivers, and falls. During the summer, the sand washes to the shore and blows back to the sea during the winter season.

5. Houbihu Marina

This is a harbor. It is famous for housing the largest yacht wharf in Taiwan. You can find it within the Kenting National Park. It has the freshest seafood in Taiwan. Most tourists go to enjoy fishing activities and submersibles. The surrounding environs house soft and hard corals, colorful tropical fish, seaweed, clams, and clear water. The Houbihu Marina is ideal for water activities like diving.

Kenting Itinerary

Kenting promises to be an enjoyable and activity packed experience. With so many things to do in Taiwan, and Kenting being one of many, do also plan the route and while doing, you may find our list of curated itineraries for the short (under 5 days) or longer trips a useful resource. In our long trip post, we found Celin Chiam's 7 days and 6 nights travel itinerary to be a unique experience, visiting farms and exploring the rural countryside, including visiting Tainan to Kenting and followed by Changhua before heading back to Taipei.

We will be including more interesting itineraries into our list and welcome your suggestions as well!