Southern Taiwan Highlights
Discover Southern Taiwan’s highlights on this 5-day private tour. After a warm airport welcome in Taipei, ride the High-Speed Rail to Kaohsiung’s vibrant port city. Explore the spiritual Fo Guang Shan Monastery, the creative Pier-2 Art Center, and Cijin Island’s seafood stalls before sampling local favorites at Liuhe Night Market. Next, venture to Kenting’s beaches, coral headlands, and historic Hengchun Old Town, returning each evening to Kaohsiung. On day four, tour Tainan’s Dutch-era forts, banyan-engulfed warehouses, and Qing-style temples, then return to Taipei. Finish with a relaxed transfer to the airport, taking home unforgettable memories of Taiwan’s culture, cuisine, and coastlines.
Trip Highlights
- High-Speed Rail journey from Taipei to Kaohsiung
- Spiritual visit to Fo Guang Shan Monastery
- Urban art at Pier-2 Art Center and seafood on Cijin Island
- Local flavors at Liuhe Night Market
- Coastal adventures in Kenting National Park and Hengchun Old Town
- Historic exploration of Tainan’s Fort Provintia, Anping Old Fort & Tree House
What’s included
• All accommodation with daily breakfast at selected hotels
• Private tours, transfers and all services as mentioned in the itinerary
• English speaking guides
• Entrance fees for all mentioned sights visited
• Meals as mentioned in the itinerary
What’s not included
• Meals other than those mentioned in the itinerary
• Early check-in and late check-out at hotels.
• Tips for guides and drivers
• Personal travel insurance
• Visa fee
Itinerary ideas
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1
Welcome to Taiwan! Meet your driver at Taipei Taoyuan Airport and enjoy a private transfer to your downtown hotel. The rest of the day is free-ask your guide for suggestions on nearby attractions or dining.
Meals: None | Accommodation: Taipei
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2
– Board the High-Speed Rail in Taipei; arrive in Kaohsiung in under two hours.
– Fo Guang Shan Monastery (1 h): Tour the world’s tallest bronze seated Buddha and learn about Taiwanese Buddhism.
– Pier-2 Art Center (30 min): Wander this vibrant repurposed warehouse district of galleries and street art.
– Cijin Island: Ferry over, tour by bike or trishaw, and sample fresh seafood.
– Liuhe Tourist Night Market (1 h 30 min): Taste Kaohsiung specialties-seafood congee, papaya milk, stinky tofu and more.
Meals: None | Accommodation: Kaohsiung
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3
– Kenting National Park: Explore Taiwan’s first national park-coastal trails, coral formations, and tropical beaches.
– Maobitou Park (20 min): See the “Cat’s Nose” rock formation perched above the sea.
– Eluanbi Lighthouse (40 min): Visit this historic Qing-era beacon at Taiwan’s southern tip.
– Longpan Park (1 h): Stroll grasslands atop coral limestone cliffs with Pacific Ocean vistas.
– Hengchun Old Town (30 min): Admire century-old city walls in this preserved historic district.
Meals: Breakfast | Accommodation: Kaohsiung
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4
– Morning High-Speed Rail to Tainan.
– Fort Provintia (30 min): Discover this 1653 Dutch fortress, now a national monument.
– Anping Old Fort (30 min): Explore the East India Company’s former stronghold.
– Anping Tree House (30 min): See banyan roots entwined through a 19th-century warehouse.
– Yanping County King’s Temple (30 min): Visit the only Qing-era Hokkien-style temple honoring Zheng Chenggong.
– Evening High-Speed Rail back to Taipei; private transfer to your hotel.
Meals: None | Accommodation: Taipei
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5
Enjoy breakfast, then your guide will escort you to Taipei Taoyuan Airport for your flight home or onward destination.
Meals: None | Accommodation: N/A
Accommodation options
What our clients say about us
Heather
9 May 2024 ★★★★★Our 2-week trip to Thailand was fantastic! Chiang Mai felt completely magical and Koh Samui was beautiful. We managed to have fun even on the rainy days. Our guides were perfect, very knowledgeable and a lot of fun, with great insights into the local culture. I've been recommending Absolute Asia Tours to all my friends and I can't wait to travel with you guys again! The coordination of everything was very well done.
Gari
22 May 2024 ★★★★★Our recent trip to China and Mongolia was a great success. Overall we found Absolute Asia Tours services to be excellent throughout the two weeks we were in Asia. For us, Mongolia was definitely the highlight. We thoroughly enjoyed or local guides and drives and they were unfailingly knowledgeable, helpful and amusing. Their languages skills were excellent and we felt that we recieved real insight into this fascinating country. We were intinially drawn to the idea of this trip by the reports of the world class fihing and we were absolutely not disappointed. The fishing guide was first rate and we caught more fish than we could have hoped for - more than 25 each day - with the added bonus of being the only other people in sight for miles arround. AAT created a private ger camp for us on the Onon River and we enjoyed delicious food prepared by our chef in a beautiful unspoled atmosphere. They alo arranged for us to visit a nomadic family and spend time with them at home and organized a dinner with an anthropologist with expert knowledge of the region. AAT fullfilled their promise to tkae us to us to one of the world's best fishing destinations in comfort and style. We would be happy to travel with AAT again and will definitely recommend them to our friends.
Cherry
16 May 2024 ★★★★★We've had two "A+" experience with Absolute Asia Tours. It is a pleasure to work with an organization where I feel confident that what you say will happen, happens. This was true with our complicated China itinerary six years ago, and was true with our recent itinerary in Vietnam. your on the ground guides and logistics were top - notch, and I would recommend you to anyone to visit Asia.
James
17 January 2024 ★★★★★Absolute Asia tours gave us a wonderful tour of Southeast Asia (working with sister-agency My Way Travel based in Vietnam). For our Siem Reap/Angkor Wat journey, our party of two had a private driver and guide named Jak, who was a cheerful and knowledgeable companion, explaining the history, culture, architecture and religious significance of the sites while keeping it always fun. We moved efficiently from site to site, and finished with a boat tour of the fishing village on stilts at Kampong Pluk on the Tonle Sap Lake. During most of our trip we stayed at top-notch locally-owned hotels, but in Siem Reap we were at the excellent local Hyatt hotel. Absolute Asia and My Way Travel our outstanding local providers, less expensive than name-brand group tours, and customized to our interests and schedule.
Hope
2 January 2024 ★★★★★We had an awesome time on cycling tour with AAT! It was incredible, filled with good vibes, laughs & a fantastic way to explore Vietnam & Cambodia. Tony our guide made it special by introducing us to locals and showing us the real charm of these countries. The whole tour was well-organized & the way they took care of us awesome. It's an unforgettable trip and I'll definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to experience the beauty of Southeast Asia.
Nas
1 January 2024 ★★★★★My group of six completed a 30 day cycling tour in Asia with AAT. We traveled form Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket & Saigon to Siem Reap. Every day we pedaled through stunning countryside views, passing villages, fields & limestone karsts. Our guide Tony was fantastic-interesting, friendly & personable. This experience stood out as the highlight of our Asia trip.
