Orchid Island, Taiwan: A place never to forget
Written by Tom van de Wiel
All your information for your next trip to Orchid Island!
Why visiting Taiwan?
I’ve always asked myself, why Taiwan is such an underrated country. It looks like it gets overshadowed by its bigger neighbours such as Japan and South Korea. This is unfair. If Taiwan is not yet on your bucket list, let me help you put it on there!
What to expect of this blog?
In this blog, I’m going to show you an island of Taiwan, that you should put on your destinations list right now! We’ll go deeper into the island’s sights, the travel information and other important information for your next visit!
Why is Orchid Island so special and why does it need to be in your travel plans:
When you open Instagram or TikTok, you’ll see many videos of places such as Hawaii and Madeira (Portugal), but for most people, these places are difficult to reach or very expensive! Good for you, we have great alternatives for these places in Asia too! Orchid Island is one of these places. Although very small, it’s very affordable (for western tourists, but also for the east Asia travellers!). It’s easy to reach and most importantly, very beautiful. Most pictures on the internet cannot show you the beauty of this place!
Many tourists, which head towards Taiwan visit the big cities, but most of them forget to enjoy the stunning Taiwanese nature. Not much is still known about the landscapes by foreign tourists, so it’s a great step to open yourself up for a less discovered part of Taiwan!
What can you expect from this hidden treasure:
For such a small island, there’s so much to do. For a faster pace traveller like I is 3-4 days enough to discover most of the island. If you like to see things with a little bit slower pace and take your time on the beach and enjoying the island, you could stay up to a week.
Nature and scenic spots
This whole island is such a treasure. Anywhere you go is something unique to see. Each part of the island is totally something different. Here's a quick summary about each part, Don't forget to check out the full information at the pages below.
The north is my favourite part of the island. It reminds me of Madeira (a stunning Portuguese island). There's a lot of places here, where you can make the ultimate pictures for your photo album!
At the eastern side of the island, there's a lot of diversity. You can see nature, culture, restaurants. It's a little bit of everything! Here are also some calmer waters to swim or snorkel in.
The southern part is something totally different. Here the island gets too its steepest and the cliffs are the highest. You can walk at the sides of the cliffs and see beautiful caves and rocks. If you are driving from the airport to the southern most point via the western route, you will also see a container ship wreck!
In the west is most of the urban area of the island. There's such amazing coasts with so clear water shores.
NORTH ORCHID ISLAND
The north
In my opinion, the north has the most places to take the best pictures for your photo album. There are some places especially, which we can recommend.
First we dive into the most spectacular tunnel, made out of big rocks, where the road goes under them. You can't miss this one when you're driving from the harbour north. Once you find it, you can just park your scooter next to the road. Orchid Island is really easy and basic, there are not so many rules.
Then you drive further eastwards, you'll stumble upon a few very cool looking caves. You can go inside and you'll find a Christian cross. Just a bit further towards the village, you will find at the sea side an arch shaped rock!
After you've visited these places, there's still so much more to see! Drive past the village and you'll have the view from the picture below! My favourite spot on the island!
At last you'll find all the way in the north east a stunning view at some small islands and both sides of the island.
SOUTH ORCHID ISLAND
The south
The south is really something different from the rest of the island. Only here can you experience the glory of the high cliffs from above. You can park your scooter next to the entrance of the walk area. It's next to a sign and a little hard to find, if you don't use Google Maps. Here you can find the location of the entrance. If you are lucky, you may find next to the entrance a few friendly people, which sell local Taiwanese beers. It's really worth it to try!
Once you found your way into the walking path area, you can go in each direction to the cliffs. Only here you will find excellent views onto the coast and the cliffs. There are some really nice spots to take pictures. The green grass fields also give a really nice blend with the mountains.
After you're done and back to the road, you can drive further south (and eventually more east). You will see a beautiful view down onto a small harbour. Here you can see a ship wreck of a container ship! If you drive down to the harbour, you can see the ship closer.
EAST ORCHID ISLAND
The east
If you're looking for a place to swim or snorkel (for kids), the waves of the ocean can be quite strong. There's a few places where you can still enjoy in calmer waters. One of those places is here at the east coast. You can park your scooter at the parking next to the road and go down. You might have to climb over a few rocks to come here, but I guarantee it will be worth it! Here's a kind of 'inner-sea'. It's a small water place that looks more like a lake, with rocks that keeps the salty water inside and protect it from big waves. Although the water can be a little unclear, it's the perfect spot to relax and see small fish. The kids will love it! If you are more for chilling in a nice place outside, don't look any further! Just next to the parking place you can find a wooden structure (there's also more places around the island like this) and you can go inside and enjoy. Don't forget to take off your shoes!
For any other scenic spots, you can drive with the scooter from the south to north and vice versa. Once you'll drive further north you'll stumble upon a place where you can walk down to a beautiful arch made out of rocks. You'll need a bit of climbing to get there, but it's really easy.
The east also has some stunning cultural sides, please read more down below.
WEST ORCHID ISLAND
The west
The western part of Orchid Island is the most populated part of the island. This is also where you'll find the most villages and the harbour. This whole coast is really stunning! You'll find goats anywhere on the road and sometimes when you're lucky you'll see crabs crossing the street.
The best view point is from the light house (entrance behind the petrol station). You'll have a great view on the harbour and a big rock-a-like mountain south of the light house.
Culture
The culture here is a little bit different than in the rest of Taiwan. The culture here is so unique, that it’s not found anywhere else in the world. As you may know are most Taiwanese people ethnically Chinese. But before the Chinese came to the island and the smaller islands, there were already people living here. Many have same origins from the same ethnic family as Pilipino, Indonesian and Malaysian! Only on this island can you find this unique separated culture. The indigenous people sail very beautiful boats. According to statistics, 2500 out of 4000 people are still indigenous! At the main road near here, you can find a number that you can call to see inside one of these people’s houses. If you cannot speak Mandarin, some people next to those houses offer the same deals and some of them speak English.
Restaurants and must-try foods
There are some restaurants we highly recommend! These are some restaurants, which we saw were especially from here or have some great food options:
· For local dish: One infamous dish from the island is the flying fish (really that fish that can fly!). You can eat is all around the island. Here is one suggestion where you can eat it: 蘭嶼漂流木餐廳
· Also, seafood is a local option to choose from. You can search in Google Maps ‘seafood’ to see some traditional seafood restaurants. Almost all restaurants on the island are traditional seafood restaurants.
· For BBQ: A popular restaurant type is BBQ. Although I’ve not seen it as much in mainland-Taiwan, it’s something that’s really enjoyed all over the island. We have eaten BBQ at this restaurant: 有一間燒烤-東清店
· if you need some inspirations. You can have unlimited meat for two hours and ice cream for a set price. You only need to pay extra for some less popular dishes, like crab. You should BBQ yourself!
· For snacks: Snacks are enjoyed all around the island, but the best location for small bites is a night market like here.
· More western options: Sometimes it can be hard to find real authentic western food in Taiwan. Also on this island, there’s just a few good restaurants. If you are a burger lover you might want to try this restaurant. When you sit towards the beach, you can even enjoy the sunset!
· Unlike the not-so-good breakfast burgers in most breakfast restaurants in Taiwan, this restaurant gives you burgers, just how you expect them from western restaurants!
Coffeeshop and desert place
Want to escape the island for a while and enjoy yourself? If you like small, comfy and cosy coffeeshop to work or chill? There’s just one coffeeshop on the island that fulfils your heart! Be sure to visit it before it becomes too popular. It’s already now popular by mostly locals.
Note: It’s difficult to find, if you don’t have any instructions. It’s hidden as a house just behind the church building. You can only recognise it by some signage. Our two tips: look behind the church (and park your scooter there) or walk towards the Google Maps location and just follow the paths, you will come out at the coffeeshop at the location of Google Maps.
There are many places to get ice cream / dessert on the island, but there are just few like this one.
How to organise your trip
The island is easy to reach, and planning is something you can do within one week before your trip! There are just a few things you need to keep in mind when booking your trip:
You can easily reach by boat: There are only two harbours that have ferry trips to the island. You can go via Taitung and Kending (the harbour is called ‘Houbihu’). We advise you to take the boat via Taitung, because of its favourable position. Taitung is easily reachable by train. Kending is only accessible by bus. Please make sure to buy your ticket online in advance. We made the mistake of wanting to order our ticket just two days before the date of departure and there was no space left. We found a third party, that could still sell us the tickets for the original price, but this is quite difficult to do without any knowledge of the Mandarin language. You can order your tickets here. There are a few companies, which offer ferries to the island. Our ferry had the baggage included. Check at your booking for accurate information. The boat takes about 2:00-2:30 hours depending on where you take the boat.
Some important things to keep in mind in the boat:
· The boat sails over open ocean. Waves and especially rainy conditions could make you seasick. Our golden tip for the journey is taking seasick pills/ driving sick pills with you and take them in before your journey. The first trip we were seasick, but for the way back (when taking the pills), we were fine! Also, take some plastic bags, that are hanging around the ship before sitting down. You might have one already at your seat, but you can always use a backup in case you get seasick!
Once you ordered your ticket, you’ll be getting a confirmation via email. You can claim your tickets and the ticket counter at the harbour, when having this confirmation. Do not make the mistake of buying your tickets on the day of departure in the harbour, this is only possible when there is still space, and this option is unreliable.
For Taitung: the train to Taitung:
o Buying a ticket for the train to Taitung is a piece of cake. Go to this website and fill in the information. Claim your ticket at the ticket booth at the station of departure.
· For Kending: the bus to Kending:
o If you wanna take the bus to the harbour, or anywhere in Taiwan, you can use the Bus+ application.
This is how it works:
first, you open Google Maps and put in your starting point and arriving point in the search bar (example here below (on phone all the way down the page)). Then you find the public transportation option in the route selection. If there is a bus in this route, it'll show a number. This is the bus number, which you have to put in the Bus+ app.
Once you are in the Bus+ app (picture 2), you'll search for the search bar above and fill in this bus number, which you found in Google Maps. Make sure in 'set your search area', all locations are on (or the regions where you wanna go to). Normally all locations are already on.
In the example in picture 3, it'll show three options. The first option is basically the second and third option combined. You will see here the bus route from both ways (from start to end and end to start). You can also click on the second (option A) or the third (option B). This will show you only the bus route one way. Check which direction you want to go to and remember if this is the A option or B option. This is the number which you'll search for at the bus stop (bus stops are in the app and in Google Maps, once you selected the route).
At the bus stop it will say for example '9117A' or '9117B' and you'll know which side of the streets you'll need to wait for the bus. The bus number will be written digitally at the front of the bus and in the Bus+ app, you'll see a live location of the bus and which time it'll arrive at your stop and your last stop. Google Maps also gives some information about it, however I found this not a reliable option (the times of the bus at each stop).
If you travel from Kaohsiung to the harbour of Kending, you need to get out in Hengchun Bus Station (the main station). From here you'll need to take another bus or take the taxi to the harbour (the name is Houbihu).
· What to do when you arrive in Orchid Island:
o Orchid Island just has one port. You go on and off the island here. Probably the first thing you want to do is get food, money or a scooter to get to the hotel. Make sure you bring enough cash with you. Orchid Island is an island that thrives on cash. If you don’t have cash, the only place you can pay with credit card is 7-11.
Do not make the mistake, which we did. We walked up to the 7-11 at the harbour and found out that there was no ATM. This island has only two ATMs. One in a bank in the south-west (POST-bank) of the island and one in the other 7-11 at the other side of the island. If you want to rent a scooter, make sure to bring cash.
Also, the only petrol station is next to the harbour. Something we experienced too, when getting money from the other 7-11, is that my European card cannot withdraw from this ATM, because I don’t have at least 6 numbers in my PIN. The ATM is from the same bank as the bank on the other side of the island (POST-bank) (and so not like the 7-11 ATMs in mainland Taiwan). If you already have no problems getting your money from this bank, you won’t have any problems here.
o Book your hotel or hostel in advance. If you book it just a few days beforehand, you’ll only have more expensive options or not the type of hotel/hostel, which you’re looking for.
o Once you arrived, you might want to rent a scooter. Renting a scooter is really the best and only way to explore the whole island easily! There’s at this moment just one rental company. It will be exactly next to the harbour. Make sure to bring your (international) driver's license!
