Last Updated on September 10, 2026 by Erin Donahue

At Taiwan’s southernmost tip, you’ll find Kenting, nicknamed the “Hawaii of Taiwan.” The first time I was here, I was just a teenager and had no idea how lucky I was to spend my summers traveling around Taiwan. Like most of my trips to Taiwan as an adult, I come back to retrace those same steps and see how the island has changed over my lifetime.

This might come as a shock, considering how offensively suffocating Taiwanese summers are, but I can confidently say Kenting (墾丁) is only worth visiting in summer, unless you’re a surfer. Previously, when I went to Kenting, it was during high season, and I distinctly remember melting, but this most recent trip was during shoulder season, and it felt like a waste. I only had 24 hours in Kenting itself, and it rained the whole time. That being said, keep reading to find out everything worth doing when the weather cooperates.

Getting to Kenting (墾丁)

There are a couple of ways to get to Kenting, but neither the high-speed rail nor conventional rail reaches this far south, which limits your options. The closest train stop is Fangliao, but you’ll still need a bus, car, or moped to get to Kenting itself.

Hire a Private Driver

Typically, when I travel outside the cities, I hire a private driver. On my past couple of trips to Maolin, Kaohsiung County, and Nantou County, I have used the same driver. My mom, who is Taiwanese, isn’t comfortable with us renting a car and driving ourselves because of all the accidents with moped drivers, so hiring a car driver is her preference. When I was younger, we used to do family trips and stuff 14 people in a van that my uncle would drive. Obviously, hiring a private driver costs more than public transportation, but it’s local, convenient, and door-to-door. If that sounds like your situation too, it’s worth it.

Rent a Car or Moped

If you want full flexibility, renting a car or a moped is another option. Rental counters are available at both Zuoying HSR Station and Kaohsiung Airport for cars, generally running NT$1,200 to 1,600 per day. You’ll need either an International Driving Permit or a local Taiwan license, plus a credit card to book.

Mopeds are rentable directly in the Kenting area too, though you’ll need an International Driving Permit with the motorcycle endorsement specifically, not just a standard one. FYI: some shops might be inconsistent about renting to foreigners even with valid paperwork, though.

Take a Bus

If you’d rather stick to public transportation, the Kenting Express bus (bus 9189) runs from Zuoying HSR Station roughly every 30 minutes. The journey takes about two hours and costs around NT$400 one-way. There’s also a dedicated route from Kaohsiung Airport if you’re flying in directly. Once you’re in Kenting, a separate local shuttle bus covers getting around the peninsula itself.

Where to Stay in Kenting

The first time I came to Kenting, I honestly have no recollection of where I stayed, but during my most recent trip back, I stayed at Caesar Park Kenting (墾丁凱撒大飯店). It’s one of the more well-known resorts in the area, right on Xiaowan Beach (小灣). I go into the full breakdown, room details, and cost in my dedicated review.

Hengchun Old City Wall (恆春古城)

Once I arrived in Kenting, one of the first spots I stopped by before checking into my hotel was the East Gate of Hengchun Old City Wall (恆春古城). The East Gate is the only one of Hengchun’s four original gates still fully intact, built between 1875 and 1879 after Qing officials decided the area needed stronger defense. Walking the wall itself was underwhelming. Standing on top of it, I kept wondering what it could have actually defended. It’s brick, low, and short, so it’s hard to picture it holding off anything serious.

Next to the wall, across the street, you’ll find an elevated wooden platform with rows of poles underneath it. It’s easy to miss if you don’t know what you’re looking at. It’s the site of Qianggu (搶孤), an annual pole-climbing festival held during Ghost Month, where teams climb greased poles to grab a flag at the top. Apparently, it’s a still-running tradition that’s over a century old, and one of only two places left in Taiwan where it still happens.

Where Locals Stop in Kenting

The 7-Eleven in Taiwan With a Beach View

Towards the tip of Kenting, in the Fangshan Recreation Area (枋山遊憩區), there’s a 7-Eleven worth stopping at for the view alone: the Dolphin Bay branch (海豚灣門市). A dolphin sculpture arches over the parking lot, and the store looks straight out at the ocean. It’s also a known pit stop for moped riders working their way up and down the west coast. 7-Eleven in Asia has a reputation for genuinely good food, and Taiwan’s version is no exception. I always get the tea eggs here. Simple, hearty, and reliably good!

Mt. Gui Trail (龜山步道)

Mt. Gui is a small, turtle-shaped hill on the northwest edge of the Hengchun Peninsula. Japanese forces actually used it as a staging base back in 1874, during their first military incursion into Taiwan. The trail has a few different route options, but with the weather working against me, I took the most direct path to the viewpoint, which is about a half-mile hike up.

The entrance tucks into the side of the highway and is easy to miss if you’re not looking for it. The trail has a few different route options, but with the weather working against me, I took the most direct path to the viewpoint. It was insanely windy walking it. The payoff at the top is a panoramic view that takes in the beach, Mt. Hutou, and Mt. Santai.

ChuHuo Eternal Flame (恆春出火)

The main reason I decided to come back down to Kenting was that I wanted to photograph the ChuHuo Eternal Flame (恆春出火). Natural gas seeps up through cracks in the mudstone here and ignites on contact with air. It’s a rare phenomenon, and only a handful of places on Earth have naturally burning ground fire like this.

I’d been once before, back in 2011, with my extended family. My cousins were still kids then, and we lit sparklers straight off the ground fire, which the site apparently no longer allows. I also met a couple of girls from Macau on that trip. At the time, I had no idea where Macau was, and I’ll never forget the weird way they called me out on it. I also didn’t know the first thing about photography back then, so I only have blurry point-and-shoot photos from then, and I’ve been wanting a proper redo ever since.

ChuHuo Eternal Flame Is Now Open as Wind Peninsula (風域半島)

Unfortunately, I never got to see the ChuHuo Eternal Flame (恆春出火) this time around. A fence surrounded the site when I arrived. Flames used to scatter across open ground here, but during my most recent visit, only one small elevated patch remained visible. Apparently, Pingtung County had been in the middle of a multi-million-dollar redevelopment of the whole Chuhuo Special Scenic Area.

The site has since reopened under a new name, Wind Peninsula (風域半島), with paid admission. I think it’s lame that there’s now a fee to see the flame. The main justification was safety concerns, and from what I saw, the authenticity felt removed in the process. I’m glad I got to experience the old version before the changes, though.

Eluanbi Lighthouse and Sail Rock (船帆石)

Eluanbi Lighthouse (鵝鑾鼻燈塔) is Kenting’s most iconic landmark, and Sail Rock (船帆石) is an 18-meter coral limestone monolith just offshore that resembles a sailboat’s raised sail. I visited both back in 2011, but wasn’t able to on this trip since the weather was ass. The same coastal road north of Eluanbi also leads to Longpan Park (龍磐公園), a clifftop stretch inside Kenting National Park with dramatic eroded cliffs and panoramic ocean views.

At the eroded rock beach near Sail Rock, a tour guide led us through hunting for faces and shapes in the weathered coral limestone. It’s a fun, easy activity, just like finding shapes in clouds.

Supposedly, you can actually see the tip of the Philippines from Taiwan’s southernmost point on a clear day. I posted about this on social media, and people from the Philippines commented that they remembered catching Mandarin news broadcasts over the radio waves growing up.

Kenting Night Market

Kenting Night Market was a highlight when I visited back in 2011. I got a henna tattoo there, right before I got the itch to get a bunch of real ones. I distinctly remember seeing a lot of Western faces in the crowds, which was jarring at the time because Taiwan wasn’t as popular a destination. They were most likely Australian surfers enjoying their holiday at Taiwan’s version of Hawaii.

I can’t speak to its current state, since this trip didn’t take me to it. Kenting’s night market schedule also tends to shrink outside peak season, so it’s worth checking current hours before you build a night around it.

Hsiao’s Historic House (蕭家古厝)

A quick pit stop on the way down to Kenting, or even after on the way back to Kaohsiung, is Hsiao’s Manor (also spelled Siao’s House; 蕭家古厝) in Jiadong Township. The manor is a traditional Hakka ancestral home, listed as a Third-grade historic relic, and it belongs to the prominent Hsiao family. The layout of the home is symmetrical and tiered, with each courtyard set slightly higher than the last as you move deeper into the property. My mom said it reminded her of the homes she grew up around. Her family is Hakka, and this kind of home is close to what she describes from her own childhood.

Hakka Language and Culture

Hakka culture is everywhere in Taiwan, but UNESCO classifies the language itself as endangered today. Usage has dropped roughly 70% over three generations, following decades of suppression under martial law when Mandarin-only policies pushed it out of schools. It’s been an official national language since 2017, though, and there’s active work to keep it alive. However, even with those efforts, it’s in decline.

I grew up listening to my elders speak it, but it’s an extremely difficult dialect, so unfortunately, I never had the chance to learn the language. A lot of my travel around Taiwan with my family includes visiting Hakka spaces, like Meinong Hakka Cultural Museum. In Tainan, you can even stay at a traditional Sanheyuan-style house now operating as a hostel.

Hsiao’s Family History

The owner of the house, who I believe is a son of the Hsiao family, personally brings visitors into a room dedicated to the family’s own history in the area. At least he did with us, because my mom speaks Hakka. Obviously, everyone in Taiwan speaks Mandarin, but code-switching to Hakka, or sometimes Taiwanese Hokkien (Min Nan Hua 閩南話), is common, and it’s a typical way to build kinship between Taiwanese people. The room includes a 3-D rendering of the house’s campus, and on the walls, I saw documentation of what happened to them, or in the surrounding region, during the 228 Incident and the White Terror era. He talked through some of the history himself.

The manor also displays a Qing-dynasty travel passport, required for anyone traveling from China to Taiwan. It presents it as evidence that Taiwan and China have long been separate countries. Another nearby display holds a 1949 refugee certificate the Nationalist government issued to arrivals that year, and presents it as proof that the KMT fled to Taiwan as refugees.

I don’t have enough historical background to weigh in on these myself, but what I can say is the room reflects a clearly pro-independence stance, which is the norm in the south. Southern Taiwan, including Kaohsiung and Pingtung, has leaned heavily toward the pro-independence DPP for decades, a well-documented divide from the more KMT-friendly north.

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FAQ About Kenting

Is Kenting worth visiting?
Kenting is worth visiting mainly during summer. Kenting revolves around surfing, snorkeling, and being outdoors.

What is the best time to visit Kenting?
Summer. Kenting’s nickname, the “Hawaii of Taiwan,” reflects its peak season best. Shoulder season brings rain, quieter beaches, and closures at some attractions.

How do you get from Kaohsiung to Kenting?
By private driver, rental car, or the Kenting Express bus (bus 9189), which departs from Zuoying HSR Station roughly every 30 minutes and takes about two hours. There’s no direct train or ferry to Kenting.

Is Chuhuo Eternal Flame still open?
Yes. After a multi-million-dollar redevelopment, the site reopened under the name Wind Peninsula (風域半島), but now has paid admission.

Is Kenting good for surfing?
Yes, Kenting is one of Taiwan’s most popular surfing destinations.