Kaohsiung → Kenting 高雄 → 墾丁

Kenting 墾丁, on the southernmost tip of Taiwan, is listed as one of the main tourist getaways. However, after all the magnificence you've experienced on this trip, you should ask yourself whether cycling about 120 km on an incessantly flat coastal road, with a frenetic bar-strip village with a night market as your destination, merits the effort. If you're on the Round-the-Island route you're going anyway, but otherwise our advice is to only go if the weather is nice enough and you feel the urge to reach the very south of the country. Consider the island of Xiaoliuqiu, south of Kaohsiung, for much better vibes.

If you do go to Kenting, you surely won't like the first 30-ish kilometres out of Kaohsiung, but there's no efficient alternative to these endless industrial roads with loads of heavy traffic. Unless you have an extra day and fancy sampling local delicacies in Pingtung 屏東 or Chaozhou 潮州 (head off in a north-easterly direction), just pedal on and know that soon it'll be over.

When passing through Donggang, surely visit the Huaqiao Fish Market 華僑市場 for the catch of the day. We unexpectedly found exceptionally good coffee at Ta Kaffe 沓咖啡. After Donggang, our route skips a bit of the boring industrial road and leads you inland via Nanzhou 南州. The small villages on the plains are separated by long stretches of straight road against a backdrop of the central mountain ridge.

At Fangliao you'll hit the coast again, followed by a monotonous stretch of 35 km with just the mountains on your left and the sea on your right. Not until Hengchun will you hit civilisation again, where the less-travelled road following the coast is a better option than staying on the main road.

Soon you'll arrive in the frenetic little town of Kenting. If you insist on staying here, our advice is not to book a hotel directly on the main road, due to night-time noise. We preferred the chill vibes of the roadside beach, coffee bars and restaurants in the small village of Nanwan 南灣, 3.5 km before Kenting. Frequent buses and cheap taxis can bring you back to your hotel after a night out in Kenting.