From Taipei, there are two popular beaches in Taiwan that you can reach in less than 2 hours. Fulong Beach is 1-hour from Taipei and Wai'ao beach is 2-hours from Taipei.
Fulong and Wai'ao are the best Taipei beach spots for surfing, swimming, and lounging. These are 2 of the best beaches in Taiwan that you can reach directly by train.
In this post, we'll show you how to get to the best beaches in Taiwan for surfing and relaxing. Taiwan is one of the most convenient places in the world for public transportation and you'll shocked at the cleanliness of the beaches.
Waiao Beach: Black Sand Beach near Taipei
If you're staying by Taipei Main Station (highly recommended), getting to Fulong beach Taiwan can be as fast as 57 minutes and getting to Wai'ao beach in Yilan County can be as fast as 100 minutes.
1. Fulong Beach Taiwan
If you're looking for beaches near Taipei, Fulong beach Taiwan is known for it's Taiwan surf, windsurfing, swimming and annual summer sand castle festival.
Fulong beach is one of the best beaches in Taiwan since it features many activities and can be reached from Taipei via fast local train in just 57 minutes.
How To Get To Fulong Beach Taiwan
From Taipei Main Station, there are several trains every hour that will take you to Fulong Taiwan on various routes with prices ranging from NT$83-NT$128! Super affordable! You can book your trip to the best beaches in Taiwan using the official Taiwan Railways website.
If you're taking the express train, be sure to reserve your seat otherwise you risk having to stand on the train.
I prefer taking the express train because you can reserve your own seat. Taking any of the local trains or a train without a reservation may result in you standing for the duration of your trip to Fulong Taiwan.
Surfboard and other Rentals in Fulong Taiwan
From the Fulong Sand Sculpture side of the beach, there are available rentals for tents, umbrellas, chairs, drinks and for water activities.
On the other side of the beach, you'll be able to rent surfboards and windsurfing boards. Prices tend to be package rates that can vary from $NT200-500.
Public Facilities in Fulong Taiwan
Before crossing the bridge to the beach, on your right there will be a small walkway. If you follow that walkway you'll find free showers and water to clean off the sand at no charge.
Free showers and tap water can be found here (on the right).
There are also affordable food stalls, drinks and ice cream nearby for your Taipei beach experience.
It was super hot on my trip here so I went to the nearby Fullon Hotel to cool down in their cafe.
You can get amazing Taiwan beach views and stay cool!
Where To Stay In Fulong Taiwan
Personally, I would only take a day trip from Taipei to Fulong since the trip is only 1-hour. But, I don't surf or swim. If you'd like to get maximum time at the beach, you could check out the hotels in Fulong. The nicest and closest hotel to the beach is the Fullon Hotel. I went there to cool down in their cafe and it was really nice.
Fullon Hotel
2. Wai'ao Beach Taiwan
Wai'ao Beach is the most beautiful Taipei beach with it's black sand, mountains and beautiful scenery. It's also a popular spot to surf in Taiwan.
Wai'ao beach is located in Yilan county. There aren't any express trains that will directly take you to Waiao beach, but the local train can be as fast as 100 minutes. If you want to take the express train, you'll have to travel to Yilan Station and transfer to the local line there.
Be sure to bring your sandals and sunblock. The black sand at this Taipei beach gets hot! Even though it's one of the most beautiful of the Taiwan beaches, it also gets the hottest because the black sand just absorbs heat.
How To Get Waiao Beach Taiwan
There's two ways to take the train to Waiao Beach, one of the best beaches in Taiwan.
Local Train From Taipei Main Station To Waiao (Taipei Beach)
Trains leave every hour from Taipei Main Station and can take about 2 hours by local train. The local train means you won't have a reserved seat, so you'll have to be ready to get a seat as soon as the train arrives.
Express Train From Traipei Main Station to Yilan Station
If you made the mistake like me, of going directly to Yilan Station and missing the local train to Waiao beach (every 60-90 minutes) you can take a taxi which costs about NT$440 and takes about 30 minutes of driving. Taxis in Yilan County all start the meter at NT$125. This may seem like an abrupt change since taxis in Taipei start at NT$75, but don't worry that's the REAL rate.
When you arrive at Waiao station, you'll arrive at one of the best Taiwan beaches!
This is the view you see as soon as you get out at Waiao Station when visiting this Taipei beach.
You can then walk along the pedestrian path to access the north or south of the beach.
You can book your trip to the best beaches in Taiwan using the official Taiwan Railways website.
Surf boards for rent at Waio Beach, Taiwan
Surf Board Rental Price Packages at Waiao Beach Taiwan
There are a lot of vendors renting out surfboards, chairs and umbrellas along the beach. The going rate is pretty much the same for all of them (even though I tried to negotiate).
Rental rates aren't hourly and apply for the whole day. For NT$500 we got 1 surfboard, 1 shower token (shower is at the temple), 2 plastic chairs and a beach umbrella. That's pretty reasonable.
Unfortunately, there weren't any nearby restrooms, drinks or food. It's a 10-20 minute walk back to the cafe depending on where you are on at this Taipei surfing spot. There are 2 areas on the north and south side of the beach for surfing.
Lockers at Waiao Beach Taiwan
Lockers at Waiao beach are also available under No. 9 Cafe At The Beach for NT$50 per use.
From my personal experience, Taiwan has been very safe and people are very honest. So theft hasn't been an issue. I noticed many people left their stuff unattended, but if you're uncomfortable with that, lockers are available at this Taiwan beach.
Restrooms at Waiao Beach Taiwan
Among other Taiwan beaches, Waiao beach has a lot of modern facilities nearby. The restrooms are free to use under No. 9 Cafe At The Beach.
If you're not interested in renting a surfboard, this is the rental package that was available from Waiao station. I would absolutely just rent something on the beach so I don't have to carry it from the station to the beach in Taiwan.
Showers at Waiao Beach Taiwan
There are two types of public showers by No. 9 Cafe At The Beach:
#1: Outside Showers (towards the beach) are NT$10 every 30 seconds for water. The water pressure is pretty good for a quick rinse
#2: Inside Showers located in the restroom/locker room (under the cafe) at NT$50 for a 5-minute shower. It's a better deal if you need that much time.
There are change machines nearby so you can get NT$10 coins.
Where To Stay by Waiao Beach
The local train to Waiao beach arrives every 60-90 minutes. It's not very frequent and can be inconvenient. If you want to maximize your beach time, I suggest staying in hotels by Waiao Beach or Hotels by Yilan Station (very affordable). It will make your Taiwan beach trip much more comfortable.
I decided to stay by Yilan station so I could check out the Dongmen night market
Getting Back To Taipei From Waiao Beach
Besides visiting this Taiwan surf spot, Waio beach Taiwan is also pretty close to Yilan (20 minutes by local train/30 minutes by taxi). I wanted to lock in a train seat instead of risking having to stand up to 2 hours, so I ended up taking the train from Waiao to Yilan. Then I hung out a few hours in Yilan before continuing back from Yilan Station to Taipei Main Station.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Whenever possible, book your Taiwan Rail tickets in advance. The train seats can easily fill up especially in the summer months.
Conclusion
It's amazing that you can comfortably go from the city of Taipei to some of the best Taiwan beaches in 1-2 hours. Hotels can be pretty expensive by Waiao beach so a lot of people just plan a day trip.
If you want to lock in an express train ticket, it's only 1 hour from Yilan Station to Taipei Main Station. In the mean time, you can also check out Dongmen Night Market.
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