Foodie, Beach & Hot spring - 5 days / 4 nights

* Pickup from Kaohsiung international airport (KHH) or Tainan High Speed Rail station.

* Cycle: 35 km / 22 miles. Mostly flat.

After picking you up, we’ll go to a great brunch/lunch spot, head to your accommodation and get the bike fittings done. We’ll check out Anping Old Fort & tree house and start a pleasant ride through Tainan’s quiet streets and bike paths.

We’ll cycle past a majestic Mazu (sea goddess) temple, and along a beautiful bike path which takes in Tainan's riverway, and beaches.

Tainan is the oldest city in Taiwan (and the original capital) holding deep cultural and historical significance, and is an important center for culture, religion, and history.

We’ll head to a vibrant local night market filled with numerous games and delicious foods during the evening.

Brunch/Lunch (depending on your arrival time) We’ll sample some of the best shrimp rolls, wontons and crackers, tea eggs and local vegetables.

Afternoon snack: Tempura prawns are a much-celebrated food in Tainan, with an array of noodles and soups to acompany.

Dinner: We’ll head to the night market where there’s a host of mouth-watering traditional Tainan dishes available; Danzai noodles, braised pork over rice, Taiwanese meatballs, tofu pudding, tapioca milk tea, oyster omelette, turkey rice, eight treasure shaved ice/soup, almond jelly, coffin bread - in case you’re still feeling hungry!

Cycle: 50 km / 31 miles (hills/gradual incline)

Following breakfast we’ll drive out of Tainan city towards the Hakka area of Meinong. The Hakka people have a close connection to the land and life here revolves around harvests, traditions, and top quality food. We’ll also see part of the history and culture, on a visit to the Hakka centre.

After lunch we’ll cycle to the hot spring area, following a picturesque valley and river, passing seasonal sunflower fields, ornate Buddhist and Dao temples (where you’re welcome to go in and have a look), all on well-maintained roads. The green mountains are always visible, so you’re never short on beautiful views.

Tonight we’ll be in a hot spring hotel - a perfect spot to have an evening soak, and simply relax. 

Breakfast: Hotel

Lunch: Hakka restaurant – The staples of Hakka food are rice, pork, soy sauce, tofu, rice wine, ginger, salt and garlic. Traditionally, Hakka people worked hard farming their land so they needed a lot of energy in the fields; their meals are hearty and delicious. We recommend trying braised tofu cubes stuffed with minced pork or shrimp, pork belly with mustard greens, yam abacus, beef meatball soup and many more! Ingredients are all fresh and vary with the seasons.

Dinner: Traditional Taiwanese restaurant – A great variety of dishes to try at a wonderful local restaurant such as salt baked chicken, dragon’s whiskers vegetable, and sesame vermicelli.

Amenities:

+ Hot Spring

+ Sauna

+ Spa

+ Outdoor Swimmng Pool

Cycle: 66 km / 41 miles. Mostly downhill + flat.

After breakfast we’ll ride from our accommodation, following the winding valley and river, with the ever-present mountains beside us. The valley is well known for its profusion of butterfly species, particularly through spring and summer.

We’ll then jump in the van and drive to the tropical south coast. Following lunch we’ll visit South Taiwan’s luckiest temple and have a cruisy afternoon ride alongside the blue Pacific, finishing at the beautiful Baisha beach, which was used as a film location for Life Of Pi.

The south of Taiwan is often compared to Hawaii; with beautiful beaches and warm water, and no wonder, as it’s almost on the same latitude.

Accommodation is just down the road at South Bay with Nanwan Beach less than 100m away across the road. You can enjoy sunset on the golden sands, or from the rooftop terrace with ocean and beach views.

Breakfast: Accommodation

Lunch: Traditional Beef Noodle soup - Chunks of 12-hour slow-cooked beef in a beef and vegetable soup with perfectly cooked noodles - Regarded as Taiwan’s national dish & utterly delicious!

Dinner: A feast of food options are available; from fresh sashimi and a host of seafood dishes, to steamed & fried dumplings, numerous traditional dishes, and not forgetting all the seasonal fresh fruit; mangos, pineapples, star fruit, papayas and melons.

Amenities:

+ Rooftop, outdoor area for beautiful sunset & ocean views

+ Beach, restaurants and convenience store less than 100m away

Cycle: 63 km / 39 miles.

After you’ve had breakfast (and maybe a stroll and swim at the beach?), we’ll head to a traditional morning market, onto the luckiest temple in south Taiwan, and then drive to the peak of the SW mountain range - thus avoiding cycling along some roads frequented by heavy trucks.

From here, it’s a 63 km ride (at your own pace) downhill through tropical mountains on quiet, well-sealed roads, where we’ll likely see monkeys in the trees, then a long stretch alongside the beautiful blue Pacific.

From here, we’ll head through a small hillside range and finish at a farming town for a fantastic local lunch. Afterwards, we have the option for a walk to a waterfall and waterhole that’s perfect for a soak and popular with the local butterflies.

And this evening, we’ll take you around the night market, where there’s food and games galore, or if you'd prefer a reaxing sit-down meal, we'll head to one of many local restaurants.

Breakfast: Accommodation + Morning market; we recommend trying bacon & cheese Dan Bing.

Lunch: A host of local eateries to choose from in a rural agricultural village.

Dinner: Depending on your energy levels we can head to the night market to sample; BBQ meat and vegetables, sweet potato balls, bubble tea, seasoned fried giant squid, cheesy-baked potato mussels, Chou Dou Fu (stinky tofu), grilled bacon stuffed with spring onions, fried chicken breast fillet, popcorn chicken, Taiwanese sausages, spring onion pancake and plenty more – cooked right in front of you. undefined

Or if you’d rather; heading to one of the many local restaurants for a sit-down meal is a relaxing option too.

Amenities:

+ Rooftop, outdoor area for beautiful sunset & ocean views

+ Beach, restaurants and convenience store less than 100m away