Soak in Golden Hot Springs, Whale Watching, and Hike Turtle Island – All Birthday Wishes Fulfilled

Finally, I saw the cracked turtle head up close for the first time!

After getting up close and personal with Turtle Island, I noticed many collapsed areas. Perhaps as the news reports say, intense geothermal activity may cause Turtle Island to disappear completely in the future—you really have to see it while you can!During the boat ride toward the whale watching spot and while circling the island, passing by the cracked turtle head, this “super realistic formation” definitely made the trip feel worth it!The guide also asked us to observe carefully—did we notice the water around the turtle head looked lighter in color? That’s because submarine hot springs are bubbling up from below, so those white splashes aren’t waves, but bubbles from boiling hot spring water.

▲%Jealous of the first time in a while swimming freely in the sea here... The guide told us that today the sea conditions were great, with no strong winds or big waves. Honestly, I never expected the sea to be so calm, clear, bright blue, and gentle today. There were even flying fish jumping out constantly!

Perhaps because the birthday girl had some luck on her side, we spotted a bunch of dolphins!

Before this, I’d only ever seen dolphins interacting with trainers at the aquarium. This was the first time I’d seen so many, so carefree and wild, swimming gracefully in the sea!

And dolphins swim really fast—if you don’t use burst mode or video, it’s really hard to capture their adorable moments in the water.
After enjoying the cute dolphins, we came to the highlight of the day—visiting Turtle Island, one of the world’s 12 Cool Islands!

Turtle Island is open for island entry from March to November each year, with a maximum of 1,000 people allowed per day. It’s precisely because it’s so mysterious that makes you want to go up and explore even more!

On the way approaching the north shore pier of Turtle Island, the guide told us that there used to be residents on the island, with the population peaking at 700 people.

But later, due to inconvenient living conditions, difficulties in schooling and employment, all the residents relocated back to the main island. Starting in 1977 (the 66th year of the Republic of China), it became a military restricted area, and only reopened to tourism in 1990 (the 89th year of the Republic of China).However, recently an incident occurred at

Hill 401 where a tourist suffered exhaustion and had an accident,

so the Hill 401 Trail, which originally only allowed 40 visitors per day, is now closed to the public.▲At the north shore pier of Turtle Island, there are coast guard personnel managing the number of visitors—you need to quickly cross the iron bridge after disembarking and not loiter!From the guide’s explanation, I learned that the “tail” of Turtle Island shifts slightly north or south depending on the season and ocean currents.Therefore, if you visit during summer when the southwest wind is blowing, you must enter from the north shore pier; in winter, when the northeast monsoon prevails, you land from the south shore pier.

Also, to balance tourism convenience and local marine ecological conservation, the north shore pier is an offshore-type pier formed by merging two gravity-based concrete caissons.

▲The appearance of the only concession stand on the island.

After strolling around Gumi Lake, we took the same boat back to the main island, concluding this magical journey filled with surprises and heartfelt moments — the heart-to-heart night in the Golden Soup, enjoying the breathtaking sunrise from our stunning sea-view room, spotting adorable dolphins swimming freely in the sea, and stepping onto the mysterious Turtle Mountain Cool Island. The highlight? This perfect itinerary was all thanks to my thoughtful sister’s planning, making this birthday of mine an utterly unforgettable and incredibly happy one!

On the way back, while driving, my sister boasted as if claiming credit, saying that the usual room type for the Turtle Mountain Island whale-watching trip is a mountain-view room facing the hills, but she had specificallyarranged for me to experiencean upgraded room — a spectacular sea-view room with direct views of Turtle Mountain Cool Island, just to make me feel like a princess on a royal getaway!

Hearing this, I couldn’t help but want to shake her shoulders and exclaim, “Marry me already!”

Stay at the Dongsen Marine Hot Spring Hotel, the closest to the world’s coolest island, embark on a whale-watching adventure to Cool Island — a lifelong must-do, so GO now!!