Top IG Spots on the Northern Coast: Collect All the Blue Hidden Gems at Once!

Text & Photos /MOMOCO

Today I’m bringing you a popular article on IG spots in the Northern Coast. Actually, I’m a local here, so I’ve been visiting many of these places since I was a kid. I had no idea they’d become so famous after Instagram came along. Lately, lots of friends have been asking me where these spots are, so today I’m finally putting together this article on the Northern Coast’s top IG spots. No fluff—let’s dive right in!

As the name implies, the Northern Coast is mostly about the sea, so the photos really depend on whether the weather cooperates. Without blue skies and white clouds, the shots can come out pretty average.
So I didn’t include some places where I didn’t get great photos.

Here’s a rough overview of the locations:
Tamsui -> Sanzhi Shallow Bay -> Sanzhi -> Shimen White Sand Bay + Isabella Coffee -> Shimen Wedding Plaza -> Shimen Fugui Fishing Port ->
Laomei Maze -> Laomei Kite Park -> Shimen Yingfang -> Shimen Liu Family Zongzi -> Shimen Cave -> Wind Power Plant
-> Eighteen Kings Temple -> Daydream Coffee -> Yangdouzi Coffee -> Seaside Open-Air Cafe -> Kao Bei Guo Ri Zi
-> Jinshan Dharma Drum Mountain -> Jinshan Old Street -> Mysterious Coast -> Lion Head Mountain Park -> Keelung

I’m not super familiar with Keelung, so I’ll just briefly cover it. Let’s start with Shallow Bay!

[New Taipei City Northern Coast] Sanzhi Shallow Bay: Stay Cafe & Space & Book with Natural Vibes and Great Lighting
Address: No. 16, Beishizi, Houcuo Li, Sanzhi District, New Taipei City, Taiwan 252
Phone: +886 2 8635 3038

There’s no air conditioning here, but the lighting is great and the ventilation is good. It has an industrial vibe and is a really cozy and lovely spot.

The trail at Shallow Bay is beautifully designed and easy to walk, even stroller-friendly!

Le Coq Rooster Coffee
Address: No. 45-16, Beishizi, Sanzhi District, New Taipei City, Taiwan 252
Phone: +886 2 8635 1362

I’ve been here many times but somehow never wrote about it—ha ha. Rooster Coffee is one of the places I usually recommend to friends who visit Shallow Bay.

Northern Coast Sanzhi – A Super Beautiful Hidden Gem Café: Papa in Sanzhi
Address: No. 76-1, Chencuo Keng, Sanzhi District, New Taipei City, Taiwan 252
Phone: +886 955 030 849

Absolutely gorgeous, but you must make a reservation in advance. Walk-ins are not accepted. Also, because it’s a greenhouse design, it gets quite stuffy in summer, so families with kids should think twice before coming.

Sanzhi - Fengzhimen

The sunset here is beautiful, but the wind is really strong—it’s so windy my hair ends up looking totally wild XD

White Sand Bay and Lingshan Cape

Even if you’re not into water activities, you can still enjoy White Sand Bay. The wind is pretty strong here, making it a cooler spot. The scenery looks different in every season.

Extreme North Blue Point
Address: No. 1-101, Section 8, Jiaoduan, Touwei, Shipai District, New Taipei City, Taiwan 253

It’s quite pretty for photos, but when I came here that day, there was construction going on. I asked my friends from Sanzhi and they said this place has been leased out—apparently it will become an ice cream shop or something similar in the future. I’m actually looking forward to that, because the all-white design paired with blue skies and white clouds is such a healing sight~

Shimen Wedding Plaza

Is this a good spot for photos? It really depends on luck. On weekends, it gets super crowded here because there's plenty of parking. Right across from here is the famous Liu Family Rice Dumplings—it’s a great place to take a break. You can come here, sit down, relax a bit, snap some photos. So getting a nice photo really comes down to whether you’re lucky or not. I had a friend who knows how to take photos along that day, so we ended up with some beautiful shots haha (though the wind was really strong and I looked like a crazy lady).

Laomei Maze
Address: No. 27, Fenglin Road, Shimen District, New Taipei City, Taiwan 253 (or just search for Cape Fugui Lighthouse!)

This is truly a place I’ve played at since I was a kid. But at some point, it got abandoned. Later on, it became popular again thanks to Instagram. I recently went back once more—just be a bit careful when taking photos though, because it doesn’t seem to be maintained or renovated. Also, this area was hit pretty hard by floods last year due to heavy rain, so if you plan to climb up here for pictures, please be cautious, everyone!

I’m not sure if the maze sign is gone or just not being used. Just look for the public toilet—that’ll be your landmark.

After you walk along this boardwalk, you’ll get to the maze area!

It’s been ages since I came here, and sure enough, I still get lost just as easily as when I was a kid. Even as a child, I used to get lost here all the time, and now that I'm basically the same height as the maze walls, I still managed to get lost, haha!! It really brings back nostalgic childhood memories~

It’s safer and easier to take photos near the staircase area!

Laomei Kite Park

This place is super cute. There’s parking both outside and inside, so it’s very convenient. They also have clean public toilets!

Doesn’t this little blue house look adorable in photos?! And there were some white clouds behind it too—gave off a fairytale vibe!

If you go down this path toward the beach, it kind of feels like Jurassic Park—it’s pretty cute.

If you head out from here toward the parking lot, this spot also makes for some lovely photos.

Shimen Yingfang Restaurant
Address: No. 9, Zhongyang Road, Shimen District, New Taipei City, Taiwan 253
Phone: +886 2 2638 1023

This isn’t an Instagram-famous spot, but it’s located right near Shimen Cave. It’s a local institution in Shimen—not fancy inside, but the ingredients are fresh, and the prices are reasonable and generous. We come here whenever we want seafood!

Shimen Cave

This is another place I’ve been visiting since I was a kid. The waves aren’t strong here, so it’s perfect for bringing kids.
(But there are lots of rocks—so it’s still not ideal for little ones to walk around alone!)

The sand here is mixed with shells, so definitely don’t walk barefoot—it hurts!

It’s great for bringing kids to splash around in the water. There’s parking nearby with plenty of spots, and it’s charged per entry.

P.S. The Shimen Wind Power Plant I visited before was also really beautiful. But when I went recently, it was under construction. I’m not sure when it’ll be finished. The heavy rain and flooding in June this year were really severe—hopefully it’ll be repaired soon. So if you’re planning to go soon, don’t end up disappointed!

Seaside Open-Air Cafe

There are several open-air coffee trucks here, maybe four or five? But the seating is limited at each one, and they get full quickly. We ended up having to go to the last truck, which only had one or two tables left.

Coffee and gossip—there are some huge seats here. Like on the day I went, the weather was a bit overcast—I would’ve been freezing dressed like this!!!

[Northern Coast · Jinshan] Q.B.Days / Kào Běi Guò Rì Zi (roughly “Screw It, Living Life!”)—a chill, relaxing café where you can enjoy the scent of the sea right by Shazhu Bay.
Address: No. 174, Haixing Road, Jinshan District, New Taipei City
Phone: +886 2 2408 2332

You can’t make a reservation in advance here, but the atmosphere is really great—it’s very relaxing. Once I came around 2 PM and the food was already sold out, so I’d recommend calling ahead before you go Up~

Mysterious Coast
Address: No. 2, Minsheng Road, Jinshan District, New Taipei City 208, Taiwan

The Mysterious Coast is actually the Shuiwei Fishing Port XD. I wondered where that place was—turns out it's just this fishing port. But now it’s not very mysterious anymore haha. There were about dozens of people when I went in—pretty lively and bustling.

Shitoushan Park
Address: No. 171-2, Huanggang Road, Jinshan District, New Taipei City 208, Taiwan

There’s a parking lot here. It’s near the Jinshan Youth Activity Center, but it gets super sunny. Not recommended if you’re bringing kids—there’s a bit of a hiking feel to it. Also, there are many spots with no shade from the sun XD

But it’s really quite beautiful when you take photos here.

The lush greenery is just soothing to look at. And once you find some tree shade, you won’t want to leave!! I only stayed here for 1–2 hours and instantly turned into a charcoal black >//////<

But the most beautiful view from climbing up here is this one—you can capture the Candlewick Twin Islets. But be careful when you come here—it’s basically a cliff area.

Final tip: since Danshui is using light rail here and construction still goes on during holidays, it gets really congested.
I think you could just play all the way from Jinshan to Keelung. Driving back home via the highway from Keelung might even be smoother.
(Of course, it still depends on road and traffic conditions.)

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