Hualien 3-Day 2-Night Travel Guide: Food & Fun for Lazy Planners

It’s hard to believe that our mini family honeymoon in Hualien happened almost half a year ago—please forgive my snail-paced writing (what a metaphor). By the time I finally sat down to organize this Hualien travel article, little Puff had already made her grand entrance and turned three months old~~~ But the travel research I did turned out to be super useful, so I couldn’t procrastinate any longer.

Everyone who knows me knows I’m a total control freak. Whenever we travel—whether it’s booking accommodations, arranging transport, or planning the itinerary—I take charge of everything without needing to delegate. I’m the type who would plan every route in advance even if the car has GPS.

For this Hualien trip, I originally planned to stick to that same route. But then there were the elderly, the young, and parents who had already worked hard all year and just wanted a chill vacation—so over 80% of my carefully prepared plans went straight out the window. Honestly, I’m still a bit salty about it. Thankfully, Hualien is such an amazing destination that you can visit over and over again. The info I gathered will definitely come in handy for future trips.

Below is the actual itinerary from our mini family honeymoon. Since we work in the service industry, our travel dates tend to be different from most tourists’, which actually has its perks. We scored great deals on hotel prices, avoided the crowds at famous attractions, and enjoyed a more relaxed experience. Below the itinerary, I’ve also listed some alternative sights and snacks we considered trying.

Here’s a simplified version of our itinerary, with bracketed items indicating planned but ultimately skipped spots.

Taipei → Lunch: Kinma Breguet Coffee Castle → (Afternoon Tea: Jiashing Ice Parlor) → Hai Zhong Tian Hotel → Dinner: Ye Xiang Bian Shi & Miao Kou Black Tea (Gong Zheng Steamed Buns & Wu Ba Caramel Tapioca Balls) → Back to Hai Zhong Tian Hotel to release sky lanterns.

Originally, we planned to drive from Puli along the Central Cross-Island Highway all the way to Hualien, stopping by Taroko National Park along the way (Taroko is a must-visit spot in Hualien~~ after seeing it on “Grandpas Over Flowers,” I was even more eager to go). But a typhoon the week before our trip led to road closures on the Central Cross-Island Highway, so we had to drive halfway around the island—starting in Taipei and heading east to Hualien. Still, the Su-Hua Highway is absolutely stunning. It’s one of those bucket-list drives with breathtaking ocean-and-sky views.

If we’d left earlier on Day 1, we could’ve visited the Lanyang Museum. But since we departed late and had already snacked in the car, we only ended up having drinks at Kinma Breguet Coffee Castle.

Hai Zhong Tian Hotel is perfect for couples or families, and they even offer sky lantern releases in the evening—a super cozy, romantic vibe.

Breakfast: Provided by homestay → (Yun Shan Shui Eco-Farm) → Lunch: Xiang Sushi (or choose between Xiang Sushi and Lai Shan Sushi) → Doramen Whale Watching → (Afternoon Tea: Frontier French Pastry) → Qixingtan Resort Hotel → Dinner: Pizza Hut (original plan was to go to Ziqiang Night Market).

Just looking at Day 2’s schedule shows we were fully in vacation mode—slept in at the homestay, had lunch, then went whale watching XD.

For family trips to Hualien, Doramen Whale Watching is definitely a top pick. Er-Yu (2nd grade) still remembers the dolphins leaping out of the Pacific Ocean in Taipei.

We stayed the second night at Qixingtan Resort Hotel, which we’d visited before. The accommodations and service were both top-notch. The hotel is right next to Qixingtan Beach—you can walk there in just five minutes for sunrise. They also provide bikes to ride along the beach.

On Day 3, we woke up early to watch the sunrise and biked around Qixingtan. After some well-deserved rest, we shopped for local specialties before heading back.

This Hualien trip left me with a bit of FOMO, since we drove all this way—but unlike Taichung or Miaoli, Hualien isn’t somewhere you can visit three or five times a year. But with a family in tow, my eight-month pregnant self, and a mother-in-law who didn’t want me wandering off too much, I definitely plan to bring little Puff back when she’s older to go whale watching again and check out all the spots we missed.

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