Celia
Wow0 This time, Celia and her travel buddy are planning to spend five days and four nights taking on the epic challenge of riding a motorcycle around all of Taiwan? Can they really... possibly... succeed? Let’s keep watching, hey~
Yes, Celia, who wants to attempt a motorcycle island loop, must be crazy! Actually, motorcycle island loops aren’t anything new—in earlier years, many enthusiastic youths set out on these journeys to make their youth unforgettable. But over time, it evolved into 24-hour island loops (Sister Celia strongly discourages this because it’s really too dangerous), figure-8 loops, and island-hopping loops. There are just so many new variations of island loops!
For Celia, a motorcycle island loop has been one of my dreams in recent years, especially after I started writing travel articles—I wanted to experience Taiwan’s beauty using different modes of transportation. But considering my kid is still young and not independent, this dream stayed in my heart, temporarily unfulfilled.
Finally, with the right timing, place, and people, I seized the opportunity, so I decided to make this dream come true—because if I don’t do it now, I probably never will! As for this motorcycle island loop, Celia only has one small request: since I love looking good, I’ve made it a rule to change outfits and take photos at every attraction, haha.
I know many friends who care about me think that a motorcycle island loop must leave you looking totally disheveled—how could you possibly still look good in photos? I think… the photos later will show you that Celia managed it. It was tough finding convenience stores and gas stations to change, but the effort paid off!
Also, something unexpected about this 5-day, 4-night island loop trip was that we ended up riding at night almost every day. If possible, try to extend your loop duration—the roads are unfamiliar, and nighttime motorcycle riding comes with risks. Sister Celia strongly advises against it!
Next, let me and my travel buddy take you on this motorcycle island loop ride, leading you to experience the beauty of Taiwan!GO!
Departure (Taichung) → Changhua Wanggong Mini Generator → Lunch (Wanggong Oyster Fritters) → Tainan Shuangchun Mysterious Coast → Dinner (Kaohsiung Linyuan Zhengzhong Pork Rib Rice) → Pingtung Fangshan Homestay (1 night / NT$1,000)
Pingtung Fangshan Homestay → Taitung Dawu Rainbow Village → Taitung Dawu Junior High School → Lunch (Taimali Beef Noodles) → Taitung Taimali Golden Needle Mountain → Taitung Taimali Train Station → Taitung City Homestay (1 night / NT$1,200)
→ Dinner (Banyan Tree Rice Vermicelli + Blue Dragonfly Fried Chicken)
Taitung City Homestay → Taitung Chihshang Heaven’s Road → Taitung Dapo Pond → Lunch (Chihshang Bento) → Hualien Fulii Farmers’ Association Rice Bran Giant → Hualien Liushishi Mountain → Hualien City Hotel (1 night / NT$1,800) → Dinner (Goose Meat Sir + Wubas Caramel Glutinous Balls)
Hualien City Hotel → Su-Hua Highway Qingshui Cliff → Yilan Nanfangao Viewpoint → Lunch (Nanfangao Seafood) → Yilan Toucheng Bajiao W??ā? Braised Pork → Yilan Ruifang Night Market → Keelung Miaokou Night Market → Wu Family Dingbianyu + Nutritional Sandwich + Mini Sausage + Oden + Bubble Ice
Keelung City Hotel → Keelung Zhengbin Fishing Port Rainbow House → Keelung Arégna Shipyard Ruins → Lunch (Quick bite at 7-Eleven) → New Taipei City Fuguijiao Lighthouse → Hsinchu Nanliao Fish Scale Stairway → Safe Return Home
Alright!That morning around 8 AM, Celia stood in the underground parking lot of her residence, staring at her motorcycle—wow...A dream she’d held for years was finally coming true in these five days and four nights, giving her a surreal feeling. She immediately posted the news on Facebook and her fan page, and unexpectedly received tons of blessings and responses. She’s really thankful to everyone here!
Yes... I admit, at that moment, I felt pretty helpless, even glancing at our family car in the parking spot and silently telling myself that driving would’ve been so much easier!
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Departure (Taichung) → Changhua Wanggong Mini Generator → Lunch (Wanggong Oyster Fritters) → Tainan Shuangchun Mysterious Coast → Dinner (Kaohsiung Linyuan Zhengzhong Pork Rib Rice) → Pingtung Fangshan Homestay (1 night / NT$1,000)
The first stop of our motorcycle island loop brought us to Wanggong Mini Generator, nicknamed the “Giant Egg Beater.” Yes! It really does look like one up close. But… getting a motorcycle here required a bit of a miracle. Originally taking the West Coast Highway, some road sections were disconnected, and aside from getting lost, I almost accidentally entered an expressway and got stopped by the police, lol0 Pfft.
Sister Celia was already at the first stop, looking as grumpy as ever! Told you a motorcycle island loop would be exhausting, didn’t I...?..
Alright0 Anyway, there’s no turning back now—hey… isn’t it not too far back to Taichung from Changhua? (Sister Celia is really useless, huh) Forget it, the vacation days are already booked, might as well smile! Time to keep riding south! Hahaha…..
Haha… When I posted this photo on Facebook and my fan page, everyone denied it—saying Sister Celia would never ride a motorcycle island loop dressed like that? No way! Of course not~Riding like that could raise public decency concerns, okay? I changed into a denim jacket after the photo, and swapped outfits in the restaurant bathroom after lunch!
Yes! Here we are again at Sister Celia’s favorite mysterious beach, but unfortunately, the weather wasn’t great that day, so we couldn’t fully enjoy the beautiful blue coastline—such a pity!
Then we rode straight south, skipping Kaohsiung City altogether—after all, it’s Sister Celia’s hometown, and she often visits, so no need to stay!
However, once we arrived in Kaohsiung, it also marked the start of traveling with the rain god. From then on until the Pingtung Fangshan Township homestay, it rained on and off the whole way, and my mood turned gloomy along with it.
Pingtung Fangshan Homestay → Taitung Dawu Rainbow Village → Taitung Dawu Junior High School → Lunch (Taimali Beef Noodles) → Taitung Taimali Golden Needle Mountain → Taitung Taimali Train Station → Taitung City Homestay (1 night / NT$1,200) → Dinner (Banyan Tree Rice Vermicelli + Blue Dragonfly Fried Chicken)
Sister Celia left the Pingtung Fangshan Homestay early in the morning. The reason for staying in Fangshan was thinking we could be flexible—if the weather was nice, we’d head to Kenting for water fun, but it looked like… we’d have the rain god with us from the start, so let’s just keep heading to Taitung!
Finally… although the rainfall was heavy along the South Link Highway, Celia still left it behind and rode toward the beautiful East Coast!
Although it drizzled along the way, it couldn’t dampen Sister Xi’s playful spirit, haha~ We arrived at Taitung Dawu Rainbow Village, and of course, we had to take a memorable shot at this famous landmark. Pfft, this is the image of Sister Xi being too lazy to take off her raincoat.
And here’s the comparison—Sister Xi took off her raincoat. Yes... she was only wearing this underneath, ah, which makes cycling easier, you see.
Along the way, we passed Dawai Junior High School. Sister Xi was drawn to this building with its exterior covered in indigenous totems, so she quickly stopped to capture the moment. The façade is really unique—I love it so much.
Speaking of Taitung’s TaiMaoli Golden Needle Mountain, it’s also one of the eastern region’s famous spots for viewing golden needle flowers. But… Sister Xi never expected that riding from the foot of the mountain to the summit would be such a long haul—it almost put her to sleep.
This was also Sister Xi’s first time admiring flowers at TaiMaoli Golden Needle Mountain, and the golden-yellow beauty before her eyes made her keep exclaiming in admiration.
Being able to visit the east during the golden needle flower blooming season and even making the trip by scooter—this is truly a memory-filled experience.
Uh… everyone, just enjoy the golden needle flowers and the beautiful ladies, okay? (This gal really isn’t holding back with what she says.)
Don’t let Sister Xi’s big smile fool you—actually, between us… the flip-flops she’s wearing have been worn out. Hahaha. That same evening, she even went to RT-Mart in Taitung and quickly bought a spare pair of flip-flops. The scary part? She didn’t end up wearing them at all in the following days. (Then why buy them? Sister Xi doesn’t know either.)
This year, I was lucky enough to visit TaiMaoli Golden Needle Mountain and admire the beautiful golden needle flowers. Lastly, I’ll share the flower’s meaning: hidden love, forgetfulness, and healing sorrow.
After admiring the golden needle flowers of TaiMaoli, the sky gradually darkened. We rode downhill all the way. The photo shows a spot where we rested. This is also a place before reaching the scenic area, and it’s not an officially developed rest stop. Actually, the place where Sister Xi stood is a ticket-violation spot. Please don’t follow her example—this is a wrong demonstration.
It’s said… this is also a popular IG check-in spot, but unfortunately, it was already dark, so the beautiful seascape behind Sister Xi couldn’t be captured. Important note: the spot where Sister Xi stood is a place where you could get fined. Everyone, please don’t imitate her—this is a bad example.
Taitung homestay → Taitung Chihshang Heaven’s Road → Taitung Dapo Pond → Lunch (Chihshang bento) → Hualien Fuli Farmers’ Association Rice Bran Giant → Hualien Liushishi Mountain → Hualien City hotel (1 night / NT$1,800) → Dinner (Mr. Goose + Wuba Caramel Tapioca Balls)
Since we’re in Taitung, how can we not visit Chihshang Heaven’s Road and say hi to Takeshi Kaneshiro? (Ah, Sister Xi means the tree associated with Takeshi Kaneshiro.) Basically, to enter Heaven’s Road, unless you know the shortcuts, you can only walk or use the electric scooter shown in the picture—just pedal along and enjoy the scenery before your eyes.
Seriously… how can Sister Xi’s face be this cute and round? Mwah.
Right, right? When visiting Chihshang Heaven’s Road, you definitely have to take a memorable shot with the Takeshi Kaneshiro tree. Look at Sister Xi’s grumpy face—must’ve been the sun that got to me that day. Haha.
This is the legendary Heaven’s Road. To find a good angle for photos, we really had to contort ourselves in all kinds of weird positions. But Sister Xi still thinks this place is incredibly beautiful—it’s truly one of the top sights in Chihshang, Taitung.
Pfft, alright. Sister Xi admits that this scooter trip around Taiwan felt like a fashion show. This… the back view is pretty killer. Beautiful scenery + beautiful back (invincible!). But between us, the cut of this outfit really surprised Sister Xi.
This cute little spot often appears on IG or Facebook feeds. Sister Xi just happened to pass by, so she took some photos and changed clothes—after all, she was about to head straight to Liushishi Mountain to admire the golden needle flowers. Oh, and she even met some fans here. So happy to see you all, really shy.
Hualien Fuli Township’s Liushishi Mountain and Yuli Township’s Chikeshan are both famously great spots for viewing golden needle flowers.
Hualien Fuli Township’s Liushishi Mountain—this is already Sister Xi’s third visit here to admire the golden needle flowers.
As expected, the beautiful scenery remains just as enchanting, still captivating travelers with its beauty. Pretty? It really is so pretty.
Every golden needle flower season, orange-yellow and green intermingle across the mountaintop. For a moment, you might almost think you’ve arrived at a beautiful corner of Europe. It’s really gorgeous.
Phew. Everyone, remember not to step on the flower fields, break branches, or pick flowers—that ruins the scenery. Every year, there are tourists who ignore the “No Entry” signs in the fields, and farmers feel quite helpless. Here, we’d like to gently remind everyone to have some public spirit. Don’t walk into the flower fields just for photos and ruin this beautiful landscape.
Sister Xi just wants to say, youth is truly invincible. (So beautiful.)
Every year from August to September is when golden needle flowers bloom successively. The yellow-gold flowers cover the mountains like a sea, and the originally green peaks are suddenly dressed in golden attire—it’s truly breathtakingly beautiful.
Hahaha, this is also a recently popular check-in spot, located in Hualien Shoufeng Township. Unfortunately, Sister Xi arrived after dark, so she could only share the night view with everyone and then continue night-riding. There’s one small regret from this trip: Sister Xi’s favorite sugarcane ice from Fengchun Fruit Shop only operates until 5 PM. She didn’t get to eat it. Not. At. All. (Dead-eyed…)
Pfft, after dinner at Mr. Goose in Hualien City that evening, she strolled around the city area, even swinging by Watsons to buy saline solution. Haha.
Hualien City hotel → Su-Hua Highway Qingshui Cliff → Yilan Nanfangao Viewpoint → Lunch (Nanfangao seafood) → Yilan Toucheng Bajiaow W?ā? Braised Pork Rice → Yilan Toucheng Baodouzi → Yilan Toucheng Tofu Pudding → Yilan Toucheng Fish Ball Museum → Stay in Yilan (1 night / NT$3,788, okay. I admit it, stayed at Evergreen Laurel Hotel) → Dinner (Keelung Miaokou Night Market → Wu Family Dingbianyuan + Nutritious Sandwich + Mini Sausage + Oden + Bubble Ice)
I think… Qingshui Cliff can definitely showcase the beautiful coastline of eastern Taiwan, but Sister Xi also reminds everyone that if you’re scooter-circling the island, you must ride very carefully and slowly on the Su-Hua Highway—after all, if you fall here… things could get really serious.
Sister Xi’s real-life scooter-around-Taiwan journey is revealed for the first time.
Some friends actually wonder how I manage to take such beautiful photos while riding. Some even rudely ask me to pose with my scooter in the shot. Haha, I really did complete a solo motorbike trip around Taiwan — that’s the 115cc scooter you see in the photo. Most of the time, I rode in this exact outfit, and my nice clothes were kept in the luggage bag on the footrest!
Take a closer look at the top of the luggage bag — there’s also a camera case. This time, I brought two cameras: a NIKON D750 and a FUJIFILM X-T1, plus my Huawei M9 phone.
They say this is Dong’ao Bay. All I can say is, the eastern coastline of Taiwan is truly, incredibly beautiful. I love this land of Taiwan.
Finally made it to the Nanfang’ao Viewpoint. That means the Su-Hua Highway section is officially over. Yay!
Yes, I admit it — when I arrived at the Nanfang’ao Viewpoint, parked my scooter, took off my mask, let down my waist-length hair, removed my denim jacket, and put on my straw hat, I completely stunned the row of riders resting nearby. They were all totally shocked, right?
They’re thinking what everyone else thinks: it’s not easy to look this good while riding a motorbike. But hey, I’m just wild and love looking good. Even on a cross-island ride, I want to look amazing in the photos. For me, changing outfits and taking pretty pictures along the way may be a bit more work, but sharing them with everyone makes it all worthwhile!
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Pfft, these days the phrase “Route 1 of the Island-Circling Highway” is something I’ve been seeing all the time. Whenever I go a while without seeing it, I start to panic a little, wondering if I’m lost!
This place is also a super popular IG check-in spot for internet celebrities. And it’s one of the spots I specifically insisted on visiting during this motorbike island loop. Why, you ask? Well….
Haha, I just had to strike a pose at Bajiao Bay — there are quite a few photo spots here. It’s a spot where many people can take great shots, but it can also get pretty competitive. You might get sunburned or sweaty, but as long as you’re happy, it’s worth it. There were so many people taking photos, I almost got lost in the crowd!
The funny part? As soon as I lay down and looked up, I realized there were at least five groups of people taking photos of me. That’s kinda embarrassing!
I absolutely love the ocean. Anytime I’m by the sea, no matter how sunny or hot it is, I enjoy every second of it!
Pfft, but if you look closely at me, I have to admit — I’m a bit sunburned and tanned.
Finally reached the easternmost point of Taiwan: the San Diego Cape Lighthouse.
I have to say, are all lighthouses in Taiwan this Instagram-worthy now? Whether it’s the lighthouse itself or the surrounding facilities, they’re all so stunning that you just can’t stop taking photos. This place is seriously photogenic!
I can only say — no matter how you shoot it, it turns out beautifully. If you’re looking for great IG photos, I highly recommend a visit to the San Diego Cape Lighthouse. You definitely won’t be disappointed!
That night, I continued riding into the night and finally arrived in Keelung City. I boldly rode into the underground parking of the Evergreen Laurel Hotel, checked in, and yes, that night I stayed at the Evergreen Laurel.
Then I headed to another popular IG hotspot recently: the Rainbow Houses at Zhengbin Fishing Port.
Keelung City hotel → Zhengbin Fishing Port Rainbow Houses in Keelung → Keelung Argonaut Shipyard Ruins → Lunch (grabbed something quick at 7-Eleven) → Fugui Cape Lighthouse in New Taipei → Nanliao Fish Scale Stairway in Hsinchu → Safe return home
Early the next morning, I went back to the Rainbow Houses at Zhengbin Fishing Port to capture the daytime version, which has a different vibe. Mmm… it still has that charming feel of a small European fishing village!
I went a little photo crazy here. Maybe it was the sunny weather, but everything turned out beautifully. Do you like it? Come visit Keelung soon!
This place is less than 200 meters from the Rainbow Houses at Zhengbin Fishing Port, so you can easily visit both. Just be careful of your safety when taking photos at the Argonaut Shipyard ruins — it’s quite old. I heard this was also one of the filming locations for Captain America!
Yes, since I’d already captured the easternmost point at San Diego Cape Lighthouse, I figured I’d include the northernmost point at Fugui Cape too. By this point, I was really starting to miss home — after five days of motorbiking, I was feeling pretty worn out!
Finally, we arrived at the last spot of our five-day, four-night motorbike island loop — the Fish Scale Stairway at Nanliao Fishing Port in Hsinchu. I heard this is also a recent IG hotspot. On the last day, I ditched the shoes and went barefoot for the photos. Haha.
So done. That night around 9 p.m., Celia and her travel companion safely returned home, completing the five-day, four-night island loop trip. I think… this journey will be an unforgettable memory, a truly beautiful one. As for whether I’d do another motorbike island loop? Umm… I won’t say never, but probably not anytime soon. Haha.
[Celia’s Playful Life] Authorized reprint | Original source: [Revealing the Full 5-Day, 4-Night Taiwan Motorbike Itinerary Plan]