Secrets of Surf Travel

Taiwan's Northeast Coast

This is Taipei's weekend coast, and the busiest surf scene in Taiwan by a wide margin. The Hsuehshan Tunnel cut the drive from the capital to under an hour, and the result is a strip of small surf businesses packed into a few hundred metres of road around Wai'ao and Wushi Harbour — more than twenty of them, several next door to one another. It's not an international surf destination and doesn't pretend to be. It's a weekend coast for a city of seven million, with a real teaching economy, real crowding on a good Saturday, and a season that runs opposite to what most visitors assume.

Researched

This zone sheet is researched and being verified. Every listing below is a real local business we found and vetted on paper — the ground-truthing pass is underway. Prices, hours, and details are strong starting points, not gospel, until this page wears the Ground-Truthed badge.

Straight talk: Some links on this page are affiliate links — if you book through them, Secrets of Surf Travel earns a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only link places and people we'd use ourselves, and coverage is never for sale. Those commissions are what keep this site running and fund the next trip.

Some vacation-rental search links on this page (marked "Search Vrbo rentals," "Search Booking.com stays," or "Search Agoda stays") are affiliate links. Every vendor link below is still a plain courtesy link. As more partnerships come online, more links may earn us a commission; the promise above holds either way.

The season here is the cold half of the year, and that trade-off is the honest headline. The productive months are October through March, driven by the northeast monsoon — which is also when this coast is grey, wet and cool. June to September is warm and bright and frequently flat, punctuated by typhoon swell that arrives with a storm attached. April–May and late September into October are the pleasant shoulder for a mixed trip.

A second honest note, on water temperature. We could not find a source we trust for monthly sea temperatures on this coast — the sites that publish it blocked every attempt — so we're not publishing a table. As practical guidance rather than sourced data: a 3/2 full suit for the December–March season, boardshorts or a top from June to September, a spring suit for the shoulders. Check with your shop on arrival. And do not let anyone hand you Taitung's numbers for this coast — Yilan is materially colder in winter.

Logistics

Getting There & Around

  • Taoyuan International (TPE) is the gateway — airport MRT to Taipei Main Station in about 35–50 minutes, then rail or bus east. Songshan (TSA) is inside Taipei and mostly domestic and short-haul; if you land there you're already in the city.
  • Rail: Taiwan Railway's east line runs Taipei → Toucheng → Wai'ao → Guishan → Jiaoxi → Yilan → Su'ao, and north to Fulong on the same coastal loop. Wai'ao has its own small station, and several surf shops advertise free pickup from it — that's the detail that makes a car-free trip work. Book express seats ahead on weekends and holidays; they sell out.
  • Bus: Kamalan and Capital Star coaches run Taipei (Nangang Exhibition Center or Yuanshan MRT) to Toucheng frequently and cheaply through the tunnel.
  • Car: Freeway 5 from Taipei. Expect heavy congestion Friday evening and Sunday afternoon in summer — this is the single most reliable travel annoyance in the zone.
  • Coastal Highway 2 between Toucheng, Daxi and Fulong is the natural spine — scenic, and busy with tour buses and gravel trucks.

The scooter-licence position, and a live contradiction worth knowing about. Taiwan recognises International Driving Permits issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention, and the IDP must carry motorcycle authorisation — a car endorsement alone is not enough for a 125cc scooter. Carry the IDP and your home licence; stays over 30 days should register the IDP at a local Motor Vehicles Office. But shop policy varies sharply, and in Toucheng you can find both positions on the same street: ZOCHA's unmanned branch by Toucheng station is flagged foreign-friendly with multilingual LINE support and runs 24/7 self-service at 110 TWD an hour capped at 450 for 24 hours, while Rilink X, three minutes from the same station, states plainly that it requires a Republic of China heavy-motorcycle licence and doesn't address foreign licences at all. Confirm in writing with your specific shop before you travel.

Logistics

Good to Know

  • Currency: New Taiwan dollar. Emergency numbers: 110 police, 119 fire and ambulance, 118 coastguard.
  • Cash: cards work in hotels, chains and larger restaurants. Surf shops, guesthouses, small cafés and scooter shops are frequently cash-only or LINE Pay only. ATMs at 7-Eleven and FamilyMart take foreign cards widely.
  • EasyCard or iPASS — buy at any convenience store or MRT station on arrival. Works on the Taipei MRT, most buses, local trains and for small purchases at convenience stores. Genuinely worth having.
  • SIM: Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile and FarEasTone all sell tourist data SIMs at Taoyuan arrivals. Coverage on this coast is good.
  • Visa: 90 days visa-exempt for nationals of Australia, Canada, Ireland, Israel, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, the UK, the USA and all EU member states, among 52 countries. Two conditions the Bureau of Consular Affairs states explicitly: a passport with at least six months' validity as of the date of entry, and a confirmed onward or return ticket with a seat reservation. The visa-exempt period is not extendable. A digital Taiwan Arrival Card is now also required before border control.
  • English: Taiwan's surf industry mostly doesn't advertise it, and we've marked every listing honestly. A handful of operators run bilingual sites and one is foreign-owned; most publish in Chinese only — which is not the same as having no English spoken. Translation apps, LINE and booking through Instagram all work well here. Say what you need in a message before you arrive.
  • Facebook is the dominant business platform in Taiwan. Many of the businesses below have no website at all, and several are Instagram-only. That's normal here and isn't a warning sign.
The Zone

Surf Shops, Schools & Guides

Almost all of these offer the same core bundle — lessons, board rental, hot showers, board storage, repairs, gear retail — because that's the business model on this coast. We've noted only what actually distinguishes each. Rental runs roughly 500–1,000 TWD a day.

Wai'ao & Toucheng

  • 藍洋衝浪店 / Blue Ocean Surf ShopBinhai Rd Sec. 1 No. 385-1, TouchengBudget–MidEstablished 1999 and the most institutionally serious shop on the coast. Runs and hosts international competitions, and operates an accessible-surfing programme for underprivileged groups. Phone 03-978-9233.
  • 加州衝浪店 / California Surf TaiwanBinhai Rd Sec. 2 No. 230, Wai'aoMid-rangeEnglish: yes — English-language site and a Californian owner with 25+ years surfing who moved to Taiwan in 2010. The most obviously foreigner-ready operation in the zone. Phone 0938-330-735.
  • Wai'Ao Surf n SportBinhai Rd Sec. 2 No. 217, Wai'aoMid-rangeEnglish: yes. Runs a VIP membership covering board storage, hot water, coaching access and café discounts — the model that tells you how many Taipei surfers treat this as a home break.
  • 強尼玫瑰衝浪 / Johnny Rose SurfBinhai Rd Sec. 2 No. 213, Wai'aoBudget–MidTwenty-plus years teaching, and the Taiwan distributor for OE wetsuits and Kazuma surfboards — so a real place to buy rather than just rent. Lessons from around 1,080 TWD. Phone 03-977-0186.
  • 有浪嗎海浪工作室 / Namiaru Surf StudioWai'ao, TouchengBudget–MidEnglish: bilingual site. Founded 2017, with published prices — board rental 550–1,000 TWD, and annual board storage at 4,500 TWD with 24-hour access, showers and security. Also runs a small apartment and two-day camps.
  • PRO SurfBinhai Rd Sec. 2 No. 161, Wai'aoMid-rangeCoaching team drawn from Taiwan's national competitors, and it runs instructor-certification programmes rather than only holiday lessons. About 300m walk from Wai'ao station. Phone 0961-001-224.
  • 4Kids Surf Base / 4Kids 親子基地Binhai Rd Sec. 2 No. 389Budget–MidEnglish: bilingual site. Family-run and explicitly family-oriented — the obvious recommendation if you're travelling with children. Phone 0961-050-691.
  • 喬治衝浪 / Super George Surf TaiwanBinhai Rd Sec. 2 No. 419Mid-rangeISA-certified instruction across long and shortboard plus SUP. Phone 0988-517-908.
  • 浪花舞 / Wave DanceBinhai Rd Sec. 2 No. 405Mid-rangeDescribes itself as a community rather than a shop — yoga, crafts and music alongside the surfing — and runs a Bali programme as well as Yilan. Phone 03-977-7671.
  • 傑夫衝浪 / Miss SurferBinhai Rd Sec. 1 No. 378Budget–MidOne of the earlier-established clubs on this coast — founder Christine Cao, 20+ years — running programmes for university outdoor clubs and schools. Phone 0933-717-645.
  • 衝浪小屋 / Surf & HouseBinhai Rd Sec. 2 No. 376Mid-rangeStocks official WSL merchandise, which is unusual here.
  • 風浪海洋 / Wind Wave OceanBinhai Rd Sec. 2 No. 261Mid-rangePartners with a yacht club, so sailing and beach yoga sit alongside the surfing. Phone 0934-112-382.
  • 仲點衝浪 / Surfing NotebookWushi Harbour Rd No. 669Mid-rangeAppointment-only, run by two local longboard competitors with a tiered curriculum. No phone published — book through Instagram.
  • Adam Surf Shop / Adam衝浪Binhai Rd Sec. 2 No. 429BudgetOwner-built and owner-taught, and small. Phone 0977-768-602.
  • 葛法翁衝浪小屋 / Capernaum Surfing HouseBinhai Rd Sec. 2 No. 476-1BudgetSmall owner-run shop on the Wai'ao strip. Phone 0970-636-839.
  • 北岸386衝浪屋 / Northshore Surfer386Binhai Rd Sec. 2 No. 386BudgetShop, guesthouse and café in one building — the simplest one-stop on this stretch. Phone 0988-183-858.

Wushi Harbour north side

  • 衝浪客棧 / Surfer InnGangkou Rd No. 103-20Mid-rangeEnglish: bilingual site. Founded 2006, with a full retail range, lessons, a guesthouse and a published forecast page. Phone 03-978-9492.
  • 衝浪國度 / Surfer NationGangkou Rd No. 102Mid-rangeFree shuttle from Wai'ao station or the bus stop, plus wifi, a live conditions board and a membership scheme. Also runs overseas surf trips. Phone 03-977-8069.
  • 好享衝浪 / Ocean Vibes Surf ShopChaoyang Rd No. 89, WushiMid-rangeEnglish: bilingual shop site. Stocks Xcel wetsuits, Cobian and Island Fin Design. Phone 0988-146-781.
  • 極酷衝浪 / G-Cool SurfGangkou Rd No. 93-2Budget–MidTrading since 2007, with large premises and — by their own account — the deepest rental quiver in the harbour cluster. Phone 03-977-0266.
  • 烏石港北堤衝浪民宿 / Wushi Surf HostelGangkou Rd No. 103BudgetLicensed Yilan homestay. Bundles surf lessons with sunrise trips and whale watching, three minutes from the harbour and three from the Lanyang Museum. Phone 0988-004800.
  • 蕃薯衝浪店 / SurffellaGangkou Rd No. 92-9BudgetSame ownership family as a Taitung guesthouse on the east coast — a north-south pairing if you're travelling both. Phone 0955-311-719.
  • 菜鳥衝浪 / Cai Niao SurfGangkou Rd No. 103BudgetA small family operation, deliberately unhurried and pitched as an escape from Taipei's pace. Phone 03-977-1983.
  • 海盜衝浪 / Pirate SurfGangkou Rd No. 103-1BudgetSmall shop in the harbour row. Phone 0926-452-143.
  • 鴻大衝浪俱樂部 / Hung Big Surf ClubGangkou Rd No. 92-8BudgetClub-model operation on the harbour side. Phone 0905-355-967.
  • NAVIGATOR SURFBOARDSBinhai Rd Sec. 2 No. 535-4 area, TouchengMid-rangeA shaper-led board label with a shopfront in the Torami cluster. Phone 03-977-6103.
  • Shop DO / ショップドゥDirectly opposite the beach, TouchengMid-rangeUnusual here for carrying serious bodyboard stock alongside surfboards, plus apparel and imported goods.
  • DEEP SURFFacing the beach, TouchengMid-rangeA pro shop owned by a JPSA-certified pro surfer specialising in TOKORO boards. Their site is HTTP-only and failed a secure connection — treat the web presence as possibly stale and phone ahead.

Daxi & Su'ao — the southern end

  • 顧衝浪 / Cool SurfBinhai Rd Sec. 5 No. 92, DaxiBudget–MidTrading since 1991 — the oldest surf business we verified anywhere in Taiwan. ISA-certified instructors, backpacker beds, and a foreign-visitor shuttle package. Opposite Daxi railway station in an unsigned white three-storey building, which is exactly the kind of thing worth knowing in advance. Phone 0937-074-407.
  • 水行者 / Waterman Kitesurfing & SUP ClubZaochuan Rd No. 47, Su'aoMid-rangeThe zone's kitesurfing and windsurfing specialist — a genuinely different offering when the surf's not doing it. Phone 03-997-1911.
  • 樂高衝浪俱樂部 / Lego Surfing ClubYueming, Su'aoBudgetBeginner-focused, near Wuwei Harbour. Phone 0982-787-051.
  • 嶺腳衝浪 / Niaka SurfLingjiao Rd No. 141-3, Su'aoBudgetSmall shop at the southern end of the coast. Phone 0909-193-349.
  • VAST Surf ShopDa'an District, TaipeiMid-rangeIn Taipei rather than Yilan — but it's where you buy a board before heading east. Exclusive Taiwan stockist for Firewire and Almond, and publishes the most useful Chinese-language regional guides on the Taiwanese web. 13:00–22:00. Phone 02-8771-3198.
The Zone

Repair, Shapers & Board Craft

A correction worth making plainly, because the directories get it wrong: of the four names that circulate under "Yilan surfboards," only one is actually a repair shop. The others are a shaper, a bag maker and a rack builder — all useful, none of them where you take a cracked rail.

Repair & Craft

  • 板再生 / Surfboards RebornQingyun Rd Sec. 3 Lane 387 No. 1, TouchengMid-rangeThe zone's real ding-repair shop, and the only one advertising English. Professional surfboard and snowboard repair, advanced board sales, rentals and second-hand consignment. Rental 1,000 TWD a day, or 5,000 for a week up to 12,000 for a month. Weekdays 08:00–17:00, weekends 07:00–12:00 — that early weekend open is a deliberate dawn-patrol drop-off window. They also run an online repair-status tracker, which genuinely matters if you have to fly home before your board's ready.
  • Mu SurfGengxin Rd No. 112-9, TouchengMid–LuxuryA wooden-board shaper, not a repairer. Handmade wooden surfboards, skateboards and handplanes using traditional joinery. Commission work — treat it as an appointment, not a walk-in. Phone 0988-105-554.
  • Tanned GalKailan E. Rd No. 34, TouchengMid-rangeA one-person maker doing custom board bags, work uniforms and painted wooden boards, by DM order. Genuinely useful — a made-to-measure board bag is otherwise a real gap on this coast.
  • Old Pipe 衝浪板架工作室Kailan E. Rd No. 53, TouchengMid-rangeA design studio building motorcycle surfboard racks, founded by an engineer — with a one-year warranty, repair, servicing and ownership transfer, plus spare parts. Nineteen doors from Tanned Gal, and highly relevant here specifically, because scootering a board from town to the water is how most people on this coast get to the water.
The Zone

Stays

Coast & Toucheng

  • OA Hotel / 烏石港 OA HotelWushi Harbour Rd No. 301, TouchengMid-rangeEnglish: bilingual site. Purpose-built for water people — sea-view bathhouse, hot-spring facilities in winter, communal spaces, four room types with harbour and beach views. The obvious mid-range base at the harbour. Phone 03-977-1166.
  • 幸福海衝浪民宿 / Happiness Sea Surf HostelBinhai Rd Sec. 2 No. 159Budget–MidWhole-house bookings and BBQ — set up for groups rather than solo travellers. Phone 0901-395-414.
  • WAVE Backpackers Surf + HomeHuanzhen E. Rd Sec. 2, TouchengBudgetBackpacker beds with a surf-house setup. Phone 0968-369-853.
  • 逐浪衝浪主題民宿 / Chasing Wave Surf HostelJing'an 1st Rd No. 152, DongshanBudgetInland at Dongshan, about 30 minutes from the coast — cheaper, and a better base if you're combining surf with the Luodong night market. Phone 0987-797-183.

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The Zone

Eat & Drink

Wai'ao, Wushi & Toucheng

  • 漂流者外澳披薩吧 / Drifters PizzaBinhai Rd Sec. 2 No. 231, Wai'aoMid-rangeHand-tossed pizza, cocktails, beer and live music — the de facto after-dark meeting point in Wai'ao. Phone 0982-808-538.
  • 九號咖啡外澳館 / No.9 Cafe at the BeachBinhai Rd Sec. 2 No. 6, Wai'aoMid-rangeThe yellow wedge-shaped building right on Wai'ao beach — first row, no road between you and the sand. Part of the NO.9 group, so it's a professionalised operation rather than a beach shack, and the obvious post-surf meeting point. Roughly 10:00–19:00. Phone 03-978-9799.
  • Tjuku cafe 啾咕咖啡 烏石港店Gangqian Rd No. 60, Wushi HarbourMid-rangeFloor-to-ceiling sea windows at the harbour, doing mille-crêpe cakes and handmade desserts without colourings or preservatives. Minimum spend applies. Roughly 10:00–17:00 weekdays and 18:00 weekends, closed Wednesdays. Phone 03-977-2158.
  • 海日子早餐吧 / Oceanlife Breakfast BarQingyun Rd Sec. 3 No. 157, TouchengBudget08:00–14:00 with irregular closures — the straightforward pre- or post-session breakfast. Phone 03-977-8116.
  • 滿山望海 / Maison De OceanDakeng Rd No. 197, TouchengMid-rangeHillside café looking straight out at Guishan Island — the most-photographed sea view in Toucheng, and consistently packed. Phone ahead the day before or that morning to hold a table; walk-ins at peak often fail. Roughly 10:00–18:00, later at weekends, closed Wednesdays. Their corporate site publishes no hours, and three different street numbers appear across sources, so confirm before setting off. Phone 03-977-6788.
  • 黑宅 / BLACK HOUSESanhe Rd, inland TouchengMid-rangeA black barn standing alone in the rice paddies inland of town — a converted grain store, not a beach café. Also operates rooms. Roughly 10:00–18:00. Phone 03-988-7966.
  • 笑ㄟCafé 頭城店Xietian Rd No. 400, inside Toucheng Coastal Forest ParkMid-rangeRoman-style pizza with the Pacific in front of you, beside the octagonal lookout tower in the forest park. Newer and small, so reserve at weekends. 11:00–18:30. Phone 0965-817-678.
  • 有海真好咖啡 / Have a Nice SeaYisan Rd Sec. 2 No. 111, in the coastal forest parkBudgetPet-friendly, inside the forest park, with the Guishan Island view. Reviewers consistently mention mosquitoes outdoors — worth knowing. 10:00–18:00, closed Wednesdays. Phone 0972-589-888.
  • 樂屋日本料理Xiyi Lane No. 15, TouchengBudgetCheap sashimi and thick-cut salmon nigiri, katsu-don from 90 TWD, free miso refills — a locals' room rather than a tourist one. Walk-in queue only, no reservations, and pets must be crated. 11:00–14:00 and 17:00–20:00, closed Wednesdays. Phone 03-977-7525.
  • 品誼古早味小吃 / 品誼韭菜卷Shacheng Rd No. 50, TouchengBudgetA seventy-year-old, three-generation stall a short walk from Toucheng station. The chive rolls are the order, fried spring rolls and turnip cake close behind. Long queues and heavy takeaway trade. Roughly 10:30–18:30, closed Tuesdays. Phone 03-977-0436.
  • 阿宗芋冰城 / A-Zong Taro IceQingyun Rd Sec. 3 No. 267, TouchengBudgetOld-style hand-churned baa-buh ice — taro, red bean, longan, peanut, purple rice — around 45–55 TWD a serve, ten minutes' walk from the station on the road down to Wushi Harbour. Note there's a similarly named shop in Jiaoxi run by someone else entirely. Phone 03-977-1362.
  • 在海的旁邊麵包店 / Nearby Sea BreadXianghe Rd No. 160, Su'aoBudgetOpen Monday, Wednesday and weekends only, 11:30 until sold out. Phone 03-990-9486.
The Zone — twenty minutes inland

Jiaoxi Hot Springs

Jiaoxi's springs are sodium bicarbonate, clear and odourless — locally called "beauty springs." Twenty minutes inland by car or one stop by train, and the single best wet-weather and post-surf answer in the zone. There's a free public foot-bath park in the centre of town if you don't want to pay for a room, and dozens of private bathhouse operators charging by the hour.

Springs & Bathhouses

  • 湯圍溝溫泉公園 / Tangweigou Hot Spring ParkDeyang Rd No. 99-11, JiaoxiFreeThe default free soak in Jiaoxi — the park is open 24 hours and the foot-bath pools cost nothing. Paid extras on site include doctor-fish exfoliation pools and massage. English signage is present; English service unconfirmed. Phone 03-987-4882.
  • 春和溫泉飯店 / Spring and Hot Spring HotelRen'ai Rd No. 26, JiaoxiBudgetOne of Jiaoxi's original springs and the cheapest published private-bath rate in town — roughly 599–999 TWD for 60 or 90 minutes depending on season, covering two to four people with 100 TWD per extra head. Towels and toiletries included. Weekdays 08:00–22:00, weekends to midnight. One caution: their own price table appears to have the winter 60- and 90-minute figures inverted, so confirm by phone. Phone 03-988-1892.
  • 玫瑰園原泉湯屋 / Rose Garden Hot SpringZhongxiao Rd Lane 1 No. 17, JiaoxiMid-rangeOpen 07:30 to midnight on weekdays and to 02:00 on holidays — the late closing is the point, and it's where you go after a dusk session. 30 indoor bathhouses plus 8 rest suites, from 2,880 TWD including bathing, open through Lunar New Year. Pet-friendly, with an on-site restaurant. Phone 03-988-3364.
  • 58度溫泉湯苑會館 / 58° Hot Spring HotelJiaoxi Rd Sec. 5 No. 61Mid-rangeEnglish: yes. Rooms from around 1,300 TWD room-only, one minute's walk to the foot-bath park and under three to Jiaoxi station — the most walkable base in town. The building doubles as a chilli museum and they hand out NAGA-chilli bath powder to add to your soak, which is either the best or worst idea in Yilan. Phone 03-987-5111.
  • 沐村溫泉會館 / Mutsun Hot Spring ResortRen'ai Rd No. 13-1, JiaoxiMid-rangeEvery room has its own soaking pool. Doubles 2,800 TWD weekday and 3,800 Saturday, up to quads at 4,380–5,000, with Lunar New Year at 6,600–8,800 — and a two-hour rest rate at 1,200–1,500 TWD, useful for a soak without an overnight. Seven minutes' walk from the station, free bike loan. Phone 03-988-3788.
  • 礁溪NO.9溫泉旅店 / NO.9 HotelWenquan Rd No. 85, JiaoxiMid–LuxuryEnglish: bilingual site. Same group as the No.9 café on Wai'ao beach, so a stay-and-coffee pairing is natural. Note the house policy before booking a surf group in: strictly no smoking, no alcohol, no parties and no cooking in rooms. Extra bed 1,200 TWD including breakfast. Phone 03-988-9999.
  • 東旅湯宿風華漾 / Yunoyado DeyangDeyang Rd No. 28, JiaoxiMid–LuxuryEnglish: yes, plus Japanese and Chinese. 53 hot-spring rooms plus 19 separate outdoor private bathhouses. Built on the bones of a 50-year-old bathhouse — they kept the original window lattice, door lintels and pitched roof and wrapped them in exposed concrete. 24-hour reservation line, 03-988-8839.
  • 中冠礁溪大飯店 / Art Spa HotelDeyang Rd No. 6 and Zhongshan Rd Sec. 2 No. 159LuxuryEnglish: yes. Two properties under one brand, 8,000–16,800 TWD plus service. The draw is a five-storey hot-spring water slide, the tallest in Yilan County — this is the family option, not the quiet one. Spa 08:30–22:00. Phone 03-988-2011.
  • 龍山溫泉旅館 / Longshan Hot Spring HotelRen'ai Rd No. 36, JiaoxiBudget–MidYilan County hotel licence no. 004 — one of the town's originals. Their site publishes no rates, no hours and no bathhouse pricing, which is a thin presence for a licensed hotel, so phone before you rely on it. Phone 03-988-8699.

One Jiaoxi property we're deliberately not listing: a hot-spring hotel on Gongyuan Road has a dead website — an expired certificate and a server error rather than just a warning — and a social feed we couldn't read for recent activity. That combination is the profile of a business that has quietly stopped, and we'd rather leave it off than send you to a locked door.

The Zone — the New Taipei end

Fulong & the Gongliao Coast

A long golden-sand beach split by a river and reached by footbridge, home to Taiwan's annual international sand sculpture festival, and the trailhead end of the Old Caoling Tunnel bike route. The practical hook here is the lunchbox-and-bike combination, and one operator does both under one roof.

Surf, Bikes & Beds

  • 福隆地球人衝浪學校 / Fulong BEING SURF SchoolFulong St No. 16, GongliaoMid-rangeThe only surf school in the zone reachable without a car — two minutes' walk from Fulong station, directly opposite the police station. Surf and SUP lessons with ISA-certified instructors, and actively posting. Site is Chinese-only; English unconfirmed despite the roman-letter name. Phone 02-2499-1372.
  • 福隆地球人民宿 / Fulong BEING HomeStayFulong St No. 16, GongliaoBudget–MidThe surf school's own accommodation at the same address — surf-plus-stay in one booking, which is the single most useful listing here for a travelling surfer. Terrace, restaurant, coffee shop and bar, five minutes' walk to the beach. Phone 02-2499-1372.
  • 福容大飯店 福隆 / Fullon Hotel FulongFulong St No. 41, GongliaoLuxuryThe anchor property of the coast, and its unusual feature is genuinely good: chloride-bicarbonate seawater hot springs, plus a spa and pool — a real rainy-day answer. It also runs bike rental open to the public, 08:00–17:00 daily: ladies' bike 200 TWD for four hours, parent-child 300, single e-bike 400 for two hours, with downloadable route maps for a 10km beginner tunnel run and a 20km loop. Reservations 02-2499-1188.
  • 福隆驛站 / Fulongyi StationFulong St Lane 2 No. 1-1, GongliaoBudgetThe best single stop in Fulong, because it does both halves of the day. Rents standard bikes, e-bikes, parent-child e-bikes, tandems and recumbents — and takes pre-orders for Fulong lunchboxes, so you collect food and a bike in one go. Large free car park, seating, coffee and thick toast, bikes sanitised between rentals. Weekdays 08:30–18:00, weekends from 08:00. Phone 0905-367-700.
  • 古道情懷鐵馬出租 / Ancient Trail Bike RentalZhuliao St No. 2-1, GongliaoBudgetMidway between Fulong station and the tunnel, with a large free car park that takes coaches and free wifi. Giant e-bikes, geared MTBs, small-wheel bikes, tandems and parent-child bikes. They also flag the rule that catches visitors out: on national holidays the tunnel is bicycle-only, and weekends run a separated pedestrian and bike system. Phone 0937-629-882.
  • 嶐嶐隧道口自行車出租 / Longlong Tunnel Bike RentalWailonglin St No. 15-7, GongliaoBudgetPositioned at the far tunnel mouth rather than the station, so it suits riding the route in reverse or continuing along the coast. Their own suggested day: tunnel in the morning, lunchbox at midday, coast in the afternoon.
  • 福隆比司吉民宿 / Fulong Biscuit HostelDongxing St Lane 106, GongliaoBudgetAir-conditioned, within five minutes of both the station and the beach. Two cautions: their site has an expired certificate and won't load, and their public rating is weak on a very small sample. Phone 0927-250-717 before booking.

The Fulong lunchbox, and where else to eat

  • 鄉野便當 / Xiangye LunchboxFulong St No. 1 — immediately left out of the stationBudgetFounded 1958, and the queue-out-the-door name in Fulong lunchboxes. The fried chicken leg is the reason. If you want the 便當 experience, this is the one. Roughly 09:00–17:00. Phone 02-2499-1417.
  • 福新福隆便當 / Fuxin Fulong LunchboxFulong St No. 4BudgetThree doors from Xiangye and the standing alternative when that queue is thirty deep. Around 70 TWD, old-style and takeaway-focused. 09:00–18:00.
  • 吃飯皇帝大福隆便當 頭城總店Qingyun Rd Sec. 3 No. 373, TouchengBudgetThe Fulong-style lunchbox on the Yilan side, so surfers based at Wushi or Wai'ao can get it without the trip north. The fish-cutlet box is the signature. Closes 18:30. Phone 03-978-9901.
  • 靠海生活 / Kaohai ShenghuoMagang St, GongliaoMid-rangeIn Magang, the easternmost village in Taiwan, in a traditional stone house — and they farm their own abalone and sell it direct, so abalone hotpot is the dish. Worth the drive out past Sandiaojiao as a half-day. 11:00–18:00, closed Wednesdays and Thursdays. Phone 02-2499-1292.
  • 福隆聰師傅海鮮 / Master Cong SeafoodDongxing St No. 46, opposite Fulong ElementaryMid-rangeIndoor air-conditioned seating, which is rarer here than it sounds. Bean-paste lobster and wild black-bream are the signatures; TV coverage drives weekend crowds. 11:00–14:30 and from 17:00. Phone 0932-689-633.
  • 香蘭咖啡美食坊 / Xianglang CafeXianglan St No. 5-1, GongliaoMid-rangeSea-view café refitted in 2024 with an indoor room for windy days — the only proper coastal café between Fulong and Longdong.
  • 福粵樓 / Fu Yue LouInside Fullon Hotel FulongMid-rangeCantonese dim sum, and the only sit-down hotel restaurant in Fulong — the fallback when the lunchbox shops shut at 17:00. Lunch service closes 14:00. Phone 02-2499-2381.

Beach season and lifeguards, stated precisely because it matters: Fulong's sand area is open year-round, but the swimming area runs 1 May to 20 October only, weekday hours 08:00–19:00 and weekends to 19:30 — with lifeguards on duty 08:00–17:00 only. Outside those windows and hours you're on your own. Beach flag systems are used here and should be obeyed; a red flag means the water is closed.

Rips and river mouths. The beaches here generate strong outflows near river mouths and harbours, and the sandbars shift after every typhoon. Local operators are consistent on this: don't paddle out alone, and take a lesson before your first session even if you surf elsewhere. Only some beaches are patrolled, and only seasonally — see the Fulong note above for what that actually means in hours. The Daxi to Su'ao stretch is substantially rock and reef rather than sand, so booties are sensible.

Typhoons, June to October and peaking July to September. When a warning is issued, coastal roads close, trains stop and the coastguard clears beaches. Do not attempt to surf a typhoon swell here as a visitor — the local rescue burden from exactly this is well documented in Taiwanese media. Earthquakes: Taiwan is seismically active and Yilan sits near the Okinawa Trough. Learn drop-cover-hold; the national alert system pushes warnings to any phone with a local SIM. Tsunami risk here is low but not zero — if you feel a long, rolling quake at the beach, move inland and uphill without waiting for an alert.

Roads and water. Traffic culture is fast and scooters filter aggressively; helmets are mandatory and enforced, and drink-driving penalties are severe. Yilan's rivers carry substantial runoff after heavy rain — stay out of the water for 24 to 48 hours after significant rainfall, particularly near river mouths. On etiquette: we found no documented localism problem in this zone. The realistic issue is crowding and beginner density, not aggression — on a good weekend the accessible stretches carry very large numbers of lesson groups. Go midweek if you can, and be conscious that a lot of the people around you are on their first or second day.

The signature list

Local Secrets

Eight reasons a flat week here is still a good week — a Qing mountain path with a railway station at each end, a volcanic island you can land on, and Taiwan's only drinkable fizzing cold spring.

  1. The Lanyang Museum Three minutes from Wushi Harbour — an hour or two

    A striking wedge-shaped building — architecturally the best-known in Yilan — built to echo the cuesta rock formations of this coast, rising out of a wetland at an angle. Inside, the galleries work through the Lanyang plain in three layers: mountain, plain and sea. It's walking distance from several of the surf shops and it's the obvious rainy-morning move.

    The wedge-shaped Lanyang Museum rising from its wetland site at Toucheng, Yilan, Taiwanothree via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
  2. The Caoling Historic Trail 8.5km, 3–4 hours — and a station at each end

    A Qing-dynasty stone path over the ridge between Yilan and New Taipei, linking Dali and Fulong, with the famous "Boldly Quell the Wild Mists" boulder inscription along the way. The useful part is that it runs between two railway stations, so you walk one way and train back — no car, no shuttle, no doubling back. Silvergrass in November is why locals come.

  3. Guishan Island Boats from Wushi Harbour, roughly March to November — half a day

    The volcanic island offshore that appears in every photograph taken from this coast and functions as Yilan's emotional landmark. Tours combine an island landing, a circumnavigation past the "milk sea" of undersea sulphur vents, and whale and dolphin watching. Landing permits are capped daily and must be arranged in advance through a licensed operator — this is not a turn-up-and-go.

  4. Fulong Beach and the sand sculpture festival Rail-accessible; the festival typically runs May to October

    A long golden-sand beach split by a river and reached by footbridge, hosting Taiwan's annual international sand sculpture festival. And the ritual that matters: buy a Fulong lunchbox on the station platform. It's a genuine institution, not a tourist invention, and it's good.

    Fulong Beach and its river-mouth footbridge, Gongliao, New Taipei, Taiwanpacificmorningpost via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
  5. Jiaoxi's free foot baths Twenty minutes inland — an hour

    You do not have to book a room to soak in Jiaoxi. Tangweigou Hot Spring Park has free public foot-bath pools in the centre of town, open around the clock, with doctor-fish pools and massage available alongside if you want to pay for something. Sodium bicarbonate, clear, odourless, and about as good a use of a rained-out afternoon as exists on this coast.

  6. Toucheng Old Street and the Qiang Gu festival In town — an hour's walk; the festival falls in Ghost Month, usually August

    The oldest settled street on the Lanyang plain, with surviving Qing and Japanese-era shophouse facades and the remains of the old river port. Small, and the historical reason the town exists at all. If you're here during the seventh lunar month, the Toucheng Qiang Gu — teams climbing greased poles for offerings — is one of the most spectacular and least-touristed folk events in northern Taiwan.

  7. Su'ao's cold springs Forty minutes south — an hour

    One of a very small number of drinkable, carbonated cold springs in the world. The water sits around 22°C and fizzes. Bracing rather than relaxing, and a genuine oddity — you get in expecting a hot spring and get a shock instead.

  8. Luodong Night Market Forty minutes south — an evening

    The best night market in Yilan and one of the better ones in Taiwan. Go for the mutton soup, the sticky rice sausage and the scallion pancakes — Yilan is scallion country and it shows.

Logistics FAQ

Questions people actually ask.

Can I do this as a day trip from Taipei?

Yes, and most Taiwanese do. Train or bus to Toucheng or Wai'ao in about an hour, a lesson, and back the same evening. Wai'ao has its own station and several shops offer free pickup from it. Staying over is better — but it isn't required, which is exactly why this coast is as busy as it is.

When is the actual season?

October to March, driven by the northeast monsoon. Summer is warm, bright and frequently flat. The trade-off — best conditions in the coldest, greyest months — is real, and worth planning around rather than discovering.

Do I need my own board?

No. Every operator listed rents, roughly 500–1,000 TWD a day, and several sell board storage by the year — one publishes an annual locker at 4,500 TWD with 24-hour access and showers. That storage trade tells you the real shape of this coast: a lot of Taipei surfers keep a board here permanently.

Can I rent a scooter on my foreign licence?

Officially you need an International Driving Permit with motorcycle authorisation, carried alongside your home licence. In practice policies differ shop to shop, and this zone has a live contradiction: one Toucheng operator advertises itself as foreign-friendly with multilingual support and 24-hour self-service, another states plainly that it requires a Taiwanese licence. Confirm in writing with your specific shop. The trains and the free shop shuttles make it entirely possible to skip scooters here.

Will anyone speak English?

Some will. A handful of operators run bilingual sites and one is foreign-owned; most publish in Chinese only, which is not the same as having no English. Translation apps, LINE and booking through Instagram all work well. Say what you need in a message before you arrive.

What if it's flat?

This is a good zone to get skunked in, and that's a genuine recommendation. Hot springs at Jiaoxi twenty minutes inland with free public foot baths, a serious museum three minutes from the harbour, a Qing-dynasty mountain trail with a railway station at each end, a volcanic island you can land on, and Luodong night market forty minutes south.

The fine print

Disclosure & how this page works.

Straight talk: Some links on this page are affiliate links — if you book through them, Secrets of Surf Travel earns a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only link places and people we'd use ourselves, and coverage is never for sale. Those commissions are what keep this site running and fund the next trip.

Today, the "Search Vrbo rentals" and "Search Booking.com stays" links on this page are affiliate links — every vendor listing link is still a plain courtesy link. As partnerships with these local businesses come online, more links may earn us a commission, and this page will keep saying so plainly. Coverage is never for sale: nobody on this page paid to be here, and nobody can.

On Taiwan generally: we use "Taiwan," because that's what the place calls itself in everyday English, and we give practical facts — visa terms, currency, entry rules — and nothing else. A surf-travel page has no standing to referee anything beyond that, and we're not going to pretend otherwise in either direction.

Every listing was researched in 2026 and is being verified in person. Where two sources disagreed we said so rather than quietly picking one; where a business's web presence was dead or broken we flagged it or left it off. One café that appears in older guides to this coast is now marked permanently closed on its own business listing and is deliberately absent here. And per the No-Reveal Code: several of the Chinese-language sources behind this research describe individual breaks in detail — bottom type, direction, best swell angle, how to find them. None of that is here and none of it will be. Wai'ao, Wushi Harbour, Daxi, Fulong, Su'ao — towns and hubs by name is where it stops.