Taiwan Family Holiday: 14 Days from Taipei to Kenting

Private transfer from Taoyuan Airport to your hotel in Taipei. Time to check in, recover from the flight, and take a first wander outside to get a feel for the city.

• Hotel Description

Taipei rewards curiosity. CKS Memorial Hall is one of the most dramatic public spaces in Asia, a vast open plaza where the changing of the guard is precise enough to hold the whole family's attention. Longshan Temple is one of the oldest in the city and still very much in use, thick with incense smoke and the kind of sensory detail that stays with you. The National Palace Museum brings Chinese imperial history to life through extraordinary objects rather than textbooks. The day ends at Taipei 101's observatory deck, followed by Raohe Night Market, where food stalls stretch the full length of a temple street, and everyone gets to choose their own dinner. (B)

• Hotel Description

One of the best day trips from Taipei. Yehliu Geopark is a coastal headland where erosion has shaped the rock into formations that look like they belong on another planet, the most famous of which resembles a queen's head in profile. From there, the route climbs to Jiufen, a former gold-mining town of steep alleyways, red lanterns and hillside tea houses perched above the sea. The day finishes in Shifen, a village built along an old railway line, where the family releases a single eco-friendly lantern together, watching it rise over the valley before the walk back. (B)

• Hotel Description

A volcano on Taipei's doorstep. The walking trails at Qingtiangang are easy and open, crossing grassland with views across the park that make the effort worthwhile. Xiaoyukeng and Lengshuikeng have steaming fumaroles and outdoor hot spring pools, the kind of geological spectacle that is impossible not to find exciting. The day finishes in Beitou, a hot spring district at the base of the mountain, with a visit to the thermal valley and the beautifully preserved Hot Spring Museum, housed in a Japanese-era bathhouse dating to 1913. (B)

• Hotel Description

The drive south stops at Rainbow Village in Taichung, where a former soldier painted every surface of his neighbourhood in vivid murals to save it from demolition. The day continues at a traditional hand papermaking mill in Puli, one of only a handful still operating in Taiwan. Families join a guided tour through the full papermaking process and get to make their own sheet by hand using techniques unchanged for centuries. By evening, you arrive at Sun Moon Lake, a mountain reservoir at 762 metres above sea level. The lakeside settlement of Ita Thao, the spiritual home of the indigenous Thao people, is worth an evening wander through its food stalls and waterfront. (B)

• Hotel Description

A full day on and around the lake. The morning starts at a working tea farm, where you learn how Taiwan's prized oolong is grown, processed, and try blending your own. The afternoon is spent cycling the lakeshore path, one of the most scenic routes in Asia, passing through forest with the water always in view. (B)

• Hotel Description

The drive south brings you to Tainan, Taiwan's oldest city, founded in the 17th century and the island's capital for nearly 200 years. Its streets carry a different weight than anywhere else on the itinerary. The afternoon takes in Anping Tree House, a former warehouse slowly consumed by the roots of a vast banyan tree, both fascinating and slightly eerie. Confucius Temple, dating to 1665, and the characterful merchant houses of Shennong Street round out the afternoon.

• Hotel Description

Tainan is considered the cultural heart of Taiwan, and today you get properly into it. The centrepiece is a visit to a traditional incense workshop that has been operating since the late 19th century, where you learn to hand-roll incense using techniques passed down through these streets for generations. The afternoon includes a walk through one of the city's famous tree-tunnel roads, where the canopy closes overhead, and a visit to Taijiang National Park, a coastal wetland on the city's edge and an important stop for migratory birds. (B)

• Hotel Description

The route to Kaohsiung passes through Meinong, a Hakka township in the foothills where you can make a traditional oil paper umbrella by hand at one of the last workshops in Taiwan still practising the craft. Kaohsiung itself is Taiwan's second city, with a port energy that feels distinct from anywhere else on the trip. The afternoon takes in Pier 2 Art Centre, a converted waterfront warehouse district full of murals and open spaces, before a short ferry crossing to Qijin Island. (B)

• Hotel Description

Fo Guang Shan is one of the largest Buddhist monastery complexes in Taiwan. A 36-metre bronze Buddha presides over extensive temple grounds, and the scale of it is something you feel rather than just see. The afternoon heads to a pineapple farm in the hills outside the city, where the family picks fresh pineapple straight from the plant, presses their own juice and works through a tasting of local pineapple products. The day ends at Liu He Night Market, Kaohsiung's best, with a well-earned reputation for seafood. (B)

• Hotel Description

The drive south leads to Kenting, a national park at the very tip of Taiwan where the Taiwan Strait meets the Pacific. The landscape opens up here, drier and more dramatic, with coral reef coastline replacing the forested hills of the north. The journey stops at an award-winning tree-to-bar chocolate maker in Pingtung, whose cacao is grown, fermented and crafted entirely on site. The tour takes the family through the full process from cacao pod to finished bar, with tastings along the way. By evening, you arrive in Kenting, where the main street comes alive with food stalls and a beach town atmosphere that signals the holiday has shifted gear. (B)

• Hotel Description

A free day. Kenting has clear water, coral close to shore, and some of the best swimming and snorkelling in Taiwan. Watersports are available along the main beach for those who want more. The national park also has walking trails through tropical forest and clifftop paths for anyone who wants to explore beyond the coast. After nearly two weeks of moving, it is exactly the kind of day the whole family needs. (B)

• Hotel Description

A transfer to Kaohsiung to board the high-speed rail back to Taipei, covering the length of the island in around 90 minutes. One of the most efficient rail networks in Asia, and a good journey for window seats and looking back on everything you have seen. Private transfer to the hotel on arrival for a final night in Taipei. (B)

• Hotel Description

Private transfer from the hotel to Taoyuan Airport. (B)