The Best Things To Do In Kenting National Park, Taiwan (2023)

Kenting National Park is one of the 9 National Parks in Taiwan and is located on the southern tip of Taiwan.

Kenting Park is known for its lush forests and splendid beaches and after 3 days in the city of Kaohsiung, we felt it was time for some nature.

So we made our way down to the beautiful green Kenting National Park, which was one of the highlights of our one-month trip in Taiwan.

Altogether we spent 3 days exploring Kenting on a scooter, but we could easily have stayed longer as there are many things to do in Kenting National Park!

Top things to do in Kenting National Park, Pingtung County

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What is the best time to visit Kenting National park

We visited Kenting in May, which in my experience is a great time to visit as temperatures are (usually) still below 30 degrees Celsius and there isn't much rain.

The summer months (June until September) in southern Taiwan can be very hot and typhoons may occur. During winter (December until February) the average temperature is around 20 degrees Celsius but it can be as low as 10 degrees. It can be very windy as well.

Altogether, the best months to visit Kenting are March until May and October/November.

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How to get around Kenting National Park

How to travel from Kaohsiung to Kenting?

It's very easy to get to Kenting National Park from Kaohsiung because of the great public transport system in Taiwan.

We hopped on the Kenting Express bus from Kaohsiung Main Station (buses also leave from Zuoying Station), and it took about 2.5 hours to get to Hengchun township.

Buses depart pretty much every 30 minutes, however, if you want to make sure you can travel on a certain date I recommend making a reservation online.

Note that you will have to pick up your actual ticket at the Kenting Express Line counter at one of the two Kaohsiung stations (KHH Airport or Zuoying High Speed Rail Station).

Alternatively, you can also book a private transfer from Kaohsiung to Kenting.

How to get around Kenting National Park?

The best way to get around Kenting is by your own transport (rental car or scooter). Our plan was to rent a regular scooter, but in Taiwan, that's not easy to do as a foreigner.

Rules are strict and you either need a Taiwanese license or an International Drivers License which clearly states you can drive a motorcycle.

We have an International Driver's License, but we don't have a license to drive a motorcycle and thus rented an electric scooter instead.

This was no easy feat either because the shop owner did not speak any English.

With the help of a friendly girl who was in the scooter rental shop too we eventually managed to get an electric scooter for 500NT per 24 hours.

You can find the location of the scooter rental place on the map below.

Kenting itinerary

Wondering where to go in Kenting? In the Kenting map below, you can find the Kenting attractions we visited during our 3-day itinerary in Kenting National Park, as well as our hostel (Kenting Light Blue Bed and Breakfast).

Click here for the interactive map.

What to do in Kenting National Park

1. Rent a scooter
2. Explore Hengchun town
3. Admire the four old city gates in Hengchun
4. Drive around Longluan Lake
5. Visit Maobitou Park
6. Watch the sunset on the West Coast of Kenting National Park
7. Eat your way around the Hengchun night market
8. Explore Kenting village
9. Drive around the South and East Coast of Kenting National Park
10. Eat more delicious snacks in Henchung

Kenting tourist attractions: day 1

What to do in Hengchun

After getting our electric scooter (read more below on how to rent one), the first thing we did was make a circle around Hengchun town. The 4 old city gates are still standing and we drove through them all!

From Hengchun town we drove to Longluan Lake, passing through beautiful green fields and open grassland.

Longluan Lake

It was already late in the afternoon and we were the only ones at the lake.

Maobitou Park

We stopped to admire the ocean views and interesting rock formations at Maobitou Park, one of the most scenic spots in the area.

Because we arrived after 5 pm there was no entrance fee, however, usually, the fee is 60NT.

West Coast of Kenting National Park

From Maobitou Park we followed the main road along the west coast, enjoying a beautiful sunset on the way…

What to eat at Hengchun night market

We ended our first sightseeing day with a stroll over the Hengchun night market.

Pro tip: park your bicycle or scooter before entering the market. It can get very busy making it impossible to maneuver through the crowds with a scooter.

There are many food stalls serving delicious local cuisine and tasty snacks at the Hengchun night market. We sampled some fried chicken, noodles, and some meat sticks. Of course, we washed everything down with bubble tea.

If you've got more time, also visit Kenting Night Market for more local snacks and street food.

Kenting things to do: day 2

Kenting town and Kenting's beautiful beaches

On our second day, it was only a short drive south to the town of Kenting where we passed some of the most beautiful beaches.

Pictured above is Little Bay Beach, which is perfect for swimming, relaxing, or catching the sunset (when visiting in the evening).

And not just white sandy beaches, but some rough and rocky ones too. The color of the water was breathtaking.

South and East coast of Kenting National Park

We made a very scenic route through Kenting National Forest Recreation Area, Sheding Natural Park, the South Coast (be sure to stop at Eluanbi park, Eluanbi Lighthouse, and the Southernmost tip of Taiwan) and East coast (Longpan Park).

As you can see in the picture below it was very busy on the provincial highway.

From the east coast, we drove back to Hengchun and ate more delicious street food. A perfect end to our second sightseeing day!

Kenting National Park things to do: day 3

Our third day in Kenting National Park went a little differently than planned. You see, our electric scooter didn’t agree with our plan of crossing the hills between Manzhou Township and Hengchun.

The drive to Manzhou Township went smoothly but there our problems began…

For the first couple of kilometers, our scooter bravely tried to conquer the increasingly steep hills. But we climbed slower and slower until our scooter said POOF and came to a stop.

We tried to revive it, but nothing worked.

We had no other option but to drive slowly downhill without any power.

Eventually, we made it back to the foot of the hills. Which was still in the middle of nowhere…

Lucky for us David, the awesome owner of our Kenting accommodation, came to our rescue! With his help, we were able to restart the scooter.

Unfortunately, this ended our scooter road trip, we didn't dare to give the hills another try. So much for electric scooters.

Instead, we drove back to Hengchun and sampled some more local dishes.

Kenting National Park travel budget

I've written about our travel budget for Taiwan and our budget for Taipei, Kaohsiung, Tainan, and Hualien.  Compared to those budget breakdowns, our average daily costs for Kenting National Park were slightly higher.

The main reason for the higher daily budget is that I've included the costs to travel from Kaohsiung (and back) in this budget breakdown.

The second reason for the slightly higher average daily budget is we rented a scooter to explore Kenting. That being said, we still only spent €70 per day for us as a couple.

Where to stay in Kenting on a budget

Looking for the best place to stay in Kenting? While there is lots of accommodation available in Kenting town, consider staying in Henchun instead.

Hengchun feels less touristy but does have all the facilities you need within easy walking distance. We stayed in Hengchun as well and I preferred this location over Kenting town.

Also, I highly recommend staying at Kenting Light Blue Bed and Breakfast:

• It's very centrally located: 50 meters to a Kenting express bus stop, 50 meters to 7-11 & Family Mart, and 50 meters to an electric scooter rental shop.
• We had a very large room with super comfortable beds (tiny downside: we had 2 single beds instead of a double).
• The shared bathroom was very clean and towels were included.
• On the 1st floor, there is a hot and cold water dispenser.
• What really made our stay was David, the awesome guy who runs the B&B. He helped us out with all our questions and as I said above, he even came to our rescue when our electric scooter died on a hill that was too steep. Mind you, we were 20km away from the B&B in an area where nobody spoke any English, I'm not sure what we would have done without his help.
• Altogether, this great place offers excellent value for money and I would love to stay there again.

Kenting what to do: in conclusion

That wraps up this Kenting National Park travel itinerary, I hope it has given you an idea of what to see in Kenting during your trip!

I always love having my own wheels and Kenting is the perfect place for a scooter road trip: beautiful, green, great roads, nice vibe, and plenty of places to see.

I hope this Kenting trip itinerary will inspire you to visit the natural wonders of Kenting National Park in Taiwan, it's really worth a visit!

Looking for more Taiwan travel inspiration? Read my posts about Taichung, Taitung, and the best day trips from Taipei.

This post was updated in January 2023.