Lovers beach (Kenting) 情人沙灘

Lovers Beach (Kenting) 情人沙灘

11/26/2021

Lovers Beach is a small secret beach behind the Youth Activity Center in Kenting. It is small but usually free of crowds, and has calm, clear water. If you have time, you should check out this secret beach paradise.

Background:
Lovers beach is a very small coral beach. The sand here is mostly rocky, but the water is clear. There is also a place to wash your feet nearby.
The Youth Activity Center is the largest of its kind in Taiwan, and offers accommodation in the form of traditional Min style houses. There is also a restaurant on the site. If you book a room here you do not have to pay the price of admission.
The entrance to the park also features hiking trails to Frog Rock and the surrounding area.

Kenting was first settled by Chinese during the Qing Dynasty. The word Kenting comes from twp words that mean cultivate (ken3 墾) and strong man (丁 ding1). During that time, a group of strong men (or Zhuang Ding 壯丁) came from Guangdong, who were basically Chinese pionners of the area to cultivate the land, hence the area was named Kenting for them.
The area was considered to be made into a park during the Japanese occupation due to it being the only tropical location in the Japanese Empire, but was never officially created.
Kenting National Park was established in 1984 as the first national park in Taiwan after WWII.
Kenting became a major vacation spot, becoming a center for hostels and hotels for travelers.
Kenting is considered by many to have the best beaches in Taiwan. This is because of its fine white sand and year-round warm temperatures and sunshine (it is in the tropical part of Taiwan after all).

Hours:
6:30 AM - 5 PM

Price:
Entrance fee: 50 NT per person
Parking: 50 NT per car

When to go:
Summer! It's when the water is warmest and the sun is hottest. However there will be more people in summer, and there could be Typhoons.
Spring and Fall are also good times to go, as there will be less visitors and cooler temperatures.
Winter is an okay time to go as well, it will be warmer than the rest of Taiwan and the water will still be warm enough to swim in.

How to get there:
By Car/Scooter: Take provincial highway 1 south to the bottom of Taiwan until it becomes provincial highway 26. After that keep going past Kenting Street. There is paid parking inside the youth activitity center.
By Bus: Busses leave daily to Kenting from Zuoying HSR station, Kaohsiung Station, and Pingtung. Get off at the Xiaowan Beach stop （小灣）.

Map: Please see below:

Our Journey:
I admit I have never set foot at lover's beach. I only learned after writing this blog that you can go to the beach after paying an entrance fee. So now you know. But I have some drone footage.