Guishan Island (literally Turtle Mountain Island) is a turtle-shaped island off the coast of Yilan in Eastern Taiwan. Once inhabited by fishermen, it is now a coast guard base but is open for day tours. The island tour includes beautiful sea cliffs, hiking, a lake, an abandoned village, military tunnels,  and whale watching just offshore. ​

Background:
Turtle Island has been inhabited since at least the Qing Dynasty. When the ROC took over Taiwan, the island had one elementary school and no hospital. Many people relied simply on religion to cure their sicknesses. During typhoons, the dock would sometimes be destroyed, leaving the island without food for days or weeks. Also, there were way more men on the island than women, and it was hard to convince prospective wives from Taiwan to go live on such a remote island with harsh conditions. As a result, the government relocated everyone living on Turtle Island to the main island of Taiwan in Toucheng township of Yilan in 1977. The people could have chosen to stay, but they went without protest. The ROC then made the island into a restricted military base. In 2000, the Island was opened for tourism, the military aspects of the island were phased down, and it was made into an ecological reserve. Now the island allows Tourists to come during the day, but no one is allowed to stay overnight.

​Tours and Prices: 
Whale watching on a boat around the island: 800-1000 NT per person.
Once around the island on a boat and 2-hour tour of the island: 800-1000 NT per person.
Whale watching and island tour: 1200+ NT
Island tour including hiking to the top of the island: 1200+ NT
You can book a personalized tour and ferry boat tickets with Klook or KKday.

You can purchase tours and tickets for many activities in Yilan such as surfing, kayaking, horse riding, river tracing, river rafting, river tubing, pack rafting, water biking, snorkeling, canoeing, and many others through Klook here or KKday here. ​

Hours: 2-4 hour tours start from 8:00 AM or later and end in the afternoon until about 4:00 PM.

When to go: March-November. These tours are generally closed from December to February due to rough seas and cold weather. 

Accommodation:
There are not hotels on Turtle Island and staying overnight is forbidden.
Looking for a hotel? We recommend booking through Agoda here, which provides the best quality selection of accommodation on the islands. Find out where to stay in our Taiwan hotels guide or search for the best hotel deals in Taiwan here.
We have stayed at and recommend Jiaosi Hotspring Hotel, a hotel with hot springs in each room (you can book on Agoda here, Booking.com here, Hotels.com here, Expedia here, or Trip.com here). We have also stayed at Toucheng Leisure Farm, a recreational farm and experience center in Toucheng (you can book on Agoda here, Booking.com here, Hotels.com here, Expedia here, on Klook here, or on Trip.com here).
You can also book Wifi and SIM cards for Taiwan on Gigago here.  
Need travel insurance? Compare prices on Insubuy here. 

Just to let you know, if you book using the links above, we get some commission at no cost to you, and you can help support our blog. 
You can click here to receive $5 USD on your first Klook purchase. 

How to get there:
The only way to get there is by boat from Wushih Harbor in Yilan. 
To get to Wushih Harbor from Taipei, you can take the TRA train to Toucheng station, and then take a taxi from there. Otherwise, you can drive on National Highway 5 to Toucheng; there is free parking at the harbor (drive to the very end of the harbor).
You can purchase a ticket at the harbor or book online in advance via Klook or KKday.

Map of Guishan Island:

Taiwan’s outer islands are some of the most beautiful and scenic places in the whole country, and each of them can be considered a secret paradise. You can find the best beaches, snorkeling, and diving on these islands. You can also find rich and important historical sites here. Transportation may be difficult, but you will never regret visiting Taiwan’s outer islands, and no trip to Taiwan should be complete without doing it.  In this blog, we will introduce the main outer islands in Taiwan that are open to tourists (there are 166 islands in Taiwan, this blog only covers a few), point out their unique traits, and compare them to each other.  This way you can best prepare for your trip to the outer islands, and at the same time know what you are missing out on. All the outer Islands are great, and I highly recommend visiting them all if you can.
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Table of Contents

• When to visit:
• How to get there:
• Where to stay:
• Tours:
• Map:
• Major Outer Islands in Taiwan
• Xiaoliuqiu Island 小琉球
• Green Island 綠島
• Orchid Island (Lanyu) 蘭嶼
• Turtle Island (Guishan Island) 龜山島
• Keelung Islet 基隆嶼
• Matsu Islands 馬祖列島
  • Matsu – Beigan Island 北竿島
  • Matsu – Nangan Island 南竿島
  • Matsu – Daqiu Island 大坵島
• Kinmen 金門
  • The Main Island of Kinmen 金門
  • Little Kinmen (Lieyu) 小金門 (烈嶼)
  • Dadan Island  (大膽島)
• Penghu Islands 澎湖群島
  • ​Penghu – Qimei Island 七美鄉
• Bonus: The three islands are connected to Taiwan by bridge
  • Heping Island 和平島
  • Sanxiantai 三仙台 
  • Qijin Island 旗津
• Other Islands not included above:
• General Scientific Comparison of the Islands:
  • Comparison and Analysis of Taiwan's Outer Islands from a Foreign Tourist Perspective:
    • Best Islands for snorkeling:
    • Best Islands for diving:
    • Best Islands for Culture:
    • Best Beaches on Taiwan's Outer Islands:
    • Best Islands for Food:
    • Best Islands for Exploring:
    • Best Place for Island Hopping:
    • Easiest Islands to get to:
    • Islands with the best weather year-round:
    • Islands with the best accommodation choices:
    • Most family-friendly islands:
    • Most extreme and exciting islands:
      • Totals:
  • Twitter online poll:
• Final Comments:

When to visit:Xiaoliuqiu Island 小琉球: Anytime! Xiaoliuqiu is a tropical island that has warm water and temperatures (above 25 degrees Celsius) year-round. 

Green Island 綠島: The month of May is the best time to go to Green Island and Orchid Island when it is not too hot and there are no northeasterly winds or typhoons.

Orchid Island (Lanyu) 蘭嶼: The month of May, same as Green Island above. 

Turtle Island (Guishan Island) 龜山島: March-November. Boat tours are generally closed from December to February due to rough seas and cold weather. 

Keelung Islet 基隆嶼: Boats to Keelung Islet are only available from April to October due to northeasterly winds in the winter.

The Matsu Islands 馬祖列島: We recommend going to Matsu between April and June when you can see the “blue tear” phosphorescent microbes in the water.

Kinmen 金門: Autumn is said to be the best time to visit Kinmen, when there are still warm temperatures and not too much rainfall. 

Penghu 澎湖群島: Spring to Autumn. Winters are rather miserable.
How to get there:Xiaoliuqiu Island 小琉球 
By Boat: The only way to get there is via ferry from Donggang or Kaohsiung. You can purchase a tickets at Donggang Fishing Harbor (東港漁港), or through a tour agency such as Klook here or here, or KKday. You can also check out our Xiaoliuqiu Ferry Guide here.

Green Island 綠島 
By Plane: The only planes to and from Green Island come from Taitung City in Southeastern Taiwan. Costs: NT 1428 to Green Island and NT 1360 from Green Island. You can purchase tickets through a tour agency such as Klook here or a similar website.
By Boat: Ferry prices are about 1200 NT per person round trip/600 NT per single trip.
You can purchase tickets through a tour agency such as Klook here or a similar website.

Orchid Island (Lanyu) 蘭嶼 
By Plane: The only planes to and from Orchid Island come from Taitung. Costs: NT 1428 to Lanyu and NT 1360 from Lanyu. You can purchase tickets through a tour agency such as Klook or a similar website.
By Boat: There are two places that offer ferry rides to Lanyu: Houbihu Harbor (恆春後壁湖漁港） in Pingtung and Fugang Harbor in Taitung (臺東富岡漁港) (2300 NT per person round trip/1150 NT per single trip). You can purchase tickets through a tour agency such as Klook or a similar website.

Turtle Island (Guishan Island) 龜山島 
By Boat: The only way to get to Turtle Island is by boat from Wushih Harbor in Yilan. You can purchase a ticket at the harbor or book online in advance via Klook or KKday.

Keelung Islet 基隆嶼 
By Boat: In order to get to Keelung Islet, you first need to make your way to Badouzi Harbor (see map below). Next, you have to take a boat to the island. There are multiple ferry boats running to Keelung daily from April to October. You can book tickets on Klook here or KKday here. 

The Matsu Islands 馬祖列島 
By Plane: The easiest way to get around the islands is to take a plane/boat to Nangan and then go island hopping from there. Nangan is the main transportation hub for all the islands. 
By Boat: There are daily ferries from Keelung Harbor that usually take an overnight trip to Nangan, passing through Dongyin Island. 

Kinmen 金門 
By Plane: The only way to get from Taiwan to Kinmen is via an airplane. Planes leave daily from Taipei, Taichung, Chiayi, Tainan, Penghu, and Kaohsiung.
By Boat: You can reach Kinmen from Xiamen at Wutong Port (五通碼頭) or Quanzhou at Shijing Port (石井碼頭), connecting at Shuitou Port (水頭碼頭).

Penghu 澎湖群島 
By Plane: There are daily flights from Taipei Songshan, Rates can range from around 2200-6000 NT for a round trip.
There are also flights to and from Chiayi, Tainan, Kinmen, and Chimei.
By Boat: There are daily ferries from Chiayi and Kaohsiung. A one-way trip takes about 4 hours from both locations. A one-way ferry from Kaohsiung costs about 900 NT for just a reclining seat, and a one-way ferry from Chiayi costs about 1000 NT.
You can book ferry boat tickets on Klook here. 
Where to stay:Looking for a hotel? We recommend booking through Agoda here, which provides the best quality selection of accommodation on the islands. 
Tours:There are many tours available on the islands, including scooter rentals, boat tickets, and other activities. For more information, book with Klook here or KKday here. 
Map: