Xiaoliuqiu (aka Little Liuqiu, Lamay Island, or Lambai Island) is a small island paradise off the southwestern coast of Taiwan. The island is known for its clear water, amazing coral reefs, white sand beaches, and quiet laid back atmosphere. Only a short half hour boat ride from the Taiwan mainland, the island is easily accessible. In addition, the island is small enough that you can round the entire island by scooter in a matter of minutes.

Background:
In 1622, a Dutch ship crashed on the island, two years before the Dutch began to rule Taiwan, and all but one of the crew members were killed by the aboriginal tribe living on the island at the time.
In retaliation, the Dutch sent a force to massacre the natives on the island. 300 men, women, and children were suffocated alive in a large cave, and the rest of the people were put into slavery by the Dutch. This was known as the Lamey Island Massacre. Later Chinese people began inhabiting the island in 1645.
Later the island fell into Qing, Japanese, and ROC rule.
Currently the island is a township of Pingtung County with a population of over 10,000 people. Most of the people on the island rely on fishing and tourism for a living.
The island also has one of the largest concentrations of temples in Taiwan.
Xiaoliuqiu started to become a major tourist destination after 2004, reaching over 400,000 tourists per year.
Regulated Inter-tidal Zones:
in 2015 restrictions were placed on the inter-tidal zones in Xiaoliuqiu so that only those with a licensed guide could visit them and swimming is prohibited. These restrictions apply specifically to the Dafu Harbor inter-tidal zone (north of Dafu Harbor), Yanziping Beach, and the Shanfu Harbor Inter-tidal zone (north of Shanfu Harbor). Although there are other inter-tidal zones, these are not regulated. 

When to go:
Anytime! Xiaoliuqiu is a tropical island that has warm water and temperatures (above 25 degrees Celsius) year round. However it is a little cooler and more windy during the winter, and you should be sure to avoid Typhoons during summer (ferries will be cancelled if there is a Typhoon).
However, it can get really crowded during summer break in July-August, so go during the off-season to avoid the crowds. 

Tours:
You can book multiple tours such as snorkeling, scuba diving, SUP experience, Kayak Sailing, submarine ride, and more through Klook or KKday, such as the Xiaoliuqiu Experience Pass. 

Booking a hotel:
Booking accommodation on the island can be difficult in summer months and on weekends, when rooms can be fully booked for months in advance.
Some places we have stayed at that I recommend are Yujing 6.8, which is a four story house near Dafu Harbor (you can book on Agoda here or Booking.com here), Boliu B&B (柏琉民宿) which is also a nice newly renovated hostel right on the main street near lots of restaurants (you can book on Agoda here or Booking.com here), Haichan Hostel  which is a traditional three-sided Taiwanese mansion near the beach (you can book on Agoda here or Booking.com here), and Baisha Bay B&B which is a great place near the main harbor that is only one story so there are no stairs (you can book on Agoda here or Booking.com here). All of the owners of these places were very helpful, and even helped me to move my luggage and rent scooters. 
Some hostels require that you pay for my room in advance via bank wire transfer (this may not be an option if you are a foreign traveler, so make sure they accept credit cards if you do not have a Taiwan bank account), but you should not have to do this if you book through Agoda or another hotel booking site.
Looking for a hotel? Find out where to stay in our Taiwan hotels guide or search for the best hotel deals in Taiwan 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 via ferry from Donggang or Yanpu Ferry Terminal in Pingtung. The ferry ride takes about 25 minutes. There is a ferry leaving from Donggang roughly every half hour from 7 AM to 5 PM.

Taking the Ferry:
Ferry from Donggang Harbor (東港漁港) to Baishawei Harbor (白沙尾漁港) on Xiaoliuqiu:

• Price: 450 NT
• Total travel time: 25 minute trip
• Boats leave about every 30 minutes
• The first boat leaves at about 7:00 AM and the last boat leaves at about 4:30 PM.

Ferry from Yanpu Harbor (鹽埔漁港) in Pingtung to Dafu Harbor (大福漁港) on Xiaoliuqiu:

• Price: 450 NT
• Total travel time: 25 minutes
• Boats leave about every two hours
• The first boat leaves at about 8:00 AM and the last boat leaves at about 4:50 PM.

Parking: There is free scooter parking and paid car parking at the fishing harbor (30 NT per car), but the fishing harbor does not allow overnight parking. Overnight parking near Donggang fishing harbor can cost up to 180 NT per day, but parking at Yanpu Harbor is usually free.
Public transport: There are many shuttles to and from Zuoying HSR station that leave hourly. The cost is about 200-300 NT per trip. 
You can book tickets to Kaohsiung via high speed rail (HSR)  on Klook here or KKDay here, and then take a shuttle bus.
You can book a shuttle bus from Zuoying HSR Station to Donggang on  Klook here or KKday here. The ride takes about an hour. 

For more detailed information regarding transportation and ferry schedules, please check out our Xialiuqiu Ferry Guide here. 

Scooter Rental:
Gas Scooters:Price: expect 300-400 NT per day. ​
You can book a scooter for a discount through Klook here. You can also check out our scooter rental guide here. 
In general you will need a local scooter license or international driving permit (IDP), however if you don't have these it may still be possible to rent a gas scooter from a friendly scooter rental shop.
Be sure to book your rental in advance, especially during summer weekends. Ask for help from your hostel owner if needed.
Helmet wearing is not very much enforced, but it's still the law, and you should definitely wear one for your own safety.
Electric Scooters:If you do not have a local scooter license or international driving permit (IDP), then you can still rent an electric scooter to get yourself around the island. Electric scooters do not require a license in Taiwan.
You can book an electric scooter on Klook here or KKday here and here.

Bicycle Rental:
Riding a bike can be a great way to circle Xiaoliuqiu. You can circle the entire island is less than an hour.
You can ship a bicycle to Xiaoliuqiu for about 100 NT per round trip on the ferry.
There are not many bicycle rental options on Xiaoliuqiu besides electric scooters, so it may be easier to rent a bike in Donggang and ship it over. Usually bicycle rentals are only about 100-200 NT per day. You can search on KKday here and search for tours on Klook here. 
You can book an electric scooter on Klook here or KKday here and here.
You can also check out our Taiwan cycling guide here. 

Price:
Ferry ride: about 410 NT per round trip, about 30 minutes. The public ferry goes to Dafu Fishing Harbor (大福漁港), and private ferries go to Baishawei Fishing Harbor (白沙尾漁港). There are ferries that leave at least hourly from about 8 AM to 5:00 PM. 
Scooter rental: about 300 NT per day. There is a gas station on the back side of the island.
Snorkeling: about 300 NT per hour. Check out our Xiaoliuqiu Snorkeling Guide here. 
Scuba diving: around 2500 NT for 2-3 hours
SUP experience: About 1000 NT for half a day.
Kayak Sailing experience: about 2000 NT for 2 hours. 
Submarine adventure: about 2000 NT. 
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. 

Map: Please see below:

Pingtung is Taiwan's southernmost county and includes the best beaches, the best outer island, some of the best mountains, rivers, and waterfalls, and also interesting historical and cultural sites. It should definitely be on your list on your next visit to Taiwan. ​

When to go:
Pingtung is great year round, but it can get a little hot in the summer, and Typhoon season and the heavy rain season last from about May to October. If you are afraid of the heat and rain then you can visit during winter when the temperatures are mild and the climate is dryer.
Winters are windy and colder, but the water is still warm enough to swim in. Winter is a better time for activities like hiking and surfing.

How to get there:
By Car/Scooter: Take Provincial Highway 1 south to the bottom of Taiwan until it becomes Pingtung, or if in a car you can take National Freeway 3.
Looking for scooter rental in Pingtung? Click here or here to search for options.
If you are looking for car rentals, you can also search Qeeq here, Klook here, or  KKday here. You can also check out our car rental guide here.  ​
By Bicycle: Cycling is the best way to enjoy Taiwan's landscapes if you have the time and energy. Looking for bicycle rentals in Taiwan? You can search on KKday here and search for tours on Klook here. You can also check out our Taiwan cycling guide here. ​
By Bus: You can book tickets to travel to Pingtung via inter-city bus on Klook here. 
By TRA Train: There are many TRA stations in Pingtung which makes this a convenient option. You can book tickets to Pingtung via high speed rail (HSR)  on Klook here or KKDay here, or book tickets via the normal train (TRA)  on Klook here. 
By Plane: There are direct shuttle buses to Pintung from Kaohsing's Xiaogang (KHH) Airport. You can search for cheap flights in Taiwan here. 

Where to stay:
Looking for a hotel? Find out where to stay in our Taiwan hotels guide or search for the best hotel deals in Taiwan here. We recommend booking through Agoda here, which provides the best quality selection of accommodation in Taiwan.
I have stayed at many hostels and hotels in Pingtung, and even almost bought a house here. Some places that I have stayed at and can recommend are Nanwan Kiki (book on Agoda here, Booking.com here), a B&B next to Nanwan Bay, Kenting's most popular Beach. There are also a few decent hotels near Kenting Street Night Market like Kenting Star Inn 888 (book on Agoda here, Klook here, or Booking.com here), or Kenting Dajianshan Hotel (book on Agoda here or Booking.com here). You will notice that none of these hotels are five star resorts (I do not come to Kenting to waste my time at a resort, but you can still search Agoda, Booking.com, or Klook here for those) but they are in my opinion the above have the best value for the money. 

How to get around in Pingtung:
1. Rent a scooter - the best way to see Taiwan. Electric scooters that do not require a license are also readily available. For better range and speed, rent a gas scooter. You can search for scooter options here or here, and you can check out our scooter rental guide here. 
2. Rent a car - more expensive than a scooter but may be more suitable for a large family. If you are looking for car rentals, you can also search Qeeq here, Klook here, or  KKday here. You can also check out our car rental guide here.  
3. Take the bus - cheap but slower than your own transportation, and it doesn't stop everywhere. You can book tickets to travel to Pingtung via inter-city bus on Klook here. 
4. Cycle - you can rent a bicycle or bring your own. This is a great way to enjoy the scenery at a slower pace. Looking for bicycle rentals in Taiwan? You can search on KKday here and search for tours on Klook here. You can also check out our Taiwan cycling guide here. 
5. Hire a taxi - more expensive than a rental car but perhaps more convenient. You can also search for a car charter service here or here. 

Tours and Activities in Pingtung:
There are many activities available in Pingtung, such as snorkeling, diving, SUPing, surfing, submarine riding, and river tracing. 
You can find more tours of Pingtung on Klook here or KKday 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. 

Map:

See below for a map of places we will cover in this blog:

This month marks the 10th anniversary of this blog, so to celebrate I am making a blog tracing back our first round-island trip lasting 14 days and 13 nights made in 2014. During this journey we rented a car in Taipei, and circled Taiwan clockwise, visiting Taroko Gorge, Kenting, Xiaoliuqiu, Alishan, Sun Moon Lake, and many more places along the way. I am the kind of guy who likes to bask in nostalgia, but also I hope that laying out this experience in the open as well as the lessons we learned about travel in Taiwan along the way (and what I know now in 2024) will be helpful to other foreigners coming to Taiwan.

Some background on why this trip happened: 
This was not our first trip to Taiwan. Scott and I had been Latter-day Saint missionaries in Taiwan from 2011 to 2012 in the Taichung Mission, which covers Taichung to Pingtung but nothing north or east of that. We still had a lot of friends in Taiwan that we missed, we missed Taiwanese food, and there were the entire north and east parts of the island for us to explore.
We decided it would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to tour Taiwan now because later on in our lives we would likely have work and family obligations that would not allow us to take a 14-day trip around Taiwan. 
Being poor college students at the time, we had a very limited budget (for reference, I was making 700 USD a month as a janitor and I could only save about half of that after rent and food). Originally another friend planned to come with us, but he backed out because he got married. Scott's brother Matt decided to come along too. 
Just so you know, Scott and I know Chinese, but Matt doesn't. It makes traveling easier to know the language but you can still get by in Taiwan without it. 

The Plane Ride:
We took the cheapest flight available on Shenzhen Airlines, which had many flights for cheap to the US at the time. For 700 USD we bought a round trip from LA to Beijing to Taipei and back. 

Renting a car in Taiwan:
Before we began our trip, we planned on rounding the island by Scooter. This can be a fun way to explore Taiwan. 
As a side note, you can book a Motorcycling experience on Klook here, or a half-day Motorbike Tour on KKday here. If you are looking for a multi-day, in-depth tour of Taiwan via motorbike, we recommend contacting [email protected] who schedules regular 10-day motorbike tours of Taiwan. The tour guide is a long-term expat in Taiwan who has been giving riding tours of Taiwan for 16 years now. You can also check out our scooter rental guide here. 
After crunching the numbers, we figured that we could rent a car for just as cheap as three scooters, and we wouldn't have to worry about rain or luggage. 
A scooter would be 300 NT per day, and for three people 900 NT per day, but we found a car rental place that would rent us a small Nissan March for 700 NT a day (that car company was called Good Cars 固得汽車 in Zhonghe, you can find their information in our Taiwan Car Rental Guide here). 
​
After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport, we took a bus to Taipei and made our way to Zhonghe at a friend's house and picked up the rental car. At the end of the trip, we found the price was a few thousand NT more than we expected because of highway tolls (about 1.5 NT per kilometer).

SIM Card:
I bought a pre-paid SIM card from Taiwan Mobile for 500 TWD that lasted the whole trip. I think it was only a few GB of data, but I had a crappy phone and was not using much data. 
You can buy a cheap SIM card on Klook here. 

Map:
Check out a map of places we visited on this trip below: