Houwan Beach 後灣沙灘

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Houwan Beach in Kenting is a small beach near the Aquarium. It features a short yellow sandy beach, as well as clear water that is relatively warm year round. In addition, the beach has sunshine for most of the year. Popular activities include surfing, swimming, and sunbathing. It has everything you would want from a Kenting beach but it is smaller and there are fewer people than other beaches.  

Background:
Houwan is a small fishing town in Kenting after which the beach is named. The name literally means "back bay" in Chinese.
Kenting was first settled by Chinese farmers during the Qing Dynasty. The word Kenting comes from two 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 pioneers 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). 
Usually, this beach is free of people and crowds even on weekends. 

Hours:
24/7

Price: 
Free

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 Checheng and then turn west onto Houwan Road until you reach the beach. There is free parking near the beach. Looking for scooter rental in Pingtung? Click here or here to search for options. You can also check out our  Taiwan scooter rental guide here. 
If you are looking for car rentals, you can also search here. You can check out our car rental guide here. 
By Bus: Busses leave daily to Kenting from Zuoying HSR station, Kaohsiung Station, and Pingtung. Get off at Shanghouwan上後灣. 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. You can book tickets to travel to Pingtung via inter-city bus on Klook here. 
By Plane: There are direct shuttle busses to Kenting from Kaohsing's Xiaogang (KHH) Airport. 
You can book cheap flights to Kinmen on Trip.com or CheapO Air. You can also search for cheap flights in Taiwan on Kiwi here. 

Accommodation:
I have stayed at many hostels and hotels in Kenting, 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, Hotels.com here, Expedia here, or Booking.com here), or Kenting Dajianshan Hotel (book on Agoda here, Booking.com here, Hotels.com here, or Expedia 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, Hotels.com, or Expedia for those) but they are in my opinion the above have the best value for the money. 
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.

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

Our Journey:

I have been to Houwan Beach once and had a pleasant experience. You will not find any crowds or lifeguards here. Also, there are nice waves. However, the beach is a bit rocky, the water can be murky, and there are no public showers. If that is your kind of beach, then this is the place for you. 

I saw an ATV rental place here as well. 

Old boat on the shore. 

First view of the beach. A little too many rocks for my taste.

View up the coast with the Aquarium in the background. 

Another view down the beach.

Aquarium in the background.

View from further down the coast. The sand gets a little better toward the aquarium. 

There is officially no swimming here, but no one will stop you if you swim. 

Much nicer beach up north.

There were a few sunbathers when I was there. 

The sand here was decent. 

View further south. 

There is also a pavilion here and a sign reminding you not to swim at your own risk. 

Also there is an old suspension bridge here to nowhere, that is off limits. 
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National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium 國立海洋生物博物館

The National Biology Museum and Aquarium in Pingtung is the best Aquarium in Taiwan and one of the best aquariums in Asia. It includes beluga whales, sharks, rays, penguins, and much more. It is a must see stop on your trip to Taiwan...(read more)

​Thanks for reading and be sure to stay tuned for more of our blogs on Kenting to come. 

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

Check out our full guide to Kenting here.
​
You can also check out our full guide to Pingtung here, and can also check out our full travel guide to Taiwan here. ​

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