Wanlitong 萬里桐

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Wanlitong is one of the premier scuba diving and snorkeling spots in Taiwan, and sits inside Kenting National Park. The waters here are clear and full of coral and sea life. Other popular activities here are kayaking, SUPing and eating seafood. 

Background:
The waters of Wanlitong have one of the highest concentrations of coral and sea life in Kenting National Park. Underneath the water is its own underwater coral forest park. 
Kenting was first settled by Chinese 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). 

Hours: 24/7

Price: Free
Snorkeling: 300 NT per hour (or thereabouts).
You can book snorkeling and paddle boarding activities at Wanlitong on KKday here or on Klook here, here, or here. 

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 you pass Hengchun, take a right onto Longguang Road and then turn right on Wanli Road. The village will be on your left. 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 here. 
By Bus: Busses leave daily to Kenting from Zuoying HSR station, Kaohsiung Station, and Pingtung. Get off at the Hengchun Bus Station, and then take the 101A to Xiaowanlitong bus station. 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:
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 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. 
You can also book Wifi and SIM cards for Taiwan on Gigago here.  
Need travel insurance? Compare prices on Insubuy here. 
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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. 

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: Please see below:

Our Journey:

I have been to Wanlitong twice. The first time was during a Typhoon and even though there was a sea warning, the water was calm and there were still people snorkeling here. Still, most snorkeling shops were closed anyway because their business had been ruined by the Typhoon. The second time was on a nice day and lots of people were out to play. 

You can book snorkeling and paddle boarding activities at Wanlitong on KKday here or on Klook here, here, or here. ​

The main bay area where most people go out to sea, as seen from the road. 

Be careful not to enter the red area which is a protected area. If you get caught, there is a fine.

Another view of the people getting in the water.

There are multiple scuba gear, snorkeling, kayaking, and SUP rentals here in the village. You can book snorkeling and paddle boarding activities at Wanlitong on KKday here or on Klook here, here, or here. 

Beautiful clear water.

If you look carfeully you can see people snorkeling. 

People gathering near the small beach.

People beginning to snorkel in the shallows.

Another view of the shallow water near the village. 

You can book snorkeling and paddle boarding activities at Wanlitong on KKday here or on Klook here, here, or here. ​

Perfectly clear and calm water here. 

​Check out more photos of the area in the photo gallery above.

A little further down the coast, we visited Shanhai Harbor, which has some great sushi.

View of Shanhai Harbor.

You can also take a glass half submarine here and enjoy the sea life.

Another view of the fishinf harbor.

The road stops here.

This is another protected area. 

Fresh sushi for 100 NT a plate.

It was not a joke, this plate was 100 NT. 

There are many activities available such as snorkeling, diving, SUPing, surfing, submarine riding, and river tracing in Kenting.  
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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