If you have an opportunity to travel to Taiwan, do not forget Kaohsiung city. You will not be too worried because Living Nomads will give you a guide to move from Taipei to Kaohsiung by specific and detailed ways. This is the Taipei Kaohsiung itinerary (suggested itinerary Kaohsiung) guide on how to travel from Taipei to Kaohsiung for self-planned tourists with Kaohsiung 2 day itinerary details.

Kaohsiung travel taipei kaohsiung itinerary travel from taipei to kaohsiung 2 days in kaohsiung
85 storey building and Kaohsiung Ferry Terminal

Liuhe Night Market attracts a lot of tourists. Credit: vntrip

While Taipei is very crowded and busy, Kaohsiung- a port city has its own attractive features (It is the 4th largest port city in the world). The climate here is more temperate (especially it is not too cold in winter), the street is spacious, people are friendly. This city is located in the south of Taiwan. To come here, you can use a few of the following ways below.

Once a small fishing village, Kaohsiung today offers plenty of activities with its beaches, cafes, and wide streets.
Once a small fishing village, Kaohsiung today offers plenty of activities with its beaches, cafes, and wide streets.
fo guang shan buddha museum, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Fo Guang Shan Monastery, Kaohsiung
Yellow taxi on Liuhe 2nd Road, Kaohsiung
Yellow taxi on Liuhe 2nd Road, Kaohsiung
XinJueJiang night market-Kaohsiung-taiwan-traveling to Kaohsiung 2 days 1 night1
XinJueJiang night market

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XinJueJiang night market-Kaohsiung-taiwan-traveling to Kaohsiung 2 days 1 night9

How to get from Kaohsiung to Taipei?

There are 3 ways to travel from Taipei to Kaohsiung

Option 1: Travel by normal train

Kaohsiung: how to travel taipei kaohsiung itinerary travel from taipei to kaohsiung 2 days in kaohsiung
Kaohsiung MRT at World Games Station. Picture: taipei kaohsiung itinerary blog.

It takes about 5-6 hours to move from Taipei to Kaohsiung by normal train. Meanwhile, if you go from Taichung, it just takes about 3 hours. You can book tickets in advance on the railway website or directly at the train station. The train moves quite smoothly but it takes more time.

Kaohsiung: how to travel
The ticket counter at Kaohsiung Train Station

The price of a ticket from Taipei to Kaohsiung is about 600 NTD (~ 21 USD). For Taichung or shorter stages, to know the price and time exactly, you just need to calculate according to the distance.

Option 2: Travel by bus

Kaohsiung: how to travel taipei kaohsiung itinerary travel from taipei to kaohsiung 2 days in kaohsiung
Open Top Double Decker Bus in Kaohsiung. Picture: taipei kaohsiung itinerary blog.
Taipei-Kaohsiung travel
Taipei-Kaohsiung Ubus. Foto: suggested itinerary kaohsiung blog.

Buses are the most popular means of transport in Taiwan. Travelling by bus is a little faster than by train. It will take about 5 hours to travel from Taipei to Kaohsiung in case of no traffic jam. Taipei-Kaohsiung bus ticket price is about 500 NTD – 700 NTD (~17 – 24 USD) depending on each kind of bus. You can directly buy tickets at the counter or at Ibon seven. The big bus companies you can trust and use are Ubus, King bus or Aloha and Ho-Hsin.

Option 3: Travel by the express train – HSR

Taipei-Kaohsiung travel taipei kaohsiung itinerary travel from taipei to kaohsiung 2 days in kaohsiung
Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Foto: suggested itinerary kaohsiung blog.
Taipei-Kaohsiung travel
HSR train – a time-saving method
Taiwan High Speed Rail 700T
Taiwan High Speed Rail HSR 700T
04 Business Class for Taiwan High Speed Rail (HSR) 台灣高速鐵 (Large)
Business Class for Taiwan High Speed Rail (HSR) 台灣高速鐵 (Large)
Taiwan-High Speed Rail, Zuoying, Kaohsiung-July 15 2014 4
Taiwan High Speed Rail HSR, Zuoying, Kaohsiung

This is the most time-saving way to move from Taipei to Kaohsiung. Going by this train just takes one and half hours. The train runs with the speed of up to 300km/h. The train running on the high way so you can go sightseeing comfortably. And especially the seats on the HSR are very comfortable; however, the price of HSR train is more expensive than that of the normal train. It costs about 1400 NTD (~48 USD) or more.

Chengcing Lake
Chengcing Lake

Taipei Kaohsiung itinerary: Where to go in Kaohsiung?

2 days in Kaohsiung — Day 1: Fo Guang Shan Buddha Temple and Eda World – Ruifeng night market

Fo Guang Shan Buddha is a famous temple with the highest Buddha statue in the world. In the middle of the land, people build a 108-meter-high bronze cast statue and there are 8 stupas 8 stupas on either side of the statue. Especially, the atmosphere here is very quiet, although there are many people to visit but absolutely no noise.

Fo Guang Shan Buddha Temple taipei kaohsiung itinerary travel from taipei to kaohsiung 2 days in kaohsiung
Fo Guang Shan Buddha Temple. Image by: kaohsiung 1 day itinerary blog.
Kaohsiung Taiwan's Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Monastery
Kaohsiung Taiwan’s Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Monastery. Image by: kaohsiung 1 day itinerary blog.
guang song buddha statue
Guang Shan Buddha Statue in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
wang song-buddha-statues-buddhism Image by: 2 days in kaohsiung blog.
Image by: 2 days in kaohsiung blog.

The reason you should come here is that these places are not located in the center of Kaohsiung city, but the distance between them is quite close. Thus you should combine the three ways in order not to waste time, health as well as cost.

Fo Guang Shan Buddha Temple
A 108-meter-high bronze cast statue at Fo Guang Shan Buddha Temple
fo guang shan buddha museum, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Fo Guang Shan Monastery, Kaohsiung
Fo Guang Shan Monastery at Xingtian Village in Taiwan
Fo Guang Shan Monastery at Xingtian Village in Taiwan
fo guang shan buddha temple
Fo guang shan buddha temple at night

EDA World is a metropolitan area with everything from entertainment, sports to shopping. As arriving here, people often enjoy the moment when sitting in giant circles to see the entire kingdom of Eda. You can also go to the extremely gorgeous and luxurious shopping mall or the large skating rink.

EDA World at night
EDA World at night. Image by: 2 days in kaohsiung blog.
EDA Royal hotel
EDA Royal hotel
E-DA Theme Park taipei kaohsiung itinerary travel from taipei to kaohsiung 2 days in kaohsiung
E-DA Theme Park. Image by: 2 days in kaohsiung blog.

EDA World is a metropolitan area with everything from entertainment, sports to shopping. As arriving here, people often enjoy the moment when sitting in giant circles to see the entire kingdom of Eda. You can also go to the extremely gorgeous and luxurious shopping mall or the large skating rink.

eda themed park

2 days in Kaohsiung — Day 2: Pier 2 Art Center and Sun Yat-Sen University

Pier 2 Arts Area Kaohsiung Taiwan
Pier 2 Arts Area Kaohsiung Taiwan

The first place for day 2 is Pier 2 Art Center. This is a place rebuilt on the substructure of the warehouse next to the seaport. It was considered as a cute art center from the installation of the microarchitecture to the way of painting on the wall outside the warehouse. Depending on each time, there will be exhibitions with different themes, but whatever the themes are also extremely attractive. Especially for young people who like to take photos magically or have a selfie, this place is a true paradise for them.

Pier-2 Art Center, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Pier-2 Art Center, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Picture: taipei kaohsiung itinerary blog.
Pier 2 art center painted house taipei kaohsiung itinerary travel from taipei to kaohsiung 2 days in kaohsiung
Pier 2 art center painted house
Pier-2 Art Center featuring outdoor art and a statue or sculpture
Pier-2 Art Center featuring outdoor art and a statue or sculpture

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Pier 2 Art Center-Kaohsiung-taiwan-traveling to Kaohsiung 2 days 1 night8

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Pier 2 Art Center-Kaohsiung-taiwan-traveling to Kaohsiung 2 days 1 night

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Sun Yat-sen is a famous University in Taiwan. Its location is also beautiful. One side is the mountain and the other side is the sea. You can rent a green Ubik bike at the Mass Rapid Transit station or MRT and ride the bike around the Xi Zi bay. You can also have a ride around the campus of the university. If you want to enjoy food at the roadside restaurants, let’s try Bingsoo restaurant (famous for ground ice with fruit) near the ferry boat.

Sun Yat-sen University North gate's square
Sun Yat-sen University North gate’s square. Picture: taipei kaohsiung itinerary blog.
Sun Yat-Sen University Campus taipei kaohsiung itinerary travel from taipei to kaohsiung 2 days in kaohsiung
Sun Yat-Sen University Campus
Xizi Bay
Xizi Bay. Foto: suggested itinerary kaohsiung blog.

Sun Yat Sen University-Kaohsiung-taiwan-traveling to Kaohsiung 2 days 1 night3

Sun Yat Sen University-Kaohsiung-taiwan-traveling to Kaohsiung 2 days 1 night4

National_Sun_Yat-sen_University

Moreover, in “Guide to travel from Taipei to Kaohsiung for self-planned tourist” Living Nomads will introduce you a “maze” for shopping. That is an amazing Xin Jue Jiang night market.

XinJueJiang night market taipei kaohsiung itinerary travel from taipei to kaohsiung 2 days in kaohsiung
XinJueJiang night market. Foto: suggested itinerary kaohsiung blog.
Kaohsiung food at XinJueJiang night market
Kaohsiung grilled food at XinJueJiang night market

Although this little market has little food, it is a heaven for shopping. In each corner you come across, there are many stores of clothing, shoes as well as beautiful accessories and jewelry. The way of decorating in the shop here is very eye-catching, which makes you not want to leave. Especially their price is worth and propositional to the quality so you do not worry about the challenging price. If you fall in this situation, let’s bargain to reduce about 50 ~ 60TWD (~1.7 – 2 USD) for fun. When leaving this shopping mall, it’s very pity that you do not buy any items here.

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XinJueJiang night market-Kaohsiung-taiwan-traveling to Kaohsiung 2 days 1 night8

XinJueJiang night market-Kaohsiung-taiwan-traveling to Kaohsiung 2 days 1 night9

XinJueJiang night market-Kaohsiung-taiwan-traveling to Kaohsiung 2 days 1 night4

Xin Jue Jiang Night Market, Kaohsiung
Xin Jue Jiang Night Market, Kaohsiung
Shopping at XinJueJiang night market
Shopping at XinJueJiang night market

The above article is a guide on how to travel from Taipei to Kaohsiung for self-planned tourists. If you need any further information, let’s support and follow us as well as do not hesitate to contact with Living Nomads!

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Chengcing Lake
Chengcing Lake, Kaohsiung city

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