Kaohsiung to Green Island | TRA + Route 201 + Ferry

Kaohsiung to Green Island is the most direct path from southern Taiwan. EMU3000 Tze-Chiang Limited Express or Puyuma Express on the South-Link Line reaches Taitung in about 1 hr 47 min at the fastest; slower Tze-Chiang services run a little over 2 hours. The Jinlun and Taimali stretch puts mountain and coast right next to each other — don't doze off in the window seat. Duoliang Station is on the line but trains have not stopped there since 2006; reach the Duoliang viewpoint by car or bus.

From Taitung Train Station, board Puyuma Transport Route 201 at Bay 1 to Fugang Ferry Pier (Taitung) — about 20 minutes, NT$25 — then take one of the three jointly operated boats (Kaixuan / Tianwangxing / Lyudao Star) to Nanliao Harbor (Green Island), about 50 minutes.

The Green Island route runs 2 fixed sailings on weekdays (09:30 and 13:30); in high season and on weekends and holidays it scales to 5 sailings a day (07:30 / 09:30 / 11:30 / 13:30 / 15:30).

Plenty of flexibility on which sailing to catch. A 05:00–06:00 train from Kaohsiung gets into Taitung around 07:00–08:00, in time for the 08:10 or 08:30 bus to Fugang and the 09:30 weekday first sailing. To catch the high-season 07:30 extra you would have to leave Kaohsiung in the middle of the night for the 06:20 first bus — most people prefer to overnight in Taitung instead. A midday departure from Kaohsiung gets in around 13:00; on weekdays there is no boat by then (the last weekday sailing is 13:30), and in high season you can squeeze the 15:10 bus onto the 15:30 last sailing on a zero-buffer schedule.

The South-Link Line is often suspended during typhoons or heavy rain (July–November); both 2024 and 2025 saw several major shutdown events. Check TRA announcements before you leave so you do not arrive at the platform to find the train cancelled. Buy ferry tickets and confirm capacity on ferry.tw.