Northern Taiwan to Lanyu | Train + Bus + Ferry from Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu
From Taipei, Taoyuan or Hsinchu — TRA to Taitung, Route 201 to Fugang Ferry Pier, then a sailing to Lanyu. Only 2 sailings a day; here is how every leg lines up.
Same-day from northern Taiwan to Lanyu is tight but doable. The standard chain is TRA to Taitung, transfer to the bus out to Fugang Ferry Pier (Taitung), then the ferry. EMU3000 Tze-Chiang Limited Express or Puyuma Express from Taipei reaches Taitung in about 3.5 hours at the fastest. From there, Puyuma Transport Route 201 covers Taitung Train Station to Fugang in about 20 minutes for NT$25, then the ferry to Kaiyuan Harbor (Lanyu) runs about 150 minutes at NT$1,200 one way.
The Lanyu route runs only 2 sailings a day in high season (07:00 and 12:30) — few departures, tight buffers. Two ways to make it in a single day:
- Take the late-night red-eye EMU3000 out of Shulin (just after 23:00), pull into Taitung just after 05:00, board the first Route 201 at 06:20, reach Fugang at 06:40, and connect to the 07:00 first sailing with a 20-minute wait. - Leave Taipei a little after 06:00, arrive Taitung around midday, take the 11:30 bus to Fugang at 11:50, and wait 40 minutes for the 12:30 sailing — workable, but a small train delay will eat your buffer.
The safer play is to overnight in Taitung and catch the first sailing the next morning: roll into town the night before, eat well, sleep, then wake at 06:00 and grab a taxi or arrange a homestay shuttle out to Fugang in time for the 07:00 boat.
In winter (November–March) the Lanyu route runs on a government-subsidized schedule — fixed sailings on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with selected Sundays added (check the monthly calendar on ferry.tw for exact dates). If you are heading to Lanyu in winter, always confirm on ferry.tw whether the boat is sailing that day before you set out — otherwise you risk a wasted trip down to Taitung.
Pick your origin city
- Taipei → Lanyu Taipei to Lanyu in three legs — EMU3000 Tze-Chiang Limited Express to Taitung, Route 201 to Fugang Ferry Pier, then ferry to Kaiyuan Harbor. Plan on 6–7 hours door-to-door.
- Taoyuan → Lanyu Taipei to Lanyu in three legs — EMU3000 Tze-Chiang Limited Express to Taitung, Route 201 to Fugang Ferry Pier, then ferry to Kaiyuan Harbor. Plan on 6–7 hours door-to-door.
- Hsinchu → Lanyu Taipei to Lanyu in three legs — EMU3000 Tze-Chiang Limited Express to Taitung, Route 201 to Fugang Ferry Pier, then ferry to Kaiyuan Harbor. Plan on 6–7 hours door-to-door.