Give Kaohsiung two days: one for the harbor and Cijin, one for Lotus Pond, Shoushan or the museums, with a night market each evening. Add a third day for Fo Guang Shan, Meinong or Xiaoliuqiu. If you're going to Kenting, add at least one night there, since the bus from Zuoying takes about 140 minutes each way.
- One day: the harbor by light rail, Pier-2, Hamasen, the ferry to Cijin, a Love River boat in the evening. → 1-day plan
- Two days: add Lotus Pond, Ruifeng or Liuhe Night Market and the Dome of Light. → 2-day plan
- Three days: add a day trip: Fo Guang Shan is 30 minutes from Zuoying, Meinong about an hour. → 3-day plan
- Kaohsiung and Kenting: two or three days in the city, then one or two nights by the sea. → Kaohsiung and Kenting
- Kaohsiung and Tainan: the two cities are half an hour apart by train, so you can base yourself in either and day-trip to the other. → Kaohsiung and Tainan
Tainan or Kaohsiung as a base?
Either works: about 74 direct trains a day link the two city centres, and the fast ones take about half an hour. Base yourself in Kaohsiung if you're flying into KHH, heading on to Kenting or Xiaoliuqiu, or want concerts and the harbor; base yourself in Tainan for its temples, lanes and food. Between the city centres, the regular train is simpler than the High Speed Rail, whose Tainan station is out of town. → Kaohsiung and Tainan by train
Good to know: many sights close on Mondays (the museums, Shoushan Zoo), Fo Guang Shan closes on Tuesdays, and Ruifeng Night Market on Mondays and Wednesdays. Plan the harbor for those days: Pier-2, the light rail and the ferry run every day.
Sources: closing days and journey times are on each linked page. Checked October 2026.