Yehliu, Shifen and Jiufen day trip from Taipei: Klook tour review
An honest review of my experience with Klook Travel Taiwan
I visited Taiwan for four days as a solo traveller, and I wanted to leave the city of Taipei to experience some other highlights of Northern Taiwan like the unusual landscape and unique rock formations at the Yehliu Geopark, the sky lanterns on Shifen Old Street, see the biggest waterfall in Taiwan at Shifen waterfall and try street food and see the iconic tea houses in the village of Jiufen in the mountains.
While it is possible to visit some of the destinations on this tour using public transportation, it requires some fairly indirect trips to visit them all in one day. I did not want to pay for taxis as a solo traveller, so this one day tour by Klook was the most efficient and affordable way to visit all these stops in one day. I booked the tour in November 2019 and I paid for it myself, so this is a completely independent review.
You can read a detailed summary of all the experiences I had on this Klook Taiwan tour or jump straight to the end where I share what I liked, what could have been better and my final recommendation for this day trip from Taipei.
Quick Overview of the Klook Yehliu, Shifen and Jiufen 1 Day Tour from Taipei
Destinations: Yehliu Geopark, Shifen Lantern Village, Shifen Waterfall, ’13 Layer Remains’ abandoned mine near Jinguashi, the Yin Yang Sea viewpoint, the Golden Waterfall and the village of Jiufen.
Highlights: Seeing the unusual landscape and rock formations at Yehliu, watching sky lanterns float away in Shifen and seeing the red lanterns turn on as the sun went down in Jiufen.
Who was on the trip: There were around 20-25 people on this tour, I was the only solo traveller, there were some other backpacker couples, a family from the Philippines and a retired couple from America.
Who was the guide: There was one driver who drove the bus all day, and another woman who was the guide and provided commentary over the speaker system during the drive and arranged our tickets at Yehliu Geopark. The guide was extremely professional and well-informed, and easy to understand on this English language tour.
How did we travel: On a mini bus that fit about 25 people. There were no restrooms on board. The bus was clean with all expected safety features.
Leaving Taipei
After grabbing some bubble waffles and milk tea for breakfast, I met the Klook tour at the designated departure point near Ximen station, your confirmation email from Klook will outline where to meet. The Klook buses are bright orange and hard to miss, but there are several tours leaving from the same place, so make sure to arrive on time to give yourself a few minutes to find your language group and designated bus.
We left Taipei on time, to start the drive north towards the coast to visit Yehliu Geopark. The guide provided us with a phone number to call if we got lost or needed help at any of the stops. Since they have to keep on schedule, they will not wait too long for people who fail to return to the bus on time (and you would have to get a taxi or public bus back to Taipei).
Yehliu Geopark
Upon arrival at Yehliu, the guide encouraged us to take a picture of the front of the bus so we would be able to find it later in the parking lot. We had just under two hours at this stop, and the guide came with us to arrange ticket purchase and pick up and then we were free to wander around the Geopark area at our own pace, with instructions to meet back at the bus.
The Yehliu Geopark site features a unique geological landscape, with some of the only known pedestal rock formations formed in a seaside environment.
Created by erosion over thousands of years, these unusual rock formations are known by fun names like Sea Candles, Fairy Shoe, Elephant Rock, Ice Cream Rock, and the most famous of all, the ‘Queen’s Head’ rock formation, which looks like a monarch in profile at the right angle.
Yehliu Geopark
There are often long lines to take photos with the most famous rocks, and expect the site to be busy. They even provided replicas of some of the most famous rocks to take pictures with, if you don’t want to wait in line for the real ones. I personally didn’t bother standing in any lines, I just walked around by myself to view the landscape from different angles.
Just watch where you step and make sure to stay inside the marked boundaries as there are some small holes and pools of water that are deeper than they look.
There was also a market area near the parking lot, for people looking for souvenirs or snacks. I thought we got a reasonable amount of time at this stop, I was able to walk around everything I wanted to see without being rushed.
Shifen Old Street
If you’ve ever wondered where to see the sky lanterns in Taiwan, Shifen Old Street provides to option of sending off a sky lantern at any time of year, even outside of official festivals.
The bus dropped us below the village and there was a short walk up to the Old Street area. It’s not very big and every shop on the street charges about the same price for purchasing and decorating your own sky lantern. The shop owners will help you actually light the lantern.
The colours are supposed to represent different themes, red symbolizes health, yellow is usually for fortune and wealth and blue is for good luck and hope, so choose whatever suits you !
The tour guide also directed us to restrooms at this stop and we had about an hour to see the town and optionally paint a lantern.
I was personally happy to just watch other people send off their lanterns. I also walked along the train tracks that run through town over to the suspension bridge to get a view of the river and I also went looking for some food as it was around lunch time.
I had a bit of difficulty finding vegetarian food that wasn’t a dessert in Shifen. I ended up trying a peanut pancake ice cream roll with coriander, which is a local specialty ! If you are a meat eater, chicken wings stuffed with sticky rice are also recommended, any there are lots of options for a quick snack along the Old Street in Shifen, as you will have about an hour at this stop.
Read More: The Best Day Trips from Taipei: Top 6 Destinations
Shifen Waterfall
The next stop, the Shifen Waterfall, was only a short ten minute drive down the road, however the bus picked us up in a slightly different place than where we were dropped off, so make sure to pay attention to the guide at this stop.
This is the biggest waterfall in Taiwan and there is a visitor centre and small market area with some food options. There are several levels of observation decks with quite a few stairs, so you can view the falls from different lookouts.
We had about an hour here, and I got confused on the way back to the bus. There was a family on the tour from the Philippines who all had matching sweatshirts, and I spotted one of them in the crowd and followed them back to the bus. The Shifen Waterfall was fairly busy when we were there, so just make sure you remember how to get back to the bus !
The Yin Yang Sea lookout point
There was a short half hour drive and then a short stop at a parking lot lookout viewpoint over the Yin Yang Sea. This is a natural feature where the water running off the mountains full of minerals and copper deposits looks golden yellow where it meets the blue ocean water. It’s sort of interesting to see the two colours mix together, and the symbolism of the ‘Yin and Yang’ is meaningful in Taiwanese culture, as it expresses ‘two sides in natural balance.’
13 Levels Abandoned Mine
We also saw the 13 Levels abandoned copper mine nearby, since it is less than a kilometre from the Yin Yang Sea viewpoint. It is an abandoned metal smelter built during the Japanese occupation in the 1930s, to process gold and copper. This was again just a short photo stop, we did not go near, or actually go inside the abandoned mine. It was really just a chance to learn more about the history of this mining region of Taiwan.
Golden Waterfall
This next site was only a few minutes’ drive away, the buses stop along the side of the road for about 15 minutes and there are a few viewing areas for the falls along the roadside. The Golden Waterfall does not have any actual gold flowing through, the slight golden colour is actually created by the minerals and chemicals in the mining run off water.
So it is safe to photograph from the roadside, but don’t touch or drink the water and certainly don’t go swimming, as this water could still be contaminated from metallic minerals and old mining operations on the mountain.
Jiufen
We re-boarded the Klook bus for a short 15 minute drive to Jiufen. The village was made famous from the 2001 movie ‘Spirited Away’ and attracts visitors with its narrow walkways and tea houses lit by distinctive red lanterns on the mountainside.
The Klook bus parked in a parking lot about a five minute walk from the town and the guide directed us right to the Old Town entrance area.
This is a popular destination and the small streets can often feel packed with other visitors. You just have to go with the flow of the crowd as you pass by food stalls and souvenir shops, but if you wander out of the main tourist area, you can turn a corner and all of a sudden you will be overlooking beautiful ocean views from the mountainside.
Jiufen was extremely busy when we visited, as there happened to be several school groups there. I got quite lost and I actually missed out on seeing the famous view of the lantern lit teahouses on the mountainside, the guide explained how to get there, I just became completely lost in the streets and walked in a circle.
Jiufen and Return to Taipei
Jiufen is a great place to try some street food and have a snack before the ride back to Taipei. Local specialties include glutinous rice cakes or taro ball soup, which is served both hot and cold, or the popular ice cream sandwich served in a pastry puff.
Remember that you will only have two hours here, so if you want to have a tea house experience don’t wander around for too long, as it’s easy to get lost and lose track of time. You also need to allow some time for the return walk to the bus, but since this is the last stop of the day, depending on the weather, you will get to experience the red lanterns lighting up the town as the sun sets.
It really felt like going back in time in some parts of Jiufen, especially since we visited on such a dark and rainy day. I also enjoyed exploring the quieter shops outside of the busiest tourist area, so if you find the packed streets overwhelming, just keep walking further out.
We began the hour long bus ride back to Taipei pretty much in the dark, as this is a full day tour and the bus doesn’t return to the city until dinner time. The bus stopped at a few drop off points, so you can always get off the bus and explore another part of Taipei, or maybe take a night market food tasting tour, if you still have any energy for exploring after such a busy day !
Final Recommendation for the Yehliu, Shifen and Jiufen Day Tour from Taipei
What I Liked: I enjoyed being able to experience several sites in Taiwan in one day, including stops like the Golden Waterfall, which would have been difficult to access alone without a car. Travelling between Shifen and Jiufen is possible on public transit, but adding in a stop at Yehliu Geopark in the same day would have been time consuming and complicated on buses and trains.
I thought the transportation was perfectly fine, the bus was in good condition, and the tour guide we had was particularly knowledgeable about everywhere we visited. I liked that it wasn’t a giant 50 person coach bus, rather a smaller 25-30 person minibus so we weren’t stuck waiting for people or slowly loading back on the bus between stops.
I generally thought we had a reasonable amount of time at all stops, with the exception of Jiufen. The bus departed on time from the designated location, and the pre departure information Klook provided by email and on the app was sufficient.
Read More: A comprehensive review and guide to using the Klook App in Asia
What could have been better: The only real issue I experienced on this day tour was feeling that 2 hours wasn’t quite enough time to experience Jiufen. This may have been partially because I spent a lot of time walking around being lost and never found the famous tea house view. So just be aware of what you would like to do and see in Jiufen since time there is limited.
Final Recommendation: I think this tour could make sense for someone who wants to experience some highlights of Northern Taipei in one day without using public transportation or dealing with driving and car rental, or expensive taxis. While some of these sites can be easily visited on their own on trains or buses from Taipei, it is harder to connect between Yehliu and the other sites.
I felt that this Klook Taiwan tour provided the service it advertised and was good value, I was also particularly impressed by how knowledgeable and professional the tour guide was on this Klook tour in Taiwan.
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