PG ~ Professional Geek

Taiwan

Urban and outdoor pursuits in
one (reasonably) compact package.

The traveler who wants to do it all should consider Taiwan. This island, roughly the size of the Netherlands, has an easy-to-navigate public transport network that links a cosmopolitan capital with a bounty of natural and man-made wonders. Taipei, whose robust art scene recently earned its selection as the World Design Capital for 2016, has more places to lay your head: A boutique hotel from the homegrown bookstore chain Eslite will join the recent arrivals Mandarin Oriental, Le Meridien and W. All of these should be a convenient base from which to do some sightseeing on 17 bike trails along the shores of Taipei’s many rivers and inlets or to take a foray into the city’s vibrant street food scene with a nightcap at the reservations-only bespoke bar Alchemy, which opened in 2012 to much acclaim. Four hours south by high-speed rail and bus, 70-square-mile Kenting National Park is home to wetlands, white sands, fishing villages and, starting this year, a ferry point for the deep sea fishing and diving paradise of Orchid Island. Up north in Keelung, a new National Museum of Marine Science and Technology has opened, part of a revitalization project at Badouzi Harbor, which is linked to nearby headlands by color-coded walking routes. And it all becomes cheaper to get to later this year, with the launch of budget carriers from China Airlines and TransAsia Airways.