Three days is enough to see Hualien beyond the gorge without rushing. This plan builds on two days in Hualien and adds the coast road. Keep the days flexible: if the forecast turns, move the outdoor day and use our rainy-day plan.
Day 1: Taroko
Take the Tourist Shuttle 310 or, better, a chartered taxi to the Taroko Visitor Center and the Terrace Trail. With a car or driver, go up Highway 8 inside a morning window to Xiangde Temple and Tianxiang. Check the park's trail list the night before: many gorge trails close after heavy rain. → Taroko, right now
On the way back, stop at Qixingtan for the late afternoon, then have dinner at Dongdamen Night Market.
Day 2: the coast road
Head south on Highway 11 for the day. With a car or charter, stop at Niushan Huting, the Fanshuliao gorge and the Shitiping terraces, with an Amis lunch in Fengbin. Without a car, the hop-on, hop-off Tourist Shuttle 304 runs down the coast from Hualien Bus Station on a NT$680 day pass. → The coast road, stop by stop
Good to know: prefer farmland to sea cliffs? Make day 2 an East Rift Valley day instead, by train to Ruisui or Yuli, or on the 303D shuttle. From August to early October, that's the daylily season on the mountains.
Day 3: the sea and the city
Morning. In the warmer months, go whale and dolphin watching from Hualien Harbour. Otherwise, walk up to Pine Garden for the view over the harbour. → Hualien City
Lunch. Wontons downtown, before the shops close in the early afternoon. → What to eat in Hualien
Afternoon. The Railway Cultural Park (closed Mondays and Tuesdays) and the Cultural and Creative Industries Park, then mochi and peeled chilies to take home, and the train back. Book that train the day sales open. → The train
→ All itineraries · Where to stay for three nights
Sources: see the linked pages for each stop. Checked October 2026.