Round-island itinerary

Plan your stages, measured

Pick where you start and finish and how far you want to ride each day. Distances are measured along the official Route 1 line from the national cycling portal (953.7 km as drawn, against the official 960.8 km, so allow about 1% either way). Between Xincheng and Su'ao New the portal advises the train, so that stretch counts as no riding. Overnight points are train stations within 2 km of the route, handy if the weather turns.

What the number of days means per day

Simple arithmetic on the official 960.8 km loop, before detours, getting to your bed for the night, and the train between Su'ao New and Xincheng (which takes some distance off).

• 9 days is the official plan: around 100 km or more every day, with no rest day. For experienced riders who have done several back-to-back long days.
• 11 to 12 days leaves room for one or two rest or weather days, or shorter days on the hilly east side.
• 14 days or more suits riders new to touring, families with teenagers, or anyone who wants time off the bike.

The official 9-day trip: overnight towns

Anticlockwise from Taipei, the direction the route is signed for. Flying in? See getting from Taoyuan Airport into Taipei; the bike rules for the Airport MRT are on our bikes on trains page.

Day 8 includes a trainBetween Hualien and Su'ao the portal's own advice is to take the train from Xincheng to Su'ao New, because bicycles can't use the Suhua Highway Improvement. → Why the Suhua stretch is by train

The official 9+2 day trip: overnight towns

A different route (1,094.3 km on the portal's headline) with more inland stops on the west side. The two extra days are a Sun Moon Lake detour shown only on the portal's map, not in its day list.

Don't follow day 9 as writtenThe portal's text for this day routes riders over the Suhua Highway Improvement. Take the train between Xincheng and Su'ao New instead, then ride on from Su'ao.

Making the days fit you

• Split the longest days at a town between the official overnight stops, and book that bed before you go.
• Put rest days where there is a train station that takes bikes, so a bad weather day can become a train day.
• Expect the South Link climb over Shouka and the east coast to be slower than the flat west.
• Use the official route page's map and GPX for navigation, and check each day's road conditions in the morning.

• Where to stay
• Planning and packing