Planning and packing

When to go

Official advice found is limited to the portal's 9+2 day remarks: the south is hot, so drink enough to avoid heat stroke, and the Hengchun Peninsula has strong downslope winds (落山風) in winter. Typhoons and heavy rain trigger preventive closures of the Suhua corridor (for example 23 to 24 October 2026). No official statement on northeast-monsoon headwinds or on the best direction by season was found; the FAQ only says Route 1 is designed for anticlockwise riding.

• Summer is hot and humid; start early and plan shade and water.
• Typhoon season brings closures, especially on the east coast; keep spare days.
• Check the Central Weather Administration forecast every evening for the next day's stage.

Your bike

• Bring your own if it fits you and you know it. Have it serviced, fit new tires and carry spares for your wheel and valve size.
• Rent a touring or road bike for the whole loop from a shop that confirms in writing it allows round-island trips, what's included and where you must return it. We found no official one-way round-island rental scheme.
• Electric-assist bikes make hills easier but need charging every night, and must carry the Taiwan approval label.

→ Which bike for which ride · → Renting a bike

Luggage

Independent riders carry everything in panniers or bikepacking bags; keep it light, since every kilo is felt on the South Link. Supported tours carry your bag in a van. If you arrive by air with a bike box, plan where the box will wait; the portal's tips page for foreign riders, which mentioned airport luggage storage, could not be reached when we checked.

Trains as your backup

Taiwan Railway runs right around the island, so a train can carry you past a closed road, a storm or a tired day. Bagged bikes ride any train; whole bikes only ride bike-service trains between listed stations, with a bike ticket. → Taiwan Railway bike rules

Rest and supply points

The portal's Route 1 map lists 327 certified supply and rest points. About 85 are convenience stores (7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Hi-Life), about 45 are police stations (派出所, mostly on the east coast and some marked 鐵馬驛站), and about 60 are railway stations, including rail-and-bike transfer stations with platform ramps. Each entry shows its services, such as toilet, drinking water, food, first aid kit and repair stand. These are listings on the official map, not a guarantee of opening hours or service on the day; no separate current convenience-store or police 'bike rest stop' programme page was confirmed.

Navigation and GPX

Two official routes. (1) On taiwanbike.tw route pages, the page code builds a GPX file from the route geometry in the browser and offers a 'GPX Download' button, with a PDF guide on opening GPX in Google My Maps; the Route 1 page also links an official Google My Maps map. (2) The portal FAQ still points to the old 2021 Cycling Year site (taiwanbike.taiwan.net.tw) for the Route 1 9+2 day GPX and the Route 1 map and e-book, but that host could not be reached today. Check the button on the live page before telling readers exactly where to click.

The portal's Open Data Declaration says material on taiwanbike.tw that is protected by copyright is licensed to the public free of charge, non-exclusively, irrevocably and with the right to sublicense, for reproduction, adaptation, editing, public transmission and other uses, including derived products, with no need to ask permission, provided the source is credited. Exclusions: it covers copyright only (not trademarks or agency logos); some audio, video, images or commissioned writing marked as needing permission; moral rights of third parties must be respected; data must not be maliciously altered; and reuse must not imply government endorsement. Open datasets on data.gov.tw (including the Route 1 dataset) use the Open Government Data License, version 1.0 (政府資料開放授權條款－第1版). Suggested credit: 'Source: Taiwan Bike portal, Ministry of Transportation and Communications'. Map background tiles (Google) are not covered.

We link to the official map and GPX rather than republishing a trace of our own.

Budget: what to plan for

We don't give a total, because it depends on where you sleep and eat. Plan for: beds every night; three meals and lots of drinks; train tickets for the Su'ao to Xincheng stretch and any backup days; bike servicing, tubes and tires; a bike bag if you plan to bag the bike on trains; mobile data; and travel insurance that covers cycling.

Packing list

• Helmet, gloves, sunglasses
• Front and rear lights, plus a charger
• Two or three water bottles
• Two spare tubes, patch kit, tire levers, mini pump, multitool, chain lube
• Lock
• Rain jacket and a warm layer for mornings and mountains
• Two sets of riding clothes, off-bike clothes, sandals
• Sunscreen, lip balm, chamois cream, basic first aid, any medicines you need
• Phone with offline maps, battery pack, cables, a power adapter if needed (Taiwan uses 110 V)
• Passport, cards, some cash, travel insurance details
• A bike bag if you plan to put the bike on trains bagged (150 cm longest side, 220 cm in total for Taiwan Railway)

• Itinerary
• Helmets and gear