Green Island questions,help please.

[occhimarroni]

If you are considering going to Green Island, I would say forget it and go to Orchid Island. It by far beats Green Island in all aspects except for maybe the hot springs (there are cold springs on Orchid though.) The scenery is amazing on Orchid island and the culture is fascinating - it's like being in a Southeast Asian country rather than Taiwan, save for the use of Chinese. There's also some of the best diving in Taiwan from what I hear. Green Island, however, has become way too touristy and it's rather annoying going there in the high season.

[urodacus]

Green Island is filthy and small and crowded and overdeveloped. Orchid Island is way better, plus you can fly there if the boat trip worries you. (Frankly the thought of spending three hours in a room full of vomit worries me too. it seems the locals can't handle the swell.)

About the only thing you miss out on seeing is the Green Island Torture Museum, although given the current KMT government and their historical revisionism, I would not be surprised if they have closed it to avoid reminding themselves of the way they imprisoned and tortured hundreds of political prisoners from the 50s through the early 80s.

On the other hand, you will be able to see the National Nukular Waste Dump in Orchid Island.

[Joesox]

Green Island is filthy and small and crowded and overdeveloped.

I still like Green Island, especially midweek. I haven't found it filthy. The ocean hot springs are good and there are a couple of really nice places to snorkel just off the beach.

[MJB]

If you are considering going to Green Island, I would say forget it and go to Orchid Island. It by far beats Green Island in all aspects except for maybe the hot springs (there are cold springs on Orchid though.) The scenery is amazing on Orchid island and the culture is fascinating - it's like being in a Southeast Asian country rather than Taiwan, save for the use of Chinese. There's also some of the best diving in Taiwan from what I hear. Green Island, however, has become way too touristy and it's rather annoying going there in the high season.

I just came back from Orchid, and after spending a reasonable amount of time on both islands, there really is no comparing the two. Orchid is bigger, more scenic, has a far more interesting cultural history, diving is bigger, deeper, more pelagics, etc...












The Pacific side of the island is especially interesting, with a unique wildness that permeates the place.

Traditional canoes still ply the waters, the vision of my last dive on Monday morning with 50+meters of visibility, surrounded by anthias, turtles resting on the coral outcropping as humphead wrasse scoot off in the distance. Sea fans ten feet across, ripping wall dives with updrafts on one section, down the next, seasnakes crawling up my bcd while ascending for air, their heads 2 inches from your neck...

Yeah, Orchid fucking rocks.

[scx]

If you are considering going to Green Island, I would say forget it and go to Orchid Island. It by far beats Green Island in all aspects except for maybe the hot springs (there are cold springs on Orchid though.) The scenery is amazing on Orchid island and the culture is fascinating - it's like being in a Southeast Asian country rather than Taiwan, save for the use of Chinese. There's also some of the best diving in Taiwan from what I hear. Green Island, however, has become way too touristy and it's rather annoying going there in the high season.

I just came back from Orchid, and after spending a reasonable amount of time on both islands, there really is no comparing the two. Orchid is bigger, more scenic, has a far more interesting cultural history, diving is bigger, deeper, more pelagics, etc...












The Pacific side of the island is especially interesting, with a unique wildness that permeates the place.

Traditional canoes still ply the waters, the vision of my last dive on Monday morning with 50+meters of visibility, surrounded by anthias, turtles resting on the coral outcropping as humphead wrasse scoot off in the distance. Sea fans ten feet across, ripping wall dives with updrafts on one section, down the next, seasnakes crawling up my bcd while ascending for air, their heads 2 inches from your neck...

Yeah, Orchid fucking rocks.

I am still searching campsite on this island, on some blogs they camp at school ground but that was many years ago. You seen any?

[pingantu]

Sweeeeeeeet.

I'm living in the states with my Taiwanese wife I met as a student at Shi-Da many years ago now... We head back to Taiwan every two years during summer.

Last summer I made it to Green Island for a coulple of days and I have to say it was enchanting. I had to go by myself because my wife doesn't dive and she's a complete city sissy but I had a GREAT time circling the island on a scooter, sitting in the hotsprings and DIVING. I was completely taken by the underwater beauty of the diving there. It was totally unexpected. We floated over huge hard corals in soft purples and pinks. Up and down valleys and peaks... I came face to face with creatures I have only seen in photos and there is no comparison. I could go on but it was really amazing and I can't wait to get back next summer.

I stayed and dived with LanSha Dive Center. It was perfect. Bunk style accomidations with friendly divers. We all sat around a pot of mutton hot pot drinking beer and talking about diving. It was like 300nt a night and the diving was cheap too... I don't remember how much. Tipping your dive master is a joke as they usually get like 200nt for a full morning of diving per person. You feel like a big-spender-generous-type giving a 500nt tip! You might consider going with a Taiwanese friend diver if you don't speak chinese and you are a beginner diver.

Definitely hit the concentration camp if you're a history buff like me. Definitely scooter the entire island... it's wildly beautiful with mountain, sea and sky. get off the main paths and look around. Find caves, graveyards and oddities (I found a rock on the beach near a graveyard that looked EXACTLY like the screaming face on that famous painting "the scream"... frikkin creepy.) Marvel at the precise steps of mountain goats.

So now, I have to go to LanYu next summer after seeing this last post. A couple of questions please and thank you:

1. Where should I stay?

2. What dive operation should I work through?

3. Where should I dive?

[twonavels]

Are there any taxis? I don't scooter.
Is there one downtown area where you could get a hotel that is near the beach and be able to walk to many different food/shopping/hot water spots?

[Kea]

I liked Green Island when we went there in March, and here are some photos. Of course it's small and dirty in a way, but getting out of the main populated areas is easy, it's a lot of fun cruising round the island on a scooter with your loved one spotting nice views and looking for potential places to snorkel or picnic (bring a basket in preparation). We snorkeled independently for 2-3 hours, quite far out, although wish we had got flippers as it would have been safer and easier to move around. Fantastic and relaxing. We'd like to get to Lanyu, if we have time. We took the ferry, and it wasn't bad on the bottom deck-there's even a place to lie down, sleep and pass the time more quickly.

[conniebononie]

I went to Green Island last month.

To touch on the campsite since it was mentioned previously, we didn't stay at the campsite, but we did wander in to check it out. The typhoon did some serious damage to it and it looks to be closed, but it must been a very nice way to spend the night. It's basically surrounded by nature and overlooks the ocean at some points. There are campers for rent, it seemed. Definitely a nice route to go when it opens back up.

I can't dive, but I did snorkel and the underwater is amazing. Just looking at the water you wouldn't think it was filled with so much liveliness just below the surface. The water is very clear and clean.

I'm not into history but the Green Island Human Right Cultural Center was worth visiting. It was a bit eerie for me to be there. I felt spooked standing in the cells.

Zhaori Hot Springs was pretty amazing. I went late at night so the stars were out. I was floating on warm water in a beautiful outdoor hot springs looking up at the stars. The only thing I could've asked for was for them to turn off the lights so I could see the stars better (if you head away from civilization the stars are really amazing, as a city girl, I haven't seen so many stars in a very, very long time).

I'm aiming to visit Orchid Island this month, so hopefully I can get some comparison up.

[tuosi]

I am planning to go to Green Island halfway January. I would like to know whether anyone knows the ferry schedule during that time. This is especially important as I would like to know whether it's possible to take the early-morning train from Hualian to Taidong and still catch the earliest ferry (On Sunday or Monday).
I have checked the web, but only found apparently non-working Chinese websites. The travel agency Green Island Adventures does not want to give me the schedule before I pay for the trip. Really strange, as I heard they were customer-friendly and helpful.