Jiufen, Shifen and Yehliu: A One-Day Itinerary from Taipei

Can you visit Jiufen, Shifen and Yehliu in one day from Taipei? Yes, and it is the classic northern Taiwan day trip. Jiufen, a former gold-mining town in Ruifang District, New Taipei City, pairs naturally with the sky lanterns and waterfall at Shifen and the strange sea-carved rocks of Yehliu Geopark. This itinerary gives you the smart order to do them in, how long each stop needs, how to hop between them, and an honest take on whether to go by yourself or book a guided tour.

Can you visit Jiufen, Shifen and Yehliu in one day?

Yes. All three sit in the hills and coast northeast of Taipei, and a single day covers them comfortably if you start by about 8am and end with the lanterns at Jiufen after dark.

The three places are close on a map but do not line up on one train or bus route, so the day works best as a loop. Yehliu Geopark sits on the north coast, Shifen lies inland on the Pingxi railway line, and Jiufen perches on a mountainside above Ruifang. Done in the right order, you get the coast in the morning light, the waterfall and lanterns at midday, and Jiufen glowing red as the sun goes down.

The best order: Yehliu first, Jiufen last

Do Yehliu Geopark first thing, Shifen in the middle of the day, and save Jiufen for dusk. This order beats the crowds at the coast and puts you in Jiufen exactly when its lanterns come on.

The logic is simple. Yehliu Geopark sits on the north coast in Wanli District, and its famous Queen’s Head rock draws coach loads by mid-morning, so an early arrival means clear photos. Shifen’s sky lanterns and waterfall are daytime sights that suit the middle of the run. Jiufen is the showpiece finale: its red lanterns light up around 6pm, and ending there means you watch the Old Street glow instead of rushing off. Run the day backwards and you reach Jiufen at noon in the crush, then waste the golden hour on a coast you cannot photograph well.

Expert tip from Nathan Pell, our northern Taiwan day-trip writer: “The single biggest mistake I see is people putting Jiufen first because it is the headline name. Flip it. Yehliu rewards the early bird and Jiufen rewards the night owl, so let the day run from the coast up to the lanterns. You will not have to backtrack and you will catch both at their best.”

Nathan Pell

A full-day Jiufen, Shifen and Yehliu itinerary

Here is a realistic timed plan for the three stops in one day. Treat the clock as a guide, not a rule, and pad it if you like a slow pace.

1. 8:00 – 9:00, leave Taipei for Yehliu. Take the Kuokuang bus 1815 from Taipei Main Station, or join a tour pickup. Aim to be at the geopark gate when it is quiet.
2. 9:00 – 10:30, Yehliu Geopark. Walk the cape, find the Queen’s Head, and photograph the mushroom rocks before the coaches fill the boardwalk.
3. 11:00 – 13:30, Shifen. See Shifen Waterfall, then walk Shifen Old Street along the railway tracks and release a sky lantern. Grab lunch here.
4. 14:00 – 16:00, optional Houtong or Golden Waterfall. Add the Houtong Cat Village or the mineral-bright Golden Waterfall if your transport allows, or head straight on.
5. 16:30 – 20:00, Jiufen. Arrive late afternoon, walk Jiufen Old Street, settle into a teahouse, and stay for the lanterns and the view after dark.

That is a full day. If you would rather slow down, drop Yehliu and run a relaxed Shifen plus Jiufen pairing, which is the easiest version to do on public transport. To plan the Jiufen leg in detail, see our guides to Jiufen Old Street and Jiufen at night.

How long do you need at each stop?

Budget about 1 to 1.5 hours for Yehliu, 2 to 2.5 hours for Shifen, and at least 2 to 3 hours for Jiufen. The table below sums up what each place is and when it is at its best.

Stop	What it is	Time needed	Best time of day	Signature sight
Yehliu Geopark	Coastal park of wind-carved rocks	1 – 1.5 hours	Early morning	The Queen’s Head rock
Shifen	Railway-line town with a waterfall	2 – 2.5 hours	Midday	Sky lanterns and Shifen Waterfall
Jiufen	Hillside teahouse and gold-mining town	2 – 3 hours	Dusk into evening	Lantern-lit Old Street

How do you get from Shifen to Jiufen?

The simplest public route from Shifen to Jiufen runs back through Ruifang: take the Pingxi line train from Shifen to Ruifang, then bus 788 or 1062 up to Jiufen. The hop takes roughly 45 to 60 minutes.

Ruifang is the hinge of the whole trip. It is the railway gateway below Jiufen, the transfer point for the Pingxi line that serves Shifen and Houtong, and where most buses up to Jiufen leave from. The route runs the same in reverse, so getting from Jiufen to Shifen means the same hop back through Ruifang and onto the Pingxi line. Yehliu is the awkward one: it sits on the coast with no train, so getting from Yehliu to Jiufen by public transport usually means a bus back toward Keelung or Ruifang first. That single gap is why many travellers either skip Yehliu on a self-guided day or let a tour handle the driving. For getting up to the start from the city, see our full guide on how to get to Jiufen from Taipei.

Are the sky lanterns at Jiufen or Shifen?

The sky lanterns are released at Shifen, not Jiufen. This is the most common mix-up on this trip. Jiufen has hanging red lanterns along its streets, but the glowing paper lanterns you launch into the sky belong to Shifen.

At Shifen Old Street you write a wish on a tall paper sky lantern, light the burner, and let it rise from the active railway tracks that run through the middle of the street. It is the heart of the Pingxi sky lantern tradition. Jiufen’s lanterns are a different thing entirely: rows of fixed red lamps that switch on at dusk and light the stone stairways. Knowing the difference saves disappointment, because plenty of people arrive in Jiufen expecting to launch a lantern and cannot.

What to see at each stop

Each town has one or two sights worth pinning your time to. Hit these and you have seen the best of the route.

• Yehliu Geopark: the Queen’s Head, a slender mushroom-shaped rock, plus the Fairy Shoe and Sea Candles along a boardwalk over the tide pools.

• Shifen: Shifen Waterfall, a broad curtain nicknamed Taiwan’s Little Niagara, and Shifen Old Street, where sky lanterns rise over the train line.

• Jiufen: the lantern-lit Old Street, a teahouse balcony over the sea, and the view down to the bay, with the food and history covered in our Old Street guide and tea house guide.

Should you add Houtong or the Golden Waterfall?

Add Houtong Cat Village if you are travelling by the Pingxi line, and add the Golden Waterfall if you have a car or are on a tour. Both are quick stops that slot neatly into the gap between Shifen and Jiufen.

• Houtong Cat Village: a former coal-mining hamlet on the Pingxi line, now home to dozens of resident cats. It sits between Ruifang and Shifen, so it costs you almost no detour by train.
• Golden Waterfall: a mineral-stained cascade of gold and rust colours on the road below Jinguashi, near Jiufen. It is easy to reach by car or tour bus but tricky on public transport.
• Jinguashi and the Gold Museum: the old gold-mining settlement next to Jiufen, a worthwhile add if you skip Yehliu and want more time in the hills.
• Keelung: the nearby port city, handy if you want to end with the Miaokou Night Market instead of a Jiufen dinner.

Is it better to do this trip yourself or on a tour?

Go self-guided if you are happy pairing Shifen with Jiufen by train and bus, and pick a guided day tour if you want all three including Yehliu without the transport headache. The deciding factor is almost always Yehliu.

Doing it yourself is cheap and flexible. The Pingxi line plus the Ruifang buses link Shifen, Houtong and Jiufen cleanly, and you set your own pace. The cost of that freedom is time and effort: you carry the timetables, you wait for connections, and fitting Yehliu in by bus can swallow a couple of hours you would rather spend in a teahouse. A guided tour flips the trade: you give up the freedom to linger, and in return a driver stitches all three towns together and gets you to Jiufen for the lanterns without a single transfer. For a first visit covering the full loop, a Jiufen, Shifen and Yehliu tour usually wins on stress alone.

Expert tip from Nathan Pell, our northern Taiwan day-trip writer: “I love the DIY version, but I am honest with first-timers: if Yehliu is on your must-see list, a tour earns its price. I have spent an hour at a roadside stop waiting for a bus that connects the coast to the hills. Do that once and you understand why the door-to-door option exists.”

Nathan Pell

Whichever you choose, plan the day around the weather and the crowds. Our guides to the best time to visit Jiufen and whether Jiufen is worth it help you pick the right day. For official details on the coast stop, the Yehliu Geopark site lists opening hours, and the Taiwan Tourism Administration covers the wider region.

Common questions about the Jiufen, Shifen and Yehliu day trip

How do you get from Yehliu to Jiufen?

There is no direct train. Most travellers take a bus from Yehliu toward Keelung or Ruifang and change for a Jiufen bus, which takes well over an hour. This awkward link is the main reason Yehliu is easiest on a tour.

What is the best order for Jiufen, Shifen and Yehliu?

Yehliu first in the morning, Shifen at midday, and Jiufen last for dusk. This catches Yehliu before the crowds and puts you in Jiufen when the lanterns switch on.

Can you do Jiufen and Shifen without Yehliu?

Yes, and it is the easiest self-guided combo. Shifen and Jiufen link through Ruifang on the Pingxi line and local buses, so you can pair them in a relaxed day without a car or tour.

How far is Shifen from Jiufen?

They are about 15 kilometres apart, but there is no straight road between them, so the trip runs back through Ruifang and takes roughly 45 to 60 minutes by train and bus.

Where do you release sky lanterns near Jiufen?

At Shifen, on the Pingxi railway line. Shifen Old Street is the home of the sky lantern tradition; Jiufen itself has hanging red lanterns but no sky lantern launches.