Taiwan first came onto my radar after reading an article on a surf website about the uncrowded surf there. The possibility of good uncrowded surf is always enticing to any surfer. From my home base in Indonesia it wasn’t that expensive to get to and the plane ride wasn’t too long either. I was intrigued.
Taiwan sits between the Philippines and about 180 kilometers off mainland China. It is open to solid typhoon swells and Pacific Ocean groundswells. May to October is apparently the best time to score typhoon waves with September to October the prime time. November to March is the optimum time of the year to catch Pacific Ocean groundswells.
The surf scene in Taiwan seems very busy at the main beaches nearest the capital Taipei. There are crowds of people, beach umbrellas and surfboards for rent. Most of the surfers there seem to be beginners so things can be a bit chaotic in the surf. I’m sure things would level out quickly with bigger more serious waves.
Unfortunately for me, my three week stay in June was flat, flat and flatter. The only rideable waves I saw were the ones shown above. I only traveled to half of the beaches I’d planned to because of the lack of surf. And after the surf forecast told me that my last 5 days would still be flat, I retreated to Taipei to become a tourist around the capital.
Beside the obvious bummer of not seeing any decent waves, I did surprisingly have a great time. The people are friendly, although difficult to understand because of the language barrier. My survival Mandarin was useless and I was surprised at the lack of English spoken by the younger Taiwanese. The country is really well organised and very safe to travel around. I will definitely go back to try again.
The short promotional Youtube clip below shows what kind of waves are possible in Taiwan.
Taiwan sits between the Philippines and about 180 kilometers off mainland China. It is open to solid typhoon swells and Pacific Ocean groundswells. May to October is apparently the best time to score typhoon waves with September to October the prime time. November to March is the optimum time of the year to catch Pacific Ocean groundswells.
The surf scene in Taiwan seems very busy at the main beaches nearest the capital Taipei. There are crowds of people, beach umbrellas and surfboards for rent. Most of the surfers there seem to be beginners so things can be a bit chaotic in the surf. I’m sure things would level out quickly with bigger more serious waves.
Unfortunately for me, my three week stay in June was flat, flat and flatter. The only rideable waves I saw were the ones shown above. I only traveled to half of the beaches I’d planned to because of the lack of surf. And after the surf forecast told me that my last 5 days would still be flat, I retreated to Taipei to become a tourist around the capital.
Beside the obvious bummer of not seeing any decent waves, I did surprisingly have a great time. The people are friendly, although difficult to understand because of the language barrier. My survival Mandarin was useless and I was surprised at the lack of English spoken by the younger Taiwanese. The country is really well organised and very safe to travel around. I will definitely go back to try again.
The short promotional Youtube clip below shows what kind of waves are possible in Taiwan.