• Seawhale Ocean Tours English Website. Seawhale Ocean Tours is located at #96 Shi Ti Harbor, in the most pristine past of Taiwan about an hour south of Hualien on Highway 11. Our area is breaming with high adventure activity. We are the founder's of Whale and Dolphin Eco-Tours in Taiwan, and our clean azure oceans are the best for spotting these amazing creatures. Located on the mouth of the Siouguluan River basin, we also sport the best White Water River Rafting in Taiwan, from Rueisuei to Big Harbor. Or let us take you out deep sea night fishing for squid and flying fish! Would you like to get away from the big city crowds and the over-crowded tourist attractions? Come and experience a natural retreat with our American tour guide living in Taiwan 18 years and let him show you why Taiwan was once called Formosa, Beautiful Island! Check out this season's Triple X Tours on our website. We have pick up and return service to Hualien or Taitung.

• Hualien Ocean Park [3]. Hualien's biggest man-made tourist attraction. As well as ferris wheel and cable car, the park contains eight zones that introduce different aspects of ocean and marine life. Kids, in particular, will have great time here but for adventuous travellers or people wanting a more viable experience, there are many places one can go that are much cheaper and provide a better experience of the 'real' Country of Taiwan. Open: Mon-Fri 9AM-5PM, Sat&Sun 8:30-5PM. Admission: adult 890NT$, under 19 790NT$

• Beibin Seashore Park, Nanbin Seashore Park and Meilun Seashore Park. A scenic area of palm trees and landscaped greenery that runs the full length of the city's foreshore. The views over the Pacific Ocean are especially spectacular at sunrise.

• The Abode of Still Thoughts. This small Buddhist temple at the foot of Mount North Jialiwan is the original facility of the world-famous Tzu-zhi Buddhist foundation. In keeping with the foundation's ideals, the temple is very simple, and incorporates a Japanese style garden. Information on Tzu-chi's international activities is also available at the temple.

• Yenpin Prefectural Temple, near Zhongyang Road, sec 4. Established in the Qing Dynasty, this is the oldest temple in Hualien.

• Pine Garden, Zhongmei Road (near the river). A peaceful garden with 63 pine trees.

• Chishingtan (七星灘), north of Hualien City (follow the bike path from Nanbin Seashore Park). Excellent vistas of the ocean, delicious seafood, friendly people, and a special goat restaurant specializing in goat milk coffee. The beach is not popular for swimming, though, as the tides and currents are quite dangerous, the bottom drops off steeply, and doesn't have much sand (mostly pebbles). It is important to stay near the coast.

• Hualien County Stone Sculpture Museum[2] at the Hualien County Cultural Center displays both traditional and contemporary stone sculptures. Open daily 9am-5pm. Admission fee: NT$20.

By train

There are frequent trains from Taipei, and depending on the type of train, the journey can take from two to four and a half hours. The train follows the coast for part of the journey, and the left side of the train offers the best views.

By plane

Domestic airlines connect Hualien with all of Taiwan's major cities. It a thirty minute flight to Hualien from Taipei's Sungshan Airport.

There are currently (Dec. 2009) also irregular (charter) flights to Yonaguni Island and Ishigaki Island in Okinawa (Japan), possibly the only international service from this city, and a regular service to Ishigaki Island is being planned.

The city center is small and easy to negotiate on foot, although scooters are available for rent several places around town for about NT$400 a day.

Hualien is a small city without an extensive public transport system, and so it is worth considering taking taxis to areas outside the city center. NB: Hualien station is at least a thirty minute walk from the center of town.

• Woven cloth. Hualien is a good place to pick up hand woven cloth in traditional aboriginal designs.

• Muaji (mua-ji) This candy made of sticky rice is a specialty of Hualien.

• Stone Hualien's stone market is near the old bus station on Mingyi Road, and they sell everything from jewelery to tea-pots all carved out of stone.

• Zhu tung fan (竹筒飯) - rice steamed in a bamboo tube is a specialty of the local aborigines.

• Muaji (麻薯) - glutinous rice filled (or sometimes covered) with various flavors, such as peanut, sweet red and green bean paste, sweet sesame paste, coconut or fruit.

• Wonton (餛飩) - Hualien's wontons are very famous throughout Taiwan

Budget

• LAGUARDIA, Best breakfast shop in Taiwan Hands down. Amazing Hamburgers. Try the bacon Cheese beef burger or the Cod burger. Super fresh! Across the street from the Big post office near the train station on Chung Shan Rd.

Mid Range

• Tosca Pasta, 95-7 Jung Mei Road: European style restaurant with european prices

• Irrawaddy Myanmar Restaurant, 11-1 Min Chuan Rd., 03-831-0077, favorite restaurant of many foreigners in Hualien. Awesome food!

Splurge

Hualien has an abundance of tea houses, cafes and bars, and also many stores specializing in locally produced tea.

• Cafe Jade (璞石藝文空間), 8 Ming-li Road (花蓮市明禮路8號) Tel:+886 3 834-5968. A spacious and very pleasant art cafe offering regular live music and art exhibitions. Open:Mon-Thurs 8AM-6Pm Fri-Sun 8AM-10:30PM

• Wang Ji Tea House, 565 Jong-Shan Road (中山路565號).