Flower fields in Houli Flower Farm in Taichung
Taiwan,  Guides and Itineraries

Taichung Day Tour: Green Fantasy Forest, Houli Flower Farm, Rainbow Village

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Taichung is one of the most popular destinations in Taiwan. Since it’s located only 2 hours away from Taipei City, it’s an easy option for a 1- or 2-day trip. Here is my experience on a Taichung day tour!

P.S. Visiting Taiwan soon? Read our Guide to Taiwan for First-Timers and 5 Days Itinerary in Taiwan.

About Taichung

There are so many things to do in Taichung! It features scenic mountain areas and the famous Sun Moon Lake, which is the largest lake in Taiwan. It also has a number of man-made attractions, including the Houli Flower Farm and Rainbow Village. Its city is bustling with interesting spots such as temples and museums.

Taichung is an Instagrammer’s dream because of all the picture-perfect places you can visit.

It’s accessible via train, but for tourists the most convenient option is to rent a car or book a joiner tour. Travel agencies such as KKDay offer day tours in Taichung but their itinerary is too compressed. I recommend finding a local tour organizer instead since they offer a lengthier itinerary to Taichung.

Taichung Day Tour

I booked a joiner tour by a local tour organizer. Pick up time is 7:30AM in Ximen Station and drop-off time is 7PM in the same location.

I was solo so I stuck with a small group of Filipino tourists and asked them to take pictures of me as well. I didn’t bring a monopod or camera stand. I felt a little embarrassed to be honest because oftentimes people asked me to join them and not the other way around, but I just went ahead and it turned out okay-ish.

Here are the places we visited in the Taichung day tour.

Green Fantasy Forest

The Green Fantasy Forest is a fantasy-themed park located in Miaoli County. It consists of various installations which are based on fantasy and children’s materials, including a castle, various rooms and houses, a giant red shoe, and even a giant clock set in the middle of a lush forest.

We stayed here for over an hour. Time flew fast since we took turns taking pictures in every spot. There were some spots I skipped and some that I really liked. I recommend taking a longer time in the floating houses and piano in the pond and the giant wall clock.

Green Fantasy Forest in Taiwan
Green Fantasy Forest in Taichung
Green Fantasy Forest in Taichung.
Green Fantasy Forest in Taiwan

The Green Fantasy Forest is enjoyable for families and children, as well as IGers.

Houli Flower Farm

Houli Flower Farm is a popular tourist attraction in Houli District in Taichung. It’s a farm featuring different flower beds, which vary according to season. The farm also has a restaurant that offers a 2-hour BBQ buffet and a store where you can take home potted plants, honey, and other produce.

Again, Houli Flower Farm is a good place to take pictures. There are displays such as faux piano and other musical instruments in the middle of the flower fields, where you can strike a pose for the camera.

Flower fields in Houli Flower Farm in Taichung
Flower fields in Houli Flower Farm.
Houli Flower Farm in Taichung

The challenge here is the crowd – you have to get in line and take creative angles to get good shots. I went during a lean season and everywhere else was almost empty, so I was surprised at the crowd in Houli Flower Farm.

Taian Police Station

Taian Police Station is also located in Houli District. It’s a stopover during spring, as it’s one of the best places to see cherry blossoms in Taiwan. The type you can see here is the Yaezakura cherry blossom, which has fives petals. The trees are planted along the road.

Cherry blossom in Taian Police Station
Cherry blossoms in Taian Police Station.

There is also a line of food stalls here that serve Taiwanese snacks and delicacies.

We were only here for several minutes. I already had taken pictures of cherry blossoms in Nantou, but it was nice to see different varieties here. I also enjoyed looking at the food stalls. I picked out a stick of candied strawberry to try. It was good!

Painted Animation Lane

This is an alleyway in a residential neighborhood where you can see walls painted with characters from cartoon, manga, and video game characters.

Painted Animation Lane in Taichung
Painted Animation Lane.

Rainbow Village

The Rainbow Village is the last stop in our itinerary, which is a small residential village painted in whimsical designs. It was done by a certain Huang Yong-fu, who is also known as the Rainbow Grandpa.

Rainbow Village in Taichung
Rainbow Village.

Again, this tourist attraction is oftentimes crowded. You have to wait for people to pass to take pictures in the narrow alleys inside the village and to queue to get a picture in the village front. You can also buy souvenirs including notebooks which also has the same design as the village.

Even though it’s commercial, I enjoyed the Rainbow Village. The designs are unique and fun and I felt the passion of the artists by looking at the art houses.

Conclusion

These attractions are worth checking out especially if you like IG-worthy destinations. However, if you are into more natural attractions, I recommend going elsewhere like Shiding.

Personally, I preferred the day tours in North Coast and Shiding better. The reason is that I enjoy natural and cultural attractions, and I find the Taichung tourist spots we’ve visited to be too commercialized. And though I looked forward to taking pictures, it seems that was all I did — a lot of walking and taking pictures. So really it’s just about preference.

Since I’d written this experience, I frequently receive inquiries about the tour, so I guess a lot of people do enjoy going to this particular day tour in Taichung!

Book a Taichung day tour

Taichung is 2-2.5 hours away from Taipei City. It’s best to depart at around 6 or 7AM in the morning due to the long travel time.

(Updated as of 2020) I paid 1200 NTD via joiner tour. Here are other fees:

  • Green Fantasy Forest entrance fee – 300 NTD per person
  • Houli Flower Farm entrance fee – 150 NTD per person

For convenience, you can also book a Taichung day tour via Klook.

Reminders and tips

Here are some tips for planning your day trip in Taichung!

  • It’s best to visit Taichung on weekdays, as it can be overly crowded otherwise.
  • Wear comfortable footwear since you’ll be doing a lot of walking. Also, don’t forget to pick out your best OOTD!
  • Bring water and snacks. This is the longest day tour I booked during my trip and I was starving on the way home.

That concludes my feature about Taichung Coast Day Tour! If you have questions or suggestions, let me know in the comment section below.

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6 Comments

  • MARIA ANA DOMINGO

    Hello Katherine. Can you please share with me the link where you book your Taichung Day Tour which includes the following destinations.

    Green Fantasy Forest
    Houli Flower Farm
    Taian Police Station
    Rainbow Village

    Thank you very much.

    • Katherine Cortes

      Hello! I just booked that tour from someone in the FB group Filipinos in Taiwan. KKDay also offers day tours to Taichung but with a different itinerary.

  • Maria Ana Domingo

    Hello Katherine. Thanks a lot for sharing your travel blogs. My niece and I are visiting Taiwan next month. I have a couple of questions if you don’t mind. For your Days 1 to 3 did you book in the same hotel? What about on Days 4 and 5? Do you suggest we book an accommodation in Taichung so that there are more places to go to? We also plan to explore Sun Moon Lake since we have a late departure back to Manila. You suggestion will be very much appreciated. Thank you in advance.

    • Katherine Cortes

      Hello! I booked the same hotel throughout my stay because I only took day tours from Taipei. But if you’re going to explore Taichung including Sun Moon Lake then yes it might be better to book a hotel there.

  • Eduardo Maresca

    At least we can do virtual travelling by reading blog posts like this while waiting for quarantine to end…
    Next time I visit the Philippines I want to explore some neighboring country as well and Taiwan sounds like an interesting place

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