Ci xxx

here is a guide based on my personal experience to the 5 islands to help you plan your trip,

as I mentioned before, all 5 islands are nice and you won't be dissapointed by any of them,

but when there is limited time you would need to choose which ones to go to and which ones are for maybe next time!

the best way to explore all 5 islands is by scooter, there is mostly only one road to follow on the island

and there are no traffic lights on the island except for the one that controlls up/downhill traffic in Beigan

that's why we love driving around in Matsu, for those road ragers it's the perfect place!

but be sure to wear your helmet at all times when you drive and don't exceed the speed limit, you can get fined by police

so even if you don't really have a plan you can just drive around, and check out what others are doing

or get some recommendations at the tourist office or hostel owners.

Google map has the important tourist spots in English, so for all the islands it's easier to plan ahead where you want to visit,

and check out the opening times for each location then plan a clockwise/counter clockwise journey so you don't miss anything

and it's better to get familiar with the island & roads in the day time so at night when you're hunting blue tears you know where you're going!

Nangan

Nangan is the biggest island, with the most people and most 7-11s and the only starbucks (also the northernmost one in Taiwan!)

- stronghold no.12

follow the sign stronghold no. 12 and walk down the little trail, there is a little cafe

"the thornbirds coffee bookstore" with a tunnel hidden inside

- Beihai tunnel

Beihai tunnel is the biggest tunnel in Matsu, in the day you can walk through the tunnel but during blue tears season you can book a gondola ride

with no light at all in the tunnel, you can see blue tears even when the weather conditions are bad outside!

they will give you a small paddle and you can see the glowing blue tears as you paddle the water

tickets for the Beihai tunnel blue tears gondola ride needs to be booked in advance

they run several schedules a day, costs 300 NTD

- Iron fort

this is a little fort that stretches into the sea, also makes a very good spot for taking blue tears photos at night

along the roads and trails it's easy to find goats owned by local people

they are quite friendly and accessible, but don't try to irritate them - they do have horns!

the thing about small islands is you can just stop anywhere and enjoy the view or take a detour

this momument says Matsu in Chinese characters, is one of the most popular check in spots for Matsu

- Sea Goddess (Mazu) statue

Matsu is almost the same sound as the sea goddess widely worshiped by southern Han people

(not only Chinese, also Taiwanese, Malaysian, Singaporean that originated from Southern China)

she looks after fishermen & sailors also the general people, be sure to pay her a visit when you're in Nangan

- tunnel 88 and Matsu liquor

I was curious why Matsu and Kinmen got famous for its barley liquors, and a local hostel owner explained to me

during early times the islands were a special zone that was managed by military and had to finance themselves

so they came up with the idea of distilling liquor and selling them back to Taiwan main island

they have military tunnels that serves as great places for aging, so the quality of the liquor turned out very nicely

and this tunnel "tunnel 88" (baba tunnel on google map) became one of the brand names of Matsu barley liquor

it is still in use, you can just walk in and have a look, but if you want to try and buy some liquor

you will need to head to the Matsu Liquor Factory Industry Co. Ltd

they have a small shop they offers samples so you can try it out before deciding which one to buy

all the local restaurants offer the liquor too ! it's similar to Vodka for me,

and I heard the best one is from Dongyin island - but check out which one you like most.

-Furen Cafe

this is our favorite cafe in Nangan, we went there all 3 times we visited Nangan!

it's at the north east part of the island (also a new blue tears museum opened in 2018, you can now see blue tears all year round!)

it's a sweet little cafe with nice sea view, friendly staff, lots of succulent plants and an English menu!

these scalion pancakes are really delicious, deep fried but not greasy

and try the seasonal seafood! these 2 are quite rare in Taiwan main island

a delicacy that can only be enjoyed on these small islands

when we went in 2018 they had a super cute pet baby goat!!

Matsu is known for mussels, both wild and grown ones

and hands down they are the best mussels I've had - better than the ones in France and China!

I think they are available all year round, but the best season is July-October

last but not least, a photo of Iron Fort at night with blue tears! (photo from Matsu blue tears photography contest)

kind reminder: wear long sleeves and use bug spray at night, the bugs and mosquitoes can be aggressive!