Things to do in Kaohsiung on a cruise port day

Why Kaohsiung is worth getting off the ship for

Kaohsiung is Taiwan's second city and its biggest port. For a cruise passenger it has one great advantage: the light rail stops at the terminal door, so most of the day needs no taxi.

The harbour front is the day. The Music Center, the Pier-2 warehouses, the ferry to Cijin island and the British consulate on the headland are all on or near one light-rail line. Lotus Pond, with its dragon and tiger pagodas, is the one sight you need a taxi for.

This guide is built from Taiwan International Ports' call list and terminal pages, the city tourism bureau, the metro company, the city ferries and each sight's own hours. Walking and driving times and taxi fares are our estimates from map routing and the reported city tariff. Everything was checked on 13 November 2026.

Which wharf is your ship at?

Every call but one on the port operator's 2026–27 list is at Wharf 20, below the Kaohsiung Port Cruise Terminal. The one exception is AIDAstella on 17 April 2027, at Wharf 21 next door, because Vista has Wharf 20 that day. Kaohsiung's second terminal, Penglai at Pier 9 beside Pier-2, has no call on the list.

Taxis

Kaohsiung's taxi tariff, as reported from January 2022: NT$85 for the first 1.25 km, then NT$5 for every 200 m, and NT$5 for every 100 seconds below 5 km/h. From 23:00 to 06:00 add 20%. A rank at Wharf 20 is not confirmed; ask the terminal desk to call one.

Drive times are free-flow; allow more at rush hour. Show the driver the Chinese name: 蓮池潭, 鼓山輪渡站, 打狗英國領事館.

Cijin by ferry

The city ferry crosses from Gushan to Cijin in about five minutes for NT$30, from 05:15 to 02:00, every 6–15 minutes by day (the operator's timetable, given as a guide). The counter gives no change; iPASS, EasyCard and icash work. On the island: the Tianhou Temple (05:00–22:00), the seafood street, the Star Tunnel and the lighthouse on Qihou hill (daily 10:00–21:00).

The British Consulate at Takao

On the headland above the Gushan ferry pier, about 7 minutes uphill on foot. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 10:00–19:00; weekends and holidays 09:00–19:00; last ticket 18:30. Closed on Wednesdays. Adult NT$99.

Pier-2 and the Music Center

Pier-2's outdoor areas are free; its ticketed venues open 10:00–18:00 Monday to Thursday and 10:00–20:00 Friday to Sunday. The Music Center's terraces and the Whale Bridge lookout face the harbour a few minutes away.

What each call day changes

Times and the wharf are from Taiwan International Ports' list. The consulate's days are from its own page.

Lotus Pond and the pagodas

Lotus Pond is in Zuoying, 9.2 km north of the terminal: about 20 minutes and NT$285 by taxi. The scenic area is open 24 hours. The pagodas were renovated from 2023 into early 2025 and are open again (news reports); their own opening hours are not published on the city's page, so go in the morning and keep the bridge and the lake as the fallback.

The MRT way back is Ecological District station, about 2 km from the pagodas, to Sanduo Shopping District and a 20-minute walk. A taxi is quicker.

The Dome of Light

The Dome of Light covers the concourse of Formosa Boulevard station, where the Red and Orange lines cross. It is two MRT stops from Sanduo Shopping District, the station about 20 minutes on foot from the terminal. The station is open 05:55–00:25. Tap a Visa, Mastercard, JCB or UnionPay card at the gate, and use the same card to leave.

What to eat

The city's own map of the port area recommends Gangyuan Beef Noodles in Yancheng, the milk-tea shops of the same district, and Cijin's seafood street. Shop hours are not published on official pages, so check on the day.

Liuhe Night Market runs in the evening, a few minutes on foot from Formosa Boulevard station. It suits the late sailings only: Le Soléal on 18 September 2027, Asuka III on 4 May 2027 and Spectrum of the Seas on 29 December 2027.

Weather

Kaohsiung is warm all year. Central Weather Administration normals for 1991–2020 give average highs of 24.2 °C in January, 25.0 °C in February and 27.0 °C in March, with lows of 16–20 °C. Summer highs average 32–33 °C. The live forecast for your call day is on this page from a week before.

The light rail, stop by stop

The Circular Light Rail is the cruise passenger's shuttle here. Westbound from the terminal:

It runs 06:30–22:30, every 10 minutes at peak (weekdays 06:30–08:30 and 16:30–18:30, weekends and holidays 14:00–18:00) and every 15 minutes otherwise, according to KRTC, the operator. Cruise Terminal (C9) to Hamasen (C14) takes 10 minutes. Fares are by distance from NT$20 for the first 5 km, so every ride on this stretch is NT$20. A single ticket is valid for two hours.

Buy the ticket on the platform. The machines sell single tickets only and take coins only, not notes. An iPASS, EasyCard or icash card is tapped at the reader instead. Whether a tapped bank card works on the light rail is not confirmed; on the MRT it does. Press the button on the tram to open the doors.

Cijin island, end to end

Cijin is a long, thin island across the harbour mouth. Everything a short visit needs is at its north end, by the ferry pier.

• Cijin Tianhou Temple: the sea goddess Matsu has been worshipped here for over 300 years; the city calls it Kaohsiung's oldest temple. 05:00–22:00, free.
• The seafood street runs from the temple. Prices are by weight; agree before the cooking starts.
• Kaohsiung Lighthouse on Qihou hill: daily 10:00–21:00. About 10 minutes uphill on foot from the pier.
• The Star Tunnel: a Japanese-era tunnel through Cihou hill to the sea side, open daily.
• Cijin Beach: the bathing area opens April to October and closes November to March. The entrance plaza is fenced for works from 13 October 2025 to December 2026.

The British Consulate at Takao, in detail

The consulate is two buildings joined by an old path: the residence on the hill and the office below by the water. The Cultural Affairs Bureau runs it as a heritage park with exhibitions.

Bring ID for a concession. The ticket includes a voucher for food or drink in the park.

Penglai, the second terminal

Kaohsiung has a second cruise terminal at Pier 9 in Gushan, beside Pier-2 and the Great Harbor Bridge. The port operator lists an ATM there, and Dayi Pier-2 light-rail stop is about 10 minutes on foot. No call on the 2026–27 list uses it. If your ship's daily programme names Penglai, Pier-2 is on your doorstep and the Cijin ferry is about 25 minutes on foot.

Entry to Taiwan

US, UK (British Citizen), Canadian, Australian and New Zealand passport holders can visit Taiwan without a visa for up to 90 days. Passports should be valid for at least six months; US passports for the length of the stay.

Visa-exempt visitors file the free online Taiwan Arrival Card, at twac.immigration.gov.tw, within 7 days before arrival. Whether a cruise line files it for its passengers is not confirmed: follow your line's instructions. Immigration is inside the terminal, with 22 manual counters and facial-recognition gates.

Getting back to the ship

Work back from all-aboard and be at the gangway an hour before it. From Cijin that means the ferry about 1 hour 45 minutes before all-aboard: five minutes across, ten on foot to Hamasen, about fifteen on the light rail. From Lotus Pond allow 30 minutes by taxi.

The light rail runs every 10–15 minutes. If one has just gone, the walk from Love Pier is about 20 minutes.

Money, phones and access

Bring Taiwan dollars in coins and small notes. The light-rail machines take coins only and the ferry counter gives no change. The terminal's exchange machines take US dollars, yen and yuan. An ATM at Wharf 20 is not confirmed.

The terminal has free Wi-Fi and charging points. Light-rail stations are at street level with no toilets. The consulate and the lighthouse are uphill with steps; the Music Center, Pier-2 and the Dome of Light are level.

Kaohsiung and its neighbours

On the port list, Westerdam, Norwegian Jade, Luminara and Le Soléal sail on from Kaohsiung to Keelung; Sapphire Princess and Diamond Princess arrive from Naha. Keelung is the Taipei day; Kaohsiung is the harbour-front day. Taiwan's entry rules, the Taiwan Arrival Card and the 90-day visa-free stay, are the same at both.

The schedule pattern

The port operator's list runs from 29 December 2026 to the end of 2027. Most English-market calls run 07:00–16:00 to 07:00–19:00; Norwegian Jade's is an afternoon call, 11:00–18:00, and Le Soléal's November call is 16:45–19:00. Star Navigator uses Kaohsiung as a home port in January and February 2027. The full table is under cruises to Kaohsiung.

The best things to do in Kaohsiung on a port day

Our full list, with the time each takes from the berth, is on the Kaohsiung top 10. Timed plans are on Kaohsiung plans.

How to think about your hours

All-aboard is usually 30 minutes before departure, and you want to be at the gangway an hour before that. The first half hour goes on getting off. So the time you can use is the call length minus about two hours. Most calls here run 07:00–16:00 or 07:00–19:00.

Short calls suit the light rail and Pier-2. Seven hours or more fits Cijin. Nine hours fits Lotus Pond and Cijin together.

Tours

No tours from Kaohsiung are listed on this site yet. The ship's own excursions are the usual way to Lotus Pond and to Fo Guang Shan, 27 km away. If you take a taxi instead, show the driver 高雄港旅運中心 for the way back, and your all-aboard time.