Taiwan is awesome. It both astounds and confounds. The island is small but big enough to get lost on. There are waves on three and a half coasts. Gorgeous scenery. Dozens of breaks, and expansive swell windows. Though the local dialect has 106,000 characters, and English is a very long way down the list of languages (including Mandarin, Taiwanese, and Hakka) spoken in Taiwan.

Taiwan is crammed full of mainly “everyman waves”; pretty much whatever board you ride at home, you can ride in Taiwan. Cobblestone points, beach breaks, river mouths, and the odd mellow reef dot the long coastline. If you’re after fun waves and warm water, you’ll love Taiwan.

Plus, there’s the vast amount of things you can do out of the water; hot springs, night markets, food markets, plenty of beaches, national parks, hidden creeks and water holes, ornate temples, seafood markets, and more restaurants than you can possibly sample – don’t worry, we know the best ones! – you’ll never be bored in Taiwan. Travel to all these activities and sights is included in our tours too. Taiwan is a first-world technology leader. Between the buildings and the bullet trains, it’s education, ingenious engineering (lots of mountains to go around, over, or through), high-grade computer chips, and the world’s most advanced medical systems and research driving the country’s economy.  

Western tourists are not the mainstay they are in other Asian counties. The Taiwan domestic tourism market is strong, and Taiwan is rich; they don’t need foreign tourism to survive. The locals are warm and genuine in their welcome. And you won’t get ripped off or hassled to buy anything. We’ve had guests try to leave tips at restaurants, and once the staff realised, they chased us down the street to give them their money back. This cultural misunderstanding has happened often – to many grins and cross-cultural laughter.

And being the most mountainous country in Asia outside of Tibet, the scenery is stunning. Hillsides covered with tropical foliage, often obscured by clouds, make for great views from the lineups. If you pull out a map, you’ll see Taiwan is almost smack on the same latitude as Hawaii. Tawai’i, if you will.

But the experience is best summed up by Nathan Myers, a former film producer with Taylor Steele (and later editor of The Surfer’s Journal), who, along with pro surfers Chris Del Moro and Daniel Jones, we had the pleasure of hosting and guiding, for Taylor’s film Se7en Signs.

Says Nathan, “we were met by Australian ex-pat photographer Neil “Moonwalker” Armstrong with a big van and a boatload of surf knowledge. Moonie has been surfing and scouting this unlikely island since 2005 and calls Taiwan home.” 

And of the surf, “We surf three different beaches on our first day: a beach, a reef and a pointbreak. We feast on delicious dim sum and noodle bowls, tour exotic Taoist temples and get lost in the night markets serving 7,000 types of squid. Taiwan is unreal, but it’s easy to see how you could end up overwhelmed.” Said Nathan.

“Moonwalker is the man. He shot all these pretty photos you’re looking at. He rides all boards and claims Taiwan is mainly full of “everyman waves,” but we saw our share of ledgey slabs and big outside sets in our parade of endless spot checks. All empty.” He said. 

On the day of the biggest swell on our trip, Moonwalker drives us down a narrow sidestreet, past a temple and through a little neighbourhood.” Said Nathan. “We park right in front of a long artificial break wall stretching 500-meters to a river mouth. The waves before us starts breaking a 100-meters out from the wall and continue on past it as far as we can see. The longest left we’ve ever seen. And it’s pumping – just one of many points in Taiwan.”

Daniel gets three barrels on his first ride. Chris Del Moro is in soul-carve heaven, arcing down the line until the racing lip forces a racetrack pigdog. Fast highline barrels opening onto showroom floors for swooping bottom turns and drawn-out cutbacks. At the end of the line, you have to decide whether to paddle or walk back to the peak. A long trip either way and well worth it.” Said Nathan. 

“I’m reminded that there are still frontiers out there,” he continued, “Some are guarded by weather, some by distance or price, and some, like Taiwan, are guarded by language and unfamiliarity.”  

Though there is a downside to getting to surf Taiwan. After days of warm-water waves, eating noodles, dumplings, soups, and fresh sashimi, soaking in the sights of palm trees and mountains, and smiling with friendly locals – it may be impossible to adjust to the trials of Western life ever again.