On this route
Tainan and Kaohsiung are 30 to 45 minutes apart by ordinary express train, so on a first trip to Taiwan you will almost certainly see both. The question is which one you sleep in, and that is decided less by the cities themselves than by three practical things: how many nights you have in the south, which airport you fly out of, and whether you prefer to move around a city on foot and by bus or by metro. Get those right and the choice is usually obvious.
The short answer: base yourself in Tainan if you have three nights in the south and fly home from Taoyuan, because the old capital rewards a slow day, Kaohsiung is an easy day trip, and the two cities' high-speed stations are equally awkward for the run back north. Base yourself in Kaohsiung if you fly out of Kaohsiung International, if you have two nights or fewer in the south, or if a metro-and-harbour city suits you better than temples and lanes. With five nights or more, split them three and two and stop choosing.
The two cities side by side
| Criterion | Tainan | Kaohsiung |
|---|---|---|
| Between the two | TRA express 30 to 45 minutes, NT$158; local trains 57 to 81 minutes, NT$102; about 30 expresses a day each way; the last express from Tainan leaves after 23:00 and the last from Kaohsiung at 21:07, with local trains until about 22:45 | |
| High-speed station | HSR Tainan is in Guiren, 21 to 25 minutes from the centre by the Shalun line (NT$37, about twice an hour) | HSR Zuoying is on the metro Red Line, north of the centre |
| Getting around | Walking, city buses, taxis and shared bikes; no metro | Metro (two lines) and a circular light rail along the harbour |
| Airport | None for international flights; Taoyuan is about 3 hours away door to door | Kaohsiung International, on the metro (R4), with direct flights to Hong Kong, Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul and Southeast Asia |
| November climate | 23.4 C mean, 28.1 C highs, 24 mm rain on 2.4 days | 24.5 C mean, 28.1 C highs, 26 mm on 2.8 days |
| What it is known for | Temples, the Dutch-era forts at Anping, old shophouse lanes, the Chimei Museum, street food | Harbour warehouses at Pier-2, the Cijin ferry and beach, Lotus Pond's pagodas, the Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum |
| Evenings | Night markets that rotate by weekday; Garden Night Market on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday | Large night markets every night; the waterfront after dark |
| Feel | Low-rise, slow, historic | Wide streets, modern, spacious |
What Tainan is for
Tainan is the island's oldest city and its former seat of government, and it still has the layout of a capital: temples every few hundred metres, lanes of old shophouses like Shennong Street, and a food culture that the rest of Taiwan travels for. The compact centre is walked in a day: Chihkan Tower, open until 21:30 for NT$70, the Confucius Temple, the Hayashi Department Store and the lanes between them. Anping, the old harbour district to the west, is a second day: the Old Fort opens 10:00 to 17:10 for NT$70, the Tree House next door is a warehouse overgrown with banyan roots, and the old street does lunch. The Chimei Museum, a private collection of European art, arms and musical instruments in a palace of a building outside town, opens 09:30 to 17:30 for NT$200 and closes every Wednesday; it is two local-train stops away at Bao-an. Tainan has no metro, so you move by bus, taxi and bike, which suits a city this size but makes a hotel near the station or the old centre worth choosing carefully.
What Kaohsiung is for
Kaohsiung is Taiwan's biggest port city, and it reads as one: a working harbour turned into a waterfront of warehouses, galleries and a light rail line, with the sea a short ferry ride away. The Pier-2 warehouses and the tram along the water are the morning; the ferry to Cijin gives a beach and seafood; Lotus Pond in the north of the city has the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas, open again after their renovation, with the waterfront works around the pond completed in early 2026; and the Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum, free and open every day except Tuesday, is the big excursion, about 16 km from the Zuoying high-speed station. The metro links the airport, the high-speed station, the main railway station and the harbour, which is why Kaohsiung is the easier city for anyone who dislikes buses. It is also the city to sleep in if your flight home leaves from its airport.
Decide by these five criteria
1. How many nights you have in the south
Three nights: sleep in Tainan, give the old capital a day and Anping and Chimei another, and ride the train to Kaohsiung for the third. This is how the 10-day itinerary runs it. Two nights: sleep in whichever city you leave from and visit the other for the day; if you are leaving by high-speed train back to Taoyuan, that still means Tainan, because a day in Kaohsiung is easier than a day in Tainan for the reason in criterion 3. One night: Kaohsiung, because the metro puts the station, the harbour and the airport within minutes of each other. Five or more: split three in Tainan and two in Kaohsiung and stop choosing.
2. Which airport you fly out of
This is the criterion that overrides the others. If your ticket returns from Taoyuan, the last morning is a three-hour run from either city: the Shalun line and a high-speed train from Tainan, or the metro and a high-speed train from Zuoying, both to Taoyuan HSR station and the Airport MRT. Tainan and Kaohsiung are level here. If you can book an open-jaw ticket in through Taoyuan and out through Kaohsiung International, the last night must be in Kaohsiung and the run to the airport is a metro ride. Airlines flying Kaohsiung directly include Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, EVA Air and HK Express to Hong Kong and China Airlines, EVA Air and Tigerair Taiwan to Tokyo and Osaka, so check whether your carrier or its partner serves it before you decide.
3. How you like to move around a city
Tainan is walked and bussed; Kaohsiung is a metro city. That matters for a day trip in each direction. Arriving in Kaohsiung by train from Tainan, you step onto the metro and are at the harbour in minutes. Arriving in Tainan by train from Kaohsiung, you are in the right place for the old centre but need a bus or taxi for Anping and a local train for Chimei, which costs time on a single day. This asymmetry is why Tainan makes the better base and Kaohsiung the better day trip when nights are short.
4. Which excursions you want
From Tainan: Anping and the Chimei Museum are half-days, and Kaohsiung is a full day. From Kaohsiung: Fo Guang Shan is a half to full day (closed Tuesdays), Cijin and Lotus Pond are half-days, and Tainan is a full day. If the Buddha Museum is high on your list, Kaohsiung saves a transfer; if the Chimei Museum is, Tainan does.
5. Weather
Identical for planning purposes. Both cities are on the dry side of the island in autumn and winter: Tainan averages 2.4 rain days in November and Kaohsiung 2.8, both with highs of 28 degrees and around 170 hours of sunshine. Kaohsiung is a degree warmer. Neither needs a rain plan, which is more than can be said for Taipei; Taiwan in November has the full regional picture.
What each choice does to your nights
| Scenario | Nights | Last-day transfer | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tainan base, Kaohsiung day trip, fly Taoyuan | Taipei 4, Taichung 2, Tainan 3 | Shalun line, high-speed train Tainan to Taoyuan (about 85 to 100 minutes, NT$1,190), Airport MRT; about 3 hours | Most first trips on a return ticket |
| Tainan then Kaohsiung, fly Kaohsiung | Taipei 4, Taichung 2, Tainan 2, Kaohsiung 1 | Metro Red Line to the airport, minutes | Open-jaw tickets; anyone who hates a long last morning |
| Kaohsiung base, Tainan day trip, fly Taoyuan | Taipei 4, Taichung 2, Kaohsiung 3 | Metro to Zuoying, high-speed train to Taoyuan (about 95 to 115 minutes), Airport MRT; about 3 hours | Metro-first travellers; Fo Guang Shan on the list |
The transfer between the two cities is the same in either direction: an ordinary express (NT$158) every 20 to 40 minutes through the day, or a local train on the EasyCard. The high-speed line is the wrong tool for this leg, because both its stations are away from the centres; Taiwan high-speed rail or conventional trains works through it.
Doing both without moving hotel
Whichever base you choose, the other city is a day trip that needs no booking. From Tainan, the morning expresses we checked for a November weekday left at 07:47, 08:29 and 08:49 and took 34 to 40 minutes; from Kaohsiung the pattern is the same in reverse. Expresses can be reserved 28 days ahead if you want a guaranteed seat, and local trains take the stored-value card. Trains run late enough in both directions for a night market: the last express from Kaohsiung to Tainan leaves at 21:07 and local trains continue until about 22:45, and from Tainan the last express to Kaohsiung leaves after 23:00. Carry nothing but a day bag, and if you are in Tainan on a Wednesday remember that Chimei is closed and Kaohsiung is the better day to spend away.
Frequently asked questions
Tainan or Kaohsiung: which is better for a first trip to Taiwan?
How far is Tainan from Kaohsiung?
Can I fly out of Kaohsiung instead of Taipei?
Does Tainan have a metro?
Is the Chimei Museum open every day?
Is the weather different between Tainan and Kaohsiung?
Photo credits
Hero: the banyan-covered wall of Fort Zeelandia at Anping Old Fort, by Mk2010, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Tainan Confucius Temple by Nick-D, CC BY-SA 4.0. Kaohsiung light rail by Takeshi Aida, CC BY-SA 2.0. Lotus Pond pagodas by Nandaro, CC BY-SA 3.0. All via Wikimedia Commons, resized.