Sun Moon Lake is one of Taiwan’s most famous mountain lakes, surrounded by lush mountains and beautiful scenery. The lake changes its appearance with the weather and light, making it a perfect place to enjoy nature and relax. Total duration is approx. 4 hours (including boat rides across Shuishe Pier, Xuanguang Temple, and Ita Thao Pier). Time spent at each site is an estimate and may be adjusted on-site.
Shuishe Pier is one of the main piers at Sun Moon Lake and a popular starting point for exploring the lake by boat. From here, you can enjoy a relaxing cruise while taking in the surrounding mountains and lake views.
Xuanguang Temple is a popular lakeside attraction offering beautiful views of Sun Moon Lake. From the higher areas around the temple, you can enjoy a scenic view of the lake and surrounding mountains, and try the famous A-Po Tea Egg nearby.
Ita Thao Shopping Street is a lively area filled with local food stalls, shops, and traditional flavors. Try local specialties such as Assam black tea, wild boar meat, and millet desserts while experiencing the local atmosphere and Thao indigenous culture.
Jimmy was our guide during the Nantou-Sun Moon Lake tour. Everything was very well organized, from the meeting point to the breaks, as well as the activities Sun Moon Lake has to offer and what we could do in our free time. Everything was really great; the lake is a beautiful attraction and invites you to explore it in many different ways (e.g., by bike, e-bike, ferry, or on foot). I highly recommend it!
We were very disappointed in this tour. Our guide, Joseph, treated us like 5-year-olds. He told us about toilets so often that we nicknamed this tbe Toilet Tour. He threatened to make us take a taxi if we were late coming back from the toilet. We spent a very boring hour at a visitor center when we could have stayed at the shopping area.
Due to weather the experience was not well taken and the host should have let us spend more time at shops.
The trip in itself if great, scenary beautiful, and interesting places, apart from the 3 hour bus ride each way, which I knew about, so no complaints there. However, the reason for the 3 stars is the tour guide, which can make or break a trip. In a nutshell, not going into too many details, he treated us like children, ordering us around, evading direct answers to reasonable question (for example: it was raining all day and he was talking about a bike ride around the Moon Lake. We asked him what is the alternative since it's raining, he said: "I'll tell you when we get there" I insisted and he won't give us a straight answer) . One of the major topics was bathroom breaks , he talked incessvely about them, drilling the 10 minutes allotted time, mentioning not only once, that if we don't comply we can take a cab. We called this tour, the "toilet tour". Also, we got one hour lunch break in a lovely village and there was much more to look around there, but he said no, and took us to a Visitor center, not to far from the village where we had to spend an hour doing nothing. I believe that as a tour guide one has to adapt and be flexible if possible. And in this situation, it was possible. Not sure why he didn't make the right call. We really felt (and this is not only my opinion, we were at least 6 people, not traveling together) treated like little kids being ordered around. We made the best of it, but not exactly what I had in mind.
The tour guide, Vincent was very good at explaining things about Taiwan and some historical facts. It is a must see place in Taiwan.
Vincent was an excellent guide on the Sun Moon Lake day trip, he was friendly and funny, very informative, and kept everyone on track with timings including rest stops and food and activities. The ride was comfortable and we could eat and sleep on the bus with a service station stop between Taipei and Sun Moon Lake. Sun Moon Lake was absolutely beautiful and a must see attraction in Taiwan. We went on a boat on the lake and we also rented a bike for a scenic cycle round part of the lake. We visited two piers one with a temple and one with lots of shops and food and drinks. Overall a really enjoyable day and a convenient way to visit the stunning Sun Moon Lake.
It more of a relaxing trip. The place is beautiful. We were lucky enough the weather work out and we to bike around the lake
Very good experience with very helpful driver/guide. Long drive by Vic and taking the group home in the evening and he was definitely a safe driver. A lot of activities at the sites we visited. The boat trips were good but disappointingly no one can explain in English what the river boat conductor was saying. Otherwise, certainly jam packed with things to do during a short period. Thank you for a safe and insightful trip.
The tour itself says 7:30am. I got a message on WhatsApp the day before that "the meeting time" (not departure time) was at 7:15am. I'm sorry, but I don't check my WhatsApp when on another tour. They just left without us. No communication. No nothing. We showed up at exactly the time they told us, in the location they told us. If it needs to start at 7:15am, update your tour to reflect that. I've never missed a tour start until today. What a disgrace. Now we've got nothing planned for a whole day.
While the lake itself is beautiful, not sure if it is worth traveling a good 7-8 hours within a day. We enjoyed the lake and the food street, the guide was very interactive :)
Wasn’t sure what to exspect on this tour, but I wasn’t disappointed at all. Everything went to schedule, well organised, & the views were amazing. (I would highly recommend this tour)
Had a great time last Monday. Gabe was a great tour guide. The lake is very beautiful to see in person. We also saw a very cool big temple-Wen Wu Temple. Definitely recommend the tour.
This is a good tour of a beautiful, remarkable place. Without the organized tour, visiting this worthy landmark would be cumbersome. The tour was well-organized and our guide Vincent was friendly and helpful. Before the tour, check the meeting site; expect many tours gathering there in the morning. There will be an option to take a rental bike, use it - it is easy and provides good views.
As a solo traveller I was included in all the activities except the cycling ( which I declined) & had a really enjoyable day. Many thanks Cypher Wang
It looks a very mystical the legendary Lake with the special ambiance. We met some tribal people I spoke too. An interesting expierence. And of course the Temples and the history. The Bliss of that remote places was in the air. I loved it. I do think if there is time it’s good to take the same tour but for two days to really enjoy the Lake and the surroundings. Vaness our tour guide took good care of us. I appreciate him.
The day tour was very enjoyable, exploring a beautiful part of Taiwan! I learned a lot about the area but also about the history of Taiwan and more!! Lyndon was our tour guide for the day and had so much knowledge, he could answer any question you would throw at him!! For example, I can now distinguish between a Bouddhist Temple and a Taoist Temple!! The Sun Moon Lake is a very beautiful place and I very much enjoyed taking the boat to places. One bonus was the ride around part of the lake with an electric bike. This was great fun and the scenary around there was just amazing!! A nice touch from Lyndon was to take nice photos of the group throughout the day and then sending them to us at a later stage. That was quite thoughtful!! Thank you Lyndon for a great day!!
Beautiful area. It’s essentially driver service to Sun Moon Lake. Included in the tour is a ferry ride which stops in 2 other areas around the lake with local food and craft as listed in the tour description. There’s not really a guide. Just a driver to get you to the sight for sightseeing.
It was fantastic. Our tour Joseph was awesome. He explained nicely and was very communicative. Place was very good and thrilling bike experience
Beautiful lake with lots of interesting history. Our tour guide Joseph was fantastic and very knowledgeable. He kept things running very smoothly.
Our guide cypher was very professionnal. Loved the day tour at sun moon lake with her. She has a good sense of humor as well.
The 12-hour tour involved 6 hours of travel to and from Taipei to sun moon lake. Not much else, except for the bike ride. It would have been better if the tour inclyuded an optional activity for those who do not want to do the bike ride, for example, a tea ceremony since the Sun Moon Lake area boasts of exceptional tea.
We had a longstanding reservation on a Monday in March and they cancelled two days ahead. They seem to have larger groups so may be more apt to cancel so buyer beware.
AMAZING TRIP!!! York, our tour guide did such an amazing job. He was so kind and sweet too. The views there were breathtaking and we’ve learned a lot about the place too as York discussed to us. We enjoyed the trip so much and we were very well taken care of. I recommend MyProGuide and York the tour guide.
Must see SunMoon Lake and take a bike ride. Loved York, the guide. Highly recommend this tour even with the long drive!
Great trip- Jeannie our guide was wonderful and the tour company was very helpful with arrangements and meetup location
It was an unforgettable experience! Our tour guide, Kent Chang, was outstanding. Kent skillfully guided us through the various viewpoints, ensuring we captured the perfect photos. He shared fascinating stories and facts about the lake's history, making this natural wonder even more special. We enjoyed a lovely boat ride on the lake. The itinerary was well-structured, allowing ample time for exploration. However, the only downside was that other than biking, there weren't many alternative activities available. While biking was enjoyable, some guests might have appreciated more options. Overall, this tour was expertly organized and Kent's guidance made it exceptional. I highly recommend the Nantou: Sun Moon Lake One-Day Trip to anyone looking to explore the beauty of Taiwan.
Easy meeting point, and a great way to see a bit more of Taiwan when on a flying visit. The coach ride was easy with comfort stops. The boat was nice and everyone had a view. Our guide JD was very knowledgeable and made sure everyone had a good day. The lake itself is very pretty, and it was interesting to see how the indigenous community still use traditional techniques for things like fishing and environmental management.
Our guide Joane Lin was wonderful in driving us on this tour and guiding us around sun moon lake. She show us all the beautiful site and had bought us tea egg and black tea ice cream to try. We enjoy the tour.
I would like to thank Joanna for a wonderful first experience in Taiwan. Sun Moon lake was a great way to see the country side of Taiwan. Bonus was a Tea Festival on location during the visit.
We wanted to see the countryside and chose this group tour to Sun Moon Lake area. Long ways to go, but fortunately the tour bus was a large comfy one and the rest stops were amazing. (My home country of the US could learn how to improve ours! Lol.) The lake itself was beautiful with a more relaxed vibe. We tried indigenous food and unfortunately the chicken was more like quail size - the smallest chicken leg ever! The President’s fish, a carp, was full of bones - we do not recommend. But learned, and still enjoyed the day.
Best tour guide ever. Cypher was our tour guide and she was energetic, funny, fluent English, and very thoughtful. She made sure we had the best time in Sun Moon lake and we did.
This is a very good day tour. Our guide, Vaness is an excellent guide, we had lots of fun going through the day together and learnt a lot from him.
There were only 4 of us on the tour which was good. Our guide Jerry was very friendly and knowledgeable and an excellent driver. I would recommend this tour to others.
Very well organized tour with easy to understand English guide. Beautiful view from the ferry. The bike tour was a lot of fun and is recommended.
I could hardly understand the words of the tour guide in English because I was able to take the tour through an experience that was difficult to plan by myself
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