Life doesn’t get much better than camping on a gorgeous beach, barbecuing and enjoying the crystal clear ocean water in the middle of summer! It’s a little known secret that there are a number of brilliant camping spots in Penghu and that almost the entire archipelago is open for freedom camping. Freedom camping means that within reason, campers may camp throughout the islands (except on private property) without permits or fees. To encourage such outdoor pursuits the county government has invested significant time and money in providing excellent facilities (toilets, showers, bbqs) for campers at a number of the best beaches.
White sand beaches where the buzz from the city is left behind you abound in Penghu. In these places all you’ll hear is waves lapping the sandy shoreline and the gentle summer breeze rustling the grass. Lintou Park, Longmen Beach and Neian Beach are some of the finest examples Penghu has to offer in the way of beach camping. These are all beautiful beaches, with few visitors that are fully equipped and free to use. All you’ll need is a map from the visitor centre, a scooter and your camping gear. Stock up on food and water at one of the supermarkets in Magong city and even head to the daily fresh market to prepare fresh veggies for a BBQ. See information on Lintou and Neian below and information on Longmen here.
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Lin-t’ou Gōngyuán (Lintou Park) – This forested park is located on the coast line of ÀiMén Village and backs out directly onto the super long ÀiMén Beach. It is 15-20 minutes by bus, car or scooter from Magong and is well worth the drive. In the park’s former life it was pseudo zoo with a peacock and a few monkeys; but that all ended with a large typhoon some years ago. Now the park has been remodeled with a mini outdoor amphitheater, large wooden pagodas and award winning toilet and shower facilities. Camping is allowed, though no one seems to know apart from the odd cyclist. There is also a new coffee shop open in summer. It really is one of HúXi Isles best kept secrets.
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Neian Beach on Siyu Island, about 35 minutes from Magong, is another great spot to camp. Set up with pagodas, barbecues and toilet & shower facilities – it really is beautiful. Here the open flat expanses of Penghu disappear and instead steep cliffs, grassy hills and basalt columns gracefully stand along the shore. Swimming at this beach one feels almost surrounded by mountains in a mountain-less landscape. The beach itself is white sand pushed up against the cliff-face surrounded by rock pools and a pebbled shoreline. Despite the rocks the swimming here is excellent, just find the right spots to enter the water and the rocks give way to sandy azure water.
vital penghu 
Peng Hu is great. I took several of my favorite photos there, and I got the worst sunburn of my life there. ( It was just around the feet & ankles, but I could hardly walk. >_< )
Said pics:
^_^
The sun here is very strong in summer! Glad you enjoyed your time here…there are a lot of interesting places to explore, which is great for photographers. I especially like your ‘Beach Goers’ pic, tourists flock to those ‘theme park’ like water ‘sport’ every summer! Very funny….
Hi there, thanks for the great info. two questions. are ALL of these beaches free to camp on, and do any of them provide lockers near by?
Thank!
Katie
Hi Katie,
All of the beaches are ok to camp on, but it’s really important that if you camp you leave the place as you found it – clearing away all trash, not lighting fires on the beach (use a contained bbq from an everything store instead), only camping where there are toilet facilities, etc. As of yet, there are no rules regarding camping as so few people do it here – thus freedom camping is allowed. If you plan on camping in Penghu all I suggest is that you respect the locals and the environment and keep it low key and you’ll be free to camp anywhere.
As for lockers – there are no lockers at any of the beaches, as crime is virtually non-existent. You could close up your tent with your gear inside, and safely leave it while you go off to explore for the day, without any worries at all.
Happy travels!
Sounds like fun! Can we rent camping gear (tents) in Magong city?
Hi Christina, as far as I know there aren’t any places that rent tents. Maybe you could borrow one, or rent somewhere in Taiwan…? Good luck!
wow I am so glad to find someone else who has done free camping in Penghu. I am a big fan of camping and I have always loved the idea to just find a spot with great views and camp there for the night! (provided that you leave the place as it is). I have done free camping around Jeju Islands in Korea and I am actually going to Penghu the coming week! Its my first time to go to Penghu and from my brief research, I think the place has a bit of protectionism (cause most are fishermen) and thus it is not too developed or commercialized, which is great! This is also why I don’t go to Kenting cause I prefer places more tranquil and natural. I am glad Penghu has stayed this way! Thanks for pointing out about the safety and the general views on free camping in Penghu cause that are what I have been thinking about. Seems like what I have guessed is exactly what you said i.e. Penghu is safe and they encouraged people to camp (within reasons). I am so excited for the trip and more relaxed having read your article. I had a bad experience of free camping in a park in Victoria, Canada. I did a lot of research before but turns out only homeless people can camp there, and what happened was that while I was away the park rangers removed the poles in my tent (thus my tent collapsed) and some homless people knew no one is in the tent and stole the whole tent (with all the equipment inside) away! It was a terrible experience that still haunt me to some extent. But never let something like that stop you from doing what you love right!