Kenting Street
墾丁大街
The lodging, night market, and bar hub of Kenting. A roughly 1 km seaside street turns into a night market every evening and is synonymous with nightlife in southern Taiwan's beach resort town.
Kenting Street is the section of Route 26 that runs through Kenting Village. It stretches about 1.5 km. By day it is an ordinary road lined with guesthouses, surf shops, scooter rental shops, convenience stores, and restaurants. After 6 p.m., part of the street is closed to traffic and becomes one of Taiwan's most vacation-like night markets. Stalls sell grilled squid, sausage in sticky rice, fruit smoothies, Thai dishes, Indian roti, and handicrafts. Open-air bar seating and the cocktail stands that are a Kenting specialty (NT$100–150 a cup) line the street, giving it a Southeast Asian island atmosphere. The two ends of the street are marked by the Kenting Archway and the Kenting Park Visitor Center. A five-minute walk south takes you to Dawan Beach, Kenting's longest sandy beach and a good place to watch the sunset, in front of the Caesar Park Hotel, and to Xiaowan (Little Bay), in front of the Chateau Hotel Kenting, which offers water sports. Most visitors book accommodation near the street, spend their evenings at the night market or listening to live buskers, and set out from here by day to explore the rest of the peninsula. Admission is free, and a night market meal costs about NT$300–500 per person. Getting there: the Kenting Express bus runs directly from the Zuoying HSR Station in Kaohsiung to the "Kenting" stop on the street, and all Kenting Street Car routes pass through as well. Pickup points for charter cars and shared rides are also located here. Notes: scooters are banned from the street during night market hours and must take a detour. Book accommodation well in advance for weekends and holidays. Stall prices are on the high side, so ask before buying fruit. Be mindful of personal safety in the bar area late at night. Some night market vendors accept cash only.
Opening hours
Night market about 18:00–24:00; shops open all day
Nearby sights
- Xiaowan (Little Bay)
- Dajianshan
- Kenting Forest Recreation Area
- Sail Rock
- Sheding Nature Park
- Nanwan (South Bay)
- Fengchuisha (Wind-blown Sand)
- Longpan Park