This tour is AMAZING. First of all, Iris (our tour guide) was great. She’s so cheery and so excited for everyone to experience how wonderful the gorge is. When I told her about all of the great reviews she has online, she said “I love taking my tours around Taroko Gorge. I feel like I’m on vacation with them!” She’s also VERY knowledgeable. We learned so much, and she answered all of our questions. The few things that she didn’t know, she even looked up on her phone for us (like helping us coordinate watching the nation’s fireworks for the following day). The tour itself was stunning. There was some hiking and some driving. Unlike the other tours that we saw (which were very few, since Iris did a great job at spontaneously deciding where to take us in the gorge, so that we wouldn’t have to experience everything with a million tourists around us) Iris drove us around in a sedan. There were only 3 of us, which made our group very tight-knit. The tour highlighted all of the beautiful aspects of the gorge. Even if you are looking for an intense and long hike (which this isn’t – although the short trek up the mountain to the bell tower can be exerting), I recommend doing this as well, so that you can make sure to see all of the sights that the gorge has to offer.

This tour was the highlight of our trip to Taiwan! Taroko Gorge was stunning (of course), but it is always the guide who makes or breaks the tour, and Iris was phenomenal — very knowledgeable about the area but also extremely personable and enthusiastic. She grew up in the area and seemed to take a real delight in showing visitors around. Her English was also excellent. Highly, highly recommend this tour. Thank you Iris!

P.S. We actually booked our tour at the last minute and the company was incredibly responsive and helpful in answering our questions and getting everything confirmed. They were willing to work with us and also offered an option for a private tour that would allow us to leave and return to Taipei on the same day. So definitely worth checking availability and talking to the company even if you are like me and have trouble planning ahead, or if you are short on time!

Our experience was amazing. Our tour guide was Iris. She worked so hard to make sure we had a wonderful tour. She really went above and beyond. The sights were breathtaking. I am so glad we did a small group tour with a guide that knew the area. We got to see so much that we would not have any other way. I highly recommend the tour and you will be luck if Iris is your tour guide.

What an incredible day! Iris is a joyous soul and went out of her way to make the day extra special for us. She personalized the day to our interests and needs, took lots of fun pictures, told us many interesting stories, let us try local foods, and even took us to some secret spots! It was a day I won’t soon forget and was one of the highlights of my trip to Taiwan. Ana also gave great service and answered all of my questions before the tour. I couldn’t have asked for more….except to do it again one day! You won’t regret booking this tour, it’s definitely the most authentic experience you will get.

Our tour guide Iris is what made this day tour absolutely fantastic! Her local knowledge and enthusiasm for the region coupled with an always cheerful nature ensured that my wife and I had a memorable stay in Hualien. Rather than us just looking at the passing (fantastic) scenery, Iris was able to provide a commentary that described the history and interesting features of each area that we passed through. We were not rushed along and had plenty of time to look around at each place.
We were so impressed with the day, that we immediately booked a second day tour (East Coast Explorer) for the following day with Island Life Taiwan and Iris.
If staying in Hualien, you simply must take the Island Life Taiwan – Taroko Gorge Day Tour – you will not be disappointed.

Excellent trip
I joined a group tour to the gorge at the last minute and it wasn’t a problem. There were 4 of us as well as our guide Simon. He was extremely friendly and knowledgable about the gorge and Taiwan in general. I liked that he knew the routes and timing’s of large tour groups which enabled us to avoid them for most of our trip together. We saw all the main sights of the gorge and did some of the shorter walking trails too. The car was comfortable and well stocked with extra water. I would definitely recommend this tour! I felt glad I wasn’t one of the people walking along the roads in the heat or on a massive coach full of people. Worth it!

Great tour with Iris
We had a great day out at Taroko Gorge with Iris, she was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about Taroko and Hualien; she had an infectious energy which negated our grumpiness from waking up early (which we actually do highly recommend in order to miss the crowded tour buses). Iris showed us a great secret spot for a river swim, which was certainly the highlight of our trip, even my 61-year old dad gamely jumped into the clear blue water! Our pre-trip queries were also promptly dealt with by Ana. Highly recommend this wonderful little tour company.

What an incredible day we had! Our guide Iris took us on some excellent trails and to all the best spots in the park. She knew so much about the local culture, it was a blast hearing her stories during the day. We left our hotel early, so we missed most of the big crowds which was great and got lots of the trails done before the midday heat got bad. Overall an excellent tour and we would highly recommend Island Life!

This was an excellent tour of Taroko Gorge. Our guide, Iris, was thoughtful, caring and knowledgeable. We stopped at a great sample of spots in the park to see spectacular scenery. The included lunch was delicious. This is a great way to see Taroko Gorge if you only have one day to visit!

100% Worth It!
We initially were going to self-drive the gorge, but because it was a Saturday we didn’t want to worry about finding a place to park. We are super glad we found Island Life tours! Iris was so lovely, she clearly loves Hualien and her passion as a tour guide shows. She took us to all the key places, plus some little gems that are off the beaten track, and was happy to adapt the schedule to our needs (we were a small group, myself and my partner plus three other people). Time in the car was kept to a minimum. Highly recommend!

Great one day trip from Hualien to Taroko Gorge. Good if you want to get to see all the great sights of the Gorge but not wanting massively long hikes. Host Iris was so friendly, catered for return train times and took our group to several extra little hidden gems as well. Great fun!

We had a fantastic experience doing the Better Taroko Tour with Simon. From start to finish all the staff were super friendly and helpful, and overall we felt very well prepared and catered for and wouldn’t hesitate to do it all again. Thanks so much!

Awesome day at Taroko National Park with Island Life Taiwan! Highly recommended!

Had a great day, only 4 of us plus guide and driver. We went to places that we would not have known about or been able to find. Our guide was very knowledgeable on local history. As we had to catch the train back to Taipei that evening, our guide made sure we were back at the station on time. Would recommend this day trip to anybody!

Iris is a great guide!
We did a day trip to the amazing Taroko Gorge with Iris. She speaks very good English and shared her extensive knowledge of the area efficiently and well. She took lots of photos and put them up on Google drive the next day to share with us. Iris shared insights into local cuisine, the history of the area and answered the many questions we had. We walked nine kilometres on very easy terrain. We highly recommend this company and guide!

Great Private Taroko Tour with kids!
We did a private Takoro tour with Iris as our guide and had a great time. Her love of her hometown is evident in the way she shares stories and facts about the area. We saw all the main sights with Iris using her knowledge of the park to select the order so that we missed as many of the large tour groups as possible – this was key.
Booking the tour was very straightforward; communication was direct and timely and pricing was competitive. We were traveling with a baby, so needed a car seat and a bit of flexibility during the day, and Island Life was able to accommodate. Overall, we had a great experience on our tour of this beautiful place and would definitely recommend Island Life!

We had a great time visiting Taroko! We went with 3 people and we were picked up by Jason. Jason is a great guide, he explains everything in great detail and can give you a lot of insight on the history of the park. He came and picked us up in a private car. Basically you can stop at any point but he has set up several points where he stops and explains you. It was simply a great great day!