Sail Rock in Kenting National Park - Taiwanese Secrets Travel Guide

Sail Rock is the third most popular place where people stay in Kenting National Park after Kenting Town, and Nanwan (South Bay). It is located about 10 minutes south of Kenting Village. In Mandarin Chinese, Sail Rock is called 船帆石 (Chuan Fanshi).

sail rock kenting drone — Drone shot of the coast. You can clearly see Dajian Mountain in the distance. Half the buildings in the village of Sail Rock are B&Bs and guesthouses. The snorkeling area is at the base of the protruding rock.

Sail Rock kenting 台灣墾丁船帆石 — You can jump from the “nose” of the rock. Be careful if you’ll be doing deep water solo climbing on the walls, as there’s sharp corals at the base.

Table of Contents

Why stay at Sail Rock?

A lot of people, myself included, think that the Sail Rock area is more pleasant than Kenting Village or Nanwan because there’s fewer people, and a lot less traffic. It’s quieter, nicer, cleaner, without being too remote.

sail rock road — Staying at a guesthouse by the road can offer you amazing sea view, but it might get loud at night, due to traffic.

It surely is much more peaceful, but it has no decent restaurant, no nightlife, or shops. The main reason why people stay here is a fairly good supply of decent, affordable accommodations.

Sail Rock 船帆石 — A cool tree by the walking path next to the parking lot

Snorkeling

Sail Rock is quite popular with Taiwanese tourists who come to Kenting to snorkel. Most of the coral is near the base of the rock, but it’s not very pretty. Nothing world-class here. It’s been scratched and stepped on too many times by big groups of people who can barely swim and have to touch the ground in order to not drown or drift away.

You can rent snorkeling gear just across the road. Wear shoes or sandals with a thick sole to get to the water as the rock is extremely sharp.

船帆石墾丁國家公園 — The area offers some of the best views in Kenting National Park, and that’s why tons of people stop here at the parking lot to take pictures.

Sail Rock beach in Kending National Park — You can rent umbrellas on the beach by the hour, half day, or full day.

Renting a Scooter at Sail Rock

You can rent a scooter at Sail Rock, but I don’t think it’s the most convenient thing to do if you came to Kenting by public transportation. It’s better to rent your scooter in Hengchun, Kenting Town, or Nanwan. Why? Because the Kenting Express Bus doesn’t stop at Sail Rock, but it does at the three destinations mentioned above.

Scooter rental Sail Rock Kenting — Scooters for rent across the Sail Rock main parking lot

Sail rock accommodation B&B hotel — There are many 民宿 (minsu – guesthouses / B&B) in the Sail Rock area.

Getting to Sail Rock by Public Bus

Local buses #101 and #8249 travel regularly between Hengchun, Kenting Village, and Sail Rock (Chuanfanshi on the map below). The buses stop at Nanwan, Xiaowan, and other points of interest along the way.

Travel South from Sail Rock

From Sail Rock, you can take shuttle bus #101 to visit the following destinations:

Banana Bay 香蕉灣 – best snorkeling in Kenting
Shadao 沙島 – small and idyllic white-sand beach
Eluanbi Cape 鵝鑾鼻 – Eluanbi Lighthouse
Southernmost Point of Taiwan 台灣最南點 – short walk to the southernmost point of the island