Kenting Street Night Market – Complete Guide to Beach-side Snacks 墾丁大街夜市

Background:

Kenting was first settled by Chinese during theQing Dynasty. The word Kenting comes from twp words that mean cultivate (ken3 墾) and strong man (丁 ding1). During that time, a group of strong men (or Zhuang Ding 壯丁) came from Guangdong, who were basically Chinese pionners of the area to cultivate the land, hence the area was named Kenting for them.
The area was considered to be made into a park during the Japanese occupation due to it being the only tropical location in the Japanese Empire, but was never officially created.
During the Japanese Era, Nanwan was used as a whaling area and there were a few fishing villages here. 
Kenting National Park was established in 1984 as the first national park in Taiwan after WWII.
Kenting became a major vacation spot, becoming a center for hostels and hotels for travelers. 
Kenting is considered by many to have the best beaches in Taiwan. This is because of its fine white sand and year-round warm temperatures and sunshine (it is in the tropical part of Taiwan after all). 
Popular treats at Kenting Street Night Market include seafood, and there are many international restaurants on the street, as well as swimming gear. Because most customers are tourists from out of town, prices at this night market are a bit higher than other more localized markets in Taiwan. 

Hours:

6:30 PM – Midnight

Price:

Free

When to go:

Summer! It’s when the water is warmest and the sun is hottest. However there will be more people in summer, and there could be Typhoons. 
Spring and Fall are also good times to go, as there will be less visitors and cooler temperatures.
Winter is an okay time to go as well, it will be warmer than the rest of Taiwan and the water will still be warm enough to swim in. 

How to get there:

By Car/Scooter: Take Provincial Highway 1 south to the bottom of Taiwan until it becomes Provincial Highway 26. After that keep going past Hengchun into Kenting National Park. The night market will appear after you reach the McDonalds, and there is paid parking nearby. You can search for scooter options here or here, and you can check out our scooter rental guide here. 
By Bus: Busses leave daily to Kenting from Zuoying HSR station, Kaohsiung Station, and Pingtung. Get off at the Kenting Bus stop. You can book tickets to travel to Kenting via inter-city bus on Klook here. 
By Plane: There are direct shuttle buses to Kenting from Kaohsing’s Xiaogang (KHH) Airport. 
You can search for cheap flights in Taiwan here. 

Where to Stay:

Looking for a hotel? Find out where to stay in our Taiwan hotels guide or search for the best hotel deals in Taiwan here. We recommend booking through Agoda here, which provides the best quality selection of accommodation in Taiwan.
I have stayed at many hostels and hotels in Pingtung, and even almost bought a house here. Some places that I have stayed at and can recommend are Nanwan Kiki (book on Agoda here or Booking.com here), a B&B next to Nanwan Bay, Kenting’s most popular Beach. There are also a few decent hotels near Kenting Street Night Market like Kenting Star Inn 888 (book on Agoda here, Klook here, or Booking.com here), or Kenting Dajianshan Hotel (book on Agoda here or Booking.com here). You will notice that none of these hotels are five-star resorts (I do not come to Kenting to waste my time at a resort, but you can still search Agoda, Booking.com, or Klook here for those) but they are in my opinion the above have the best value for the money. 

Tours and Activities in Kenting:

There are many activities available such as snorkeling, diving, SUPing, surfing, submarine riding, and river tracing. 
You can find more tours of Kenting on Klook here or KKday here. 

Map:

Please see below:

Our Journey:

I have been to Kenting Street Night Market at least ten times. It is one of the best places to find food in Kenting, besides downtown Hengchun. Some people have complained that they hate this night market because it is so expensive. I admit the prices here are a bit higher in general when compared to other night markets, but you can still find some delicious food here at a reasonable price. Just let me show you.