Longmen Beach 龍門沙灘

Brief Historical Background:

Longmen Beach in Gongliao District is a quieter alternative to the more crowded Fulong Beach in northern Taiwan. Its long stretch of golden sand and clear blue water makes it an ideal place for walking, enjoying sea breezes, watching sunsets, or playing in the sand and surf with children during the summer.
Nearby Fulong Beach is one of northern Taiwan’s most popular seaside destinations and is complemented by the Longmen Campground, which offers camping and outdoor activities for families, friends, and tour groups. The area is also known for two scenic cycling routes: the Old Caoling Circular Bicycle Path, which passes through a historic railway tunnel and offers beautiful mountain and ocean views, and the Longmen–Yanliao Bicycle Path, where riders can enjoy coastal scenery featuring sand dunes and the sea.

Hours:

24/7

Price:

Free

When should you go to Taiwan’s Northern Coast?

In my opinion, the best weather in Taipei is from March-May, and October-November, when the temperatures stay around 26 degrees Celsius, and there is not as much rain.
Summers are also nice, with the most sunny weather, but also hot and rainy. 
Winters can be cold (but not below freezing) and usually wet. 
Overall, there is no wrong answer as to what time of year you should visit Taipei. You will have a great time here at any time of year. 

Where to Stay on Taiwan’s Northern Coast:

We recommend Fullon Hotel, which has locations in Tamsui and Fulong near the beach (book on Booking.com here, Tripadvisor here, Agoda here, or Hotels.com here). 
We have stayed at and recommend ​Gold Mountain Ranch, which is a horse ranch and glamping destination in Jinshan. ​You can book a night at Gold Mountain Ranch on Klook here.  You can also check out our full blog on the ranch here. 
We have also stayed at and recommend Hai Xia Your Home which is right in front of Fulong Beach (book on Booking.com here, Tripadvisor here, Agoda here, or Hotels.com here). 
Looking for a hotel? We recommend booking through Booking.com here, which provides the best quality selection of accommodation in Taiwan.
Find out where to stay in our Taiwan hotels guide or search for the best hotel deals in Taiwan here.

Tours of Taiwan’s Northern Coast:

There are many tour itineraries that you can enjoy along Taiwan’s Northern Coast that will take you to multiple destinations and arrange transportation. For more information, you can check out Tripadvisor here, KKday here, or Klook here, which are all great tour websites that can connect you with the right tour and tour guide for you. 
Here are some of the most popular tours of Taipei on Tripadvisor:

1. Yehliu, Jiufen & Pingxi Day Tour from Taipei
2. Jiufen Village and Northeast Coast Tour from Taipei
3. Full-Day Private Northern Taiwan Tour from Taipei with Pickup
4. Half-Day Muslim Friendly Tour in Taipei City
5. Private Taipei Tour for Families

Attractions along Taiwan’s Northern Coast:

There are many attractions that you can enjoy along Taiwan’s Northern Coast such as Yehliu Ocean World, Yehliu Geopark, National Museum of Marine Science and Biology, Heping Island Park, Ju Ming Museum,  New Taipei Gold Museum, Futian Leisure Farm,  Fort San Domingo, 13 Levels Archaeology Museum, Bat Cave,  Candlestick Islet, and many more on Klook here or KKday here. 

Activities along Taiwan’s Northern Coast:

Don’t forget that there are many activities available along Taiwan’s Northern Coast such as Wakeboarding, Surfing, Speedboat Surfing, SUP / Paddle Boarding, Diving, Snorkeling Kayaking, Canoeing, Water Biking,  River Tracing / Canyoneering, ATVing, Horse Riding, Archery, Tree Climbing, Glamping, Motorcycling, Motorbike Tour, Dragon Boat Racing, Shen’ao Rail Bike, and more on Tripadvisor here, Klook here, or KKday here. 

How to get to Longmen Beach:

By Train: Take the TRA train to Fulong Station. Walk straight from the station down to the beach! It takes about 30 minutes to walk down to the beach. Book tickets via the normal train (TRA)  on Klook here.
By Car/Scooter: Take provincial highway 2 from Qidu in Keelung through the mountains past Shifen and Shuangxi until you reach Gongliao on the coast. The beach is near Longmen Campground across the river, and there is limited free parking nearby.
Looking for scooter rental in Keelung? Search KKday here for options. You can also check out our scooter rental guide here. If you are looking for car rentals, you can also search Qeeq here, Klook here, or  KKday here. You can also check out our car rental guide here.  ​
By Bicycle: Cycling is the best way to enjoy Taiwan’s landscapes if you have the time and energy. Looking for bicycle rentals in Taiwan? You can use Taiwan’s many Youbike bike sharing stations, or search for rentals on KKday here, and search for tours on Klook here. You can also check out our Taiwan cycling guide here. ​
For more information, check out our Taiwan transportation guide here. 

Map:

Please see below to see:

Check out a map of the area above.

Drone Footage:

Play

Check out our 360-degree drone panorama of the beach above.

Our Journey:

I have been to Longmen Beach twice. It is a nice place if you want to get away from the crowds. The beach is really long, and is great for those romantic long walks on the beach. However, there is usually a lot of trash here. Most of the stuff that gets washed up from the rip tide on Fulong Beach gets washed up here. For instance, Taiwan’s only sighting of a leatherback sea turtle was here, (as well as a few dead bodies). Besides some trash, the beach is pretty nice, and the sand is a great golden color.

The entrance to Longmen beach looks like this. There is limited parking on the side of the road.

Be sure to follow the warning signs here.

The main northeast coast bike path also runs through here.

There is a small area here to park cars. Parking is free.

View of the bike path going the other direction.

Another view looking down the bike path.

First view of the beach here.

Closer view of the beach entrance.

If you need help, there are lifeguards at Fulong Beach.

Beautiful golden sand on the beach.

You may also see lots of old guys fishing here.

I have found that, as secluded and barren and remote a beach may be, you can always find an old Taiwanese uncle fishing there.

Endless golden sand.

Close-up on the sand.

Further down the beach, you can see more and more trash and debris.

Here we found lots of trash and volcanic pumice rock from Japan.

An amazing, beautiful beach marred by a few water bottles. You can see the mothballed Nuclear Plant No. 4 in the background.

Light from a fishing vessel on the beach.

A giant pumice rock on the beach.

View looking down to the coast down to Bitou Cape.

View looking down to Fulong Beach.

Another view looking down the beach.

A few other beachgoers joined us.

Wider view looking down the beach.

Another group of people walked by.

View of the beach via drone.

View looking toward the defunct nuclear plant.

View looking down at the beach.

Aerial view looking at Fulong Beach.

Aerial view of Fulong Campground.

View of the Fulong Sand Sculptures. The majority of people who go to the paid sand sculpture part of the beach are Taiwanese. This part of the beach is fitting for them because many of them can’t swim and wear long pants and long sleeves to the beach, planning only to get their toes wet anyway. 

Check out our full guide to the Fulong Sand Sculptures here. 

Another view of the sand sculptures and Fullon Hotel.

Caoling – Fulong Bicycle Loop 草嶺-福隆環狀線

The Fulong-Coaling-Sandiao Cape- bike route is one of the most biker-friendly routes in Taiwan, the roughly 2 hour loop is something that the whole family can enjoy. It includes a 2KM ride through the Old Coaling Railroad Tunnel, as well as a ride along the Sandiao Cape coast on an enclosed bike path, where one can enjoy great views of the ocean, Turtle Island, wavy geological features on the coastline, and historical stone villages along the way. This bike route is highly recommended for people of all ages…(read more). You can book a tour to the Caoling Tunnel on KKday here. 
Check out our full blog on the Fulong-Coaling-Sandiao Cape- bike route here. 

For our full blog on Fulong Beach click here.

​There are many activities available here at Fulong such as Windsurfing, SUP /paddle boarding, kayaking, canoeing, sailing, and more on Klook here or KKday here.

You can also book tickets to the international Sand Sculpture Art festival on Klook here or KKday here.
​
Check out our guide to the best beaches near Taipei here. 
​Check out our full guide to Taiwan’s Northern Coast here. 
Also, be sure to check out our guide to Taipei here. 
You can also check out our full travel guide to Taiwan here.