Do both. Yilan is the rare place where you can have a hot soak and a cold one on the same trip, and neither costs much. Jiaoxi (礁溪) sits on a hot spring in the middle of town, Taiwan's only hot spring on the plain: clear, odorless and about 50°C. Su'ao (蘇澳), at the other end of the county, has a cold spring that stays at about 22°C and fizzes with carbon dioxide. Hot in winter, cold in summer is the way we'd split it.
You don't need a hotel to bathe, either. The public baths cost less than a bowl of noodles, and the foot baths around Jiaoxi are free.
Jiaoxi hot springs
Jiaoxi is the easy one from Taipei: Jiaoxi Station is on the main Taiwan Railway line, and buses from Taipei stop in town. The water is a weakly alkaline sodium bicarbonate spring that locals have long called a "beauty bath" (美人湯), for how soft it leaves your skin. → Jiaoxi area guide
Tangweigou Hot Spring Park (Tangwei Furo)
Tangweigou Hot Spring Park (湯圍溝溫泉公園) follows the old "hot water ditch" where spring water comes up naturally, at the center of the hot spring area. If you want one proper soak without booking a hotel, this is it: its paid public bath, Tangwei Furo (湯圍風呂), is the cheapest in town. Men and women bathe separately. The official pages don't say whether it's a nude bath or a swimsuit one, reports differ, and we haven't been in ourselves, so ask at the counter first (or call the park, 03-9874882) and pack a swimsuit just in case. Shower before you get in, and bring your own towel, since the bath doesn't say it sells them. It reopened on October 24, 2025 after roof and pipe repairs.
- Hours 08:00 to 12:20 and 13:00 to 21:30
- Entry NT$80; NT$60 for students over 110 cm and military, civil servants and teachers; NT$40 for 65 and over
- Bath Separate for men and women. Swimsuit rules aren't published: ask at the counter or call 03-9874882. Children under 90 cm are not allowed in
- Address No. 99-11, Deyang Road, Jiaoxi
- Getting there TRA Train to Jiaoxi Station, then walk into the town center
Two other things at Tangweigou are easy to mix up with it. The free foot baths outside are for everyone, fully dressed. And the park's old free community bath (公共澡堂) is a separate building that has become men only: PTS reported on October 14, 2026 that a sign at the door turns women away. → More on Tangweigou
Jiaoxi Hot Spring Park (Forest Bath)
Jiaoxi Hot Spring Park (礁溪溫泉公園) is a wooded park with a bigger, Japanese-style public bath, the Forest Bath (森林風呂), which holds about 200 people. Men and women bathe separately, with several pools on each side. The bath doesn't post a current price, so bring some cash.
- Hours The Jiaoxi Township tourism site lists 08:00 to 24:00
- Entry Paid at the gate. The bath is run by an outside operator and we found no current official price, so check at the window.
- Address No. 16, Gongyuan Road, Jiaoxi
- Getting there TRA Jiaoxi Station, then walk or take a short taxi ride
Free foot baths
Keep a small towel in your bag in Jiaoxi. The township has set up semi-outdoor foot-bath pools around the hot spring area, so you can stop and soak your feet as you walk: at the plaza in front of Jiaoxi Station, in Jiaoxi Hot Spring Park, at the Landscape Plaza (地景廣場) at the entrance to the hot spring area, and in Tangweigou Hot Spring Park.
Good to know: want a private room? Jiaoxi's hot spring hotels and bath houses run their own private baths (湯屋). The public baths are the cheaper way to soak. → Where to stay
Su'ao Cold Spring
Go on a hot day. Su'ao Cold Spring Park (蘇澳冷泉園區) is about 300 meters in front of Su'ao Station, so you can walk straight off the train. The water is a carbonated spring at about 22°C: tiny bubbles rise from the bottom of the pool and cover your skin. It's a strange feeling the first time, and a good one in summer.
The same water gave Su'ao its yokan (羊羹) and its marble soda, so pick some up on the way back to the station. The town holds a Cold Spring Carnival every July.
Reopened: Typhoon Fung-wong flooded the park in November 2025 and the township closed the whole site, including Alishi (阿里史). The main park reopened on April 1, 2026, with the public pool and the private rooms, Liberty Times reported that day. There's no word yet that the Alishi baths have reopened, so don't count on them.
| Bath | Time | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Public pool (大眾池) | One entry, same day | NT$120; NT$60 for 65 and over and children 3 to 11 |
| Traditional private room (傳統冷泉湯屋) | 50 minutes | NT$400 for up to 2 people, NT$200 per extra person (up to about 4) |
| VIP private room | 60 minutes | NT$850 for up to 2, NT$350 per extra person |
| Premium private room, with sauna | 60 minutes | NT$1,200 for up to 2, NT$400 per extra person |
| Alishi Cold Spring (阿里史冷泉): foot pool, men's and women's nude baths | One entry, same day | Cleaning fee NT$80; NT$40 for 65 and over and children 3 to 11 |
Children under 3 are free. Prices are the operator's: Yide Technology (依德科技) has run the park for the township since April 2024. The park doesn't publish its opening hours online, so call 03-9960645 before you make a special trip.
- Getting there TRA Train to Su'ao Station, then walk about 300 meters
Mountain hot springs
Only worth it if you're going up to Taipingshan anyway. Up the Lanyang River valley, Jiuzhize Hot Spring (鳩之澤溫泉) sits inside the Taipingshan National Forest Recreation Area, on the way up the mountain. It has outdoor spa pools, separate men's and women's nude baths, and pools for boiling eggs in the spring water, and a private operator has run it since 2025. It doesn't publish a price list.
Partly closed: the park's notice of October 27, 2026 (the October 28 version) has the single-sex nude pools closed. The outdoor spa, the lodging, the restaurant, the egg-boiling pools and the café are open, so pack a swimsuit.
Jiuzhize is a long way up a mountain road that closes after storms, so check the road, the buses and the latest status on our Taipingshan page first. → Taipingshan
Bath etiquette
- Shower first. Wash thoroughly, and take off any makeup, before you get in. Both Jiaoxi and Su'ao ask for it.
- Swimsuit or not. The Forest Bath in Jiaoxi and the Alishi men's and women's baths are nude baths. Tangwei Furo doesn't say either way, so ask at the counter and bring a swimsuit just in case. Not sure about any other pool? Ask at the ticket window.
- Bring a towel. Jiaoxi's public baths don't say whether they sell or lend towels, so pack your own, plus a small one for the foot baths.
- Keep it short. In Jiaoxi, no more than 15 minutes at a time and an hour in all. In Su'ao's cold water, 10 to 20 minutes.
- Drink water before and after, and don't bathe drunk, on an empty stomach or straight after a big meal.
- Not allowed: pets, and anyone with an infectious disease. Jiaoxi's public baths also ask women not to bathe during their period.
Safety
If you have high blood pressure, heart disease or another chronic illness, don't bathe, or check with your doctor first. Pregnant women, children and older people shouldn't bathe alone. Ease in: feet first, then half your body, keeping the water below your heart. If you feel dizzy, get out and tell the staff.
→ Jiaoxi · Su'ao · A day trip from Taipei · More things to do
Sources: Jiaoxi Township, Tangweigou Hot Spring Park; Yilan County tourism, Tangweigou; Yilan County tourism, Jiaoxi Hot Spring Park; PTS on the Tangweigou community bath (October 14, 2026); Jiaoxi Township, Jiaoxi Hot Spring Park; Jiaoxi Township, foot baths and bath rules; CNA on Yilan's springs; Su'ao Township, the cold spring; Su'ao Township, operator and price list; Su'ao Township, bath rules; Su'ao Township, typhoon closure notice (November 17, 2025); Liberty Times on the reopening; Liberty Times on Jiuzhize; Taipingshan National Forest Recreation Area, road and site status (October 27, 2026). Checked November 2026.