The Taoyuan Hot Air Balloon Festival enters another exciting year in Shimen Reservoir. If you don't want to travel to Taitung on the east coast of Taiwan to see colorful flying machines, then this event is for you. There are tethered balloon rides every day and a Night Glow Show every night during weekends to satisfy everyone's craziness of hot air balloons. Just remember, that you will only see them flying if the weather is super good.
| Date | Time | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| June 15 to June 23 | 5:30 to 7:30 | morning tethered balloon activity |
| 16:30 to 18:30 | afternoon tethered balloon activity | |
| June 15, 16, 22 and 23 only | 19:00 to 19:20 | Night Glow Show |
Location: Nanyuanshengtai Park (南苑生態公園) [Google Map]
Online reservation for the tethered balloon activity [Reserve here]
Expect the buses to be locked in traffic for 2 hours as you get near to the Shimen Reservoir. Lots of locals will also visit the park, so the earlier the better. Everyone will be looking for a nice spot for the Night Glow Show. Bring also your own food, unless you want to join a very long queue just to buy some sausages.
See the table below if you want to see the hot air balloons at Shimen Dam. Notice that the last return departure times of Bus 501, 502 and 503 will not make it to the end of the of the Night Glow Show. Visitors must ride the festival shuttle bus (weekends and holidays only) [Google Map] going to Daxi Bridge before 19:30, to be able to leave Shimen Reservoir at night. Once you are at Daxi Bridge, walk towards the Daxi Bus Station, to board Bus 5096 to get to TRA Taoyuan Station. If you want to go to the 5:30 am event, you must board a taxi from downtown Taoyuan or stay at any of the hotels near Shimen Dam or Daxi town then ride a cab to the event.
| Bus number | Board the bus at | Get off the bus at | departure time of last bus going back to downtown Taoyuan | Notes/Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 501 | HSR Taoyuan Station first bus at 08:10 last bus at 16:10 | Xinjiewei (Heping Old Street) [Google Map], then walk to towards the other end of Daxi bridge [Google Map]. There are festival shuttle buses (weekends and holidays only) that will take spectators to the bus stop of Shimen Reservoir | 17:20 Bus 501 runs every day but the last bus returning back to downtown will leave at 16:10 on weekdays | Not efficient, also need to walk from Heping Old Street. |
| 502 | Taoyuan Bus Station first bus at 08:30 last bus at 13:30 [Google Map] (just walk from the rear exit of TRA Taoyuan Station) | 17:10 Bus 502 is only available during weekends and holidays. | ||
| 503 | Zhongli Bus Station first bus at 07:30 last bus at 16:00 [Google Map] (just walk from the front exit of TRA Zhongli Station) | Shimen Reservoir terminal stop [Google Map] | 17:20 Bus 503 is only available during weekends and holidays | Direct route, more efficient |
| 5096 | Taoyuan Bus Station first bus at 05:20 last bus at 21:50 | Daxi Bus Station [Google Map] | 22:30, daily service | Must ride the festival shuttle bus (weekends and holidays only) located on the other end of Daxi Bridge [Google Map]. |
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