Kinmen (Quemoy)
Kinmen sits a few kilometres off Xiamen and a Taiwan Strait's width from the rest of Taiwan, so almost everyone arrives either on the small-three-links ferry from mainland China, which is the busiest single crossing and the reason most mainland visitors are here at all, or on a short flight from Taipei, Taichung or Kaohsiung that spring sea fog can shut down for days at a stretch. Once on the island, a bridge opened in 2022 replaced the old Lieyu ferry, buses and rented scooters cover Greater Kinmen and Little Kinmen, and large stretches of the coast and the outer islets remain military land that no ticket will get you into.
- Researched
- 28 September 2026
- Reviewed
- not yet
- Ways of moving
- 10, 12 sources
- Not confirmed
- 6
- Fares seen
- 2021–2026
10 ways of moving, each with its rule
We confirmed eight ways of moving to, from or around Kinmen: two by water, one by air, two by road, one hired or on demand and two under your own steam, from 12 sources. Two entries are not a service at all but a rule that decides whether travel happens: a permit, a closure, a border, a season or an authority's say-so. Three of them run only on demand or when the seats are full, so there is no timetable to show; the rule is written where the timetable would be.
The fares were seen in 2021 to 2026; a fare from an older year is a floor, not a price. Four fares carry no year, because they could not be confirmed and the field says so. We rate 1 of the 10 high confidence, our own judgement of the sources. The entry was checked on 28 September 2026, and ends with six things we could not confirm.
By water
Mini Three Links: Shuitou to Xiamen Wutong
Shuitou Pier (水頭碼頭), Greater Kinmen, to Xiamen Wutong Passenger Terminal (五通客运码头)
Shuitou Pier is on the south-west coast of Greater Kinmen, a short taxi or bus ride from Jincheng; buses 7/7A/7B and the red 1 line (紅一) serve the terminal. The Kinmen county harbour bureau publishes each day's actual departures live, vessel by vessel, on its own site.
- When
- Roughly hourly departures through the day; the live board for 28 September 2026 showed 15 sailings to Wutong between 08:00 and 18:00, all logged as departed or boarding, none cancelled
- Takes
- About 30 minutes
- Fare 2026
- NT$750 from the Kinmen side, ¥160 from the Xiamen side; figure is undated on the source page, which is otherwise current to August 2026
SeasonRuns daily year-round; suspended without notice when the harbourmaster judges sea conditions or fog unsafe, and the small-three-links routes were reported halted for a morning during a severe fog event in spring 2026. BookingBuy at the pier counter; passport and, for onward mainland travel, a valid Chinese entry document are required. Crossing to Xiamen counts as leaving Taiwan and, from the mainland side, as leaving China, so single-entry visa holders cannot do a same-day there-and-back. Run bySeveral private ferry companies run the route under the mini three links framework; vessels seen on 28 September 2026 included 新金祥龍, 新東方, 新捷安, 金瑞龍, 新五緣 and 金星6號.
Shuitou to Quanzhou Shijing
Shuitou Pier to Shijing (石井), Quanzhou, mainland China
Same pier and ticket hall as the Xiamen boats; ask specifically for the Shijing (石井) sailing, shown on the harbour board under the destination code ShinJin
- When
- A couple of sailings a day; the live board for 28 September 2026 showed two, at 09:50 and 16:35
- Takes
- Not stated on the source; Wikivoyage's older figure for this Quanzhou link was about 1 hour
- Fare
- No current fare found; ask at the Shuitou ticket counter
SeasonDaily; subject to the same weather and harbourmaster suspensions as the Xiamen route. BookingPier ticket counter. Run byNot confirmed from the sources found; not the same companies as the Wutong service.
By air
Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung to Kinmen Airport
Kinmen Airport (KNH, Shang-i/尚義), Jinhu township, to Taipei Songshan, Taichung, Chiayi, Tainan, Kaohsiung and Magong
Only Uni Air and Mandarin Airlines fly this domestic route; book through either airline or a Taiwanese travel agent. This is the only way to reach Kinmen directly from Taiwan proper without your own boat
- When
- Several flights a day on the Taipei route, fewer on the others
- Takes
- Under an hour from any Taiwan airport
- Fare 2021
- One-way a little over NT$2,000 as of a 2021 note; not re-confirmed for 2026, so treat as datedSeen in 2021: a floor, not a price.
SeasonYear-round, but see the fog service_status entry below: flights are frequently cancelled or diverted in spring. BookingAirline website or agent; book ahead around Lunar New Year and other Taiwanese holidays when Kinmen residents fly home in large numbers. Run byMandarin Airlines and Uni Air.
Rules, permits and closures
Sea fog closes Kinmen's airport and, at times, its ferries
Kinmen Airport and the Shuitou ferry terminal
Not a service to book; a condition to check before you fly or sail. Kinmen's civil aviation station and Taiwanese news outlets post cancellations the same day; there is no advance forecast that reliably predicts a fog closure more than a day out
- When
- Most common in spring and early summer, but news reporting shows the airport closing for fog outside the main season too
- Takes
- A single closure has run from a few hours to several days in reported cases, stranding passengers until fog lifts or the military flies in extra relief flights
- Fare
- Not applicable
SeasonChinese Wikipedia describes it as effectively a recurring spring event; Taiwanese news from 2026 shows both the airport and the mini-three-links ferries suspended together during a fog event around the Qingming holiday.
Military land and restricted islets
Large parts of Kinmen county were, and in places still are, a militarised front line
Do not photograph bridges, dams or anything that looks like infrastructure; the outlying Wuqiu islands are governed by the military and closed to outside visitors, and the Dadan/Erdan islets southwest of Little Kinmen have had their public boat tours suspended since before the pandemic with no resumption confirmed
- When
- Ongoing restriction, not a schedule
- Takes
- Not applicable
- Fare
- Not applicable
SeasonOngoing as of the source's last edit. BookingNone available; Wuqiu is not open to tourists at all, and Dadan/Erdan access has not been confirmed as restored.
By road
Greater Kinmen to Little Kinmen (Lieyu) via Kinmen Bridge
Public bus routes cross the 5.4 km Kinmen Bridge, opened 30 October 2022, connecting Jinning township on Greater Kinmen to Lieyu township
Ask at the Kincheng bus station for a Lieyu-bound service; before 2022 this leg was a dedicated ferry and Wikivoyage's older text still describes crossing 'until the long-delayed Kinmen Bridge is completed', which the brief and Wikipedia confirm has since happened
- When
- Not itemised in the sources found
- Takes
- A few minutes to cross the bridge itself
- Fare
- Standard island bus fare; not itemised for this specific leg in the sources found
SeasonYear-round. Run byKinmen County Bus and Ferry Management Office (金門縣公車處).
Kinmen county public bus network
Routes across Greater Kinmen (including the ferry terminal and airport) and into Little Kinmen; red 1 line (紅一) to airport and pier, buses 7/7A/7B to Shuitou, 9/10/11 to the northwest
Kincheng bus station in Jincheng is the hub and has a tourist information counter; buses stop on request and the driver will skip a stop with nobody waiting, so press the stop button
- When
- Infrequent outside the main lines; does not run late
- Takes
- Varies by route; crossing the whole island can take most of an hour
- Fare 2022
- NT$12 for most rides, NT$24 for the longest island crossings, NT$10 to Little Kinmen, as recorded in 2022; Taiwanese government and news reporting shows the county has also run month-long free-ride promotions (for example a 'World Public Transport Day' free May) in more recent years, so check locally whether a promotion is running rather than assuming either the paid or the free fareSeen in 2022: a floor, not a price.
SeasonYear-round. BookingNone, pay the driver or use an EasyCard. Run byKinmen County Bus and Ferry Management Office (金門縣公車處).
Hired, booked and on demand
Island taxis
Concentrated in Jincheng town centre; not reliably found elsewhere on the island
Flag one down in central Jincheng or ask your accommodation to call one; drivers mostly speak only Mandarin or Minnan, so have your destination written in Chinese
- When
- On demand, but scarce outside the town centre
- Takes
- Shuitou wharf to downtown Jincheng is a short ride
- Fare 2022
- NT$250 flat rate from Shuitou wharf to downtown Jincheng, roughly NT$200 back to the wharf, per a 2022 noteSeen in 2022: a floor, not a price.
SeasonYear-round. BookingNone; negotiate the fare with the driver. Run byIndependent drivers.
On foot, by bike, or otherwise
Scooter rental
Island-wide; rental counters at the airport and in downtown Jincheng near Mofan Street
Many guesthouses arrange rental directly; otherwise there is a rental shop at the airport and one near the north entrance to Mofan St (模範街) in Jincheng
- When
- On demand
- Takes
- A full loop of Greater Kinmen by scooter for someone who knows the roads takes about half an hour without stopping; visitors should expect a full day
- Fare 2022
- About NT$550 per 24 hours for a 150cc scooter, per a 2022 noteSeen in 2022: a floor, not a price.
SeasonYear-round; road closures unrelated to weather (military work, resurfacing) are common enough that navigation apps may not reflect them. BookingA Taiwanese scooter or motorcycle licence is legally required. Run byIndependent rental shops.
K-Bike public bike share
Automated docking stations around Greater Kinmen, similar to Taiwan's YouBike
Docking stations at tourist sites and town centres; Little Kinmen has a near-complete perimeter bike path linking most of its sights and is considered the better half of the island for cycling
- When
- On demand from any station with bikes available
- Takes
- Varies
- Fare 2022
- Free for the first hour, per a 2022 noteSeen in 2022: a floor, not a price.
SeasonYear-round; summer heat and year-round winds are the practical limit on Greater Kinmen, where distances between sights are large. Run byKinmen county government.
What we could not find out
6 things the researcher looked for and did not find, in their own words, with where to ask instead. None of this goes into the planner; it stays here until someone confirms it.
- 01
No dated, checkable source found for a current small-three-links ferry fare in New Taiwan dollars from the Kinmen side beyond the undated NT$750 figure on the Xiamen Wikivoyage page; ask at the Shuitou pier counter for the same-day price.
- 02
Could not confirm whether the pre-2022 Little Kinmen passenger ferry still runs as a fallback to the Kinmen Bridge, or has been withdrawn entirely.
- 03
Could not resolve a working, citable link for recent (2025-2026) Kinmen county free-bus promotional months reported in Google News headlines from kmdn.gov.tw and other Taiwanese outlets; treat any 'buses are free' claim as unconfirmed until checked locally.
- 04
Could not confirm from a source whether the Dadan/Erdan islet boat tours, suspended pre-pandemic per Wikivoyage, have since resumed.
- 05
Duration and fare for the Shuitou–Quanzhou Shijing ferry could not be confirmed from a current source; the live harbour board confirms only that it operates.
- 06
The Kinmen port page cited for the Shijing route is a live departure board, so the quoted sailing row is whatever was showing on the day it was read. The route and operator it evidences are stable; the individual time is not.
What the planner can route today
The options above live on the place page, not in the departure board: a boat that comes when you phone has no time to show. What the board can do for Kinmen is this.
- Y
- Scheduled flightsXiamen (XMN), 27 km
- Y
- Trains and coachesTransitous carries 1 timetable feed for this country, 0 with real-time
- Y
- Ferries水頭碼頭, 9 km; sailings estimated
- Y
- Driving and taxiOpenStreetMap roads; cab fare from the country band
- N
- Bike and scooter shareno share feed known
- N
- Cruisesno open itinerary source anywhere
Y routable now · F found, not yet implemented · N no source known.