Place

Kinmen (Quemoy)

How locals move

Getting around Kinmen (Quemoy) the local way

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.

01
Mini Three Links: Shuitou to Xiamen Wutongferry
Shuitou Pier (水頭碼頭), Greater Kinmen, to Xiamen Wutong Passenger Terminal (五通客运码头)
Where
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
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
Takes
About 30 minutes
Season
Runs 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
Booking
Buy 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
Sources: port.kinmen.gov.tw (2026-09-28) · en.wikivoyage.org (2026-09) · confidence high
02
Shuitou to Quanzhou Shijingferry
Shuitou Pier to Shijing (石井), Quanzhou, mainland China
Where
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
Fare
No current fare found; ask at the Shuitou ticket counter
Takes
Not stated on the source; Wikivoyage's older figure for this Quanzhou link was about 1 hour
Season
Daily; subject to the same weather and harbourmaster suspensions as the Xiamen route
Booking
Pier ticket counter
Sources: port.kinmen.gov.tw (2026-09-28) · confidence medium
03
Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung to Kinmen Airportscheduled flight
Kinmen Airport (KNH, Shang-i/尚義), Jinhu township, to Taipei Songshan, Taichung, Chiayi, Tainan, Kaohsiung and Magong
Where
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
Fare (2021)
One-way a little over NT$2,000 as of a 2021 note; not re-confirmed for 2026, so treat as dated
Takes
Under an hour from any Taiwan airport
Season
Year-round, but see the fog service_status entry below: flights are frequently cancelled or diverted in spring
Booking
Airline website or agent; book ahead around Lunar New Year and other Taiwanese holidays when Kinmen residents fly home in large numbers
Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2021-10) · confidence medium
04
Sea fog closes Kinmen's airport and, at times, its ferriesservice status
Kinmen Airport and the Shuitou ferry terminal
Where
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
Fare
Not applicable
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
Season
Chinese 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
Booking
Not applicable
Sources: zh.wikipedia.org (2026-09) · confidence medium
05
Greater Kinmen to Little Kinmen (Lieyu) via Kinmen Bridgebus
Public bus routes cross the 5.4 km Kinmen Bridge, opened 30 October 2022, connecting Jinning township on Greater Kinmen to Lieyu township
Where
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
Fare
Standard island bus fare; not itemised for this specific leg in the sources found
Takes
A few minutes to cross the bridge itself
Season
Year-round
Booking
None
Sources: en.wikipedia.org (2026-09) · focustaiwan.tw (2022-10-30) · confidence medium
06
Kinmen county public bus networkbus
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
Where
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
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 fare
Takes
Varies by route; crossing the whole island can take most of an hour
Season
Year-round
Booking
None, pay the driver or use an EasyCard
Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2022-07) · confidence medium
07
Island taxisprivate hire
Concentrated in Jincheng town centre; not reliably found elsewhere on the island
Where
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
Fare (2022)
NT$250 flat rate from Shuitou wharf to downtown Jincheng, roughly NT$200 back to the wharf, per a 2022 note
Takes
Shuitou wharf to downtown Jincheng is a short ride
Season
Year-round
Booking
None; negotiate the fare with the driver
Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2022-07) · confidence medium
08
Scooter rentalscooter hire
Island-wide; rental counters at the airport and in downtown Jincheng near Mofan Street
Where
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
Fare (2022)
About NT$550 per 24 hours for a 150cc scooter, per a 2022 note
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
Season
Year-round; road closures unrelated to weather (military work, resurfacing) are common enough that navigation apps may not reflect them
Booking
A Taiwanese scooter or motorcycle licence is legally required
Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2022-07) · confidence medium
09
K-Bike public bike sharebicycle hire
Automated docking stations around Greater Kinmen, similar to Taiwan's YouBike
Where
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
Fare (2022)
Free for the first hour, per a 2022 note
Takes
Varies
Season
Year-round; summer heat and year-round winds are the practical limit on Greater Kinmen, where distances between sights are large
Booking
None
Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2022-07) · confidence medium
10
Military land and restricted isletsservice status
Large parts of Kinmen county were, and in places still are, a militarised front line
Where
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
Fare
Not applicable
Takes
Not applicable
Season
Ongoing as of the source's last edit
Booking
None available; Wuqiu is not open to tourists at all, and Dadan/Erdan access has not been confirmed as restored
Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2022-07) · confidence medium

Not yet confirmed: 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.; 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.; 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.; Could not confirm from a source whether the Dadan/Erdan islet boat tours, suspended pre-pandemic per Wikivoyage, have since resumed.; 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.; 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..

The field note on Kinmen (Quemoy) reads this entry in full, one option at a time, with every source beside it.

We have no description for this place yet. The planner still knows how to get there.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.