Taiwan is all about its night markets, they’re what the country is known for and rightly so because they’re a lot of fun, not to mention incredibly delicious and the Kaohsiung Night Markets are no exception!
Kaohsiung in Southern Taiwan is a city that must be on your Taiwan itinerary. So in this Kaohsiung travel blog and Kaohsiung travel guide, I’m going to give you 3 night markets in Kaohsiung to visit in Kaohsiung and the best night markets in Kaohsiung to add to your Kaohsiung itinerary
Kaohsiung Night Markets
1. Ruifeng Night Market
I think Ruifeng Night Market is the best Kaohsiung night market and perhaps even the best night market in Taiwan, it’s certainly my favourite! (It’s also spelt Rueifong Night Market)
I like Ruifeng Market because it’s not on a street like most of them are including the Taipei Night Market of Raohe Night Market. It’s in a car park which makes for a much more pleasant experience when walking between it’s stalls.
Although it covers a fairly small area it is packed with different food stalls, it’s also a bit more touristy than other night markets in Kaohsiung like Kaisyuan Night Market, however as a tourist in Taiwan who can’t read or speak Mandarin, I like this!
Not only are there stalls with takeaway food but there’s a number of sit down street food stalls too so you don’t have to eat and walk, and there’s a whole section of Ruifeng Night Market Kaohsiung that is dedicated to games!
What to Eat at Ruifeng Night Market: Bubble Tea Toasties if you want to try something really different and a bit strange!
Opening Hours of Ruifeng Night Market: 6:00 pm to midnight and it’s closed on Monday and Wednesday.
Closest MRT to Ruifeng Night Market: Kaohsiung Arena on the Red Line and then a 2-minute walk.
I suggest combining a trip to Lotus Pond with Ruifeng Night Markets because Rei Feng Night Market is a bit far out of the city and so is Lotus Pond so it’s a good way to see both in limited time. Here’s my blog post on what to do at Lotus Pond!
If you’re vegetarian to check out this blog post for Vegetarian Food at Taiwans Night Markets!
Need help booking a train to Kaohsiung from elsewhere in Taiwan? You can’t book trains in Taiwan using the Taiwan Train System but you can book them on 12GO Asia. So book your trains around Taiwan here!
2. Luihe Tourist Night Market
Luihe Night Market, also spelt as Liouhe Night Market is a lot more centrally located just down the road from Formosa Boulevard metro station and it is the Kaohsiung Night Market that is known as the ‘tourist night market’ but don’t let that put you off.
This night market runs the whole way down Luihe 2nd Road although most of the street is blocked off for traffic which helps. Here you’ll only find food, no games and other stalls.
It’s an easy market to walk up and down checking out the different food stands before you make a choice on what to eat. There are sit down restaurants, the restaurants are on the sides of the street and the tables in the middle however I do find that these usually do not have English menus.
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The only negative I found to this market is that buses of tourists groups are taken to it, I believe they are Chinese tourists so they do add to the crowds in this Kaohsiung Night Market, but there is enough space on the street and overall if you’re looking for places to eat in Kaohsiung, this is one of the best Kaohsiung Night Markets due to its central location.
What to Eat at Luihe Night Market: BBQ Mochi!
Opening Hours of Luihe Night Market: From 6:00 pm every day.
Closest MRT to Luihe Night Market: Formosa Boulevard and from there it’s a few minutes walk. Be sure to check out the Dome of Light inside this metro station too which is really cool!
Related Post: Be sure to check out The Best Things To Do in Kaohsiung!
To help you plan your trip around Taiwan, have a look at all of my Taiwan Blog Posts here!
3. Kaisyuan Night Market
Kaisyuan Night Market in Kaohsiung was a little disappointing for me as it was pretty quiet when I visited.
It covers a fairly large site just off of the road so again it benefits from no traffic. It has a good number of food stands although many were closed when I went. It also has a huge area for games as well as a good number of stalls selling clothes, souvenirs and things like this.
I did go on a Thursday and this is more of a weekend night market in Kaohsiung as it’s only open Thursday to Sunday so I feel like visiting on a Saturday or Sunday night might bring more people and stalls.
I will say that if you are visiting Kaohsiung with children, this is a really good market to visit, firstly because it’s way from the road and traffic, secondly because there are a lot of places for children to play like playground climbing frames and swings.
I would recommend this Kaohsiung Night Market to you if you have a few days in Kaohsiung and have already been to the 2 markets above and fancy visiting another when looking for where to eat in Kaohsiung, but as a first-time visitor to Kaohsiung, I don’t recommend you prioritise this one over these two.
What to Eat at Kaisyuan Night Market: Not food but drink, Taiwanese Beer is served in a bar-type stall here which is something I have never seen in any of the night markets in Taiwan!
Opening Hours of Kaisyuan Night Market: 5:00 pm to midnight on Thursday-Sunday. This market is closed Monday-Wednesday.
Closest MRT to Kaisyuan Night Market: Kaisyuan MRT Station and from here it’s a 10-minute walk down the main road or you can jump on the tram which is outside the metro station 2 stops to directly outside the markets.
More Kaohsiung Night Markets
You may also read on some Kaohsiung travel blog posts that there’s an additional market called Jin Zuan Night Market which is opposite Kaisyuan however as of writing this post, Google tells me that this market is permanently closed so don’t go looking for it. However, if you happen to find it and it’s open, please let me know so I can keep this blog post updated.
TAIWAN ITINERARY HELP
Here are my top Taiwan itinerary posts to help your plan your trip:
- 2 Week Taiwan Itinerary!
- 1 week Taiwan Itinerary!
- 18 Best Places to Visit in Taiwan!
- How to Plan a Trip to Taiwan!
TAIWAN ON A BUDGET
Taiwan isn’t the cheapest country but it’s not the most expensive either and can be travelled on a reasonable budget. Here’s my post on the cost of travel in Taiwan and how to travel Taiwan on a budget!
There are also many other night markets in Kaohsiung however these are much more local Kaohsiung night markets. There’s no reason why you can’t visit them as a tourist but they will be smaller and I presume have no English signs, but if you fancy a really local experience lookup:
- Jilin Night Market
- Gaoxiong Night Market
- Guanghua Night
Market - Pier 2 Night Market
- Jhongsiao Night Market
If you’re vegetarian to check out this blog post to see what you can eat in the markets!
- Kaohsiung Travel Guides:
- The Best Things To Do in Kaohsiung!
- 2-3 Day Itinerary for Kaohsiung!
- How to Visit Cijin Island From Kaohsiung & Things To Do in Cijin Island!
- How to Visit Lotus Pond in Kaohsiung
- Taiwan Travel Guides:
- How To Do a Day Trip from Taichung to Sun Moon Lake!
- How to Do a Day Trip to Taroko National Park via Bus from Hualien!
- 12 Taipei Travel Tips and Things To Know about Taipei!