Cijin Sunset Bar

Cijin Sunset Bar sits directly on the beach of Cijin Island, a narrow strip of land accessible from central Kaohsiung by a short ferry ride. The island is one of the city's most popular day-trip destinations, and the Sunset Bar has positioned itself as the perfect place to end a beach day — right on the sand, facing west into the Taiwan Strait, with a cold craft beer in hand. Owned and operated by Graham, an American who fell in love with Kaohsiung, the bar has a genuinely tropical feel: bamboo walls, surf boards propped against the facade, reggae on the sound system, and a daily happy hour between 5pm and 7pm when beers, ales, ciders, wine, and house spirits drop to NT$100. The drink selection includes local Taiwanese craft IPAs alongside cocktails, ciders, and fresh fruit smoothies. The food programme is impressively broad for a beach bar — Italian-style pasta and risotto, American classics, Asian-inflected bar snacks, and BBQ dishes — all executed better than you might expect given the location. Weekend beach parties are a regular fixture, details via the Cijin Sunset Bar Facebook page. For sunset drinks with your feet in the sand, there is nowhere else quite like it in Taiwan.