Yilan, Lucky Art Tourist Factory 蜡藝彩繪館

front of the building

ticket counter/waiting area

1st station- coloring

2nd station-make your own markers

Location: google map

Pros: an unique experience, relatively cheap,

Cons: everyone needs a ticket, regardless of whether you want to do the activities or not. crowded on weekends.

Ticket: $200/person ($100 can be used toward gift purchases)

Duration: 1~2hrs

My boys (5,7,8) all enjoyed the activities here. There are 4 craft stations included with your ticket: 1. coloring 2. making your own markers. 3 & 4. make your own crayons (one you can pick your own mold from a selection of letters/numbers and the other is a taiwan shaped crayon). They do get crowded on weekends of course, but luckily they do crowd control so you are not fighting your way through crowds as you do each activity (still a bit crowded, but could be worse). We went on a Saturday morning, and we only had to wait for 5 mins or so until our number (you get a number after you purchase your tickets) was called. I would suggest your child to be at least 4 years old to fully enjoy this place.

Longshan Park, Hsinchu 龍山公園

Location: google map

Pros: small, contained, there's a Family Mart near by

Cons: no bathrooms on site, no shade, might be hard to find parking

This is a cute little neighborhood park near Costco in Hsinchu. The playground structure is pretty big for the small park. If you get thirsty or need a potty break, there's a Family Mart about 2 min walk away. 

Elephant Garden, Taipei 象園親子餐廳

small playground inside

Location: google map, inside CITYLINK Nangang. MRT blue line Nangang Station
Pros: N/A
Cons: N/A

We walked past this restaurant once and I just wanted to share of its existence. My boys are too old to play at a playground like this, but if you have little ones under age 5 this might be fun. It was lunch time on a Saturday and it didn't seem terribly busy.

Zhongyan Park, Taipei 中研公園

Location: google map

Pros: swing, skating rink, climbing bars

Cons: there's not much around the park. no shade. no easy access with public transportation. 

It's the first park I've been to with artificial grass! it has a small playground that's suitable for preschoolers, and a wheel turning thing that my boys loved to walk on. It's a decent park you happen to be in the area, but I would not cab/drive here specifically for the park itself!

Bali, Kuta Beach

it's a coral beach. it hurts!!

still beautiful though

Location: google map
Pros: busy, lots of vendors, baby sea turtle release on site, close to lots of shopping
Cons: crowded, lots of corals and hurts to walk barefoot on the beach

We went there for the baby sea turtle release and wanted to play at the beach afterwards, but geez! it hurt so much to walk barefoot on this beach!! Even my boys couldn't stand it and wanted to leave. Although I still saw plenty of family with young children running around on the beach, my boys would rather go back to the hotel and swim.

Miaoli, Mele Hula Campsite 音樂之舞營地

great view

Location: google map
Pros: great view of the lake, relatively easy to get to compare to some other campsites. cabin available for booking.
Cons: mosquitos

We went at the end of May so the weather was already warming up. Also because this place is right by the lake, we got eaten up by mosquitos...!!! With that being said, it is still a pretty good campsite with a gorgeous view. You have one sink, several outlets, and a cabin with a decent shower/bathroom inside. This may be a good choice when the weather is cool.

Hsinchu, Fantasy Island Discovery Paradise 奇幻島探索樂園

"Rope maze"

an employee helping my son with the slide

Location: inside Big City Mall, 7th floor. google map to Big City
Pros: clean, supervision by on site employees, good for rainy days
Cons: no parent seating available, a bit pricey for what it is. *they require you to have non-slip socks to play, which can be purchased at $30 each. (a totally ridiculous policy)
Age: no age limit, but I would suggest parents go in with kids under 5. (unless you have older siblings to watch them)

There are two parts to this facility: the "Rope Maze" and the "Discovery Zone" (that's my literal translation, maybe they have an actual English name?? :)). You have to buy tickets to each separately,  which I believe is $499 for each ticket and it gives you 3 hours. 3 hours is A LONG TIME.....my boys were done with it within an hr and a half. But I guess some parents are comfortable enough to leave their older children here for three hours while they go shopping somewhere else in the mall.

I would not recommend the Discovery zone, because your kid will have to wear a helmet/vest and be strapped on to a safety chord while walking on the beams. It might be worth it to try it once, but I definitely prefer my kids to run around freely.