Traveling to Taiwan from the Mainland

[foodtarget]

I am currently studying at Xiamen University (sooo close to Taiwan) and am thinking about visiting a friend in Kaohsiung in the summer. If at all possible, I would like to take a more direct (and less expensive) route than the typical Mainland - HK - Taiwan triangle. I have read on other forums and in news stories that there is a ferry from Xiamen to Kinmen (金門) island (right off the coast of Fujian, you can see the small Kinmen island from Xiamen, but for some reason it is still under the control of Taiwan) that operates year-round. Once on Kinmen, there is an airport with flights (daily I think) to Taipei and maybe some other cities (hopefully Kaohsiung). So the plan is ferry to Kinmen, flight to Kaohsiung. The only problem is, I can't find any information about the ferry to Kinmen or flights out of Kinmen (and it doesn't help that Taiwanese internet sites are all blocked here).

So the question is, does anyone have experience with and/or information about traveling between Xiamen and Kinmen or between Kinmen and the rest of Taiwan? Also, as a US citizen, do I need any special visa to visit Taiwan for a short time (no more than a week)?

[Lu]

I am rather sure there is indeed a frequent ferry between Xiamen and Jinmen, and that there are frequent planes to Gaoxiong, Gaoxiong being a big city with an international airport.

But I'm not sure if you can get on the ferry if you're not from Xiamen or Jinmen. Actually you probably can, but not sure if it's legal.

[Long Zhiren]

With a valid US passport, visas are free and automatic for visits to Taiwan up to 30 days. (or was it 60?) You'll have no problem.

I will bet a nickel that direct flights between mainland and Taiwan will happen by the end of 2008. If the KMT gets the Presidency in March, the direct flights might begin sooner.