Tainan is a good city for a family trip. The temples and old streets are close together, the big museums are built with children in mind, and the best outings, a boat through the mangroves or an afternoon on the sand, are short and easy. The short version:
- Do one big museum. Chimei for the animals and fossils, or the National Museum of Taiwan History for its hands-on children's hall.
- Get on the water. The 30-minute raft ride through the Sicao Green Tunnel is gentle and cheap, and small children pay NT$30.
- Plan around the heat. Outdoors in the morning and late afternoon, indoors at midday.
- Check the closing day. Most museums close on Mondays, but Chimei closes on Wednesdays.
Getting here and around with kids
- High speed rail: children under 115 cm ride free, as do children under 6 who are taller, with ID. Free children don't get their own seat, and each paying passenger can bring two. Children from 115 cm up to age 12 pay half fare (with ID if they're 150 cm or taller).
- Regular trains: Taiwan Railway uses the same heights and ages: free under 115 cm (or under 6 with ID), half fare up to age 12, two free children per adult. A free child who takes a reserved seat needs a child ticket.
- Family cars: some Tze-Chiang express trains have a family car (親子車廂) with a nursing room and a diaper-changing table, and the push-pull trains add a stroller parking area and a play area. Pick the family seat option when you book a train that has one. They are for families with children under 12 and pregnant passengers, and may be turned into ordinary seats on long holiday weekends.
- In the city: Uber and taxis are the easy way between sights with tired children. → Getting around Tainan
→ Getting to Tainan · Taipei to Tainan
Museums made for children
Chimei Museum. The Chimei Museum (奇美博物館) has halls of animals from five continents and fossils, alongside the art, violins and armor. It's free for children under 7, and NT$150 from 7 to 22. The service desk on the first floor lends strollers, and there's a nursing room with a sofa, a sink, a changing table and hot and cold drinking water, plus family toilets and changing tables in some areas. The lawn in front is made for a picnic. It's open 09:30 to 17:30 and closed on Wednesdays.
National Museum of Taiwan History. The Time Adventure Children's Hall (時光探險兒童廳) at the National Museum of Taiwan History (國立臺灣歷史博物館) is a hands-on gallery where kids ride a rocking train theater, dress up, build old-style houses and row a boat chasing flying fish. On weekdays outside the summer holidays it's open 09:30 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 16:30. On weekends, holidays and in summer it runs in 45-minute sessions of up to 100 people, so queue at the door. Entry is NT$50 for children 6 to 11 and free under 6. Outside, the Taiwan History Park (臺灣歷史公園) has a lake and space to run, open 05:00 to 22:00. The museum is closed on Mondays.
MoMA Tainan. In the old town, the National Museum of Modern Art Tainan has a children's art center inside, and entry is free for anyone 18 and under. → Tainan Art Museum and MoMA Tainan
For more, including fossils and a planetarium out of town, see the kids' question at the end of our museum guide. → All Tainan museums · fossils and old waterworks for a family drive
Boats, forts and tree roots in Anping
- Sicao Green Tunnel (四草綠色隧道): a 30-minute raft ride down an old canal under a roof of mangroves, with fiddler crabs and mudskippers on the banks. Sailings run 08:15 to 16:00. NT$200 for adults, NT$100 for children 7 to 12 and NT$30 up to age 6. Go early for cooler air and shorter queues, and bring hats.
- Anping Tree House (安平樹屋): a warehouse swallowed by banyan roots, with raised walkways up among the branches, where squirrels and birds live. Open 08:30 to 17:30 daily.
- Anping Old Fort (安平古堡): a lookout tower to climb and old walls to explore. Free for children 6 and under; the Tree House ticket follows the same rules.
These three are close together, so they make an easy family morning. → Anping half-day plan
Ten Drum: a show and a playground
Ten Drum Cultural Village (十鼓文創園區), in an old sugar refinery, is the most kid-shaped day out in Tainan. The ticket covers a live drum show (daily at 11:00 and 15:00), a family exhibition on how sugar is made, a children's play area, a little steam train, and active things for older kids: zip lines, a climbing wall, laser tag and archery. Under 12s ride the indoor zip line with an adult. Children 6 to 12 pay NT$450, ages 3 to 5 NT$290, and under 3 go free with a paying adult. Ten Drum suggests trousers and closed shoes, because some walkways are see-through. It's close to Chimei, so you can pair the two.
Sand, sea air and open space
- Golden Coast (黃金海岸): Tainan's southernmost shore, a sandy beach of nearly 5 km in South District, free and open all day. The city's tourism site pitches it for playing in the sand and at the water's edge, and for sunsets. There's a visitor center with toilets and a place to rinse sandy feet. A 9.8 km bike path runs along it. Stay out of the water: a national audit lists this coast among Taiwan's rip-current drowning hotspots. Enjoy the sand and the sunset, and keep everyone out of the sea. → Cycling in Tainan
- Lin Moniang Park (林默娘公園): the Anping waterfront park where local families fly kites at sunset. → Anping guide
- Blueprint Culture and Creative Park (藍晒圖文創園區): big murals and art in the old town, fun for photos. Shops keep their own hours; most open in the afternoon and many close on Tuesdays.
- Qigu Salt Mountain (七股鹽山): a white hill of old salt, about six storeys high, that kids can climb, about an hour north by car. Open 09:00 to 18:00; NT$50 per person on foot. The Taiwan Salt Museum next door is closed for renovation until around the end of 2027. → Qigu day trip
- Xinying sugar railway (新營糖鐵): little sugar-cane trains through the fields from Zhongxing Station in Xinying, on weekends and public holidays only. Adults NT$150 return to Huoshaodian, children half fare, 6 and under free.
Night markets with kids
Night markets are a treat for children: games, snacks on sticks, shaved ice. They rotate through the week, so check which one is open tonight. The biggest, the Garden Night Market (花園夜市), runs Thursday to Sunday. They get packed later in the evening, so go early, agree on a meeting point, and think about a baby carrier rather than a stroller in the crowd. → Tainan night markets
Heat, rain and pacing
From May to September most days are above 30°C, and summer brings heavy rain and typhoons. Follow the local rhythm: outings early, a museum or a long lunch at midday, out again as it cools. Bring hats, water and sunscreen for the boats, the beach and the salt mountain, where there's little shade. → Best time to visit · A rainy day in Tainan
Kids' camps
If you're staying a while, or visiting in a school holiday, camps and holiday programs are a good way for kids to find their feet. camps.asia keeps a verified list of kids' camps in Tainan, from outdoor adventure to science camps, with ages and seasons.
Sources
Train fares from the Taiwan High Speed Rail fares page and Taiwan Railway's passenger transport contract; family cars from Taiwan Railway's family car page. Chimei's strollers, nursing room and prices from the Chimei Museum visitor information. The children's hall from the National Museum of Taiwan History. The Golden Coast from Travel Tainan, and Blueprint's closing day from Travel Tainan. Hours, prices and details for the other sights are on the linked guide pages, each with its own sources. Golden Coast water safety from the Taipei Times report on the National Audit Office's drowning hotspots. Blueprint's shop hours from the city's Blueprint tenant rules. Checked October 2026.