Unusual Expedition

Matsu Islands Blue Tears & Milky Way Photo Tour – Taiwan

Photograph the blue tears and the milky way over matsu's granite islands on a 9-day new-moon photo tour of dongju and beigan, taiwan, 1 to 9 may 2027.

Matsu Islands Blue Tears & Milky Way Photo Tour – Taiwan – Taiwan photography tour

Country
Taiwan
Departure Dates
01 May 2027 To 09 May 2027
Tour Code
TWN20270501G1
Tour Leader
Carlos Monforte

Room Type And Pricing

  • Single Room: S$2,400
  • Share Room: S$2,000

Tour Itinerary

Day 1 | Singapore | Taipei | Keelung | Overnight Ferry To Matsu

Our Matsu Islands photo tour begins with the morning flight from Singapore to Taipei and a coach straight through to Keelung, the port city on the north coast. After an early dinner at the Miaokou night market we check in for the Taima Star, the overnight ferry to Matsu. We sail by ferry rather than fly for a reason: Matsu sea fog grounds the small aircraft for days at a time in spring, and a cancelled flight at either end would put the whole trip at risk. The ship leaves after dark and the open deck is a long way from any town light, so on a clear night the stars begin before we have even reached the islands.

Meals: N/A

Day 2 | Nangan | Dongju Island | Lighthouse & Fuzheng Village | First Blue Tears Night

We arrive at Nangan early in the morning, take breakfast by the harbour and catch the small ferry south to Dongju, the quietest of the inhabited Matsu islands and our base for three nights. The afternoon is spent at Dongquan Lighthouse, built in 1872 on the northern headland, and in Fuzheng, a restored Fujian stone village that sits directly above the beach we shoot that night. After sunset we walk down to Fuzheng beach for our first blue tears session. The glowing dinoflagellates are brightest where the waves break, so we work the surf line with tripods, fast wide lenses and red head torches. For those still awake, the Milky Way core rises over the sea in the south-east after midnight.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 3 | Dongju | Dapu Stone Village | Optional Xiju | Blue Tears & Milky Way

Nothing on this Taiwan blue tears photography tour starts before mid-morning, because the real work happens after dark. We sleep in, then walk the southern half of Dongju: Dapu, an abandoned fishing settlement of granite houses above a small harbour and a quiet beach, and the coastal trail back towards Mengao. Depending on the sea, there is an optional fifteen-minute ferry hop to neighbouring Xiju for Qingfan village and the Caipuao cliffs. The evening repeats the beach session, choosing between Fuzheng and Dapu according to the wind and wave on the night, followed by a second Milky Way session if the sky holds.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 4 | Dongju | Free Day | Lighthouse Sunset | Last Night On Dongju

By the third day everyone knows the island, so the daylight hours are left open to return to the frames that worked, shoot the lighthouse with the sun behind the camera, or simply rest for the night ahead. We regroup at the lighthouse for sunset and blue hour with the lamp lit, then head back to the beach for the last Dongju blue tears session, now only two nights from new moon and the darkest sky of the trip so far. Milky Way photography follows after midnight for anyone still standing.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 5 | Dongju | Nangan | Beigan Island | Banli & Qiaozi Beaches

Two sailings move us north today: the open-sea ferry back to Nangan and the short shuttle across the channel to Beigan, our base for the second half of this Matsu Islands photography tour. After checking in to the guesthouse we drive the island in daylight to mark positions for the night, from Tangqi town to Banli beach and the fishing village of Qiaozi. Dinner in Tangqi, then the first Beigan blue tears session at Banli or Qiaozi, whichever the wind favours, with the Milky Way again after midnight. This is the night before new moon.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 6 | Beigan | Qinbi Stone Village | Turtle Island | New Moon Night

Qinbi is the reason most photographers come to Beigan: a terraced village of granite houses stacked up the hillside above a small bay, facing Turtle Island. The morning goes to Qiaozi with its harbour and eight temples, and we rest through the flat midday light. Late afternoon we climb into Qinbi when the western light reaches the terraces, staying through sunset and blue hour with the lanes to ourselves. Tonight is new moon and the darkest night of the tour, so after dinner in the village we shoot the blue tears along the Qinbi shoreline and then the Milky Way rising over Turtle Island. This is the session the whole trip is timed around.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 7 | Beigan | Wusha Beihai Tunnel | Bishan Lookout | Final Night On The Islands

Our last full island day starts at the Wusha Beihai Tunnel, a sea-level military tunnel cut through the granite, and the dunes behind Banli beach. The afternoon is free, with an optional boat to Daqiu to photograph the island's sika deer if the sea is calm. Late in the day we drive up Bishan, the highest point in Matsu, and walk the lookout trail for the panorama over the Beigan runway, Tangqi and the islands beyond, with aircraft landing below the viewpoint when the fog allows. Sunset from the summit, dinner in Tangqi, then the final blue tears and Milky Way sessions of the tour.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 8 | Beigan | Nangan | Day Ferry To Keelung | Taipei

We take the shuttle back to Nangan and board the Taima Star for the daylight crossing to Keelung, a slow day at sea to sort images, back up cards and catch up on sleep after six nights of beach work. The ship arrives in Keelung in the early evening and a coach takes us into Taipei for the last night of the tour and a farewell dinner in the city.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 9 | Taipei | Singapore

A relaxed final morning in Taipei with time for breakfast and a last hour in the city, then the transfer to Taoyuan International Airport for the flight home to Singapore. In nine days this Matsu Islands photo tour has covered seven consecutive dark nights of blue tears and Milky Way photography across Dongju and Beigan, two of the finest stone villages in Taiwan, an 1872 lighthouse, military tunnels and the view from the top of Matsu, all timed to the May new moon when the bioluminescence is at its brightest.

Meals: Breakfast

Tour Photos

Matsu Islands Blue Tears & Milky Way Photo Tour – Taiwan – Taiwan photography tour photo 1

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