What It Is

Bali sits directly across the Tamsui River from Tamsui town, reached by a short passenger ferry rather than a bus or train. It pairs naturally with a Tamsui morning: cross after lunch, rent a bicycle at the pier, and ride the coastal trail out to a museum built over a 4,800-year-old archaeological site.

Getting There

Passenger ferry from the Tamsui Old Street pier to Bali Left Bank (八里左岸) — about 6 minutes crossing, return fare around NT$45 (confirm current price at the pier kiosk; combined river-cruise tickets cost more).

Bicycles

Rental stalls cluster at the Bali pier as soon as you step off the ferry. Standard rate around NT$100 for the day (to roughly 19:00 weekdays, 20:00 weekends). The riverside path northwest toward the museum is flat, paved, and separated from road traffic.

Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology (十三行博物館)

Built on the site of a Taiwan Iron Age settlement (roughly 1,800–500 years old, per the excavation), a couple of kilometres northwest of the Bali pier along the coastal cycling trail.

Admission: NT$80.
Hours: Mon–Fri 09:30–17:00; Sat–Sun 09:30–18:00.

Why Combine With Tamsui

The ferry crossing is short enough that Bali functions as an extension of a Tamsui day rather than a separate outing — most visitors do the Old Street and Fort San Domingo in the morning, cross for the afternoon, and return to the Tamsui MRT station by ferry before dinner.

Sources: ferry fare and bike rental per Taipei Travel Geek and Taiwanderers; museum admission/hours per Shihsanhang Museum official site. Checked 21 Aug 2026.