"Good" and "bad," by the way, are strictly relative terms. I'm not saying that my version of "good" or "worth going to" should be your version of "good" or "worth going to." Ditto for "bad" or "not worth going to." We all have our individual stuff that we like individually, and if you like a place, fine, I'm not trying to rain on your parade.
What follows is a list of places in south Taiwan that I think are worth visiting, and after that list is another list of places that I don't think are worth visiting, or which are, at best, overrated. And if it makes any difference to you, I've lived on this island for over 23 years, I've been to most of these places several times, and yes, I do live in south Taiwan at the time of writing.
So let's get to it, shall we?
Some "Good" Places
1. Budai Fishing Port 布袋漁港 (Jiayi)
Why I Like It: I dunno, it's just weird. I can't think of anything that this place has that other fishing ports don't (aside from weird statues), but for whatever reason I like it there. I haven't been back in a while, but I doubt it's changed much.
How Easy Is It To Get To?: Not easy. I suppose you could take a bus from Jiayi City, but it would be much easier to get there by car.
2. The National Museum of Taiwan History 國立台灣歷史博物館 (Tainan)
Why I Like It: It's one of the better museums in Taiwan, and there a lot of great exhibits featuring important chapters in the island's history. If you're not into reading history books, and you want a quick overview of what's been going on in Taiwan during the last few hundred years, this is the place to go.
How Easy Is It To Get To?: Most places outside downtown Tainan aren't that easy to get to. Lacking a car or scooter you'll need to take a taxi. It's in Annan District, north of Anping.
3. Tainan City Zuojhen Fossil Park 台南左鎮化石園區 (Tainan)
Why I Like It: It does a good job of combining Taiwan's aboriginal heritage with local geography and prehistory. Kids also love this place, so if you have small kids bring them along, too.
How Easy Is It To Get To?: It's near the mountains. You'll need a car to get there. It's in a relatively scenic area, and having your own wheels will make your visit better.
4. The Qigu Mangrove Protected Area 七股紅樹林保護區(Tainan)
Why I Like It: Who doesn't like a boat ride through mangrove trees? A lot of people, probably. But I enjoy this kind of thing, and a trip through the mangroves combined with a beer and a dinner of barbecued oysters sounds like a pretty good day to me. There's a strange little island on the other side of the bay, and it's a nice place to sit and admire the view.
How Easy Is It To Get To?: You'll need a car, or at least a scooter from downtown Tainan. Maybe there's a bus, but I wouldn't recommend it.
5. Qishan 旗山 (Kaohsiung)
Why I Like It: My feelings about this area are similar to those I have for Budai Fishing Port. It's just an odd little place on the way to nowhere special. I will say, however, that Gushan Park, just west of central Qishan, is an interesting walk into local history. There's an old shinto shrine at the top of the hill/mountain inside the park, and there are great views of the surrounding landscape from the shrine.
How Easy Is It To Get To?: You'd need to take a bus to Qishan
6. The Eye of Gangshan 岡山之眼 (Kaohsiung)
Why I Like It: Another great view if you time it right. I wouldn't go in the middle of the day or when the smog is thick, but early in the morning or after 5 p.m. are good times to go. You could easily combine a visit to the Eye of Gangshan with a trip to central Gangshan, an area with some overlooked restaurants.
How Easy Is It To Get To?: It's a haul. Even driving there from Ciaotou District took me a while. It's on the other side of an industrial area from central Gangshan, not far from the Agongdian Reservoir.
7. The Pier 1 Arts Center 駁二藝術特區 (Kaohsiung)
Why I Like It: It's the lively part of Kaohsiung. There's a lot of food, art, music and fun in both the Pier 1 Arts Center and the surrounding district. A lot of my favorite bars and restaurants are in this area.
How Easy Is It To Get To?: Pretty easy. The Yancheng MRT stop is up the street, and the Light Rail goes right through it.
8. Highway 24 from Sandimen 三地門 to Wutai 霧台 (Pingtung)
Why I Like It: This isn't so much a place as a series of places. From Sandimen Village (at the bottom of the hill) you can take a tour of several Paiwan and Rukai villages, sampling local foods, admiring local art and taking in some very scenic views along the way. It can feel like visiting another country.
How Easy Is It To Get To?: Getting there is tough, but I think you'll find it worth the effort, especially if you decide to spend the night in Wutai. If you're taking the bus, you'll want to first go to Pingtung City, take a bus from there to the Shuimen Transfer Station, and from Shuimen take a bus that goes to Wutai.
I should add that taking the bus up to Wutai only seems less convenient. Speaking as someone who's driven a car up that road a couple times, the bus is a lot less stressful.
Why I Like It: It's a genuinely interesting, genuinely educational institution. Oh, and if you have small kids they'll love playing in the whale pools between the ticketing area and the main building.
If you're planning on visiting often buy a membership. It's much cheaper than paying the entrance fee every time. It's also very easy to renew.
How Easy Is It To Get To?: Unfortunately (?) it's on the other side of Checheng Township, on the coast. If you're taking the Kenting Express you'll want to get off at the aquarium stop (they'll announce it), and take another bus west to the aquarium.
10. Nanwan ("South Bay") 南灣游憩區 (Pingtung)
Why I Like It: It can be a nice place to sit, drink a beer and stare at the ocean if you're not visiting on a holiday weekend. Is it paradise? Nope, but if you accept it for what it is (a rapidly aging holiday destination), it's good enough. Sure, the jet skis and ATVs are loud, and the view of the nuclear plant diminishes Nanwan's scenic value, but hey, it's Taiwan and this is what we've got.
How Easy Is It To Get To?: As with any spot in Pingtung south of Fangliao, you'll need to either drive yourself there or catch a bus. The good news is that the Kenting Express leaves from (Xin) Zuoying in Kaohsiung several times a day, so if you're getting off the HSR from parts north it's relatively easy to get to.
Some "Bad" Places
Why I Don't Like It: There's just not much there. Sure, you could combine it with a visit to Budai Fishing Port, but other than that there's not much in this area. It's a long way to go for a building that is, when all is said and done, mostly empty.
How Easy Is It To Get To?: Like Budai Fishing Port it's also located in a very out of the way part of Jiayi.
2. The Qimei Museum 奇美博物館 (Tainan)
Why I Don't Like It: The park around it is kind of nice around sunset, but the building and the collections feel like what they are: the things left behind by a very rich man. I'll admit that the weapons room is interesting, but at 200 NT a person I don't think there's enough in this museum to justify a trip in that direction.
How Easy Is It To Get To?: It's within walking distance of Bao-an Train Station, but be warned that there's not much else around there.
3. The Eminent Luggage Museum 萬國通路創意觀光工廠 (Tainan)
Why I Don't Like It: This one's kinda obvious, and I suppose I can only blame myself for going. Like many such "museums,' it's really just an excuse to sell things. Even so, I'm still mad that they had the audacity to charge me parking fee into the bargain.
How Easy Is It To Get To?: You could probably walk there from the Tainan HSR stop... but why would you?
4. The Mitsui Outlet Park (Tainan)
Why I Don't Like It: Honestly, just go to Dream Mall in Kaohiung, or if that's too far drive into downtown Tainan and visit Shin Kong Mitsukoshi. There's really not much to buy in the Mitsui Outlet Park, and the food selection is terrible.
How Easy Is It To Get To?: Easy. It's right next to the Tainan HSR station.
5. Eda Theme Park 義大遊樂世界 (Kaohsiung)
Why I Don't Like It: It's hot and overpriced. Also, many of the rides there look like they're about to fall apart at any moment, especially the ferris wheel.
I can only assume that the outlet mall that used to be there is still running. If so, I'm sure that outlet is now an even further reduced version of what it was when Eda first opened.
How Easy Is It To Get To?: If you don't have your own transportation you'll have to take a bus. It's in the hills east of downtown Kaohsiung.
6. The Shoushan Zoo 壽山動物園 (Kaohsiung)
Why I Don't Like It: It's hot in the summer, hard to get to, and not that interesting. I tend to feel sorry for the animals that live there. The Taipei Zoo is miles better.
In my opinion they should just give up on this location and build a better, more modern zoo elsewhere.
How Easy Is It To Get To?: There are bus and Light Rail stops down the hill, but you'll still have to walk up to the zoo, in Kaohsiung, on what is probably a hot day, with little shade available.
7. Yangnu Lake 養女湖 (Kaohsiung)
Why I Don't Like It: This is definitely the least famous place discussed here. It's included in some of the tourist literature/websites for Kaohsiung, and several signs in Yanchao District direct you to it. It's a sad clearing in the dry, dry hills where a "lake" sometimes is but usually isn't. I drove my car up to this place -- not an easy feat -- and immediately regretted doing so.
Oh, and the "lake" changes location! When I visited last semester there were signs for "Old Yangnu Lake" and "New Yangnu Lake." "Old Yangnu Lake," the site of a mud volcano, just up and disappeared one day.
How Easy Is It To Get To?: NOT easy. At all. East of Gangshan District a bunch of narrow, dusty roads lead up into the mountains, and one of those roads (by the grace of God!) leads to Yangnu Lake.
8. Dapeng Bay 大鵬灣 (Pingtung)
Why I Don't Like It: Who in their right mind declared this a National Scenic Area? There's not much scenery to be found around Dapeng Bay, and there's very little for tourists to do there. There was a time when this place looked like it was going to develop into something, but that time seems to be long gone now.
I will say, however, that I used to enjoy doing loops around Dapeng Bay on my bike. When I lived in Fangliao I often cycled over to it.
How Easy Is It To Get To?: You could walk there from the Linbian Train Station, but that would be a long, hot walk.
9. Xiaoliuqiu 小琉球 (Pingtung)
Why I Don't Like It: OK, OK, I get it: sea turtles. But you can see sea turtles in many other places, and what about the fact that Xiaoliuqiu is really just a tiny rock off the coast of Pingtung? And what about the fact that there's not much to eat there? And what about the crowds at the ferry terminal? And how old are those ferries, anyway?
How Easy Is It To Get To?: Not very easy. You'll need to get to Donggang (a place I like much better) and from there push your way through the ferry terminal onto one of the boats. The closest train station is Linbian or Zhenan, and both of those train stations are on the other side of Dapeng Bay from the ferry.
10. The Kenting Night Market 墾丁大街 (Pingtung)
Why I Don't Like It: For one thing I've gotten ill from two different stalls there. For another thing there isn't much of a selection when it comes to food. The crowds have been getting smaller in recent years, and both the less-than-fresh food and lack of selection may be reflections of this fact.
Oh, and there's also the trash that every night market generates. Kenting Night Market is right in the middle of a national park, and the local government doesn't have the best track record when it comes to protecting the environment. Seeing drink cups and other litter in local streams always make me sad.
How Easy Is It To Get To?: Like Nanwan it can be reached via the Kenting Express, which stops at Kaohsiung (Zuoying) HSR Station, Fangliao, the Checheng Farmer's Association and the Hengchun Transfer Station.
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