The Best of Taiwan Travel Guide

Our 7th stop on our One Year Journey through Asia lands us at this post, The Best of Taiwan Travel Guide.

This magical island will forever have our hearts, if you followed us along on our IG stories you’ll know how much we grew to love this country.

If you’re still debating about visiting Taiwan we’re here to tell you that you definitely should go sooner rather than later, I have a huge feeling Taiwan is going to be the next hot spot.

Between the modern city of Taipei, the coastal views in Hualien to the beautiful and fresh mountain air in Alishan, we were seriously so impressed by this tiny island.

The serene and stunning nature of this country was more than we ever expected.

The Best of Taiwan Travel Guide will cover must see attractions in Taipei, how to get around in Taipei, night markets in Taipei, where to eat in Taipei, travel tips and of course recommendations for the most epic roadtrip around Taiwan.

This is The Best of Taiwan Travel Guide.

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Taiwan Fun Facts

Official Language: Taiwanese and Mandarin
Currency: New Taiwan Dollar (NTD or NT)
Population: 24 Million
Capital City: Taipei
Major International Airport: Taoyuan International Airport, Kaohsiung International Airport, Taichung International Airport and Songshan Airport
Best Time to Visit: February-April & October-December
Taiwan is the most mountainous island in the WORLD.
Taiwan was a Japanese colony for 50 years from 1895 to 1945.
Bubble Tea was invented in Taichung Taiwan, you can still visit the original store “Chun Shui Tang”
Taiwan has the 2nd highest concentration of convenience stores.

Taiwan is giving away free money! It’s called Taiwan the Lucky Land and is running until June 30,2025. Below is the link to register. It’s completely free!

Taiwan the lucky land website

Taiwan Travel Guide

Taipei

Welcome to the capital city of Taiwan, Taipei!

I recommend at least 4 full days in Taipei, this will be the ideal amount of time to see the cities top attractions, visit a couple night markets and ideally a day trip or two.

Taipei is an incredible huge modern super city and extremely easy to get around. Taipei has one of the most extensive public transport networks in Asia which is perfect because this will be your main mode of transportation around the city.

Must See Attractions in Taipei

Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall
Taipei 101
Taipei 101 Observatory
Xiangshan- Elephant Mountain
Dihua Old Street
Dadaocheng Pier Plaza
Lungshan Temple
National Palace Museum
Chifeng Street
YongKang Street
Ximending Street

The Best Day Trips From Taipei

Beitou Hot Springs
Tamsui
Yangmingshan National Park
Teapot Mountain
Jiufen Old Street (Spirited Away Town)
Shifen Old Street and Shifen Waterfall

The Bests Night Markets in Taipei

We visited 5 night markets during our time in Taipei and these were by far our favorites:

Ningxia Night Market
Raohe Street Night Market
Nanjichang Night Market

Places to Eat in Taipei

Wang’s Broth
Crispy Fresh Donust (Taipei Branch)
Liu Shandong Beef Noodles (Please go here, it was my favorite stop)
Din Tai Fung
Jin Feng Braised Pork Rice
Tian Jin Onion Pancake
MATA Tofu Pudding
Yu Pin Yuan Iced and Hot Tangyuan (Try the mix option, half peanut half sesame)
M One Cafe (American Style Breakfast)
Fu Hang Soy Milk (Classic Taiwanese Breakfast)

Tip: Don’t be afraid to go into small local eateries or even street vendors, we had some of our very best meals at these kind of establishments that are nowhere to be found on Google.

If you have yet to have lunch at a convenience store then here is your chance to actually have a good meal for a couple dollars. Meals at 7-Eleven and Family Mart are actually incredibly tasty along with snacks, drinks and desserts. Go inside and check it out, you wont be disappointed.

How to Get Around Taipei

So as I mention earlier Taipei is extremely easy to get around, between the Taipei Metro, bus and if needed Uber or Taxi services you can get anywhere around Taipei.

We personally used the Taipei Metro most days during our 14 days in Taipei, it was more cost effective plus the Taipei Metro is clean, safe, runs about every 5 minutes and most of the instructions will be in English. Some days we used the bus and although it’s also clean and safe we usually had to wait 15-30 minutes for a ride.

Purchase an EasyCard. This tap card is used for all public transportation and can also be used at convenience stores. Cost $3 USD/ NT$100 plus preload amount you wish. We preloaded ours with $20 USD/ NT$700 for our 14 days in Taipei.

Top Ups can be made at all convenience stores (7-Elevan, Family Mart etc) and Add Value Machines at metro stations.

Taiwan Roadtrip

No Taiwan Travel Guide would complete without exploring outside of Taipei.

Mathew and I really wanted to discover the rest of this island and at the very last minute decided we wanted to rent a camper van and have ourselves a road trip.

We quickly realized that Van Life is very much a new thing in Taiwan and the task of finding a van yet alone last minute was going to be challenging. After a couple days or research and some emails I finally found one place that seemed to have exactly what we needed. We got lucky!

We found a very friendly company called SCD Camp, located in Taipei who rents micro campers. The van was equipped with an awning, chairs, table, fan, speaker, lights, pans, kitchenware, stove and pretty much everything we needed to get on the road.

The back seat turned into a bed, it had AC and most importantly it was reliable and available!

Looking to Rent a campervan Click here

If you’re not into camping I highly recommend renting a car and spending the night at hotels along the way. Although there is a great railway system most places recommended below will require an additional bus or taxi to get to the final destination. It will be more time effective and less of a hassle to have your own vehicle.

10 days would be ideal to drive around the entire island. We did it in 8 and wished we had two extra days.

Recommended Stops for Taiwan Roadtrip

Alishan
Shitiping
Sanxiantai Arch Bridge
Yehliu Geopark
Hualien
Taroko National Park (Currently Closed but if it’s open when you go I would definitely add this in)
Kenting National Park
Kaohsiung
Yushan National Park
Sun Moon Lake
Taichung

Trust me when I say that roadtripping will be the best way to see Taiwan and it will be the highlight of your trip!

Taiwan Travel Tips

To get to the city from the airport is easy. Once exiting from Taoyuan International Airport Terminal 1 or 2, look for the sign that says “MRT” (Mass Rapid Transit). The train will take you to Taipei Main Station, and from there you can resume your journey via the Taipei Metro train to the closest station to your hotel.

You can also purchase an EasyCard near the MRT entrance, you’ll see a sign on your left with attendants selling EasyCards.

Eating and Drinking is not allowed at the Metro Station and inside the train. You can get a hefty fine if you’re caught.

Bring an umbrella no matter the season you come. The weather is Taiwan is funny, one second it’s beautifully sunny the next it’s gloomy and raining. If it does rain though don’t get discouraged it never lasted more than an hour while we were there.

Don’t forget your ESIM or SIM card. We purchased an ESIM at the Airport for $31 USD/ $1000 NT this included 30 days validity and unlimited data.

Tip: If you’re a couple don’t purchase two plans, just buy one and the other will use hot spot. We’ve been doing this for 6 months and works every time.

Bring a comfy pair of shoes, you’ll be doing a lot of walking, waiting in lines and climbing steps to so many attractions.

CASH is King for Street Vendors, ATMs are plentyful throughout Taiwan. You can always find one inside a 7-Eleven or Family Mart.

Do I Need a Visa to Travel to Taiwan?

For US Passport holders, you are allowed to enter Taiwan without a visa for up to ninety days if your passport is valid for more than 90 days.

Check to see if your passport qualifies for a Visa Exempt Entry to Taiwan HERE.

That concludes this post The Best of Taiwan Travel Guide.

but wait there’s more:

Travel Resources

Here you can find all the travel site links that we personally use and recommend.

CAMPSITES/CAMPGROUNDS We like to use a couple apps for last minute campsite bookings. Our favorites are HipCamp, The Dyrt and Campendium.

ACCOMMODATION: We find the best deals with BOOKING.COM. The more you book the better the perks like free breakfast with your stay, room upgrades and even higher discounted room rates.

CAR RENTALS: We have always used RentalCars.com and find them to have the best deals, customer service and selection of locations.

FLIGHTS: Our go to for looking up flights is SKYSCANNER, but we try to always book directly with the airline.

TOURS/EXCURSIONS: GET YOUR GUIDE and VIATOR are two very reputable sites with easy and hassle free bookings.

TRAVEL INSURANCE: It’s so important to travel with insurance and for this we use SafetyWing. We are currently using them for our 1 year trip.

TRANSPORTATION: For all our bus, ferry and train transfer needs in Asia we use 12go.as ia.

The Best of Taiwan Travel Guide

Taiwan Fun Facts