Taipei and Taichung
Breakdown of post
Itinerary
Day 1:
Afternoon flight, arrive in Taipei, check in and have dinner
Check out Huashan 1914 Creative Park
Day 2:
Breakfast at Fu Hang Soy Milk
Walk around National Taiwan Museum (nearest stop: Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Exit 5)
Meet friends for hotpot lunch near Taipei 101
Taipei 101 observatory at night and Din Tai Fung for dinner
Day 3:
Breakfast and getting ready to check out and head to HSR (High speed rail) Taipei Main Station for the trip to Taichung
Visit nearby National Theatre and Concert Hall, watch the change of the guard at the CKS Memorial Hall
Head to Taichung on the High Speed Rail
Check in at Taichung
Dinner at a nearby area
Day 4: Tour Day
Taichung Second Market for breakfast
TOUR:
Rainbow Village
Miyahara Icecream
Gaomei Wetlands
Dinner at Feng Chia Night Market
Day 5: Explore Taichung on your own
National Museum of Science
Taiwan Suncake Museum
Taichung Old Railway Station
Day 6: Tour Day
Fenqihu Old Street
Alishan National Forest Recreational Area
Dinner at bella roma — pizza is daaaaaarn good
Day 7: Get ready to head back to Taipei
Breakfast and Check out of airbnb at Taichung
HSR to Taipei
Check in at Taipei
Hotpot Lunch
Xiangshan Trail (nearest stop: Xiangshan)
Taipei Performing Arts Center
Shilin Night Market (nearest stop: Jiantan station)
view from Xiangshan
Day 8: Tour Day (starts at 10am)
Yehliu Geopark
Shifen Sky Lantern Square (and get a snack)
Shifen Waterfall
Jiufen Old Street + dinner
Day 9: fly home
Check out
National Palace Museum
Modern Toilet Theme Restaurant
Check in at airport + fly home
What We Spent On
All prices are for 2 pax, calculated and converted to SGD
Estimated cost: $3990 for 2 pax!
Transport - $149
Flight - $717
SIM card - $40
Accommodations - $1573
Tours - $235
(Variable) Food and all other expenses including shopping - $1276
Flight tickets - Scoot sale $717 with baggage, bought at the SIA ticket fares in Oct/Nov 2023
Accommodation
Taipei, 5D4N, 2 different 4* hotels, $616+425
Taichung, 4D3N, airbnb $532.99
Train tickets/Public Transport/Taxi:
Easycard for public transport on Taiwan metro and buses - NTD $800 (~$35)
High Speed Rail to and from Taichung to Taipei - $48
Taoyuan airport to Taipei city - $12
Taxi to Taoyuan airport (cause we were gonna be late!) ~$54
SIM card -
5-10GB each, 10 days validity on shopee, $40
Food and all other expenses - we withdrew slowly as we went on the trip using Revolut card at most 7-11s that have ATMs, instead of holding all the cash on hand.
Cash spent in total ~$1276
Tours:
Yehliu / Jiufen / Shifen / lantern & entrance tickets $73
Alishan tours and entrance tickets $112
Gaomei Wetlands Taichung tour $50
Tips and Notes
Book your HSR tickets on Klook ahead of time, change them / collect the tickets (physical copy) at the Taipei Main Station.
Buy an easycard at the airport/Taipei Main Station which will ease your travels on bus (Taipei and Taichung both) and trains (Taipei, mainly).
Do have a screenshot of the Taipei metro map if you don’t have very strong signal in the trains etc.
Simcards can be purchased on Shopee/Klook.
You can get around Taichung easily by bus or taxi - you can just hail them off the streets.
Tips for tours:
Jiufen / Shifen / Yehliu tour is going to be a very tiring one, no matter the weather. If you go in the heat it may be even worse. Do take note that there is some walking involved and it can get tiring depending on the order of the places. Jiufen is very crowded and Shifen is quite noisy and overwhelming, therefore if you are someone who needs earplugs to travel, use it.
Depending on the weather, Gaomei Wetlands can see a sudden drop in temperature given the cooler winds so bring an extra layer if you’re afraid of the cold. Also if the weather is foggy you may not be able to see the sunset.
If you go to Miyahara ice-cream shop either with a tour or on your own, you might find the queue awfully long. There is a small section of the shop that does not sell the ice-cream (the scooped version) instead it sells bubble tea and pre-packed ice-cream in the cups. It’s a smaller version but if you’re short on time, consider purchasing that instead.
Hotel Reviews
The Good: Clean, welcoming, check in and check out is smooth. The rooms are inviting and cozy. The minibar is replenished everyday. We chose an accessible room so there is no separation between the shower, toilet and sink areas. If you like a larger space this is a good idea. However if you prefer not to have your wet and dry areas integrated, this is not for you. Near most other areas of Taipei, as Taipei Main station is a few stops away.
also opposite Fu Hang Soy Milk (which if you know, you need to queue at 5am for it, so good on us).
The not-so-Good: Not much good food at night if you’re hungry, you’re on your own, kid :P. The walking space at the foot of the bed from the washroom to the clothes area is smaller and you might have some difficulty walking through. Nothing else to complain about!
nearest station: Jiantan (Red Line: Tamsui-Xinyi Line)
The Good: Near Shilin night market, suites are HUGE, minibar is well stocked. The items in the room seem to be made in-house and the shampoo is really nice to use! The view is beautiful if you get the ones overlooking the railway tracks of the Jiantan station. The space is large enough for two people (or more) to have their own space for luggages (fully opened) and to throw their stuff around if you’re the type of person that needs a lot of space for baggage. There’s a bathtub with a sort-of jacuzzi.
The not-so-Good: If you dislike train noises, the sounds may annoy you, however given that mostly people go out exploring in the day, you won’t be affected much by it. The staff are not the most friendly (as also echoed in other hotel reviews), but all things considered, it is a steal. It’s not very near either Ximending side or Taipei 101, so you’d have to change trains a couple of times but nothing too tough.
Taichung:
We stayed in an Airbnb in Taichung that is beside SOGO.
The link to the place: here
The Good: It’s beside SOGO and Family Mart as well as a couple of good food options, so you’d never go hungry even if you need to wake up early for tours (i.e. 6am), food is always readily available. It’s beside the train station / bus stop of National Science Museum, so transport is very available. There are also pop-up stores in the area and things to see/explore.
The not-so-Good: There is something slightly wonky about the toilet, we had trouble flushing, the owner was aware and taught us how to circumvent the problem, nonetheless it was still quite frustrating during the course of our stay.
