Taipei One Week Itinerary

Taiwan is very special to us. The love for my home country and the constant struggle to convey to people that Taiwan is not China is an ongoing, but worthwhile, battle. I spent most of my childhood in 中正區 (Zhongzheng District) in Taipei and have visited every corner of Taiwan due to my wonderful and adventurous parents. To sum up the reasons why Taiwan is different from China (aside from the complex history and politics of Communist China and Democratic Taiwan): People visit Taiwan for the traditional and authentically-preserved Tao Chinese Culture mixed with great European and Japanese influences. People visit China for the government-made facade of Chinese culture; one that was twisted by means of a 10-year oppression in education and human ethics, as well as a cultural cleansing called The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. China is like a giant Las Vegas theme park in that it was newly-created to look authentic, while Taiwan is where authenticity thrives.


DAY 1: Taipei
If you are young at heart, 西門町 (Ximending) is a good budget area to base yourself. 松山區 (Songshan District) near 南京東路站 (Nanjing East Road Station) is also a great area to be in. We try to always avoid 大安區 (Da’an District) because it is expensive and it caters to foreigners and their preferences. But if you have the money and love luxury hotels such as the W, Da’an would be perfect. If you are unsure what to eat or are scared to communicate with a smile and gestures, there are always food court in the basement of most shopping centers in Taipei for easy ordering.

We will use Ximending as a base area for this itinerary. Our first day is always wasted because the flight from LAX – TPE usually gets in late at night around 10pm. After immigration, we purchase our bus tickets at the arrival terminal and hop on 國光客運 (kuo-kuang bus) that takes us to Taipei Main Train Station.

After checking into our hotel, we walk around Ximending and pick up some street food before forcing ourselves to bed. (the area is lively until about 1am)

DAY 2: West Taipei
DAY 3: West Taipei
DAY 4: Jiufen & Keelung
DAY 5: East Taipei
DAY 6: North Taipei
DAY 7: North Taipei
DAY 8: Goodbye

Taipei 101 Taipei 101 from Elephant Mountain

27 responses

  • Kevin on
    Reply

    This is a fantastic list of things to do! Could you kindly elaborate a bit about how to get to 北投？Is there a bus you could take from the main station?

    • Frank on
      Reply

      Hi Kevin. 北投 area is easy to get to via MRT. Take the Red line to 北投 Station then hop on the monorail shuttle to 新北投. All the major attractions are within walking distance from the 新北投 Station. Enjoy~

  • Yijun on
    Reply

    Hi! I will be heading to Taiwan for the first time during end Aug and i would realllly like to catch the Baseball match. Is it really as unpopular as stated on the internet?

    • Frank on
      Reply

      Thank you for reading our blog~ Unpopular? I’d argue that baseball may be the most popular national sports in Taiwan. A 7-Eleven Lions game in Tainan is a must if you love baseball. The atmosphere, the drums, the coordinated cheers… you’d party for hours.

  • Rachel Cooper on
    Reply

    I have read your ideas above for a week in Taiwan but I would prefer to spend just a couple of days in the city then get out around the rest of the country. Any ideas?

    • Frank on
      Reply

      I will do a more in depth Taiwan guide in the future. I added more areas of interest in respond to Cecy’s comment below asides from the ones I mentioned in our emails. Thank you again for reading our blog.

    • Frank on
      Reply

      Hello and thank you for reading our blog. There are many options:

      North East to Eastern Coastline… YiLan down to HuaLien and TaiTung.

      Southern tip of KenTing and islands (XiaoLiuQiu, PengHu, KinMen.)

      All major Western cities from Taipei, TaiChung, ChiaYi, TaiNan, KaoHsiung and add in some close by nature.

      Hand pick nature and add in a close by city. Like Alishan and ChiaYi, Sun Moon Lake and TaiChung/NanTou, Siraya and TaiNan, KenTing and PingTung…

      Research all the food you want to eat and base where to go on that. Hakka cuisine, Aboriginal, Special food from specific locations… Bamboo Rice tube… Rice cake bowls… Eat your way through Taiwan.

      Those are just some options,
      Have fun and enjoy your trip~

  • Reyy on
    Reply

    Hi! My friends and I are travelling to Taiwan between end of may to the start of june, is it still possible to catch a baseball match then? And if it is, do you have any tips on how we may purchase the tickets? Unfortunately we don’t speak mandarin, so we’re at abit of a loss. Thanks!

    • Frank on
      Reply

      Hello Reyy, Thank you for reading our blog. The schedule is here: http://www.cpbl.com.tw/schedule.aspx

      Between the icons for the team is where they will be playing. You could copy and paste the traditional Mandarin name into google to find out what it is.

      You can purchase tickets at the stadium or 7-11s. I would just pick up the tickets at the stadium.

      Have fun!

  • JoJo on
    Reply

    Hi Frank. Nice blog post for exploring Taipei! I’ll be heading to Taipei in July and staying near Ximending.
    Would like to know if there is a bus/public transport back to the airport from Ximending? if not, would you recommend taking a taxi or hotel shuttle back? what is a reasonable hotel shuttle charge to airport?

    thanks!

    • Frank on
      Reply

      Hello JoJo,

      You can take the MRT from Ximending to Taipei Train Station. From there, locate the Taipei West Bus Station Terminal A and hop on the Kuo-Kuang Bus back to the Airport in Taoyuan. Which is the same company bus and route you take to get to Ximending when you arrive.

  • Pearlyn on
    Reply

    Hi Frank and Nicole, I’m wondering if y’all know any of private hot spring for couples together with accommodation. I found a few but it is out of my budget. Looking for SGD250 below

  • Aim on
    Reply

    Hi Frank and Nicole, I’ll be in Taiwan for 4 weeks and I’d love to spend my beach time for a week maybe? I’m wondering if you know any good and cheap beaches? I had a look at so many of them and can’t really decide where to go! Some of them look good but seem to be over my budget… T-T Thank you in advance. 🙂

  • Jasmine on
    Reply

    Hi Frank and Nicole, what time does the Kuo-Kuang Bus starts in the morning? I need to catch an early flight at 7.40am from Taoyuan. Is it better to stay around Ximen Ting area or near Taipei main station?

  • Barbara Needr on
    Reply

    Thanks for your blog. I will be in Taiwan For 8 days early February..solo traveler who loves to walk and eat very spicy food..if I want to visit one other city or town for a few days besides Taipei what would you suggest?

  • Wing on
    Reply

    Your itinerary is really helpful; thanks! If I’m planning on spending a day at Taroko Gorge, would you recommend staying/spending the day prior in Hualien? This will be my first time to Taiwan and I was planning on exploring only the areas that you’ve listed (except in 7 full days). I’m just curious what you think of Hualien outside of the Gorge. Thanks again!

    • Frank on
      Reply

      Sorry for such a late reply. We were extremely busy traveling, working and attending master programs at the same time. We haven’t been keeping up with the blog for quite some time. I hope your visit was great, and you get to eat some delicious 竹筒飯 in Hualian. We camped inside Taroko when we were there. But Hualien is definitely a great city for an overnight.

  • Giggs on
    Reply

    Hi Frank, which hotel we’re stay during the trip? any recommendation if i wish to following the route… thanks in advance

  • Irene on
    Reply

    Hi Frank and nicole, I am wondering if you would recommend shi fen? I will be staying at xi men ding area. Are there public transportation to Shifen? Is shi fen near jiu fen?

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