Taiwan is two hours wide and two weeks deep
The high speed train crosses the whole populated west of the island in about two hours. That fact makes Taiwan look like a short trip and it is the reason most first itineraries are wrong. The west is where the cities are. The interior is a wall of mountains with 268 peaks above 9,840 feet (3,000 m)
Plan my Taiwan trip Read the complete guide
- Best time to go
- October to December, and March to April
- How many days
- 10 to 14
- Entry
- Visa-free for most Western passports
- Getting around
- Rail, and a car for the mountains
A tailor made Taiwan trip is mostly a question of how much of that you cross, and in which month, because the weather here is not the same on both sides of the ridge. Every Taiwan trip we build is written from scratch by Asaf Zamshtein, our Southeast Asia and China specialist, with Mai Est, our Head of Consulting.
Why plan Taiwan with us
A long-standing local partner, and we will be straight about that. Our own offices are in Japan, Vietnam, India and the Philippines. Taiwan is not one of them. We run it through a Taiwanese partner we have worked with for years, whose staff meet you, drive you and answer the phone at two in the morning. We would rather name who is on the ground than imply an office we do not have.
A named specialist, not a queue. One person owns your file from the first email until you are home.
The first proposal is free and it is not a template. The actual hotels, the actual train legs with seat classes, and the reasoning behind the order of the days.
A WhatsApp group while you travel. Opened the day you fly, with your consultant and our partner team in Taiwan. Our rating is 4.9 from 93 reviews.
We build a typhoon plan, not a disclaimer. Between July and October we hold an alternative for every day that would be lost, and we tell you at the quoting stage which days those are.
The short answers
| Question | Short answer | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Best time to go | October to December, and March to April | May and June are the plum rains. July to October is typhoon season. |
| How many days | 10 to 14 | Ten does Taipei, the east and one southern city. Fourteen closes the island loop. |
| Entry | Visa-free for most Western passports | Commonly 90 days. Guidance, not a promise. We confirm yours before quoting. |
| Getting around | Rail, and a car for the mountains | Taipei to Kaohsiung is about 220 miles (350 km), under two hours by high speed rail. |
| Typical budget | $120 to $540 per person per day | Land only. Food is cheap here and hotels are not. |
The full breakdown is in our complete guide →
Eight ways to travel Taiwan
Every route below is one we build, published day by day. Start from one and we rebuild it around you.
- Classic Taiwan in 10 days: Taipei, the east coast, Tainan
- Taiwan with children, 10 days: three hotel changes, trains they will like
- Hiking Taiwan, 12 days: Alishan, the Yushan foothills, the high road
- Romantic Taiwan, 9 days: hot springs, tea country and a quiet coast
- Taiwan food and culture, 12 days: night markets, tea farms, Tainan
- Boutique Taiwan, 10 days: the four properties worth their rate
- Taiwan by rail, 14 days: the full island loop, no car
- Taiwan and Japan, 21 days: three weeks, two countries, one short flight
Taiwan in the magazine
What two weeks in Taiwan really costs · Taiwan month by month · Taipei night markets, ranked honestly · Taiwan’s high mountains and how permits work · Tainan in two days · Taiwan’s tea country
Taiwan itineraries
Every one of these is a starting point, not a fixed departure. We change the length, the pace and the hotels to fit you.
Classic Taiwan in 10 days: Taipei, the east coast and Tainan
The mistake in most first Taiwan itineraries is staying on the west. The high speed line makes the western cities so easy to link…
Taiwan with children: 10 days, three hotel changes
Taiwan is one of the easiest countries in Asia to travel with children and almost nobody thinks of it first. The trains are punctual…
Hiking Taiwan in 12 days: Hehuanshan, Alishan and the Yushan foothills
Taiwan has 268 peaks above 9,840 feet (3,000 m), which is more than most people expect from an island you can cross by train…
Romantic Taiwan in 9 days: hot springs, a quiet coast and tea
Taiwan does not sell itself as a honeymoon country and it should. It has volcanic hot springs of the kind Japan is famous for,…
Taiwan food and culture in 12 days: night markets, tea country and Tainan
Taiwan eats better for the money than anywhere else in Asia, and it does it in public. The night market is not a tourist…
Boutique Taiwan in 10 days: four properties worth the rate
Taiwanese hotels are not cheap and they are not consistent. Taipei room rates sit closer to Tokyo than to Bangkok, and a great deal…
Taiwan by rail in 14 days: the full island loop
There is a single continuous railway around the edge of Taiwan, and going all the way round it is one of the best two-week…
Taiwan and Japan in 21 days, with the outer islands as the alternative
These two countries are three hours apart by air and they are more closely related than most visitors expect. Japan governed Taiwan for fifty…
What is in every Taiwan trip we build
- A day-by-day document with train numbers and seat classes, not just city names
- Reserved seats on the east coast line, booked the morning the window opens
- Hotels chosen by neighbourhood and by station distance, with the trade-offs written down
- A private car and English-speaking driver on the mountain days, where rail does not go
- Licensed guides where context changes what you see, and independent days where it does not
- Permit applications for any high mountain day, submitted in the right window
- A weather plan for the days most likely to move, and our partner team on WhatsApp throughout
Planning Taiwan, in detail
What we would skip in Taiwan
Taiwan is the easiest country in Asia to travel independently, which is why the mistakes here are not logistical. They are mistakes…
Taiwan’s high mountains, and how the permits actually work
Taiwan has 268 peaks over 9,840 feet (3,000 m), which is more than most people expect from an island 245 miles (394…
Taiwan month by month, and why the two coasts disagree
The best time to visit Taiwan is October to December, with March and April as a second window, and November is our…
Taiwan with children: what works, what does not, and what we change
Taiwan is one of the two or three easiest countries in Asia to travel with children, and it is the one families…
What does a trip to Taiwan really cost?
The cost of a trip to Taiwan surprises people twice, in opposite directions. Food is cheaper than they expect, dramatically so for…
Taiwan for the first time: what actually surprises people
Taiwan is the easiest country in Asia to travel independently. The trains run on time, the signage is in English, crime is…
Frequently asked questions
Do we need a visa for Taiwan?
What about typhoons?
Is Taroko Gorge open?
Is Sun Moon Lake worth it?
Can we walk in the high mountains?
Is Taipei unbearable in summer?
Can we combine Taiwan with another country?
Tell us roughly what you want. We will tell you honestly what works.
A named consultant in Tel Aviv, our own people on the ground, and a written plan you can argue with before you commit to anything.