Taipei Travel Guide

WHAT TO DO IN TAIPEI IN 3 DAYS

Come and check our Taipei travel guide, where we visited to Taiwan famous Shilin night market, Ximending district, Jiufen and Shifen taste orignal bubble tea. Finally! Gees Travel trips to Taipei, Taiwan. We decided to travel to Taiwan mainly because the country is now having a visa-free travel to all Philippine nationals. This means that Philippine nationals are no longer required to acquire VISA prior to our visit. This was the latest initiative made by government of Taiwan to welcome foreign visitors and to boost country’s tourism. Aside from the fact, we wanted to celebrate our daughter birthday and at the same time our wedding anniversary.

During our Taipei travel guide we checked the reviews and information about Taiwan and we were excited to explore its country’s famous landmarks namely; Taipei’s 101 Tower – the tallest tower in Asia, Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Palace, Shifen where flying of Chinese lanterns on the railway is the main attraction, Jiufen, Yehliu Geo Park, and 11 ,000 hectares of Yangmingshan Park.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

How To Enter Taipei
Best Time To Travel Taipei
How To Get There
Taipei Internet
Transportation
Local Foods We Have Eaten
Where We Stay
Places That We Have Been
Taipei Travel Guide Itinerary

how to enter taipei

With effect on last Nov. 1, 2017, Philippine nationals are eligible to visit to the Republic of China (Taiwan) completely visa-free for 14 days. Philippine nationals can visit Taiwan, just like other countries like Singapore or Hong Kong. This visa-free initiative has extended until July 31, 2020, for a further review.
As a requirement, the individual must have a passport with remaining validity of at least six months. Along with that is the a return tickets, cruise ship ticket or on-going tickets to another destination, and a booking or hotel accommodation in Taiwan. For more details and information please visit this official page www.roc-taiwan.org.

best time to travel taipei

Since we went to visit Taiwan in the month of June, the weather was hot and humid. This is because during the month of April to June is considered as the summer period and the weather are expected to be be hot and humid. The recommended time to visit Taiwan is on its Winter season where it happens on the months of November to March, during this time the weather is cold and going around Taiwan would be at ease. Average temperature during this time would range from 20 – 25 Celsius. But even though we went to visit Taiwan on this time, we had experienced rains, specially in the afternoon. So when we went out, we were carrying handy umbrella in our bag. Also during the months of July to September, typhoon and rains are expected to occur on this period.

how to get there

We booked our airfare tickets through local budget airlines which are from Air Asia and Cebu Pacific Air. Together with my husband and my daughter we were able to book good deal on this airlines. Air Asia has a daily direct route from Mactan-Cebu International Airport to -Taipei Taoyan International Airport. Its daily flight schedule is at 7:00am in the morning, and would be able to arrive in Taipei Taoyan International Airport at around 10:00am. We availed the early morning flight of Air Asia and was able to booked at the price of P7, 670 for the three of us. It is almost a 3-hour flight time from Mactan-Cebu to Taipei where we landed at their airport at around 9:30am. There is no time difference between Philippine and Taipei.

On our way back from Taipei, we availed the same budget airline Air Asia but this time we flew from Taipei-Taoyan International Airport to Manila International Airport due to direct Taipei to Mactan-Cebu airfare tickets were quite expensive on that day. Our scheduled flight was at 2am, and we were able to get promo rate of P4, 290. We arrived in Manila International Airport past 4 in the morning. From Manila our connecting flight to Cebu is scheduled to depart at 8am via Cebu Pacific Air. For the three of us we are able to get it at around P3, 297.

Other airlines that cater direct flights from Mactan-Cebu to Taipei or vice versa are Philippine Airlines, Tigerair Taiwan and EVA Air.

taipei internet

Having a local SIM card with internet access offers great convenience for us while we are exploring Taipei. With this we won’t need to bring any booklets, or maps and flyer. So, we purchased our local SIM through Klook this SIM card cost at P378, which can be use for 5 days. This sim package is already running 4G network under Taiwan telecommunications provider EastTone Telecom. Once we inserted on the hand phone, the customer service helped us activate the sim card. This SIM card can also host a hotspot connection to maximum of 3-4 devices. During our stay in Taipei, we have use this service and the internet connection and speed are pretty fast. Wherever you are located, the signal and network connection is still good.

transportation

The best way to get around Taipei is to use their public transportation (Train, bus, taxi). One of the efficient way to travel is riding the train which helps you to reach your destination from one point to another in time.
After collecting our local SIM card, we headed down to the train counter located at the ground floor of the Taoyan Airport. We purchased our individual one-way ticket to Taipei Main Station. Train ticket rates is determined by distance which usually range at around P15 to P40. All ticket rain tickets can be purchased at the automated machine which after you have chosen your route and pay for fare a token use for your entry and exit on the gantry.

On the other hand, individual can also purchase train cards/Metro pass which is around around P110 to P450, The metro pass card is consumable and will require to top up once the value inside the card is at below minimum. For more information and details on the train in Taipei, please check on this link.

LOCAL FOODS that we have eaten

Beef Noodle Soup
No. 69, Luoyang Street, Wanhua Dist, Taipei 108, Taiwan

Modern Toilet Restaurant
2F., No.7, Ln. 50, Xining S. Rd., Wanhua Dist., Taipei City 108, Taiwan

Ximending Night Market
No. 10, Emei St, Wanhua District, Taipei City 108, Taiwan

Shillin Night Market
No. 101, Jihe Road, Shilin District, Taipei City 111, Taiwan

Our visit wouldn’t be complete if we were not able to taste its famous bubble tea. Taipei is known to have its bubble milk tea and green tea which actually has a great taste.

Where we Stay

We were able to booked our hotel through Agoda, we choose to stay at Tomorrow Hotel because based on other customer reviews that rating was good. So for two(2) nights we have stayed on this hotel, which is ideally located at the heart of the city Taipei-Xi mending. It very near and walking distance to Ximen train station and its lobby has a 24-hour access of convenience store which are 7/11 and Watsons. Inside the room was descent bed, and amazes us, as is has a bathtub considering it is located on the city center and space is limited. We have included a buffet breakfast, which includes range of Chinese food cuisine like Fried Rice, Soup, Noodle, Mixed Vegetables. Overall, Overall, the food was good.

Tomorrow Hotel
No.23, Chengdu Rd, Ximending Taipei Taiwan 10843
Room Rate: S$ 65/night

Places that we have been

288 Peace Memorial Park

100, Zhongzheng District
Entrance Fee: FREE
Opening Hours: Tuesday-Sunday
(10:00AM – 5:00PM) & closed Monday

It is Taipei’s municipal park that is closely located to Presidential Palace and Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall.

How To Get There
Ride the train to NTU Hospital Station, just one stop from Taipei Main Station. Walk and head to Exit 1, from there the park will be located..

Chiang Kai-Shek Hall Memorial

No. 21, Zhongshan South Road
Entrance Fee: FREE
Opening Hours: 9:00am-6:00pm (DAILY)

It is Taipei’s most historical place where number of tourists visit to check the monument that was built in memory of the former President Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek.

How To Get There
Ride train and alight at Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall station. Walk for about 10 minutes along the Luosifu road and enter on the entrance on the Aiguo East Road.

Elephant Mountain

Xinyi District, Taipei
Entrance Fee: FREE
Opening hours: 24 hrs

It is the mountain located in the city where it is commonly visited by locals and visitors for hiking and to witness the panaramic view of the city of Taipei and the world renowned skyscrapper Taipei 101 tower.

How To Get There
Ride the train and alight at Xiangshan station and head the Exit 2. Walk straight along the Xinyi Road and follow the sign that directs to the foot of the mountain on the Xiangshan Trail.

Yehliu Geopark, Jiufen, and Shifen Tour
We booked this tour from Klook which includes 16-seater bus, light snacks, and a tourist guide. On the day, we woke up early in the morning and took our breakfast for us to prepare for this tour. The meet-up point was in front of Gakuden Bakery near to Ximen station at 730 am, where our scheduled tour will start at 8 am.

Yehliu Geopark

Gangdong Road, Yehliu Village Wanli District New Taipei City
Entrance Fee: NT$ 30
Opening Hours: 8:00am-5:0opm (DAILY)

It is a rock formation that is located on the north coast part of Taiwan.

How To Get There
It is located on the northernmost point of Taiwan, and it took us almost 1-hour travel from Taipei City.

Yin Yang Sea
226, Ruifang District

Located on the north part of Taiwan, it is a bay mix of yellow and blue water.

Golden Waterfall
Jinshui Road, Ruifang District
Entrance Fee FREE
Opening Hours: 24 hrs

Jiufen Village
Jishan Street, Ruifang District

It is a small village that is located on top of the mountain, where a number of local shops, foods, and souvenirs items are available.

Shifen Old Street

226, Taiwan, New Taipei City, Pingxi District
Entrance Fee FREE
Opening Hours: 24 hrs

Shifen Old Street is one of the famous place in Taiwan where Chinese lantern is set to fly in the sky. Lanterns came in different colors which represent different purpose in life such as study, marriage, health, and fortunes. Once you have selected the color you want, you have to write your wishes on the lantern itself. After lighting up the lantern, the local assistant will help you take photo or video while you are releasing the lantern to the sky. Releasing of lanterns are located on the train tracks where by visitors and train will share the road. Usually train will come every hour, so everyone will need to clear the tracks once the train arrive.

Lantern Price: Single Color: NT$ 180 | Multi-Colored: NT$ 200

How To Get There
If you are coming from the city of Taipei, riding a train at Songshan Station to Ruifang Train station then from Ruifang station take train to Shifen Station.

It was a whole day tour and went back to the city past 5 pm. For us, it is recommended to avail on tour packages to this sites to avoid hassle on taking public transport from one place to another. We are able to booked at the price at around S$ 30/pax for this one day tour. It was good and fun.

Yangmingshan National Park

It is one of the National parks in Taiwan that is located 40mins from the Taipei City. It is an uphill and mountainous park that has scenic beauty from mountains, volcano, and grassland.

How To Get There:
Ride the train and alight at Jiantan Station(R15), Take the Exit 1 and head to Bus North Bound: R5(Mini Bus) or <-S15-> S17 to Yangmingshan Station
Fare: NT$ 15 | Travel Time: ~40 mins.

Once we reached Yangmingshan Bus Station, we ride bus S108 located opposite of the bus terminal. This bus caters the service to all known landmarks within the park. The bus only caters up to a max of 18 passengers.
Fare: NT$ 15 (*per ride/trip) | Using Easy Card Fare: NT$ 8 /trip

XiaoYouKeng
It was our first destination in Yangmingshan Park, where we witnessed a volcano that produces smoke of sulfur.

QingTianGang

After our visit to the volcano, we rode a bus at the nearby bus stop that leads us to QingTianGang. When we arrived, we were surprised to see the vast grassland. While walking we noticed buffalo on the sides feeding their young ones and eating grass.

We finished our third-day adventure in Taipei at past 12pm, after half-day visit to Yangmingshan National Park. We headed back to Jiantan Station and took our lunch at KFC, It was around 1:30pm when we went back to Xi Mending District. Since we still have enough spare time, as our flight back home was at 2am, we decided to watch a movie. So went to nearby theater in Ximending, and watched the movie-The Incredibles 3. After the movie we had our last minute shopping and dinner. We then went to the hotel to collect our baggage, then headed to Taoyan International Airport. We reached at the airport at past 9pm and was able to check-in on time. Our scheduled flight back home was at 2:00am, so we took some rest on the boarding lounge.

That’s a wrapped up on our Traiwan travel guide, we hope that you have gain some information and we hope you can use this in fture travel. Overall, we were tired but happy to have another experienced in our life as we explored Taipei for just a short 3-days adventure. We know that there are still places, and foods we need to explore but given the time its not enough. We would definitely be back and will visit other places of interest.

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