Taiwan — my first business trip, my place of growth and healing, the perfect ending to my gap year. I initially wanted to stay in Taipei for a few days before travelling to Hokkaido but as luck would have it, all the cheap flights were quickly snapped up. Unwilling to pay more, I decided to stay and travel around Taiwan for 11 days, exploring the other counties that I've never set foot in, mainly Hualien, Taitung, Tainan and Taichung. Here's a brief itinerary of how I spent my time in Taiwan this summer!

I spent the bulk of my time in Taipei, and met up with my Taiwanese friends since I was starting school soon and wouldn't be travelling to Taiwan anymore for the next two years. Because of this, I had a good mixture of touristy stuff and local hunts in my itinerary, which I really liked since I got to see two sides of Taiwan. I also slowed down my itinerary since it was my upteempth time in Taiwan and I wanted to travel at a relaxing pace instead of rushing to places.

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Flight

I flew directly from Singapore to Taipei with Jetstar. August is a low travel season for Singaporeans, with students having their school term. That, coupled with the fact that August happens to be Taiwan's typhoon season and hottest month of the year (seriously, their summer is no joke and this is coming from a Singaporean!), I got my tickets at only SGD $180 on a Jetstar Friday Frenzy sale.

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Hostel Stays

I stayed in a few hostels around Taiwan with a budget of SGD $25 per night. With the exception of Taitung, I made sure all my hostels within walking distances from train stations since I do not have other means of transport. I was mostly satisfied with the hostels I stayed in and would recommend all of them.

Taipei

Taipei Main Inn 梅樓驛站 (Review)

• Address: No 1-1, Lane 29, Zhengzhou Road, Datong Distract, Legal Property No. 051, Taipei, Taiwan
• Taipei Main Station, Y13 Exit
• SGD $21 per night

Hualien

Free&Slow 憶點點慢活旅人民宿 (Review)

• Address: No. 114, Guolian 3rd Road, Hualien City, 970
• 5-10 walk minutes from Hualien Train Station
• SGD $11 per night

Taitung

Summer Guest House (Review)

• Address: 2F, No 23, Lane 296 Zhongshan Road, Taitung, Taiwan
• 10 minutes walk from Tiehua Rural Village
• SGD $17.95 per night

 

Tainan 

Old Man Captain HOSTEL 老曼船長 (Review)

• Address: No 4, Meimen Road, Section 2, Tainan, Taiwan
• Right beside Tainan Train Station (it used to be Tainan Train Station's office)
• SGD $20.65 per night

Taichung 

Plan A Hostel A計畫 台中市 (Review)

• Address: No 201, Section 1, Taiwan Blvd, Central District, Taichung City, Taiwan
• 15-20 minutes walk fron Taichung Train Station
• SGD $21.15 per night

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Public Transport

Since I don't drive, I relied heavily on public transport around Taiwan. Public transport is extremely convenient in Taipei, where you get trains every few minutes and buses get you almost anywhere. In an effort to reduce air pollution and traffic jams in Taichung, the government made it free for everyone to take buses in Taichung as long as your bus journey is under 10km. You'll have no difficulty getting around Taipei and Taichung even if you don't drive.

However, the same can't be said for Hualien, Taitung and Tainan, where trains and buses are infrequent. In some cases, there's only one bus every two to three hours! In those cities, I depended on tours, public bicycles like Ubike or Tbike or, when I was desperate enough, tried my luck with hitchhiking. I counted my lucky stars each time I successfully got to my destination. As safe as Taiwan is, I wouldn't reccomend hitching a ride from complete strangers.

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Itinerary

Day 1: 3 August 2017, Thursday — Taipei

01:10am — Take off from Singapore

06:10am — Reached Taoyuan International Airport


06:45am — Boarded Taoyuan Airort MRT (Express Train)

07:20am — Reached Taipei City

07:25am — Dropped off luggage at Taipei Main Inn hostel


08:50am — Breakfast at Fu Hang Soy Milk

• Address: 100, Taiwan, Taipei City, Zhongzheng District, Section 1, Zhongxiao East Road, 108號
• Nearest MRT: Shandao MRT Station, Exit 5 (blue line)
• Opening Hours: 5:30am to 12:30pm daily

10:00am — Four Four South Village 四四南村

• Address: No. 54 Songqin Street, Xinyi District 台北市信義區松勤街54號, Taipei  
• Nearest MRT: Taipei World Trade Centre, Exit 2 (red line)

11:00am — Taipei 101 Mall

• Address: No. 7, Section 5, Xinyi Road, Xinyi District, Taipei City, Taiwan 110
• Opening Hours: 11am to 9:30pm from Sunday to Thursday | 11am to 10pm on Friday and Saturday 

01:00pm — Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall

• Address: No. 505, Section 4, Ren'ai Road, Xinyi District, Taipei City, Taiwan 110
• Nearest MRT: Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall Station, Exit 4 (blue line)
• Opening Hours: 9am to 6pm daily 
• Guard changing ceremony happens every hour from 9am to 5pm daily

 
02:30pm — Songshan Cultural and Creative Park

• Address: No. 133, Guangfu South Road, Xinyi District, Taipei City, Taiwan 110
• Nearest MRT: Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall Station, Exit 5 (blue line)
• Opening Hours: 9am to 6pm daily

04:20pm — Ubike rental at Yuanshan MRT


04:40pm — Cycled to Yanping Riverside Park

• Address: Diwai Road, Datong District, Taipei City, Taiwan 103
• Nearest MRT: Yuanshan Station (red line)
• To get to the Taipei sign, key '迪化跨提觀景平台旁' into Google Maps

05:50pm — MAJI Glasshouse Market 玻璃屋市集

• Address: No. 1, Yumen Street, Zhongshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 10491
• Nearest MRT: Yuanshan Station (red line)
• Opening Hours: Weekdays — 2pm to 9pm | Weekends — 12pm to 9:30pm | Closed on Mondays 

06:10pm — Taipei Fine Arts Park

• Address: No. 181, Section 3, Zhongshan N Rd, Zhongshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 10491
• Nearest MRT: Yuanshan Station (red line)

08:00pm — Dinner at Mo-Mo-Paradise

• Address: 100, Taiwan, Taipei City, Zhongzheng District, Section 1, Zhongxiao West Road, 50號
• Opening Hours: (Weekdays) 10:30am to 10pm | (Weekends) 11am to 11pm
• Reservations: +886 2 2382 2668 

10:00pm — Returned to Taipei Main Inn hostel

Day 2: 4 August 2017, Friday — Taipei

01:30pm — Taipei Main Station Underground Shopping Street (Taipei City Mall)

• Address: 100, Taiwan, Taipei City, Zhongzheng District, Section 1, Shimin Boulevard, 100號
• Nearest MRT: Taipei Main Station, Y1 exit (red and blue line)
• Opening Hours: (Weekdays) 11am to 9:30pm | (Weekends) 11am to 10pm — may vary from shop to shop

02:15pm — National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

• Address: No. 21, Zhongshan South Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan 100
• Nearest MRT:  C.K.S. Memorial Hall, Exit 5 (red or green line)
• Opening Hours: 9am to 6pm daily

03:00pm — Huashan 1914 Creative Park

• Address: No. 1, Section 1, Bade Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan 100
• Nearest MRT: Zhongxiao Xinsheng, Exit 1 (blue or orange line)
• Opening Hours: 9:30am to 9pm daily

05:00pm — Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei

• Address: No. 39, Chang'an West Road, Datong District, Taipei City, Taiwan 103
• Nearest MRT: Zhongshan MRT, Exit 3 or 4 (red line)
• Opening Hours: 10am to 6pm from Tuesday to Sunday | Closed on Monday

05:40pm — Zhongshan Shopping District

• Along Nanjing West Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 10491
• Most shops open from 11am to 10pm

06:30pm — Nakamura Bakery (中村烘焙厨房 南西店) milk ice cream

• Address: No. 61, Nanjing West Road, Datong District, Taipei City, Taiwan 103
• Nearest MRT: Zhongshan Station (red line)
• Opening Hours: 7am to 10pm daily

07:00pm — Ningxia Night Market

• Address: Ningxia Road, Datong District, Taipei City, Taiwan 103
• Nearest MRT: Shuanglian MRT, Exit 1 (red line)
• Opened 5pm to 12am daily 

08:20pm — Shilin Night Market

• Address: No. 101, Jihe Road, Shilin District, Taipei City, Taiwan 111
• Nearest MRT: Jiantan Station, Exit 1 (red line)
• Opening Hours: 3pm to 1am daily

 
09:50pm — Back to Taipei Main Inn hostel

Day 3: 5 August 2017, Saturday — Taipei / Keelung

11:20am — Met at Taipei Main Station

01:00pm — Trasnferred train at Rueifang Station

01:25pm — Reached Keelung


01:40pm — Walked to Chaojing Park

• Address: Lane 369, Beining Road, Zhongzheng District, Keelung City, Taiwan 202

04:00pm — Lunch

07:00pm — Back to Taipei Main Inn hostel


10:00pm — Dinner at Ji Guang Xiang Xiang Ji 继光香香鸡

• Address: No. 121之1號, Hanzhong Street, Wanhua District, Taipei City, Taiwan 108
• Nearest MRT: Ximen, Exit 6 (green and blue line)
• Opening Hours: 11:30am to 11pm daily 

10:30pm — U2 Theatre (U2電影館)

• Address: 9F, Wannian Plaza, No. 70, Xining South Road, Wanhua District, Taipei City, Taiwan 108
• Nearest MRT: Ximen Station, Exit 6 (green and blue line)
• Opening Hours: 24 hours daily

12:40am — Watched a second movie at U2 Theatre

03:30am — Back to Taipei Main Inn hostel

Day 4: 6 August 2017, Sunday — Taipei

01:50pm — National Taiwan Museum

• Address: No. 2, Xiangyang Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan 100
• Nearest MRT: NTU Hospital Station, Exit 4 (red line)
• Opening Hours: 9:30am to 5pm from Tuesdays to Sundays | Closed on Mondays

02:10pm — Land Bank Exhibition Hall of National Taiwan Museum

• Address: No. 25號, Xiangyang Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan 100
• Nearest MRT: NTU Hospital Station, Exit 4 (red line)
• Opening Hours: 9:30am to 5pm from Tuesdays to Sundays | Closed on Mondays

 

03:30pm — 228 Peace Memorial Park

• Address: 100, Taiwan, Taipei City, Zhongzheng District
• Nearest Station: NTU Hospital Station, Exit 1 (red line)

04:30pm — Ximending

• Nearest Station: Ximen Station, Exit 6 (green and blue line)

05:50pm — Ximen Red House

• Address: No. 10, Chengdu Road, Wanhua District, Taipei City, Taiwan 108
• Nearest Station: Ximen Station, Exit 1 (green and blue line)
• Opening Hours: 11am to 9:30pm from Sunday to Thursday | 11am to 10pm on Friday and Saturday

07:30pm — Dinner at HowFun (好飯食堂)

• Address: No. 589, Ruiguang Road, Neihu District, Taipei City, Taiwan 114
• Nearest Station: Xihu Station, Exit 2 (brown line)
• Opening Hours: 11:30am to 9:30pm daily 

09:30pm — Returned to Taipei Main Inn hostel

Day 5: 7 August 2017, Monday — Hualien

06:50am — Train to Hualien

08:30am — Reached Hualien

08:45am — Reached Free&Easy hostel

09:00am — Started Taroko National Park (Taroko Gorge) Tour


10:40am — Qingshui Cliffs (太魯閣清水斷崖)

• Address: Ch'ing-shui Cliff, Xiulin Township, Hualien County, Taiwan 972

11:40am — Shakadang Trail (砂卡礑步道)

• Address: Shakadang Trail, Xiulin Township, Hualien County, Taiwan 972

01:30pm — Swallow Grotto Trail (燕子口步道)

• Address: 972, Taiwan, Hualien County, Xiulin Township

02:30pm — Taroko Pudu Bridge (太魯閣普渡橋)

• Address: Pudu Bridge, Xiulin Township, Hualien County, Taiwan 972

02:50pm — Baiyang Trail (白楊步道)

• Address: 972, Taiwan, Hualien County, Xiulin Township, 天祥隧道

04:30pm — Qixingtan Beach (花蓮七星潭)

• Address: Qixingtan Beach, Xincheng Township, Hualien County, Taiwan 971

05:50pm — Reached Free&Easy hostel

06:10pm — Walked to nearby 7-11 for dinner

06:30pm — Returned to Free&Easy hostel

Day 6: 8 August 2017, Tuesday — Hualien / Taitung

09:00am — Began Hualien to Taitung tour


10:40am — Shitiping (石梯坪)

• Address: Hualien County, Taiwan 977, Fengbin Township

03:15pm — Reached Summer Guest House hostel


05:45pm — Taitung Railway Art Village

• Address: No. 371, Tiehua Road, Taitung City, Taitung County, Taiwan 950
• Opening Hours: 24 hours daily 

06:00pm — Trekking at Liyushan Park

• Address: 950, Taiwan, Taitung County, Taitung City 

06:25pm — Eslite Bookstore

• Address: No. 478, Bo'ai Road, Taitung City, Taitung County, Taiwan 950
• Opening Hours: 10:30am to 10pm daily 

09:05pm — Xingxing Buluo Night Scenery Cafe (星星部落景観咖啡)

• Address: 954, Taiwan, Taitung County, Beinan Township, 富源村8鄰富源116-3號
• Opening Hours: 6pm to 1:30am daily
• Contact Number: +886 8 923 8089

10:30pm — Back to Summer Guest House hostel

Day 7: 9 August 2017, Wednesday — Taitung

10:46am — Zao Dian Lai Breakfast (早點來早餐店)

• Address: No. 17, Lane 296, Zhongshan Road, Taitung City, Taitung County, Taiwan 950
• Opening Hours: 5:10am to 10:30am from Mondays to Saturdays | Closed on Sundays

11:30am — National Museum of Prehistory

• Address: 950, Taiwan, Taitung County, Taitung City, 博物館路1號
• Opening Hours: 9am to 5pm on Tuesdays to Sundays | Closed on Mondays
• Nearest Train Station: Taitung Kangle Railway Station (台東康樂車站), 10 minute walk

02:40pm — Taitung Forest Park

• Address: 950, Taiwan, Taitung County, Taitung City, 華泰路300號
• Opening Hours: 6am to 7pm daily

03:20pm — Showtime Plaza (台東秀泰影城廣場)

• Address: No. 93, Xinsheng Road, Taitung City, Taitung County, Taiwan 950
• Opening Hours 11am to 11:30pm daily

05:00pm — Train to Tainan

08:15pm — Reached Tainan

08:25pm — Checked in Oldman Captain Hostel


10:20pm — Dinner at 7-11

10:45pm — Returned to Oldman Captain Hostel

Day 8: 10 August 2017, Thursday — Tainan

11:00am — Began Tainan half day tour


11:20am — Anping Treehouse

• Address: No. 108, Gubao Street, Anping District, Tainan City, Taiwan 708
• Opening Hours: 8:30am to 5:30pm daily

12:30pm — Wufei Temple

• Address: No. 201號, Wufei Street, West Central District, Tainan City, Taiwan 700
• Opening Hours: 9am to 5pm daily

01:00pm — Duola Handicraft Shop (朵拉手艺材料店)

• Address: No. 25, Section 3, Guohua St, West Central District, Tainan City, Taiwan 700
• Opening Hours: 10am to 9:30pm daily 

01:20pm — Mango ice cream at Fruity Aroma (遇见香果)

• Address: No. 2, Xianzheng Street, Yujing District, Tainan City, Taiwan 714
• Opening Hours: 10am to 8pm daily

01:25pm — Black Bridge Food (famous for Taiwanese sausage)

• Address: No. 103, Section 1, Zhonghua West Road, South District, Tainan City, Taiwan 702
• Opening Hours: 8am to 5pm on weekdays | Closed on weekends

01:45pm — Coffin Toast Bread at Chihkan Coffin (赤嵌棺材板)

• Address: 700, Taiwan, Tainan City, West Central District, 友愛街康樂市場180號
• Opening Hours: 11am to 9pm daily

02:10pm — Hayashi Department Store

• Address: No. 63, Section 2, Zhongyi Road, West Central District, Tainan City, Taiwan 700
• Opening Hours: 11am to 10pm 

02:40pm — Taiwan Confucian Temple (Tainan)

• Address: No. 2, Nanmen Road, West Central District, Tainan City, Taiwan 700
• Opening Hours: 8:30am to 5:30pm 

03:50pm — National Museum of Taiwan Literature

• Address: No. 1, Zhongzheng Road, West Central District, Tainan City, Taiwan 700
• Opening Hours: 9am to 6pm from Tuesday to Sunday | Closed on Mondays

05:00pm — Little Teapot Bubble Tea (小茶壼鴛鴦鮮奶茶)

• Address: No. 56, Section 2, Minzu Road, West Central District, Tainan City, Taiwan 700
• Opening Hours: 10am to 9pm daily

05:15pm — Back to hostel


06:45pm — Cycling on Tbike


07:10pm — Beancurd at Huai Jiu Xiao Zhan (怀旧小栈)

• Address: No. 206號, Wufei Street, West Central District, Tainan City, Taiwan 700
• Opening Hours: 10:30am to 10pm daily

08:10pm — Tainan Flower Night Market

• Address: No. 533, Section 3, Hai'an Road, North District, Tainan City, Taiwan 704
• Opening Hours: 5pm to 1am on Thursday, Saturday, Sunday | Closed on Monday to Wednesday and Friday

 
10:10pm — Back to hostel

Day 9: 11 August 2017, Friday — Taichung

10:00am — Train to Tainan HSR station

10:40am — Reached Tainan HSR station


11:10am — Board HSR (bought my HSR tickets online here)

12:00pm — Reached Taichung HSR Station


12:40pm — Rainbow Village

• Address: Taimao 5th Vil., Nantun Dist., Taichung City 408, Taiwan (R.O.C.).

01:30pm — Lunch at Tai Chu Noodles (大初麵食)

• Address: No. 686, Dadun Road, Nantun District, Taichung City, Taiwan 408
• Opening Hours: 11am to 12am daily
• Reservations: +886-4-2319-5101

02:40pm — Bubble tea at Tea Plus (水巷茶弄)

• Address: No. 576, Dadun Road, Nantun District, Taichung City, Taiwan 408
• Opening Hours: 10am to 10pm daily

03:20pm — Checked in Plan A Hostel


04:00pm — Taiwan Sun Cake Museum

• Address: No. 145, Section 1, Taiwan Boulevard, Central District, Taichung City, Taiwan 400
• Opening Hours: 8am to 10pm daily

04:15pm — Taichung Old Train Station

• Address: No. 1, Section 1, Taiwan Boulevard, Central District, Taichung City, Taiwan 400

04:30pm — Taichung City Third Market (民意街第三市場) 

• Address: No. 90, Taizhong Road, South District, Taichung City, Taiwan 402
• Opening Hours: 8am to 5pm daily

05:20pm — Taichung Cultural and Creative Industries Park

• Address: No. 362, Section 3, Fuxing Road, South District, Taichung City, Taiwan 402
• Opening Hours: 10am to 5pm daily 

06:15pm — Yizhong Night Market

• Address: Yizhong Street, North District, Taichung City, Taiwan 404
• Opening Hours: 6pm to 11pm daily

06:50pm — Kuang Nan Wholesale Store (光南大批發)

• Address: No. 125, Section 3, Sanmin Road, North District, Taichung City, Taiwan 404
• Opening Hours: 10:30am to 11pm daily

07:30pm — Dinner at Yizhong Night Market

09:00pm — Back to Plan A Hostel

Day 10: 12 August 2017, Saturday — Taichung

09:30am — Miyahara (宫原眼科) @ Fourth Credit Union

• No. 72, Zhongshan Road, Central District, Taichung City, Taiwan 400
• Opening Hours: 10am to 10pm daily
• Note: The Fourth Credit Union outlet is less crowded than Miyahara's original outlet at No.20, Zhongshan Rd., Central Dist., Taichung City 400, Taiwan (R.O.C.)

10:40am — Took bus 50 to 921 Earthquake Museum of Taiwa


12:00pm — Reached 921 Earthquake Museum of Taiwan

• Address: 413, Taiwan, Taichung City, Wufeng District, 坑口里新生路192號
• Opening Hours: 9am to 5pm from Tuesday to Sunday | Closed on Monday
• Operating Bus Services: 50, 59, 100, 107, 6871

 
02:10pm — Left 921 Earthquake Museum of Taiwan to Taichung Train Station

03:10pm — Reached Taichung train station

03:20pm — Took bus 309 to Gaomei Wetlands

04:20pm — Reached Gaomei Wetlands


06:30pm — Sunset at Gaomei Wetlands

07:20pm — Cab to Feng Chia Night Market

• Shared a cab with 4 other girls at NT250 each

08:00pm — Reached Feng Chia Night Market

• Address: Wenhua Road, Xitun District, Taichung City, Taiwan 407
• Opening Hours: 4pm to 1:30am daily

08:45pm — Took bus 8 back to Taichung Train Station

09:50pm — Walked back to Plan A Hostel

Day 11: 13 August 2017, Sunday — Taichung / Taipei

08:10am — Breakfast at Plan A Hostel


09:00am — Bought Suncakes from Nine Sun (九個太陽) and Taiwan Sun Cake Museum

Nine Sun (九個太陽)

• Address: No. 176, Section 1, Taiwan Boulevard, Central District, Taichung City, Taiwan 400
• Opening Hours: 8am to 10pm daily

Taiwan Sun Cake Museum

• Address: No. 145, Section 1, Taiwan Boulevard, Central District, Taichung City, Taiwan 400
• Opening Hours: 8am to 10pm daily

09:30am — Check out of Plan A Hostel

09:50am — Reach Taichung Train Station

10:10am — Reach Xinwuri Station (to take HSR to Taipei)


10:20am — Carton King (Xinwuri Station)

• Address: No. 26, Level 2, 414, Taiwan, Taichung City, Wuri District
• Opening Hours: 10am to 9pm daily

11:39am — HSR to Taipei, lunch on HSR (bought my HSR tickets online here)

12:25pm — Reached Taipei

01:10pm — Put luggage in locker and shopped


03:50pm — Train to Taoyuan International Airport

04:40pm — Reached Taoyuan International Airport, repacked luggage, shop

08:50pm — Flight take off

01:00am — Reached Singapore