Taiwan itinerary, day by day

From Taipei and its 101 tower to the marble cliffs of Taroko and on to Sun Moon Lake, by train: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

🗓️ 3, 7 or 14 days📍 3 stops☀️ Best time: October to April

Taipei · Photo Ricky Terrance / Pexels

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

Taiwan in 3 days

2 stops · 12 things to do · ≈ 170 km

1Taipei

Days 1-2

A capital of night markets and temples under the 508-metre Taipei 101. The hot springs of Beitou are on the metro, and the hill village of Jiufen is an hour away.

🎟️ Worth booking

Taipei 101 observatory1h · from €18
The lift to the 89th floor, in the tower that was the tallest in the world from 2004 to 2010.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Night market and Beitou hot springsEvening · from €15
A soak in the sulphur springs of Beitou, reached by metro, then dinner at a night market.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Longshan Temple · Ximending · Jiufen, the lantern-lit hill village · Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: CityInn Hotel Plus Ximending Branch (€70 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Proverbs Taipei (€130 a night) · Luxury: Mandarin Oriental Taipei (€320 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

ZEA ↗ ★ 4.8 · 292 reviews · €€€€
Modern Toilet Theme Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.7 · 4545 reviews · €€
食令shabu ↗ ★ 4.7 · 3046 reviews · €€€
莫夏印度餐廳大安店 MOKSHAA indian restaurant-daan branch Taipei ↗ ★ 4.7 · 870 reviews
de nuit ↗ ★ 4.7 · 550 reviews

Photo Jerry Liang / Pexels

🚆 Train · 2h · 170 km

2Taroko Gorge

Day 3

A marble gorge cut by the Liwu River, the heart of Taroko National Park. The April 2024 earthquake closed much of it: some trails have reopened, others will stay shut until around 2031, so check the park's website before you go.

🎟️ Worth booking

Guided hike in the marble gorgeFull day · from €25
A day on the trails that have reopened since the earthquake, with a guide who knows which ones are open and safe.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The marble cliffs · The turquoise river · The tunnels cut through the rock · Eternal Spring Shrine, seen from the road · Dekalun Trail, a short, steep climb behind the visitor centre

🛏️ Where to sleep · Mid-range: Silks Place Taroko (€170 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Dos Tacos ↗ ★ 4.6 · 1241 reviews · €€
Salt Lick Smokehouse & Grill ↗ ★ 4.4 · 2915 reviews · €€
Mu Ming Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.3 · 2507 reviews · €€
立閣日出餐廳Taroko LiikoHotel_Sunrise resturant｜太魯閣美食推薦｜新城美食推薦 ↗ ★ 4.2 · 608 reviews · €€
太魯閣大眾餐廳 ↗ ★ 4.2 · 224 reviews · €€

Photo Levi Wedge / Pexels

Taiwan in 7 days

3 stops · 18 things to do · ≈ 430 km

1Taipei

Days 1-3

A capital of night markets and temples under the 508-metre Taipei 101. The hot springs of Beitou are on the metro, and the hill village of Jiufen is an hour away.

🎟️ Worth booking

Taipei 101 observatory1h · from €18
The lift to the 89th floor, in the tower that was the tallest in the world from 2004 to 2010.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Night market and Beitou hot springsEvening · from €15
A soak in the sulphur springs of Beitou, reached by metro, then dinner at a night market.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Longshan Temple · Ximending · Jiufen, the lantern-lit hill village · Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Jerry Liang / Pexels

🚆 Train · 2h · 170 km

2Taroko Gorge

Days 4-5

🎟️ Worth booking

Guided hike in the marble gorgeFull day · from €25
A day on the trails that have reopened since the earthquake, with a guide who knows which ones are open and safe.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The marble cliffs · The turquoise river · The tunnels cut through the rock · Eternal Spring Shrine, seen from the road · Dekalun Trail, a short, steep climb behind the visitor centre

🛏️ Where to sleep · Mid-range: Silks Place Taroko (€170 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Levi Wedge / Pexels

🚆 Train + bus · 4h · 260 km

3Sun Moon Lake

Days 6-7

The largest lake in Taiwan, in the mountains at the centre of the island and home to the Thao people. A cycle path, temples and boats link its shores.

🎟️ Worth booking

Around the lake by bike and boatFull day · from €20
Part of the shore on the cycle path, the rest by boat between the piers of Shuishe, Ita Thao and Xuanguang.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Ropeway and the Aboriginal culture villageHalf day · from €18
A cable car over the ridge to the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village, part theme park, part museum of the island's indigenous peoples.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The emerald water of the lake · Wenwu Temple · Ci'en Pagoda · The lakeside trails

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Shui Sha Lian Hotel (€55 a night) · Mid-range: The Lalu (vue) (€190 a night) · Luxury: The Lalu (€350 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

KEN CAN by Ken Chan ↗ ★ 4.9 · 1432 reviews
Rainbow Cloud ↗ ★ 4.9 · 1241 reviews
亞覓餐酒館 Yummy Restaurant｜日月潭乾式熟成牛排 ↗ ★ 4.9 · 331 reviews
蒸開心家常菜 ↗ ★ 4.8 · 1516 reviews
Nomad day café ↗ ★ 4.8 · 1003 reviews

Photo Young Bom / Pexels

Taiwan in 14 days

4 stops · 24 things to do · ≈ 680 km

1Taipei

Days 1-4

A capital of night markets and temples under the 508-metre Taipei 101. The hot springs of Beitou are on the metro, and the hill village of Jiufen is an hour away.

🎟️ Worth booking

Taipei 101 observatory1h · from €18
The lift to the 89th floor, in the tower that was the tallest in the world from 2004 to 2010.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Night market and Beitou hot springsEvening · from €15
A soak in the sulphur springs of Beitou, reached by metro, then dinner at a night market.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Longshan Temple · Ximending · Jiufen, the lantern-lit hill village · Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Jerry Liang / Pexels

🚆 Train · 2h · 170 km

2Taroko Gorge

Days 5-7

🎟️ Worth booking

Guided hike in the marble gorgeFull day · from €25
A day on the trails that have reopened since the earthquake, with a guide who knows which ones are open and safe.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The marble cliffs · The turquoise river · The tunnels cut through the rock · Eternal Spring Shrine, seen from the road · Dekalun Trail, a short, steep climb behind the visitor centre

🛏️ Where to sleep · Mid-range: Silks Place Taroko (€170 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Levi Wedge / Pexels

🚆 Train + bus · 4h · 260 km

3Sun Moon Lake

Days 8-11

The largest lake in Taiwan, in the mountains at the centre of the island and home to the Thao people. A cycle path, temples and boats link its shores.

🎟️ Worth booking

Around the lake by bike and boatFull day · from €20
Part of the shore on the cycle path, the rest by boat between the piers of Shuishe, Ita Thao and Xuanguang.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Ropeway and the Aboriginal culture villageHalf day · from €18
A cable car over the ridge to the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village, part theme park, part museum of the island's indigenous peoples.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The emerald water of the lake · Wenwu Temple · Ci'en Pagoda · The lakeside trails

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Shui Sha Lian Hotel (€55 a night) · Mid-range: The Lalu (vue) (€190 a night) · Luxury: The Lalu (€350 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Young Bom / Pexels

🚄 THSR · 2h · 250 km (return)

4Taipei

Days 12-14

A capital of night markets and temples under the 508-metre Taipei 101. The hot springs of Beitou are on the metro, and the hill village of Jiufen is an hour away.

🎟️ Worth booking

Taipei 101 observatory1h · from €18
The lift to the 89th floor, in the tower that was the tallest in the world from 2004 to 2010.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Night market and Beitou hot springsEvening · from €15
A soak in the sulphur springs of Beitou, reached by metro, then dinner at a night market.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Longshan Temple · Ximending · Jiufen, the lantern-lit hill village · Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Jerry Liang / Pexels

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

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Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

Beef noodle soup: braised beef in a dark, spiced broth, the dish Taipei argues about most.
Xiaolongbao: steamed soup dumplings, bitten carefully because of the hot broth inside.
Bubble tea: milk tea with tapioca pearls, invented in Taiwan in the 1980s.
Gua bao: a folded steamed bun around braised pork belly, peanut powder and coriander.
Night market food: sausages, oyster omelette and stinky tofu, which tastes far milder than it smells.

⚠️ What to avoid

Get an EasyCard on arrival: it pays for the metro, buses, local trains and convenience stores.
Typhoons can hit in summer and early autumn: keep a spare day and watch the forecast.
Keep your voice down in temples, and queue in line for the metro, where people wait either side of the doors.
Carry small notes and coins for the night markets, where cards are rarely taken.
Check the Taroko trail status before you go: many paths are still closed after the 2024 earthquake.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable Taiwan guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit Taiwan, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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