Here is a checklist for your Taipei trip:
1. Visa
Although Filipino tourists are entitled to visa-free entry until July 2019, you need a visa if you’re staying for more than 14 days. Read here the full guidelines.
2. Hotel
Taipei has a range of hotels, hostels and Airbnb hosts to choose from. Ideally, you want a hotel that can easily access the Taipei Metro (see the Taipei Metro route map here) so you can get around easily. If you want to book within the city center, popular districts are Ximending, Wanhua, Zhongzheng, Da’n and Banqiao (in New Taipei City).
3. Airport transfer
Try avoid arriving in Taiwan late in the evening as you’ll likely miss the last trips of the Taipei Metro and airport buses, with no other choice but to resort to the more expensive taxi and private car rental. In our latest AirAsia trip, we arrived in Taipei nearly 2 a.m. and used Klook’s private car service to go to the hotel.
4. WiFi device
To avoid the hassle of looking for a free WiFi around Taipei, we recommend to buy a rental service in advance. Flytpack lets you rent before you fly out of Manila, while Klook offers a cheaper option that requires picking up the device from a kiosk at the Taoyuan airport. Alternatively, you can just approach the kiosk and buy the service, although this is subject to availability.
5. EasyCard and Taipei Fun Pass
EasyCard is Taipei’s equivalent of Hong Kong’s Octopus — a prepaid and re-loadable card for Taipei Metro, Maokong Gondola, buses, Taiwan Railway, intercity buses, Youbike rental, taxis, libraries, designated stores and Taiwan High Speed Rail.
You can buy one from Taipei Metro, convenience stores and EasyCard centers. Note that you’ll be required a NTD 100 deposit fee, which can be refunded upon return of the card. Read here for more information.
Meanwhile, the newly released Taipei Fun Pass can be a 1, 2, 3 and 5-day pass that covers free entrance to 12 main attractions and unlimited rides on the Taipei Metro and Tourist Shuttle routes, Maokong Gondola and select buses.
Taipei Fun Pass Prices are below:
Taipei Fun Pass (Attractions + Transportation)
- 1-day pass – NTD 1,200
- 2-day pass – NTD 1,600
- 3-day pass – NTD 1,900
Taipei Fun Pass (Transportation only)
- 1-day pass – NTD 180
- 1-day pass + Maokong Gondola – NTD 350
- 2-day pass – NTD 310
- 3-day pass – NTD 440
- 4-day pass – NTD 700
How cost-effective is the Fun Pass? See No. 9 for a rough computation. For full details about the Taipei Fun Pass, visit their website here.
6. Itinerary
Many people go to Taiwan without any plan. Luckily, there are sites like Klook, Kkday and Viator that aggregate various activities and experiences and which you can book and confirm immediately. It still pays to have a plan. Some questions you need to keep in mind:
- Which attractions are open on Mondays (most tourist attractions take a break during this day)?
- Some entrance tickets are steep, how can I get a discount?
- Is there a day-pass or a packaged tour to lower down cost?
- Where is the best shopping and night market locations?
Not only will an itinerary allow you to lessen cost (e.g. booking in advance saves you a few dollars at Taipei 101), it also saves you an incredible amount of time.
READ: A 4-day itinerary in Taipei
7. Tours
You can go around Taipei through a number of channels: the Taipei Metro, bus, private car or the Taipei sightseeing bus tour. Here’s a list of tour aggregators from where you can explore activities and experiences in Taipei and the nearby cities/municipalities of New Taipei, Keelung, Shifen, Jiufen and Taoyuan:
8. Cash
It’s difficult to find a money exchange for Philippine peso in Taipei, so it’s best to exchange for NTD in the Philippines. Credit cards such as Visa, MasterCard, American Express, JCB, China UnionPay, Diners Clubs International are also widely popular.
Budget
How much should your budget be? Here’s a rough list of expenses:
| Average daily EasyCard load | NTD 100 – one-time, refundable deposit
NTD 200 – recommended daily load |
| Activities | |
| · Taipei 101 observatory | NTD 600 |
| · Sightseeing Bus Tour | NTD 300 to 500 |
| · National Palace Museum | NTD 350 |
| · Yehliu Geopark | NTD 80 |
| · Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall | Free |
| · Longshan Temple | Free |
| · Miramar Entertainment Park | NTD 200 |
| · Cruise at Tamsui Fisherman’s Wharf | NTD 120 (roundtrip) |
| · Maokong Gondola | NTD 200 (roundtrip) |
| · Night Markets (Shilin, Ximending, etc.) | Free |
| Food | |
| · Hole in the walls | NTD 100 to 300 |
| · Convenience stores | NTD 50 to 300 |
| · Specialty restaurants | NTD 400 to 750 per head |
| Pasalubong
Stores require a minimum of NTD 3,000 for tax refund |
Depends on budget, but generally 25% of subtotal |
Note: Prices are updated as of April 2018.
READ: 10 essential travel tips before you fly to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
Happy traveling!
Disclosure: Workalife is a member of the Klook, Kkday and Viator affiliate programs for blogs.
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