An intensive 6-day-5-night itinerary in Taiwan for solo travelers, especially for those who love art, creativity, culinary culture and history!!
2020-02-19
// Foreword
In this post, I would like to introduce you to my in-depth solo travel itinerary in the three big cities of Taiwan – Taipei, Taichung, Tainan for 6 days 5 nights. Everything mentioned in this post is 100% my personal experience combined with my knowledge about places, people and things I had chances to come across during my trip.
Please read it with a relative consideration as things that work for me may not work for you.
I hope my sharing will help you somehow to have the best travel in Taiwan or other countries.
// Traveler Profile: Aki
Nationality: Southeast Asian
Resident Country: Tokyo, Japan
Occupation: 4th-year university student + part-timer
Trip Preference: Culture Experience
Main trip theme: Art, Creativity, Cuisine, Culture, Photography (with a phone, yes!)
Activities Pace: Fast (approx 10 hours/day on the road)
Travel Budget: 27,000 NTD = approx 800 USD
// Itinerary:
Travel Date: 4th Feb 2020 – 10th Feb 2020
| Activities | Destinations | Transportation | |
| Day 1 | – Arrived at Taoyuan International Airport (TIA) at 2:35 PM (Taiwan time)
-Arrived at Hey Bear Capsule Hotel at 4:30 PM – Taipei Bridge Station -Joined Longshan Temple Tour of tourmeaway.com from 5:30 PM – 10:00 PM -Had a late-night meal at the night market next to Longshan Temple |
– Taoyuan International Airport
-Hey Bear Capsule Hotel -Longshan Temple |
※Tokyo – TIA: Scoot Airline
※Aiport – Hotel:
※Hotel – Longshan Temple:
|
| Day 2 | -Had a traditional breakfast at 青島豆漿店 nearby Dongmen Station
-Visited Jiufen Old Town
-Had a rest at the hotel to recharge -Had dinner at Raohe Night Market |
-Tsingdao Soybean Milk
-Jiufen Old Town -Raohe Night Market |
※Hotel – Tsingdao Soybean Milk:
Taipei Bridge Station ~ Dongmen Station ※Tsingdao Soybean Milk – Jiufen Old Town:
※Jiufen Old Town – Raohe Night Market (if not going back to hotel) Take one straight ride from Jiufen Old Town to Songshan Station by Bus 965 |
| Day 3 | -Woke up at 8:00 AM and had breakfast at the hotel
-Visited Miniature Museum of Taiwan -Visited Contemporary Art Museum of Taiwan -Had lunch at Din Tai Fung Nanxi Branch -Visited Tapei Expo Park & Taipei Fine Art Museum -Headed back to the hotel to recharge -Headed out to visit Huashan 1914 Creative Park -Went back to visit Sanhe Night Market near the hotel for dinner |
-Miniature Museum of Taiwan
-Contemporary Art of Taiwan -Din Tai Fung Nanxi Branch -Taipei Expo Park -Taipei Fine Arts Museum -Huashan 1914 Creative Park -Sanhe Night Market
|
※Hotel – Miniature Museum of Taiwan:
Taipei Bridge Station ~ Songjiang Nanjing Station ※Miniature Museum of Taiwan – Contemporary Art Museum of Taiwan Songjiang Nanjing Station ~ Zhongshan Station ※Walk from Contemporary Art Museum of Taiwan to Din Tai Fung Nanxi Branch ※Contemporary Art Museum of Taiwan – Taipei Fine Art Museum Zhongshan Station ~ Yuanshan Station ※Hotel – Huashan 1914 Creative Park Taipei Bridge Station ~ Zhongxiao Xinsheng station ※Headed back to Sanhe Night Market that is nearby Hey Bear Hotel |
| Day 4 | -Picked up THSR 3-consecutive-day ticket at Taipei Main Station
-Headed to Taichung city -Deposited luggage at Taichung THSR station -Visited Taichung city The third market -Visited Taichung Cultural and Creative Industries Park -Planned to visit Carton King Creative Park – Dakeng (Beitun) but I couldn’t due to health issues. -Headed back to Taichung THSR station to go to Tainan city. -Checked in at Tainan Garden Hostel -Had a walk around the area, had dinner and had a good sleep. |
-Taipei Main Station
-Taichung city The third market -Taichung Cultural and Creative Industries Park -Carton King Creative Park – Dakeng (Beitun) |
※Hotel – Taipei Main Station
※Taichung THSR Station – Taichung Cultural and Creative Industries Park Taichung THSR Station ~ Taichung Station
※Taichung Cultural and Creative Industries Park – Carton King Creative Park – Dakeng (Beitun) Take bus 51 to ‘Dakeng Traffic Circle’ stop and walk to the park. ※Taichung THSR station – hotel in Tainan
|
| Day 5 | -Woke up at 9:00 AM and had breakfast at 春牛豆漿大王
-Visited Chikahn Tower -Picked up a T-bike near Chikahn Tower with Easycard + Phone number -Visited Grand Mazu Temple -Visited Blue Print Creative Park -Visited Snail Alley –Went back to the hostel to recharge my phone and had some rest before going out again -Visited Garden Night Market and had dinner there -Went back to the hostel to have some rest, pack up and prepare to head back to Taipei for the flight. |
–春牛豆漿大王
-Chihkan Tower -Grand Mazu Temple -Blueprint Creative Park -Snail Alley -Garden Night Market |
As the hotel that I stayed at is quite close to the sightseeing area of the city – West Central District, I mainly went to places on foot and by bike.
The order of visited destinations is exactly as listed in the Activities Column.
|
| Day 6 | -Woke up at 8:00 AM and checked out
-Took the train from Tainan station to Shalun station and went back to Taipei city -Arrived at Taipei Main Station around noon -Deposited my luggage at the luggage storage at Taipei Main Station -Visited Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall -Visited Postal Museum -Visited and had afternoon tea at Eighty-Eightea Rinbansyo Teahouse -Walked to Ximen Walking District & Ximending Night Market -Picked up luggage at Taipei Main Station and headed to Taoyuan International Market -Stayed overnight at the airport till the flight time, early in the morning
|
-Shalun Station
-Taipei Main Station -Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall -Postal Museum -Eighty-Eightea Rinbansyo -Ximending Walking District -Ximen Night Market -Taoyuan International Market |
※Tainan – Taipei
※Taipei Main Station – Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall & Postal Museum
※Walk for about 20mins from Postal Museum to Eighty-Eightea Rinbansyo (why would I have done such a long walk that? click ‘Day 6‘ for more details) ※Ximending Walking District & Ximen Night Market is within walking distance from the Teahouse ※Ximen area – Taoyuan International Airport
|
| Day 7 | Flew back to Tokyo, Japan at 6:40 AM from Taoyuan International Airport (Taiwan time) | ※TIA – Tokyo: Scoot Airline |
// Cost Breakdown
※I will exchange the currency into USD to make it easier for everyone to keep track of how much the cost is.
| Transportation | Activities + Tickets | Accommodations | Food + Shopping |
| Two-way Flight Ticket Tokyo – Taipei Scoot Airline
8059 NTD = 268 USD THSR 3 consecutive day ticket (ordered online from Klook) 2197 NTD = 73.25 USD In-city Transportation (MRT train, TRA train, Bus, T-Bike) In total: 1200 NTD/ 6 days = 40 USD
|
Longshan Temple Tour Tips:
300 NTD = 10 USD Miniature Museum of Taiwan: 150 NTD = 5 USD Contemporary Art Museum of Taiwan 50 NTD = 1.70 USD Taipei Fine Art Museum 30 NTD = 1 USD Huashan 1914 Creative Park – The Wonderful Land 318 NTD = 10.60 USD Taichung Cultural and Creative Industries Park – Tatsuya Tanaka Miniature World Exhibition 300 NTD = 10 USD Chihkan Tower 50NTD = 1.67 USD Postal Museum 10 NTD = 0.33 USD ※Any places not mentioned in this column are free entrance |
Taipei – Hey Bear Capsule Hotel
3 nights for 1228 NTD = 41 USD Tainan – 台南花園青年旅店 / Tainan Garden Hostel: 2 nights for 810 NTD = 27 USD
|
I did not keep track of how much I spent on food and shopping, but it was surely the most costly part of the trip.
It’s probably 8,000 ~ 9000 NTD = 270 USD in total. As I purchased many small souvenirs such as tea boxes, postcards, stickers, as well as some clothing, the total cost might be a bit higher than expected. As spending habits are different by person. it would be best to plan your trip and budget ahead. Sparing some extra cash and credit card will be helpful, in case of unexpected payments. |
// TRIP AFTERMATH
In total, the whole trip cost me 27,000 NTD / 800 USD, more or less. You can see most of the destinations in my itinerary does not cost me much for the admission fee or completely free entrance.
There are many places/events that I did not include in my list at first, like ‘Tatsuya Tanaka Miniature World Exhibition’ in Taichung city, I paid for the ticket eventually because I was deeply interested in their stories and purposes. I will write about my choice of destination more detailed in different posts about each day of the trip.
Even though I’m a totally planning freak (truly!), the trip is full of un-planned elements. Obviously enough, it’s impossible to foresee how things go, especially when you are a first-time visitor. Notwithstanding, I have no regrets at all for all those spontaneous fun and emotions that I got to experience in this solo trip. The more surprises, the merrier life is, isn’t it?
Thank you for reading my post. This is the beginning of the whole series of articles about my experiences in Taiwan as a solo traveler. I hope they will help you somehow in finding the best paths for your future journey to this beautiful country, Taiwan!
Stay tuned for the next posts about the Taiwan travel series:
Taiwan // What to expect: Planning the trip & Reviews
Taiwan // What to expect: Language, Culture, and Eatery
Taiwan // A full-on 6-day solo itinerary in Taiwan – Day 1
Taiwan // A full-on 6-day solo itinerary in Taiwan – Day 2
Taiwan // A full-on 6-day solo itinerary in Taiwan – Day 3
Taiwan // A full-on 6-day solo itinerary in Taiwan – Day 4 – Stay tuned
Taiwan // A full-on 6-day solo itinerary in Taiwan – Day 5 – Stay tuned
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