Taiwan

An impressively diverse destination

Why I like Taiwan so much?

Visiting Taiwan exceeded greatly my expectations, and it soon became one of my favourite destinations. The main reason for that is that, given its size, it offers an incredible number of interesting places to visit and adventures that shouldn’t be missed.

Beyond visiting Taiwan’s remarkable historical and natural sites, there are 3 experiences you should not miss. First of all, you should sample as many local recipes as you can! I was impressed by the diversity of Taiwanese cuisine, and I can genuinely recommend it as one of the finest I have encountered worldwide! The second is to immerse yourself in tea culture through visiting tea manufacturers and plantations, and trying various teas! And the third is to relax in hot springs, especially in the wild ones surrounded by nature.

How to plan your trip on a budget?

Our tent with a 5-star view in Lishan village.

Taiwan is not as cheap as anywhere in Southeast Asia, but you can save a lot on accommodation and transport. In the bigger cities, we were either couchsurfing or sleeping in hostels or cheap hotels. However, in smaller towns and the countryside, we camped nearly all the time—in parks or out in nature. The parks, usually very civilized, are equipped with clean bathrooms and often have plugs so you can charge your phone. Sometimes we camped beside natural hot springs, which offered the great experience of soaking in hot water before sleep. For city travel, we used public transport, and between larger cities we took trains or buses. Around smaller towns and in the countryside, we were hitchhiking, which worked pretty well!

We started our trip by exploring Taipei and its surrounding metropolitan area. Arriving at the end of December, we had the chance to celebrate New Year’s Eve at Taipei 101 Tower. The fireworks there were absolutely spectacular! Afterwards, we journeyed to the mountainous central part of the island before descending to the southern coastline, which boasts some really nice beaches.

The best places and activities in Taiwan

Enjoy the Taiwanese cuisine!

The best way to try various delicacies is to visit night markets. In Taipei, there are lots of them, but even in the smaller towns in the countryside, you can be sure to find at least one. And the impressive thing is that some of the night market stalls even have Michelin stars! Still, you are in Asia, so unsurprisingly, you can also find some unusual recipes with snake meat, duck head, and various intestines.

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Don’t miss the local tea!

If you enjoy drinking tea, you’ll definitely share my enthusiasm for Taiwanese tea. The most well-known sort is Oolong, which also has many sub-varieties depending on the plant cultivars, oxidation, and other factors. But that’s not all! Apart from Oolong, there are other teas worth trying, like Baozhong, Oriental Beauty, and Ruby tea.

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Soak in hot springs!

The best ones are the wild hot springs in the middle of nature. These places usually have limited or completely missing infrastructure and often sit in river beds or in a forest. They are also amazing places for camping around! Besides the natural hot springs, you can of course find plenty of developed ones with various price-range.

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Taipei and its surroundings

It is worth to dedicate a couple of days to Taipei, checking out its modern architecture, historical sites, and visiting a couple of night markets. There are also plenty of interesting sites not far away, that are manageable to be visited as day-trip. Some I would recommend are the towns of Jiufen and Shifen, the Yangmingshan National Park, and the Fufu Dingshan Seashell Temple.

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Explore the mountains and the countryside!

Most Taiwanese rural regions have something unique that makes them worthwhile and exciting to visit. In Sanxing, for example, they are so proud of their green onions that they have built a whole museum and cultural center dedicated to them. In the highlands, there are multiple indigenous villages, amazing hiking routes, and the views are breathtaking!

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Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung is the largest city in southern Taiwan, and there are some pretty unique places you can visit in it. One of them is the Pier-2 Art Center, a huge area with old warehouses and docks that are turned into art galleries. You can see plenty of murals and outdoor installations there as well. Apart from this, the city gives home to a metro station that is considered to be one of the most beautiful ones worldwide with its “Dome of Light”.

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