Taipei travel tips — 9 things you need to know before going to Taipei

September 2, 2021

Taipei is the capital of Taiwan, a city that is both nostalgic but no less modern and dynamic of one of Asia’s most developed economies. Taipei tourism is trending in recent years. You can come here to visit, shop, explore nature or enjoy delectable cuisine, most bustling and vibrant night markets. All very wonderful because Taipei has wonderful things that only this city has. Worthy of being one of the hottest destinations in Asia, Taipei always attracts tourists with its unparalleled specialties of scenery and cuisine. So, what you need to know before traveling to Taipei? Let’s check out our suggested 9 Taipei travel tips, Taipei travel advice, Taipei travel advisory that you should know before visiting Taipei, Taiwan!

Taipei travel advice: Apply for Visa and Visa Free

Taiwan is opening its doors to visitors, especially for Vietnamese and Southeast Asian tourists. You should take advantage of this time to apply for a conditional Taiwanese Visa exemption easily and without any effort to make the trip lighter. However, you should also note that if your name is a similar name that was blacklisted, you must apply for a Taiwanese visa in the usual way. You also apply for an e-Visa here.

Power plug

Using a 2 flat pin plug adaptor is that you can rest assured when traveling to Taiwan. In addition, many hostels also have a USB charger, which is very convenient if you need to charge your phone or backup battery, power bank.

Where to stay in Taipei?

Hostel is my top priority, during my trip I stayed at Pillow Hostel, it is located on the 9th floor of a building in the central district of Taipei. Choose to stay in a hostel have many advantages as follows:

Cheap cost only $15/night
Nice clean room, very clean toilet
Central location near metro stations
Including breakfast
Safe because there are lockers for both shoes and personal lockers
Computer and wifi
Friendly space, serving 24/7

Metro in Taipei

MRT station at Taoyuan Airport where you can take the subway to get to city center. | taipei travel tips

In Taipei, there are 5 metro lines are Orange, Green, Blue, Red, Brown covering all areas of the city. These 5 train lines are named after the five basic elements: Metal, wood, water, fire, earth according to Eastern philosophy, so they are easy to remember. There are some special routes for tourism such as Beitou to Xinbeitou, you just need to connecting trains.

The train ticket system is quite similar to Thailand and Japan, you choose the train ticket price corresponding to the destination station, the machine will give a corresponding token for you to traveling, when you arrive, return the token to the machine. If you take the wrong train and lost money, you can just give the token to staff at that station and pay an additional fee.

The operating time of Taipei MRT is until 12pm, so you can traveling comfortably.

Inside Taipei Main Station | taipei travel tips

Convenience store

Easycard-Taiwan — EasyCard also can use to pay at 7-Eleven | taipei travel tips

From 7 Eleven, to Family Mart or Hi Life, you can find everything you need here from food, drinks to essentials. More specifically, in Taipei convenience stores – quite similar to Japan – you can use printers and photocopiers, which is useful if you need to quickly print documents while traveling.

local food at 7-11 — Local foods at 7-Eleven

Taiwan-7-11-Food — 7-Eleven Food | taipei travel tips

Opening hours of museums

Lanyang Museum is closed every Wednesday. | taipei travel tips

Museums in Taipei have different closing hours, so you need to Google in advance to avoid going to visit but waste of time because of closing.
National Palace Museum is always open but some exhibition areas will be closed, please refer to its homepage https://www.npm.gov.tw/en/Article.aspx?sNo=03000063
The National Taiwan Museum http://www2.ntm.gov.tw/ is closed every Monday.

National Palace Museum | taipei travel advice

National Taiwan Museum | taipei travel advice

Exploring nature around Taipei

Yangmingshan National Park (1) — Yangmingshan National Park

Taipei not only has majestic reinforced concrete forests, but also has countless natural landscapes such as: Beitou hot spring, Yangmingshan National Park located between Taipei and New Taipei City, Xiangshan mountain (Elephant mountain), etc. for you to explore Taipei which is very interesting city.

Yangmingshan Hot Springs — Xinbeitou hot spring | taipei travel advice

Taipei travel tips: Free things in Taipei

Free umbrella at train stations. | taipei travel advice

There are 3 free things in Taipei that any visitor should know:

Public toilets are always available at train stations, this will be the best rescue for you in “emergency situations”, LOL.
Free public water tabs are also available at major train stations, which you can use when thirsty.
Free umbrella. This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen, you can take it and give it back for others to use.

Taipei travel advisory: Public bicycles

Just 5 TWD – less than $0.18 – you can use You Bike rental service within 30 minutes, very convenient if you are afraid to walk but still want to exercise. You Bike is everywhere in Taipei, you can pick up one at a point and drop off at the next point, it’s very easy.

To find a You Bike stop, you can see map on the homepage at https://taipei.youbike.com.tw/en/index.php, this is my favorite vehicle when traveling in the center of Taipei.

Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in, to and from Taipei you can refer to

Are you finding more top things to do in Taipei: Tours, activities, attractions and other things? Read more: Taipei travel blog — The fullest Taipei city guide for a wonderful trip to Taipei for the first-timers.