4D3N Taipei Itinerary — What to do & how to spend 4 days in Taipei?

July 6, 2021

If you are a travel lover, perhaps you are not too familiar with Taipei and Taiwan anymore right?! However, if you have come here once, you will probably wonder “Is there anything else to do in Taipei?”. Or just come there and eat all delectable foods at its night markets is enough?!”. This is my itinerary that will aim to explore Taipei and Keelung city and New Taipei City, so it cane help you maximizing your trip to experience best things of these 3 cities, although they located close together but have their own unique features to make your Taipei travel itinerary is not boring.

Pingxi line.1 — Pingxi Railway built by the Japanese.

07 Wulai (烏來) - The Old Street and the Hot Spring @ New Taipei [Taiwan] (Large) — Poetic of Wulai Old Town | 4d3n taipei itinerary

Taipei night market | 4d3n taipei itinerary

So, what to do in Taipei for 4 days? Let’s check out our suggested Taipei itinerary 4 days blog (4D3N Taipei itinerary blog) on how to spend 4 days in Taipei (4 days 3 nights in Taipei, 4 days 3 nights Taipei, Taipei 4 days 3 nights itinerary, Taipei 4 days 3 nights trip) from how to get, what to do for a perfect trip to the capital city of Taiwan.

4D3N Taipei itinerary: Overview of Taipei itinerary 4 days

Day 1: Vietnam – Taipei
Day 2: Taipei – Ruifang District (New Taipei City) – Keelung City – Taipei
Day 3: Taipei – Pingxi/Jiufen – Taipei
Day 4: Taipei – Wulai – Taipei – Vietnam

What to do in Taipei for 4 days? — Day 1: Vietnam – Taipei

Arrival Hall at Terminal, Taoyuan, Airport

From Vietnam, you can take many flights to Taipei which operating by many carriers such as Vietnam Airlines, EVA Air or Vietjet Air. Because I booked quite close to the departure date, so I chose VietJet Air for cheap, so the flight time is not very nice, I have to departed at 2am from Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) and land in Taipei at around 6:30am, just landing, it will be quite tired because of lack of sleep. But the plus point is that you have a whole day to explore Taipei ahead, right after arriving, let drink 1 effervescent C pill to have energy to go out early and recover.

For those who travel from other cities around the globe, you can access Google Flights, SkyScanner to find cheap airfares as well as your most suitable flight routes.

7AM: Receive the pocket Wifi device & getting to Taipei city

Right after that, at Taoyuan airport, I went out and looked to the left to get to counter 1 to received a pocket WiFi transmitter. I recommend you book in advance the compact wifi transmitter in Taiwan (even in Japan and Korea) because its capacity is unlimited, it is quite convenient to go with a group. You should be careful not to lose or… forget to return the wifi when you traveling back to Vietnam, if so you will be deducted some amount.

If you traveling alone, you should consider to buy a 4G Sim card in advance or buy it right at the airport, which is quite covenient and save. You can buy here.

Then, I took the MRT to the city center, it will take about 45 minutes for this trip, one way costs NT$ 150 to get to Taipei Main Station from here you can take a taxi or bus or subway to get to the hotel and send your luggage. Then going out to explore Taipei.

MRT Taoyuan Aiport to Taipei city center | 4d3n taipei itinerary

In addition, you can take the bus to city center, we had a very detailed guide here or rent a transfer service via klook.

10AM: Explore Taipei Fine Arts Museum

Address: No. 181, Section 3, Zhongshan N Rd, Zhongshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 10491
Established: December 24, 1983

This is my most favorite museum in Taipei because of the combination of classical painting and digital art exhibition. The ticket price is only NT$30 but you can comfortably spend 2-3 hours here. If you traveling with your kids, this is also a very interesting place because the B1 floor is where there is an interactive exhibition for children, you can go down there and experience it.

12:30PM: Satisfy your hungry at Ximending

Various foods such as Brown Sugar Bubble Milk Tea, beef noodles, Bitter Melon Smoothie, and stinky tofu, all can be found at Ximending. I will give out delicious places to eat in this Ximending area and you just follow if you want, you can spend 2 – 3 hours here for eating and drinking from this stall to other, or combine shopping.

what to eat in ximending — Ximending street food stall

Ximending Night Market (1) — Bubblea milk tea stall

Ay-Chung Flour-Rice Noodle is a famous place that sells delicious noodles in Ximending, tastes like crab soup, thick broth and cheap from only NT$70. Remember to add the restaurant’s chili sauce for extra flavor.

Address: No. 8-1號, Emei Street, Wanhua District, Taipei City, Taiwan 108.
Opening hours: 9AM – 11PM.

Delicious, strange Bitter melon smoothie, priced at NT$100 for a large glass and NT$85 for a small glass. Bitter melon smoothie (Bitter Melon Juice, Bitter gourd Juice) is an extremely, weird, unique drink, it sounds bitter, but the juice is made from white bitter melons has a sweet taste and a slightly bitter aftertaste. There are many shops in Ximending selling this juice but you should explore the most famous original shop Lemon House White Bitter Gourd Juice.

Address: No. 21 Hanzhong Street, Wanhua District, Taipei City, Taiwan 108
Opening hours: 9am – 12am (Mon – Sun)

Stinky tofu can be found everywhere, but the best I’ve tried is on Emei Street near Ay-Chung Flour-Rice Noodle shop. NT$50/part.

fengjia night market taichung (1) — Incredible smell stinky tofu, must eat in Taiwan

The giant vegetable and meat wonton here is a delicous hidden dish that I accidentally discovered. The small bowl is NT$60, the middle bowl is NT$85 and the big bowl is NT$140, but don’t order the big bowl because the middle bowl is enough, even for 2 people, come and try at No. 15, Taoyuan Street, Zhongzheng District Taipei City, Taiwan 100 to enjoy.

Read more: What to eat in Ximending, Taipei?

4:30: Xiangshan (Elephant Mountain) and watching Taipei Sunset

This place is already too popular, but I recommend coming here from 4:30pm to climb up for 15-20 minutes to be ready to catch the sunset and also take pictures of Taipei 101 as well as the whole view of Taipei, and stay longer to see the shimmering city at night.

Taipei city at sunset, seen from Elephant mountain.

5PM: Climbing to the top of Taipei 101

Because I still have a lot of time, so after going down from mount Xiangshan, I decided to go to Taipei 101 and went up to the 89th floor of this tallest building in Taipei and you also can climb up to the 91st floor to have a panoramic view of whole city.

Overlooking a hundred kilometers from Taipei 101

Taipei itinerary 4 days blog — Day 2: Conquering the northern coast of Taiwan

On the Day 2 of 4 days 3 nights in Taipei itinerary, I chose to spend the whole day exploring the Northern Coast of Taiwan, which sounds far away but is actually only 30 minutes by car from Taipei. On that day, I just passed through both New Taipei City and Keelung City, it was a long day. On this journey you will explore the following spots:

Yin Yang Sea belongs to New Taipei City, this place is called Yin and Yang Sea because of the pollution in gold mining activities that make the sea such color. You only need 30 minutes here.

Shen’ao Elephant Trunk Rock is the next spot, you need 1 hour here, remember to equip good shoes because going in will be quite slippery. But the seascape and rocky terrain here are quite impressive.

Zhengbin Fishing Port is the main highlight of the itinerary, also the place where you should spend your time to break and have a lunch. At this fishing harbour, there are many seafood restaurants for you to choose from, and if you want to save money, you can dine at a convenience store nearby. In addition, the fishing port with colorful houses is the best photo spot in this place that you should not miss.

Jiufen Village & The Northeast Coast

Jinshan – Mysterious Coast is a hiking trail in the forest to the top of a high mountain to see the northern sea that you should not miss. This place is located in Jinshan Shitoushan Park which is quite popular with the locals. There were almost no tourists when I went to, but only people from Taipei and New Taipei City came to go for a walk on weekends. So this will be an interesting choice in your journey.

Keelung Miaokou Night Market is a famous dining spot of Keelung City that I recommend you to visit before going back to Taipei, here there are stalls selling a delicious small sausage that you should try.

Address: No. 20, Aisi Road, Ren’ai District, Keelung City, Taiwan 200

Keelung night market | taipei itinerary 4 days blog

Laomei Green Reef is another spot that I did not want to miss it because this is a beach with rocks covered by green moss was extremely beautiful and looked different from the places I had been to. Please tell the driver to stop by here before going back to Taipei.

Address: Shimen District, New Taipei City, Taiwan 253

Coastal stone trench of Laomei coast in Taipei, Taiwan. | taipei itinerary 4 days blog

To go to all these places, you can completely use Google Maps to take public transport such as bus or MRT, but after a while of searching and finding it quite complicated, 1 day before I had to stopped this plan and book a private car, because I went with my companion and the weather in April was quite hot, so I chose to rent a car for the day, sharing a good price.

4 days in Taipei — Day 3: Taipei – Pingxi

pingxi railway taipei3 — Pingxi railway | taipei 4 days 3 nights itinerary

On the day 3, you can choose to go to Jiufen, Shifen or Pingxi villages, but I chose Pingxi because it has fewer tourists and is also the filming location of the movie You’re The Apple In My Eye, so it will be quite interesting. Think of dropping sky lanterns, people will immediately think of Shifen, but after being so famous for releasing sky lanterns, Shifen becomes too crowded, so it loses the lightness of original feeling. Therefore, I decided to choose to go to Pingxi in New Taipei City which is also an old village but with fewer tourists, more gentle, true to my slow traveling spirit.

Pingxi Old Town is more modest than Jiufen or Shifen, but that’s why you don’t feel lost, the flow of people is not too crowded. Went at the end of April on a Monday, so it was quieter, so I could drop the sky lantern on the track without many people. Here is famous for its peanut ice cream rolls, flower shaped ice cream that you should try.

pingxi sky lanterns, jiufen and shifen in one day,jiufen shifen blog,jiufen shifen day trip,jiufen shifen itinerary,jiufen shifen one day trip (1) — Dropping sky lanterns | taipei 4 days 3 nights itinerary

Writing your wishes. | taipei 4 days 3 nights itinerary

shifen pingxi (16) — Pingxi Old Town | taipei 4 days 3 nights trip

Getting here by train: From Taipei Main Station, take the TZE-CHIANG LIMITED EXPRESS line 172 to Hualien and then stop at RUIFANG station. Then transfer to FUXING 4734 train to JINGTONG and stop at PINGXI station. You can use Google Maps to check, it will take 1 hour 40 minutes to go.

Train to Pingxi | taipei 4 days 3 nights trip

Ruifang_Station_20140510 — Ruifang Station

But I think, it’s the best to explore Taiwan Northeast Coast by book a tour by Klook if you go with a large group.

4D3N Taipei itinerary — Day 4: Wulai Hot Springs

As introduced in the previous article about Wulai with lush green vegetations and beautiful streams, this place is famous for bathing in mineral springs (hot springs) as well as enjoying the charming mountain views in the south of Taipei. On the last day I booked a flight at 7PM, so I had almost a whole day in Wulai to enjoy hot springs and rest after a long journey of discovering and experiencing many places in Taipei and New Taipei City.

Wulai Atayal Aboriginal Village and Hot Springs — Atayal Aboriginal Village & Hot Springs | taipei 4 days 3 nights trip

Volando Urai Spring in Wulai | 4d3n taipei itinerary

A poetic experience at Volando Urai Spring — | 4 days in taipei

This is my real travel itinerary for 4 days 3 nights in Taiwan, there are many strange and unique spots because I have been to Taipei once, so I don’t want to go all again, of course there are still highlights not to be missed such as Ximending and Xiangshan.

However, I think this itinerary will be suitable for those who love to explore nature, and places less visited by tourists, so I directly removed Jiufen village from the trip because there were many people going there. You can make your own itinerary base on my itinerary to suit your health and time. Have fun with exploring Taiwan!

Where to stay in 4 days in Taipei?

Below we recommend more best budget, mid-range and upscale hotels with good ratings and reviews you can refer to.

Cityinn Hotel Plus – Fuxing N. Rd., Branch, 3-star hotel with room rates from $75/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).
Taipei Garden Hotel, 3-star hotel with room rates from $79/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).
Park Taipei Hotel, 4-star hotel with room rates from $78/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).
YoMi Hotel, 3-star hotel with room rates from $53/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

You can find more, check rates, availability & book for Taipei hotels on Agoda.com or Booking.com.

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.