Nick’s 10-Day Travel Itinerary for Taiwan (printable option!)

Ten days is a good chunk of time to spend in Taiwan, but it’s not quite enough to make a full circuit around the country.

This means you will still be faced with some tough choices and you will need to plan your time well. Which major destinations should you include, and which should you skip?

In this article, I’ll tell you how to make the best use of your 10 days in Taiwan, based on my experience checking hundreds of itineraries in my Taiwan Travel Planning group.

Since not every traveler is the same, with different interests and travel styles, I’ll be giving your several options for customization in this itinerary.

You’re going to hit most (but not quite all!) of Taiwan’s top spots – if you’re flights aren’t booked yet, then consider upgrading to 2 weeks or even 3 weeks!

My Printable Itinerary: 10 Days in Taiwan

If you purchase the paid version of my ten-day itinerary for Taiwan, you will get over 13,000 words (35 pages) of instructions for every step of your 10-day trip. I sell this as a printable pdf because it is far too long (and valuable!) for a blog post.

The paid itinerary comes with three times the content and details that this blog post does.

For example, it tells you exact how long you’ll need for every stop, how to get between them (right down to which MRT exit numbers to take), which trains to take and times to book, a list of restaurant options for every meal of your trip, and many insider tips.

It also comes with outlines for two alternative itineraries: one which focuses on the east coast of Taiwan and another which focuses on kid-friendly attractions.

In this blog post, I will only do a general overview of the classic itinerary. 

How to Plan Your 10-Day Itinerary

Most visits to Taiwan naturally begin in the capital city, Taipei. For this itinerary, you’ll spend two full days in Taipei, then a third day doing a day trip to Jiufen and Shifen (with alternative options available).

Then we’ll move down to Sun Moon Lake for Days 4 and 5 (with the option to spend one of those nights in Taichung city if it interests you). We’ll follow that with Day 6 at Alishan National Forest Recreation Area.

For Day 7, you can choose between staying on a tea plantation in Shizhuo or visiting the ancient capital, Tainan.

Next, we’ll move on to Kaohsiung for Day 8. On Day 9, you could stay in a Kaohsiung for a second night or go to Xiaoliuqiu for snorkeling with sea turtles before returning to Taipei or directly to the airport on Day 10.

As you can see, this itinerary totally skips the east coast of Taiwan, which is a major omission.

In part, I’m currently recommending this because Taroko Gorge, the most famous attraction on the east coast, has remained almost totally closed since the 2024 Hualien Earthquake. Read more about Taroko Gorge’s current situation here.  

However, the east coast does still have a lot to offer besides Taroko Gorge, including cycling among the rice paddies in Chishang, road tripping from Hualien to Taitung, aboriginal culture, and a wide variety of attractions in Yilan.

If you’d like to focus on the east coast for your trip, then I recommend you check my East Coast alternative route in my paid itinerary.

Itinerary: Days 1-3 in Taipei

To avoid repetitive content on my website (which Google could penalize me for), I’m only briefly going to describe these days here, because I’ve already covered them in more detail in my other itineraries. I’ll provide links to the more detailed content.

Day 1

Start with my guides to Taoyuan International Airport, getting a SIM or eSIM at the airpot, getting an EasyCard, and getting from the airport to Taipei.

Read a more detailed version of Day 1’s itinerary here.

Start in Taipei’s Old City, with key stops including Longshan Temple, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, and Ximending Pedestrian Shopping Area. Do this on your own or join a free walking tour.

After lunch, you may want to visit Huashan 1914 Creative Park, Da’an Forest Park, and Yongkang Street. These depend on how much time you have and whether you want to do Taipei 101 AND Elephant Mountain next, or just one of them. You’ll also want to consider that the sun sets quite a bit lower in winter than in summer.

Next, go up Taipei 101 Observatory (Klook / KKday), Skyline 460 (Klook / KKday) or Elephant Mountain for sunset.

Have dinner at Tonghua Night Market or Raohe Night Market.

In the evening, I have articles recommending things to do at night, craft beer bars, and cocktail bars. Here’s where to stay in Taipei.

Day 2

Read a more detailed version of Day 2 here.

Start Day 2 with breakfast at Fu Hang Soy Milk, then choose from one of three morning activities: National Palace Museum (Klook / KKday), hiking in Yangmingshan National Park, or exploring Dihua Street.

In the afternoon, go to Beitou Hot Springs for soaking followed by Tamsui and Fisherman’s Wharf for sunset.

On the way back to the city, dinner at Din Tai Fung (Klook / KKday) or Shilin Night Market.

Day 3

Read a more detailed version of Day 3 here.

On Day 3, do a day trip to Jiufen Old Street and Shifen Old Street, plus your choice of a couple more of the following (most of which are on the Pingxi Line):

Yehliu Geopark, Jinguashi Gold Ecological Park, Houtong Cat Village, Sandiaoling Waterfall Trail, Shifen Waterfall, Pingxi and Jingtong Old Streets, Bitoujiao Trail, and Shen’ao Rail Bike.

If you want to DIY your day trip, I recommend following my paid itinerary, as the transportation details do get complicated. Otherwise, make things easier with an organized day trip on Klook (here or here) or KKday (here or here).

Finish the day at Keelung Night Market before returning to Taipei, or head back earlier, eat at Ningxia Night Market, then watch a traditional Taiwanese opera performance at TaipeiEye.

Pro tip: If you prefer to escape the crowds, here’s an alternative day in Taipei which includes some Maokong Gondola and some more off-the-beaten-track places. And here are some day trip alternatives to Jiufen and Shifen.

Days 4-5: Taichung and Sun Moon Lake

Read a more detailed version of this here.

I’m giving you three options for visiting Taichung and Sun Moon Lake.

Option 1: Taichung 1 Night Sun Moon Lake 1 Night

The first option is to spend Day 4 in Taichung, sleep there, and Day 5 at Sun Moon Lake. This is for people more interested in Taichung’s attractions, but it limits your time at the lake.

Read my guide to getting to Taichung by HSR (faster, close to Rainbow Village) or regular train (slower but gets you right to the city center).

For your day in Taichung, you can visit places like Rainbow Village, Miyahara (ice cream), and Chun Shui Tang Original Store (birthplace of pearl milk tea) in the city center.

Outside the city center, it will take more time to reach places like Zhongshe Flower Market or Gaomei Wetlands, or you can see many things on this Taichung day tour.

Finish your day at Feng Chia Night Market. See where to stay in Taichung here.

Option 2: Brief Stop in Taichung On Way to Sun Moon Lake

The second option is make a brief stop at Taichung on the way to Sun Moon Lake, for example to see Rainbow Village (near the HSR station) or Miyahaha and Chun Shui Tang Original Store (near Taichung Station).

Then you can still sleep at Sun Moon Lake and have the whole next day to explore. Here are my hotel recommendations at the lake.

Option 3: Sun Moon Lake 2 nights

The third option is to take the HSR to Taichung and bus directly to Sun Moon Lake. This will maximize your time at the lake, so you’ll get a whole afternoon for cycling (Klook / KKday) and then another full day for exploring around the lake.

For Day 5 at Sun Moon Lake, you can watch the sunrise from Mount Maolan (if you slept there) and go cycling along the lake shore in the morning.

Then, take a boat to Xuanguang Temple, hike to Xuanzang Temple and Ci’en Pagoda, and boat or bus to Ita Thao village for aboriginal food lunch.

From there, walk to Sun Moon Lake Ropeway (Klook / KKday), ride it up and down, then bus to Wenwu Temple, potentially for sunset, and finish back at your hotel. Read more about planning your itinerary for Sun Moon Lake here.

If Sun Moon Lake doesn’t sound like your thing (some travelers find it too touristy), consider a hiking trip to Hehuanshan.

And some familes may prefer to visit Qingjing Farm – try one night at Cingjing plus one night at Sun Moon Lake.

Day 6: Alishan

On Day 6, take the 8:00 AM bus from Sun Moon Lake to Alishan, getting you there just before noon.

Because it’s quite easy to book this bus online, and it sometimes sells out, I highly recommend doing that in advance.

Upon arrival at Alishan, you’ll pay the park entrance fee (show your bus ticket to get 50% off), check into your hotel, have lunch in the tourist village, then spend the afternoon riding the Alishan Forest Railway to some easy hikes in the park.

For my most recommended hikes, the best route to cover them, which trains to catch to access them, and exact spots where you can see the best sunsets, you’ll need to check my paid itinerary.

Go to bed early, since you are most likely waking up very early for sunrise tomorrow! See my Alishan guide for more info. And here are my hotel recommendations in Alishan, but hotels there are limited, so just book any room you can get before they all sell out.

Day 7: Fenqihu, Shizhuo, and/or Tainan

This is the point where we are going to diverge from other itineraries. Today, you have some choices to make again, and it’s not going to be easy. But first, let’s talk about sunrise.

Alishan Sunrise

The exact time of sunrise varies throughout the year from 5 to 6:30 AM. There are usually a couple sunrise trains from Alishan Station to Chushan Station, where the Chushan Sunrise Platform is located.

The exact train times are posted at Alishan Station the day before (1 to 4 PM) or you can ask your hotel. Buy a ticket in cash the day before or even in the early morning before you board the train.

Chushan Sunrise Platform is a mass of noisy tourists in the morning. Escape the crowds by hiking 15 minutes uphill to Xiaoliyuanshan viewpoint or 10 minutes downhill to Duigaoyue Sunrise Platform.

Option 1: Tainan

If you are eager to explore Tainan, the ancient capital of Taiwan, then after sunrise, return to your hotel, have breakfast, take an early bus to Chiayi Station and regular train to Tainan. You can easily get there before noon. See the bus timetable and book it here.

Spend the afternoon exploring historic temples in the Tainan city center, like Confucius Temple, Hayashi Department Store, Wu Garden, Grand Matsu Temple, Chikhan Tower, and Shennong Street. For dinner, visit one of Tainan’s night markets.

See my Tainan guide for planning your stay and here is where to stay.

Option 2: Fenqihu & Shizhuo

If nature and the countryside appeals more to you, take the bus instead from Alishan to Fenqihu. Put your luggage in a locker in the train station while you do some of the bamboo forest hikes around the tiny village.

See my Fenqihu guide to plan your time there and find the bus schedule.

Enjoy one of the famous Fenqihu lunchboxes for lunch before grabbing your luggage and catching a bus to Shizhuo. Check into your hotel – most are on tea plantations but you may need to walk 15 to 45 minutes from the bus stop to reach it.

In the afternoon, do some hikes through the tea plantations then watch the sunset over them. Read my Shizhuo guide for all the info, including where to stay.

Day 8: Kaohsiung

If you spent the night in Shizhuo, wake up early to see the tea plantations again (the weather is often clearer in the morning) then catch an early bus to Chiayi Station or Chiayi HSR station and proceed to Kaohsiung.

If you spent the night in Tainan, you’re ahead of the game. Before you leave Tainan, spend the morning in Anping district to see Anping Fort (Klook / KKday), Anping Treehouse, and Anping Old Street. Return to your hotel, check out, and take a regular train to Kaohsiung.

In Kaohsiung, leave your luggage at your hotel (ideally around Kaohsiung Station or Formosa Boulevard), and don’t miss the Dome of Light art installation inside the latter station.

Next, ride the MRT to Zuoying and take a bus to Fo Guang Shan Monastery, the largest in Taiwan. Visit for a couple hours, then come back to Zuoying and visit Lotus Pond, ideally around sunset or when the temples and statues are lit up after dark.  

From there, walk or YouBike to Ruifang Night Market, which locals consider the best in Kaohsiung.

Read my Kaohsiung guide for more info.

Day 9: Kaohsiung or Xiaoliuqiu

On Day 9, it’s time for the last big choice of your trip. Either spend another day further exploring Kaohsiung or do a day trip (or overnight trip!) to Xiaoliuqiu for snorkeling with sea turtles.

Kaohsiung

If you decide to stay in Kaohsiung, start your day by visiting Sanfong temple, which has a canopy or red lanterns in the courtyard, and Sanfong Central Street (a traditional market) nearvby.

Next, ride the MRT to Sizihwan, and walk to Gushan Ferry Pier for taking a ferry to Cijin Island.

Spend the rest of the morning and early afternoon cycling to art installations along the coast, seeing the view from the fort, chilling on Cijin Beach, or enjoying happy hour drinks at Cijin Sunset bar.

Take a ferry back to the mainland and explore the many docks, museums, warehouses filled with cool cafés and shops, and art installations at Pier 2 Art Center. Stick around until after dark, when many of the art installations are lit up.

Finish your day at Liuhe Night Market, the most famous in the city center.

Xiaoliuqiu

If you’d rather head to a small tropical island for your last full day in Taiwan, ride the MRT to Zuoying and take a bus (50 min) to Donggang, from where it’s a short ferry ride to the island.

If you prefer not to change hotels, this can easily be done as a day trip. However, if you don’t mind to bring your luggage, it also doesn’t hurt to spend a night on the island!

Read my Xiaoliqiu guide or paid itinerary for how to do snorkeling with sea turtles, get around, and where to stay on the island if you decide to spend the night.

When you go back, ride the ferry back to Donggang, bus from Donggang to Zuoying HSR Station, and HSR to Taoyuan (for riding the Airport MRT to the airport) or Taipei.

Final Thoughts

And that’s a wrap! If you really plan to follow this itinerary, then I high recommend spending a few bucks on the paid version. It comes with three times for content and details about how to navigate every step of the way, where to eat, which trains to take, plus two alternative routes.

Enjoy your trip!