Congrats on booking three weeks for your Taiwan trip! You’ve already budgeted more time than that the vast majority of travelers to Taiwan, and you certainly won’t regret it.
With three weeks, you can easily do a full circuit around Taiwan, hit some off-the-beaten-track spots, and even visit one or two offshore islands.
In this itinerary, I’ll tell how to make the best use of the time you have, with several options for customization, based on helping hundreds of people plan their itineraries in my Taiwan Travel Planning group.
My Printable Itinerary: Three Weeks in Taiwan
If you buy the paid version of my three-week itinerary for Taiwan, you will get over 18,000 words (48 pages) of content covering every move of your 21-day trip. I sell this as a printable pdf file because it is much too long (and valuable!) for a blog post.
The paid itinerary comes with substantially more information and details than I’ll cover in this article. Here, I will just do a general overview of the trip and which place you could visit on each day.
For example, the paid itinerary tells you exact how long you’ll need for every attraction, how to get between them (right down to which MRT exit numbers to take), which trains to take between cities (including the best times), a list of restaurant options for every meal of your trip, and many more insider tips.
The paid itinerary also comes with the outline of an alternative itinerary focused on kid-friendly attractions.
How to Plan Your Three-Week Itinerary
There are so many ways you could plan your 21 days in Taiwan. You could take my 2-week itinerary and just add an extra day to every stop to make an overall more relaxing trip.
In the below itinerary, we’ll move quickly, going to a new place every 1 to 2 days. I want to tell you how to do it all, but if this is too rushed for you, simply skip one or two places, and add those extra days to others.
Days 1-4 start in Taipei, including a day trip to Jiufen and Shifen on the fourth day. This is one day longer than I recommend for Taipei in my other itineraries, but since you have the time, you’ll be able to better explore the capital.
Days 5-6 are for Taichung and Sun Moon Lake, with options about how to divide your time between the two places.
On Day 7 we’ll go to Alishan National Forest Recreation Area, while Day 8 is reserved for the bamoo forests of Fenqihu and tea plantations of Shizhuo.
Day 9 is a full day in Tainan, the ancient capital, while Days 10 to 11 are reserved for exploring Kaohsiung, the largest city in the south of Taiwan.
On Day 12, you’re off to Xiaoliuqiu island for snorkeling with sea turtles. For Days 13-15, it’s time to take a holiday from your holiday with beach time at your choice of Kenting National Park, Orchid Island, or Green Island.
Day 16 will see your cycling through rice paddies in Chishang, Taitung. Then, on Day 17, you’ll do a road trip up the scenic east coast of Taiwan to Hualien.
Day 18 shall be dedicated to outdoor activities in Hualien (since Taroko Gorge is still mostly closed). On Day 19 you’ll relocated to either Luodong or Jiaoxi in Yilan, with more activities to choose from.
Day 20, the last full day, will be a full day trip to Taipingshan National Forest Recreation Area, before I guide you back to Taoyuan International Airport on Day 21.
Start with my guide to Taoyuan Airport, getting a SIM or eSIM, getting an EasyCard, and getting from the airport to the city.
Itinerary Days 1-4: Taipei
With 21 days in Taiwan, you have enough time to spend 3-4 full days in the capital region.
On Day 1, start in the Old City center, with attractions like Longshan Temple, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, and Ximending.
In the afternoon, make a stop at Huanshan 1914 Creative Park or Da’an Forest Park on the way to Taipei 101. Go up to the 89F observatory (Klook / KKday), do the Skyline 460 experience (Klook / KKday), or climb Elephant Mountain for free beside it.
For dinner, try Tonghua Night Market or Raohe Night Market. Then hit a craft beer bar, cocktail bar, or find other things to do at night.
On Day 2, start your day with a traditional Taiwanese breakfast, then visit National Palace Museum (Klook / KKday) or go hiking in Yangmingshan National Park. Here’s my favorite easy hike there, Qingtianggang Grassland.
In the afternoon, go for a soak at Beitou Hot Springs (avoid Mondays) then catch the sunrise in Tamsui at Fisherman’s Wharf. On the way back to the city, dine at Din Tai Fung (Klook / KKday) or Shilin Night Market.
For Day 3, you could spend another full day exploring the city or skip it in favor of a day trip.
If you want to explore the city, you could hit spots like Dihua Street, Addiction Aquatic, Maokong Gondola, and several off-the-beaten-track spots. I introduce these in detail in my paid itinerary.
Alternatively, if you prefer to get out of the big city faster, you could do a day trip on this day or just skip it and add the day somewhere else on your trip.
On Day 4, do a day trip to Jiufen Old Street and Shifen Old Street. Organized day trips on Klook (here or here) or KKday (here or here) are easiest for this.
Most include a few other stops in the region, like Yehliu Geopark and Shifen Waterfall. It’s also possible to DIY it, but the transportation details become more complicated.
On your own, you could add places like Houtong Cat Village, Shen’ao Railbike, Keelung Night Market, or several other stops on the Pingxi Line. See my paid itinerary for how to plan and travel between all these places.
Alternative day trip ideas include Wulai (for Taiwanese aboriginal food and hot springs) or Shiding and Pinglin (for tea plantations and cycling, Klook / KKday).
Tip: I cover these days in more detail in my Taipei 5-day itinerary. Also see my Taipei city guide and where to stay in the city.
Itinerary Days 5-6: Taichung and Sun Moon Lake
On Day 5, take the HSR (see my HSR booking guide) to Taichung for getting to Sun Moon Lake. You may or may not want to stop in Taichung on the way, depending on whether the sights there interest you.
One option is to spend the first night in Taichung. Spend the day visiting attractions like Rainbow Village (near the HSR station), Miyahara and Chun Shui Tang Original Store (city center), or Zhongshe Flower Market and Gaomei Wetlands (outside the city center).
This Taichung tour makes it easier and you can get there by HSR before it starts. Finish your day at Feng Chia Night Market. See my Taichung guide.
Another option is to just make a brief stop in Taichung to see 1 or 2 of these attractions on the way to Sun Moon Lake, and spend two nights at the lake.
The third option is to skip Taichung altogether and just go directly to Sun Moon Lake. At the lake, rent a bike (Klook / KKday) and go cycling along the lake shore, ride a boat to Xuanguang Temple and Ita Thao village for its aboriginal foods.
Ride the Sun Moon Lake Ropeway (Klook / KKday) and don’t miss Wenwu Temple on the way back to your hotel. See far more detail about how to plan your Sun Moon Lake visit here.
If Sun Moon Lake sounds too touristy to you, then use these days for visiting Hehuanshan instead. Try to get a room at Songsyue Lodge if you can!
For families, Cingjing Farm may interest you. Many people stay at Cingjing Farm then do a morning sunrise tour (Klook / KKday) to Hehuanshan. You could to this on Day 5 then Sun Moon Lake on Day 6.
Itinerary Days 7-8: Alishan, Fenqihu, and Shizhuo
Catch a direct early morning bus from Sun Moon Lake to Alishan and spend the afternoon riding the Alishan Forest Railway to scenic spots inside the park, like the cherry blossom trail, Sister Pond Trail, Shouzhen Temple, and Giant Tree Trail.
Find a good spot to see sunset (see my Alishan guide or paid itinerary) and consider an evening stargazing tour. Go to bed early for tomorrow’s early wake-up time!
On Day 8, wake up super early to ride the morning sunrise train (or see my Alishan guide or paid itinerary for how to hike up).
After sunrise, catch one of the first buses of the day to Fenqihu, put your luggage in lockers, and do a hike in the bamboo forest. Retrieve your luggage and eat a Fenqihu bento box before leaving. See my Fenqihu guide.
Take a short bus ride from Fenqihu to Shizhuo (or ask your guesthouse in Shizhuo if they would come pick you up). In Shizhuo, walk the tea plantation trails and enjoy sunset. See my Shizhuo guide.
An alternative to Shizhuo is Eryanping, which has similar scenery plus both sunrise and susnet views, but fewer amenities.
Itinerary Days 9-11: Tainan and Kaohsiung
After an early morning hike around Shizhuo to enjoy the tea plantations in the early morning sun, take a bus to Chiayi and train (see my train booking guide) or HSR to Tainan.
In the Tainan city center, visit top attractions like Wu Garden, Confucius Temple, Hayashi Department Store, Matsu Grand Temple, and Chikhan Tower.
In the evening, visit on of Tainan’s night markets (note the opening days for each one in my article) and Shennong Street, whose lanterns are lit up in the evening. Also see my Tainan guide.
The next morning, visit Anping Fort (Klook / KKday), Anping Treehouse (Klook / KKday), and Anping Old Street in Tainan’s Anping District before leaving.
Take a train to Kaohsiung and check out Dome of Light, Sanfong Temple, and Sanfong Central Street near Kaoshiung station.
Squeeze in Weiwuying Art Village and/or Monkey Mountain (Shoushan) if you have time, then make your way to Lotus Pond around sunset and Ruifeng Night Market for dinner.
On Day 11, spend the morning at Fo Guang Shan Monastery (where it’s possible to spend the night!) and afternoon cycling on Cijin Island. Check out Pier 2 Art Center around dusk and stick around to see the art installations lit up at night.
Finish the day at Liuhe Night Market. See my Kaohsiung guide and where to stay in the city.
Itinerary Days 12-15: Beaches and Islands
Travel from Zuoying to Donggang to catch a short ferry ride (Klook / KKday) to Xiaoliuqiu, where you’ll spend the day snorkeling with sea turtles. If you prefer not to change hotels and carry your luggage there, you could do this as a day trip from Kaohsiung.
See my Xiaoliuqiu guide.
For days 13-15, I’m giving you three beach/island choices. Option 1 would be to spend three nights in Kenting National Park. Choose this if you are interested in spending time on the nicest beaches, water activities, exploring the national park, and Kenting Night Market.
Kenting would be the best option in winter, when Orchid Island and Green Island are not suitable to visit.
Option 2 would be to spend one night in Kenting then take a ferry to Orchid Island for two nights. Choose this one for aboriginal culture and getting off the beaten track, but you’ll pretty much have to rent a scooter there (IDP with A stamp for riding motorcycles required).
Option 3 would be to take a train to Taitung and then ferry to Green Island, which is best for snorkeling, scuba diving, and visiting its unique saltwater hot springs. I’ll be publishing a Green Island guide in spring 2025.
Days 16-18: Chishang and Hualien
On Day 16, make your way to Chishang in Taitung’s East Rift Valley. From Kenting, take a bus to Fangliao and train from there. From Orchid Island or Green Island, take a ferry to Fugang Harbor in Taitung then train from there.
Spend the afternoon cycling around Dopo Pond and the picturesque rice paddies in Chishang. See my Chishang guide.
Off-the-beaten-track alternative: Hire a scooter in Chishang for going to remote Lisong Hot Spring (only possible to visit November to early May). Warning: it’s not easy!
On Day 17, hire a driver (KKday / IslandLife Taiwan / my recommended drivers) for the day to do a road trip from Taitung to Hualien. See my east coast road trip guide for planning this or get my paid itinerary to see my suggested route and stops.
If you don’t have the budget for hiring a driver, spend the morning doing more cycling in Chishang then take a train to Hualien and enjoy Dongdamen Night Market for dinner.
Find more things to do in Hualien here and read my Hualien guide.
On Day 18, since Taroko Gorge is still mostly closed, choose from one of the many possible outdoor activities in Hualien here:
- Dolphin/whale watching (Klook / KKday)
- Aboriginal cooking class (Klook / KKday)
- Aboriginal hunting class (Klook / KKday)
- Paddle boarding below the Qingshui Cliffs (Klook / KKday)
- Riding ATvs on the beach (Klook / KKday)
- River tracing (Klook / KKday)
Days 19-21: Yilan and Back to Airport
On Day 19, take an early train to Luodong or Jiaoxi in Yilan. Choose Luodong for its bustling night market or Jiaoxi for its range or hot spring hotels.
Hire a driver for the day (Klook / KKday) or take an Uber to visit any of the below attractions. The first three are closed to Luodong while the last three are closed to Jiaoxi.
- Zhang Mei Ama’s Farm (Klook / KKday) See my guide to it.
- Scallion picking and scallion cake making (Klook / KKday)
- National Center of Traditional Arts (Klook / KKday)
- Kavalan Distillery
- Dolphin/whale watching tour to Turtle Island (Klook / KKday)
- Surfing at Wai’ao Beach (Klook / KKday)
See my Yilan guide for more info.
On Day 20, do a full day trip to Taipingshan National Forest Recreation Area. This will be easiest if you take a tour (Klook / KKday) or hire a driver (Klook / KKday).
On your own, you’ll need to stay in Luodong and there’s only one bus per day.
On the last day, take a train from Luodong or Jiaoxi to Taipei Main Station.
Depending on the time of your flight, take the Airport MRT directly to the airport or take the HSR to Taoyuan Station, put your luggage in lockers, and visit Xpark Aquarium (Klook / KKday) and/or Gloria Outlets before riding the Airport MRT to the airport.
Thanks for reading! If you plan to follow this itinerary, then I recommend the paid version, which has significantly more details (seven times more words!) covering far more detail about every part of the trip, like which trains to book, where to eat every meal, alternative options, and so on. It also comes with an alternative kid-focused itinerary.