Two weeks is a standard amount of time to visit Taiwan. It’s the bare minimum I recommend for doing a full circuit around the country.
You may still find it’s a little rushed, though. In order to hit most or all of the main destinations along the way, you’ll have to move every day or two. If it’s not too late, consider upgrading to three weeks and you’ll have a more relaxing trip.
But if 14 days is what you’ve got, I’ve mapped out the perfect itinerary which will help you make the best of your time in Taiwan – and this comes from helping hundreds of people plan their Taiwan itineraries in my Taiwan Travel Planning group.
My Printable Itinerary: Two Weeks in Taiwan
If you buy the paid version of my two-week itinerary for Taiwan, you will get over 15,000 words (40 pages) of content covering every move of your 14-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 should 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 Two-Week Itinerary
My proposed itinerary naturally begins in the Taiwanese capital, Taipei for Days 1 and 2. On Day 3, you’ll do a day trip to Jiufen and Shifen.
From there, you’ll do a counter-clockwise circuit around Taiwan, which seems to be the most popular route, plus is saves the wild and more relaxing east coast for the end.
For Days 4 and 5, you’ll move to Sun Moon Lake, with the option to stay in Taichung for the first night if you want.
Day 6 is Alishan National Forest Recreation Area and Day 7 involves visiting the bamboo forests of Fenqihu and sleeping on a tea plantation in Shizhuo.
On Day 8, you’ll move to the ancient capital, Tainan, and then proceed to Kaohsiung on Day 9.
For Day 10, I give you the option of a second night in Kaohsiung, a day trip (or overnight trip to Xiaoliuqiu to go snorkeling with giant sea turtles, or an overnight trip to the beaches of Kenting National Park.
On Day 11, you’ll take a train to the east coast and go cycling through the rice paddies in Chishang.
Day 12 brings you to Hualien, where you’ll choose from a list of outdoor activities or Taroko Gorge (gradually reopening since the earthquake in 2024 and has tours running again see its current status here).
Day 13 in Yilan will also include a wide variety of attractions or activities to choose from.
On Day 14, you’ll travel from Yilan to Taipei to Taoyuan International Airport.
You may of course need to make some customizations to this itinerary based on your personal interests, travel speed, and exact arrival/departure time in Taiwan. If you find the itinerary too rushed, cut out 1 or 2 stops and add the days to others.
Also see my list of Taiwan books to read before your trip!
Itinerary Days 1-3: Taipei
First, read my guides to Taoyuan Airport, getting a SIM or eSIM, getting an EasyCard or Taipei Fun Pass, how much cash you’ll need, and getting from the airport to Taipei.
Also see my Taipei city guide and my recommended places to stay.
On Day 1, start in the Old City of Taipei, visiting top attractions like Longshan Temple, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, and Ximending. You can also visit these as part of a free walking tour.
If you have time after lunch in Ximending, choose between taking a stroll at Huashan 1914 Creative Park and Da’an Forest Park.
Then climb Elephant Mountain or go up Taipei 101 Observatory (Klook / Kkday). Ideally, which the top of either for sunset and watch the city lights come on at night. If you want to do both, then skip Huashan/Da’an Forest Park.
Another more thrilling option is the Skyline 460 Experience (Klook / KKday), which allows you to stand on the actual roof of Taipei 101. It has two daily starting times: 2 PM and 3 PM and includes access to the regular observatory.
For dinner, Tonghua Night Market is nearby, but you may want to travel further for the more famous Raohe Night Market.
Start Day 2 with traditional breakfast at Fu Hang Soy Milk, the most famous in the city, which opens from 5:30 AM but tends to have a long line.
Then I’m giving you a choice of three morning activities: National Palace Museum (Klook / KKday), hiking in Yangmingshan National Park (go as early as possible), or exploring Dihua Street in Taipei.
After doing one of these, proceed to Xinbeitou MRT for enjoying Beitou Hot Springs. Explore the attractions there (closed Mondays) and take a hot spring bath.
After Beitou, take the MRT to Tamsui (the terminal end of the Red Line), stroll Tamsui Riverside Promenade, and take a ferry to Fisherman’s Wharf for the best sunset in Taipei.
On the way back to the city center, have dinner at Din Tai Fung (Klook / KKday) or Shilin Night Market.
On Day 3, do an organized day tour to Jiufen Old Street, Shifen Old Street, and a few other spots on the Pingxi Line.
Book this on Klook (here or here) or KKday (here or here). With a group, especially with kids or elderly, it will be easier (and possibly cheaper) to hire a driver for the day (Klook / KKday).
You can also DIY this day trip but the transportation details can get complicated and depend on many factors. You might include stops like Houtong Cat Village, Shifen Waterfall, and Shen’ao Rail Bike. For this, I highly recommend my paid itinerary, which covers how to do it in great detail.
If you take an organized day trip, you’ll be back in Taipei early enough to eat at Ningxia Night Market and take in a traditional Taiwanese opera performance at TaipeiEye (Klook / KKday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday only).
If you DIY your day trip, you could try to make it back for that or you could have dinner at Keelung Night Market instead.
Tip: I cover days 1-3 in more detail in my Taipei 3-day itinerary. I also give some alternative options and different day trip ideas in my 5-day itinerary.
Itinerary Days 4-5: Taichung & Sun Moon Lake
For days 4 to 5, I propose three different options. One option is to go directly to Sun Moon Lake and spend two nights there. This will give you the best experience of the lake.
For this option, take the HSR to Taichung (see my HSR booking guide) and bus to the lake.
A second option is to make a brief stop in Taichung on the way to the lake.
For example, you could see Rainbow Village (near the HSR station) or Miyahara (ice cream) and Chun Shui Tang Original Store (where pearl milk tea was invented) near Taichung Station in the city center. Then spend two nights at Sun Moon lake.
The third option is to spend the first night in Taichung and second night at Sun Moon Lake. Only choose this if the sights in Taichung really interest you. This option will give you more limited time at the lake.
If you go with this option, you can get to Taichung by HSR early enough to join this tour, or you can read my guide to Taichung for how to DIY sights in the city center, or sights outside the city center like Zhongshe Flower Market and Gaomei Wetlands.
Have dinner at Feng Chia Night Market.
For Day 5 at Sun Moon Lake, if you spend the night there, climb Mount Maolan for sunrise then spend a couple hours in the morning cycling (Klook / KKday) along the lake shore east and west of Shuishe (the main village).
Then, take a boat or bus to Xuanguang Temple, visit it, then boat or bus to Ita Thao for a lunch of Indigenous foods (read about what to expect in my Taiwanese Indigenous culture guide).
From there, walk to Sun Moon Lake Ropeway (Klook / KKday), ride it up and back down, then bus to Wenwu Temple for sunset and finally return to your hotel in Shuishe.
Another option at Sun Moon Lake is Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village (Klook / KKday), which is accessed via Sun Moon Lake Ropeway, but will take up the better part of your day.
Learn more and see my hotel recommendations in my Sun Moon Lake guide.
If Sun Moon Lake doesn’t sound like your cup of tea (some travelers find it too touristy), consider a hiking trip to Hehuanshan, while familes may prefer to stay at Qingjing Farm.
Itinerary Day 6: Alishan
Take an early bus from Sun Moon Lake to Alishan. There’s only one per day (8:00 AM) on weekdays, with a second one (8:30) on weekends and holidays. Book it online to guarantee a spot.
Arriving at Alishan, check in to your hotel, have lunch, and then spend 3-4 hours exploring the park. Ride the train from Alishan Station to Chaoping Station, hike the Sister Pond trail to Shouzhen Temple, then Giant Tree trail, then take the train from Shenmu back to Alishan.
For the exact timings of these walks and all my recommended spots to find sunset vantage points (they aren’t easy to find!), see my paid itinerary.
Consider a stargazing tour offered by Alishan Visitor’s Center, otherwise, go to bed early because you’ll be waking up extremely early tomorrow!
See my Alishan guide for hotel recommendations, where to eat, and hikes at Alishan. Also see my recommended Alishan itineraries to figure out how to plan your time there.
Itinerary Day 7: Fenqihu and Shizhuo
Wake up super early to catch the morning sunrise train to Chushan. The exact time of sunrise varies throughout the year – check the next day’s train times at Alishan Station from 1 to 4 PM or ask your hotel.
It’s also possible to avoid the crowded train and hike to the sunrise viewpoint – read my Alishan guide or my paid itinerary to find out how.
After sunrise, do some morning hiking or go back to your hotel for breakfast. Catch an early bus to Fenqihu and put your luggage in a locker on the train station while you do some hikes in the bamboo forest around town. Read my Fenqihu guide.
Have a famous Fenqihu bento box for lunch before getting your luggage and hopping on a short bus ride to Shizhuo.
You can book your bus from Alishan to Fenqihu, but not the one from Fenqihu to Shizhuo.
Buses from Fenqihu are limited, so choosing which bus time to book from Alishan to Fenqihu and Fenqihu to Shizhuo is quite complicated and depends on many factors (sunrise time at Alishan, how much time you want to spend in each place, sunset time at Shizhuo).
I go through all these factors in detail and give my time recommendations in my paid itinerary.
Arriving at Shizhio, walk to your guesthouse, which is most likely on one of the tea plantations around the village. The walk could take 15 to 45 minutes, depending on which one you chose, and it could be uphill. Some guesthouses offer pickup from Fenqihu or Shizhuo bus stop.
After you check in, do some of the tea plantation hikes and find a good position for watching the sunset. I cover it all in my Shizhuo guide.
A more off-the-beaten-track alternative to Shizhuo is Eryanping.
Itinerary Day 8: Tainan
There’s no sunrise viewpoint in Shizhuo but it’s often lovely in the early morning.
Wake early and do a little more hiking before you take any passing bus to Chiayi (here’s the timetable) and hop on a train to Tainan, the ancient capital of Taiwan.
Dump your luggage and your hotel and explore the city center on foot or by YouBike. Visit Wu Garden, Confucius Temple, Hayashi Department Store, Matsu Grand Temple, and Chikhan Tower.
For dinner, taxi to one of Tainan’s Night Markets, but read my guide to check which one will be open that night.
Also visit Shennong Street in the evening when the lanterns are lit. There are a few cute izakayas and cocktail bars in heritage buildings. Read my Tainan guide.
Itinerary Day 9: Kaohsiung
Rise early and make a morning visit to Anping District. Visit Anping Fort (Klook / KKday), Anping Treehouse (Klook / KKday), and have a snack on Anping Old Street before going back to check out from your hotel and take a train to Kaohsiung.
Check in to your guesthouse and don’t miss the Dome of Light art installation in Formosa Boulevard MRT station, which is one MRT stop south of Kaohsiung Station.
Ride the MRT to Zuoying and take a bus to Fo Guang Shan Monastery, the largest Buddhist monastery in Taiwan. It’s also possible to sleep in the monastery!
Return to Zuoying the same way you came and then ride a YouBike to Lotus Pond for visiting Dragon and Tiger Pagoda and several other temples and huge Taoist statues along the shore.
Proceed to nearby Ruifeng Night Market for dinner and MRT back to the city center. Read my Kaohsiung city guide and where to stay in Kaohsiung.
Itinerary Day 10: Kaohsiung, Xiaoliuqiu or Kenting
On this day I am again giving you three different options. The first option is to stay put in Kaohsiung and get a better taste of this cool city.
Start the day by visiting Sanfong Temple, which has a picturesque canopy of red lanterns, then Sanfong Central Street (a traditional dry goods market) and Sanmin Market (for traditional foods) nearby.
Then visit Weiwuying Art Village or go hiking with wild macaques on Monkey Mountain (Shoushan).
Next, take the MRT to Sizihwan and ride a ferry to Cijin Island. Explore the island by bicycle and chill on Cijin Beach.
Ferry back to the mainland and a few hours exploring the many warehouses, museums, cafés, bars, and public artworks at Pier 2 Art Center. Stick around till dark, when many of the artworks are lit up.
Finally, finish your day at Liuhe Night Market.
Option 2 is to do a day trip or overnight trip to Xiaoliuqiu island for snorkeling with sea turtles.
Choose a day trip if you prefer not to change hotels and lug your luggage to the island. Read my Xiaoliuqiu guide for everything you need to know.
Option 3 is Kenting National Park. Choose this for beaches, water activities, and Kenting Night Market. However, since it takes three hours to reach from Kaohsiung city center, it’s better to spend the night there.
Also, consider that one night is quite short for this national park – it’s better is you can spend 2-3 nights there, but to do that, you’d have to cut somewhere else out of your itinerary. Read my Kenting guide.
Itinerary Day 11: Chishang
Whether you spent the night in Kaohsiung, Xiaoliuqiu, or Kenting, you’ll make your way to Chishang on the east coast on Day 11.
From Kaohsiung, that’s an easy, direct train ride. From Xiaoliuqiu, you’ll need to ferry back to the mainland, taxi to Fangliao, and train to Chishang. From Kenting, it’s a bus to Fangliao and train to Chishang.
In my paid itinerary, I give the exact times for the different buses and trains you should catch to make it Chishang in time.
At Chishang, check in to your hotel and rent a bike to go cycling in the rice paddies for a few hours before sunset. Read my Chishang guide.
Itinerary Day 12: Hualien
Normally, this would be the day you’d take an early train to Hualien and visit Taroko Gorge. Currently, some spots in the gorge have reopened but many others still haven’t. The only tour running gets good reviews, but much of it is driving.
If you decide to save Taroko Gorge for the future when more of it is open, here are still many other possible activities in Hualien, like:
- Dolphin/whale watching (Klook / KKday)
- Indigenous cooking class (Klook / KKday)
- Indigenous hunting skills class (Klook / KKday)
- Paddle boarding below the Qingshui Cliffs (Klook / KKday)
- Riding ATvs on the beach (Klook / KKday)
- River tracing (Klook / KKday)
Here I’ve given even more ideas for things to do in Hualien besides Taroko Gorge and here’s my Hualien guide. For dinner, don’t miss Dongdamen Night Market!
Itinerary Day 13: Yilan
Again take an early train from Hualien to Yilan. Stay in Luodong if you care more about access to Luodong Night Market or Jiaoxi if you’d like to stay in a hot spring hotel.
Choose from an even wider array of places to visit or activities, such as:
- Zhang Mei Ama’s Farm (Klook / KKday) read my article to learn about the recent changes at this popular farm
- 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)
Consider hiring a driver for the day (Klook / KKday) to take you your choice of spots. I introduce many more in my Yilan guide.
With a driver, you could even make a full day trip to Taipingshan National Forest Recreation Area, but get to Luodong as early as possible for this.
Itinerary Day 14: To the Airport
From Luodong or Jiaoxi, take a train to Taipei Main Station and ride the Airport MRT to the airport.
If you don’t leave until very late, you could take an HSR from Taipei Main Station to Taoyuan, put your luggage in lockers, and visit Xpark Aquarium and/or shopping at Gloria Outlets before riding the Airport MRT to the airport.
Thanks for reading! If you really plan to follow my itinerary, then I highly recommend getting my paid version, which has far more details (five times more words!) covering so much more detail about every part of the trip, like which trains to book, where to eat every meal, alternative options, and so on.
Hi, thank you for putting this very informative post.
Could I kindly check when would the paid itinerary be made available for purchase? Thanks!
Hey, I’ve sent you an email!
Hey, may i ask if the paid version is elder’s friendly ? Because i wanna bring my grandma using public transportation
I would say yes, but you might need to cut out one or two stops to slow the itinerary down. The itinerary introduces a lot, for those who want to see a lot, but it would be easy to remove some things to make it a better pace for slower travelers.
Hi Nick, your info. is so useful. My friend and I have 17 nights arriving early early March 27 fly out late April 14th. Should I go with the 14 day or 21 day itinerary. We want to spend a few nights in Kenting for sure and were looking at a beginner surf spot for a few days on the east coast like Waiao as well. We are doing with public transit. Tks
I would say it’s better to go with the longer one, then cut out some things to fit your schedule. That way you will have more ideas than you need (instead of not enough). Let me know if you have any more questions!
Hello! I’d like to hear your opinion. Due to a job change, I’ll have some time off, but I won’t know when this will happen, maybe between September and November. When that happens, I would like to travel and was thinking about Taiwan (maybe the 2 weeks you talked about) and maybe 1 more week for Hong Kong, Macau +/- Singapore), but I won’t have time to plan anything in advance. I’d be going with my 70-year-old father, who can’t hike.
– Do you think it’s easy to take an unplanned trip to Taiwan? Just show up and book hotels, train rides, and attractions throughout the trip? Is there anything I should try to book first?
– It seems there are a lot of destinations where you need to hike trails and we won’t be able to do. Can you name those places?
– We enjoy culture, history, traditions, food, nature (if they’re easy hikes), and snorkeling, and we’re looking for a leisurely yet interesting pace. What destinations do you recommend, and approximately how long in total? Would it be better to book accommodations in each location, or is it possible to have fewer accommodations and do day trips?
Sorry, so many questions, but I won’t have time to read the guide before the trip. It would be great if there was a section for traveling with seniors / people with less mobility.
Thank you so much for your time!
I forgot to mention the hot springs, of course! In fact, it would be nice to have a few more relaxed days.
September is low season in Taiwan (due to oppressive heat and chance of typhoon). October and November are shoulder season – the weather is milder but there’s still a chance of typhoon till the end of October, or in very rare cases, start of November. For this reason, it’s not super urgent to book everything in advance if visiting during these months. Having said that, leaving hotel bookings to the last minute in Taiwan can result in higher room rates or the chance that your most desired hotel may be sold out. You don’t really want to spend time walking around with a 70-year-old to find a room. It would be easier to do this in big cities. However, in popular tourist destinations like Sun Moon Lake, and especially at Alishan, there are limited rooms, and sometimes they all sell out in advance, particularly on weekends or national holidays. So try to visit those tourist places on weekedays and spend weekends in big cities if possible. The same goes for train tickets – they are more likely to sell out on weekends. For the HSR, booking in advance on Klook gets you a discount, but you can still always buy non-reserved tickets and board the train – but if all the seats are full, you’d have to stand (again, not ideal for elderly). For regular trains, the fastest ones require seat reservations and are more likely to sell out. If they do sell out, you can’t ride them. Personally, I always book my regular train tickets in advance to guarantee my spot. But for HSR, I often just show up and buy a ticket before boarding – but I don’t mind if I have to stand. You can visit most places recommended in my itinerary without hiking. However, Alishan region is all about hiking. If your father can do an easy hike (1-2 hours, mostly flat, but some stairs), then Alishan would still be feasible. But if he can’t, I would skip that. Also skip Shizhuo (the tea plantation hikes). In Taipei, most popular attractions are accessible, including Taipei 101 Observatory, National Palace Museum, Maokong Gondola, Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall, and all MRT stations. I can’t really plan the whole trip for you, because that would require a lot of time, a very long response, and I’d need to ask you many questions first (I normally charge for this level of assistance, but I’m currently too busy to take any new requests). It would be better if you could come up with a general itinerary first, then share it in my Facebook group (Taiwan Travel Planning) so that myself and others can give you our feedback.
Hi Nick! I recently purchased your 14-day guide and I’m making some adaptations, as I’ll be in Taiwan for 12 and a half days. Just for context, we’ll be in Taipei from March 9th-13th, so we’re really hoping to catch the cherry blossoms (and a lot of crowds, I guess).
I’ve set aside 4 and a half days for Taipei and have a couple of questions about feasibility:
(1) That “half day” is the arrival day. We land at TPE at 12:25 PM. I’m expecting we can start exploring around 3 PM after immigration, transport to the city, and hotel check-in. We are planning to head to Wuji Tianyuan Temple first and then spend the evening at Tamsui Riverside and the Fisherman’s Wharf Boardwalk. I’m not sure if we’ll have enough time to arrive in Fisherman’s Wharf for sunset, but we would also enjoy seeing Wuji temple with the evening lights before heading there. Does this seem feasible given the 3 PM start?
(2) For a full day plan, do you think it’s realistic to do both Yangmingshan (using your public transport guide) and the National Palace Museum on the same day, if we get a super early start? We’re not super into the Beitou hot springs, so we’re prioritizing those two. (That said, if we still have time, we might do a quick 1-hour stop at the Thermal Valley just to see it, no bathing or museum visit). We’d plan to finish at Shilin Night Market. Does that whole day sound doable?
Thanks!
Hey Victor, thanks for purchasing my guide! If you start from your hotel around 3, you’ll have 3 hours until sunset time (6 PM at that time of year). It *should* be enough, but you might be a little tight. If you’re running close to sunset, you can consider to take a taxi from Wuji Temple directly to the wharf for sunset, then stroll the riverside walk in Tamsui after that. And yes, you can surely visit YMS in the morning, Beitou for an hour or so (avoid Monday when things there and Nat Pal museum are closed), and get to the museum at least 1-2 hours before 5 PM closing. Getting a nice early start will surely help here.
Great, thank you so much!
Thanks for this information. Does your guide include hotel recommendations?
My ebook, “Nick’s Taiwan Travel Guide”, includes hotel recommendations, but the itineraries don’t.