A detailed Taiwan travel guide and experience from A to Z

Below are the concerns that those preparing to travel to Taiwan have. HoaBinh Tourist hopes that through this article, you will find your answers and prepare carefully for your upcoming trip. Let's start looking for guides and experiences for traveling to Taiwan.

Which season and month is best to travel to Taiwan?

It is not natural that this question was asked first. Choosing the right time to organize your trip will give you a complete trip. Taiwan has a climate of four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

In the spring

Normally in this season, from March to the end of April, the weather here is cool; the average temperature is from 17 degrees Celsius to 25 degrees Celsius. Therefore, this season, there are many festivals taking place in Taiwan. Cherry blossoms will also bloom along the roads.

So, you can try traveling this season with your family, watching the beautiful sky in Taiwan. You also need to bring an umbrella when leaving the house to avoid erratic rain.

In the summer

The summer weather here is sometimes quite hot; temperatures range from 27 degrees Celsius to 34 degrees Celsius from June to the end of August. Therefore, choosing to travel at this time does not seem very feasible. 

In the autumn

Fall is a great time to see bright red maple leaves. From October to the end of November, the weather turns cool, and with mild sunshine, the temperature ranges from 22 degrees Celsius to 28 degrees Celsius. It can be said that this is the ideal period for a trip to Taiwan.

In the winter

Taiwan is one of the countries that has snow in the winter. The temperature ranges from 10 degrees Celsius to 15 degrees Celsius from December to February. However, the weather is not too cold or too dry, so it is very pleasant. If you are someone who likes snow and cold weather, try coming here in the winter.

What do you need to prepare when traveling to Taiwan?

Not only when traveling to Taiwan, but in general when you travel to other countries, you also need to prepare the following:

Visa

This is the first "travel ticket" needed. An easier thing is if your visa is still valid, or your permanent residence card from the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand is still valid, then before traveling you just need to register on the import website. Residents of Taiwan can move freely without a visa. But you need to book a round-trip flight ticket. A simpler option is to book a tour in Taiwan for more convenience at this step.

If you do not have the above, you need to apply for a visa and prepare:

• Original passport with 1 photocopy (passport valid for more than 6 months).
• A visa application form to travel to Taiwan, fully filled in and signed (fill in the form with barcode according to regulations and apply for visa online). The form attached two 4x6 photos with white backgrounds, taken no more than 6 months ago.
• Certificate of employment: labor contract, social insurance, health insurance, original and photocopy with leave to travel to Taiwan, with red seal of the company you are working for.
• If you are a business owner, you need to provide a copy of your business registration as well as the most recent 3 months tax statement.
• Documents certifying financial capacity: copy of bank savings book, certificate of land, house, and assets (need to bring the original for comparison by the consulate).
• The schedule on which you will travel to Taiwan.
• The return plane ticket.

Immigration procedure

Immigration procedures have a number of regulations to pay attention to, including: If you bring valuable items worth over 300 USD to Taiwan, such as cameras, laptops, etc., you need to declare them to customs.

Each person can only bring a maximum of 5,000 USD and 15,000,000 VND for exit. When carrying more than this amount, you must have a legal certificate.

Baggage to carry when boarding the plane

• Normally, passengers are free of charge for 7kg of carry-on baggage and 20kg of checked baggage.
• Some items must be checked in and cannot be carried on the plane: dangerous sharp objects and tools; liquid waters or gels with a capacity of more than 100 ml.
• For personal clothing: when traveling, you should choose lightweight clothes, hats, and low-soled shoes for ease of movement, and depending on the season you go, you can prepare additional warm clothes. Prepare polite clothes to go to temples, pagodas, etc.
• If you have your own medical condition and need special medication, of course you cannot forget to put it in your luggage when traveling. In addition, you can prepare air sickness medicine, stomach ache medicine, cold medicine, etc.

Which area should you choose for convenience of eating and going out when traveling to Taiwan?

Choosing a hotel is indispensable for any travel trip

You need to research the area and book a room at least 1 month to 2 months in advance, so you can note the following points to find a convenient area to eat, hang out, and book a room! Taiwan has five famous cities that tourists often visit: Taipei, Hualien, Kenting, Tainan, and Taichung.

• In Taipei, try choosing the Shilin area for convenient shopping, dining, and evening outings. There is also the Taipei Main Station area, which you should choose if you want to go to many tourist attractions.
• In Hualien, the next option is that you can choose to stay near Hualien train station to conveniently rent a motorbike or catch a bus to the most popular tourist destination, Taroko Park.
• In Kenting (Tainan), the two most convenient areas to catch the bus and have fun are Kenting Main Road and Hengchun Township.
• In Tainan and Taichung, tourists are encouraged to stay near the Tainan Train Station.

Which means of transportation should you choose when traveling to Taiwan?

According to the experience of many predecessors, Taiwan has a well-developed public transportation system with extremely diverse routes. You should use the Easy card when traveling by MRT (subway), THSR (high-speed train), or bus because you only need to swipe the card, and the price of this form is also cheaper than buying individual tickets.

What culinary dishes should you eat when traveling to Taiwan?

Danzi noodles (streetside noodles)

This is one of the oldest dishes here (1895). Currently, this dish is known and sought out by many tourists to enjoy. This bowl of noodles will have shrimp, eggs, and pork. It looks simple, but once you eat it, you will want to eat more.

“Iron Egg” in Tamsui

This dish is special because it is popular, so you can easily find it at night markets. It is called "Iron Egg" because, when cooked, chicken eggs, quail eggs, and pigeon eggs look exactly like an iron egg and taste very delicious.

Bolo cake

In addition to the name Bolo, civilians here also call this cake by other names, such as pineapple cake and melon bread. The reason is that the crust is made into squares shaped like pineapples. The crust is soft, sweet from the inside, and contains cheese. A winter breakfast will be wonderful when you eat this dish with a glass of warm milk.

Should I choose to travel to Taiwan on my own or go on a tour?

Choosing to be self-sufficient or go on a tour depends on the situation:

• If you have never had experience traveling to Taiwan, you may not have time to carefully prepare for the trip, but if you want to visit many famous places here, choosing a tour package is a good choice. Noteworthy advice.
• If you come to Taiwan well prepared, have experience, and want to be independent in your activities, a self-sufficient trip to Taiwan is a new experience.

Events and festivals in Taiwan

Butterfly performance

From December to March, butterfly displays will be performed at Maolin National Park. You will see a wonderful scene when many types of extremely brightly colored butterflies flock to Malin.

Among them is a very beautiful purple butterfly, Fuploea. This has satisfied the love of beauty in the hearts of many tourists coming here.

Mazu International Festival

Another name for this festival is the festival of worshiping the Mother Goddess, or Thien Thien Thanh Mother. At the festival, there are activities showing the uniqueness of religion and art, which are held very solemnly because this is one of the prominent cultural events in Taiwan (Taichung).

With 9 days (in April, from the 6th to the 15th) and over 300km passing through 3 cities and lots of free food during the pilgrimage, visitors can enjoy completely free food.

How many days is it most reasonable to travel to Taiwan?

Depending on the budget you will bring, however, visitors to Taiwan will usually choose to go 3 days and 4 nights or 5 days and 4 nights to experience the entire trip to this country.

Are there places in Taiwan you should visit?

Jiufen ancient village 

This is an ancient village located halfway up the mountain. The road to this village is quite narrow, but it is a beautiful road. Many delicious dishes are sold in the village that you cannot miss, such as hei tang gao,yuyuan, and cao zhi gao.

Taipei 101

This project was built in 5 years with 1.76 billion USD, becoming the tallest building in the world. Taipei 101 Tower is a project that makes people here very proud because it is considered by the world to be one of the tectonic wonders.

Fo Guang Shan Monastery

This is a destination not to be missed on your trip to Taiwan. This temple was built massively, with more than 20 towers, palaces, and many giant bronze statues, the largest in the world. Fo Guang Shan Temple attracts many tourists to visit.

What specialties should you buy as gifts when traveling to Taiwan?

Nougat candy

This candy, also known as nougat, is made from honey and some super nutritious nuts such as almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts, etc. This candy has two types: crunchy and chewy. You can buy these two types as gifts. The preservation period is very long, ranging from 30 to 40 days.

Tea

Taiwanese tea is a gift not to be missed when you want to bring gifts home to your loved ones. The flavor of the teas here has made many people fascinated. Suggested 2 types of tea you can buy as gifts: Bao Chung Tea (Pouchong Tea) and Dong Dinh Oolong Tea (Oolong Tea) with extremely reasonable prices.

Necessary notes when traveling to Taiwan

• When traveling to Taiwan or anywhere else, the first thing you need to keep in mind is to keep your belongings carefully to avoid theft.
• As soon as you arrive in Taiwan, you should buy a SIM card from the network operators here for convenient communication, which can easily be used to find directions and view news.
• You call the mobile phone to Vietnam using the syntax 00-84 + phone number (when dialing the mobile number, you need to omit the first 0)
• Taiwanese people often use three-prong sockets, so you need to bring an adapter to charge your devices.
• You will be fined according to strict regulations if you smoke or litter.
• You should switch your phone and watch to local time for convenience in daily activities as well as arranging travel time.
• If you want to buy valuable items such as jewelry, gemstones, etc., or medicine, you should check carefully and avoid buying fake goods.
• Prices at markets and supermarkets also vary widely. You should choose carefully to avoid being quoted a higher price than the actual price.

Above are HoaBinh Tourist's shared experiences of traveling to Taiwan. Hopefully, through this article, you will have more interesting experiences when you set foot in this beautiful country. For any information or advice on Taiwan tours, please contact us through the hotline at 0939.311.911 - 0913.311.911 for quotes and 24/7 support.