Taiwan – quick travel guide

Underrated small country but well-developed, chill, English-friendly, and affordable.

A self-governing island country that was formerly a province of China but as of very recently (several decades ago) gained its independence. Taiwan is mostly recognized today as its own country, although not by all countries…for example some countries (such as Georgia) do not recognize the Taiwanese passport and don’t allow Taiwanese to enter their country.

In terms of tourism, Taiwan hasn’t marketed itself well on this part…which is great since it keeps costs down and authenticity high. The locals tell me the image of Taiwan is temples and night markets, to which I agree. It’s also an Asian island country that doesn’t have many beaches. Again…I think this feature has helped it stay lowkey and out of the tourism limelight.

I generally see Taiwan as a well developed island with smallish cities surrounded by lots of nature. Unlike other well-developed cities in Asia, Taiwan cities are not so big. A short 20 min drive and you’re back in nature, with mountains and coastline. It’s a great balance of modern urban life but also chill and lowkey.

Taiwan is also full of nice food, nice people, nice vibes. Without having been to China, I couldn’t help but see Taiwanese people as a generally more-friendly version of Chinese people. While Taiwanese and Chinese may be culturally and geographically similar, they most definitely see themselves as different and do have enough distinctions between each other.

As an American, I would also say that Taiwanese have a less favorable attitude towards mainland China and more favorable attitude towards America. (That’s for when comparing attitudes between Taiwanese and Chinese people.)

Driving from the top to the bottom of Taiwan takes 5-6 hours. The whole island is small, roughly the size of the Netherlands. You could see the capital city of Taipei in 3-4 days. Make it 7 days to visit 2-3 cities, 2 weeks for a more comprehensive highlight tour. If only as a short stay on your Asia tour, 5 days is a good amount of time to see Taipei and highlights of something else. But you could also stay 2 months and not get bored.

General tips for traveling in Taiwan:

• Mobile carrier – prepaid plans are cheap. NT$500 ($15) gets you 10 days of unlimited data, NT$1000 gets you 30 days of unlimited data…also with unlimited tethering as well. You can buy it right at the airport. The most common plan is by Chunghwa, but there are other carriers as well and they price the same all across the board. I was always in the big city and had great reliable service all the time everywhere, even in the metro.
• Transportation
  • Public transportation is fast, frequent, and cheap. Easy to use and all signs also in English.
  • I buy the IC Pass aka “EasyCard”. Other cards such as “iPass” or “iCash”, etc, all do the same thing but are not accepted everywhere. So the EasyCard is the most commonly used since it’s accepted throughout more places.
  • Taiwanese like to refer to their metro as “MRT”.
• Rideshare – I use Uber, but they have their own apps as well (but usually in Chinese language). Rideshare might seem more convenient and cheaper especially if you’re multiple people, but it actually might be slower than metro during rush hour.
• Weather – usually pretty hot in most places. Also lots of rain, and also flash rain during summer months. OCT & NOV considered best months. Not too hot or cold.

Miscellaneous tips:

• Tap water – not drinkable, everyone uses bottled water.
• Food delivery –
• LINE app – useful chat app for communicating with locals and local businesses. Even if you’re not hanging out with locals much, you may still need this for things like booking hair appointments.

Safety tips:

• Taiwan is already super safe. Non-existent crime. If anything, it’s the Taiwanese people that are afraid to travel because almost anywhere else they go has more crime than in their country.

Foods to try:

• Many Chinese foods have been reclaimed as “Taiwanese” or having a more Taiwanese spin on it. Hahah.
• rice dishes, fried rice, noodle, etc.
• hot pot
• night markets…stinky tofu, fried chicken, sliced mushrooms with sauce, sausage,
• grilled seafood

Customs & Language:

• Languages spoken –
• Hello & Bye –
• Yes & No –
• Thank you –

To foreigners, Taiwanese people are very friendly and approachable and also speak great English compared to other Asian countries. I might dare say perhaps the best English.

Their personality is something between Chinese and Japanese…not so crude and rough like Chinese, but not overly polite and conservative like Japanese. They’re open-minded and a balanced mix of eastern tradition with western mentality. For this reason, I often like to say Taiwan is like an American-ized China. Of course, you should never tell them this as they’re very proud about NOT being Chinese. (Especially after the long history of being colonized by the Dutch, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, and Chinese again. Ultimately winning its independence only in 1988…yes, very recent.)

Their language, Taiwanese, is like Mandarin but with a warmer softer friendlier accent. Their written language is in traditional Chinese, whereas mainland China uses simplified Chinese.

Taiwan cities (* = recommended, ** = must see):

• Taipei** – definitely!

Nearby countries:

• China* – you’re already super close. If you already have a VISA or you don’t need one, why not? China is awesome.
• Japan* – I feel like most westerners already know the allure.
• Phillipines* – beautiful nature, low price, food not so great.
• South Korea* – super modern and developed but probably not as
• Vietnam*

Unfiltered notes:

• Foreigners in Taiwan – great blog on foreigner and expat life in Taiwan. Covers everything, areas to be, buying a house, life necessities, etc.