Region

Northern Taiwan

Sleep in Taipei; do Beitou and Tamsui by MRT, Jiufen and Pingxi as one long day, and leave Hualien for a second region.

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Key facts · Taiwan

Best months: Mar–Apr, Oct–Dec
Visa: Depends on your passport
Currency: New Taiwan dollar (TWD, NT$)
Language: Mandarin
Plugs: A · B · 110 V
Time zone: UTC+8 all year

Month by month here

Rules in force · 5

East Asia ↗Every border in East Asia is a full international border, Hong Kong and Macau included: an entry permission for one never covers the next.
East Asia ↗Ferries between Korea, Japan and China cancel in rough seas and typhoons; keep a flight or a spare day behind every sea leg.
Taiwan ↗Check visa-exemption length, passport validity and the online arrival card (TWAC) on the official sites before you fly.
Taiwan ↗An EasyCard (or iPASS) covers MRT, buses, local trains and many convenience-store purchases; buy one at the airport or a station.
Taiwan ↗When a local government declares a typhoon day, transport and sights can close for the day; follow the official notice, not the forecast alone.

The north is one base and a ring of trips. The MRT reaches Beitou and Tamsui in under an hour and local trains reach the Pingxi and Jiufen area, so moving hotels adds nothing. Keep the Taipei bed, take a day pack, and check the weather: the north coast is often wet.

Where to sleep

4 places in this region

Sleep base

TaipeiTrip line
Ximending or Zhongshan for first-timers; both sit on the MRT.
Best Mar–Apr, Oct–Dec
JFMAMJJASOND
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Day trip

BeitouGuide: planned
Hot-spring district; MRT plus a short branch line, about 40 min.
Page planned: listed so the region plan is complete.
TamsuiCity guide
Waterfront and sunset; MRT Red line, about 45 min.
Best Mar–Apr, Oct–Dec
JFMAMJJASOND
Open Tamsui →
Jiufen and PingxiCity guide
Hill town and lantern village; bus and local train, 1 to 1.5 h each way.
Best Oct–Apr
JFMAMJJASOND
Open Jiufen and Pingxi →

Plan the nights

How to split the nights, day-trips and what to do with your bags

Open Plan the nightsClose Plan the nights3 partsNights · Day-trips · Bags

Night sequences

4 nights: Taipei 4, Beitou or Tamsui half-day
6 nights: Taipei 6, Jiufen and Pingxi day, Tamsui evening

Taipei + Jiufen + Hualien + Kaohsiung in 5 days is mostly train time.

Day-trips door to door

To	From	Door-to-door p50	Last return	Note
Jiufen	Taipei	90 min	unknown	Buses run late but the last bus time changes; check on the day.
Beitou	Taipei	45 min	unknown	MRT keeps running until about midnight; check the last train.

Bags between cities

Left-luggage lockers at Taipei Main Station; leave the big bag at the hotel for a day trip.

When to go

Months and weather

Open When to goClose When to go1 partSeasons

Seasons at a glance

From each city's month table

Pick a month to see where to go.

Only good-now countries

Show all 12 months, country by countryHide the 12-month table

Country	JJan	FFeb	MMar	AApr	MMay	JJun	JJul	AAug	SSep	OOct	NNov	DDec
Taipei	ok	ok	go	go	ok	ok	×	×	ok	go	go	go
Tamsui	ok	ok	go	go	ok	ok	×	×	×	go	go	go
Jiufen and Pingxi	go	go	go	go	ok	ok	×	×	×	go	go	go
Taiwan (country-wide)	go	ok	go	go	ok	ok	ok	ok	ok	go	go	go

Go: the good monthsFair: workable, mixedPoor: heat, rain or hazeAvoid: storms, floods, closuresno data yet

Computed from each country’s own data; hover a country name for the source. Advisory countries are left out.

Eat and move on

Regional food and where to go next

Open Eat and move onClose Eat and move on1 partGo next

Go next

Other regions of the country

Eastern Taiwan

planned

2–4 nights

Hualien and Taroko Gorge by train; Taitung and the East Rift Valley

Central Taiwan

planned

2–3 nights

Taichung, Sun Moon Lake and Alishan

Southern Taiwan

planned

2–4 nights

Tainan and Kaohsiung by high-speed rail; Kenting at the tip

Northern Taiwan: what we know, and what is coming

3 of 4 places open

On this page

4 places with their role: where to sleep, what to do as a day trip
How to split 4 or 6 nights
2 day trips with door-to-door time
Seasons month by month, from the cities’ own tables
What to do with the big bag between beds

Coming as the guide grows

Climate strip by zone, with the storm and haze months
Get in: airports and stations with door-to-door times
Regional passes and cards, with a buy / skip verdict
Regional food: what, where and when it works
A page for Beitou — Hot-spring district; MRT plus a short branch line, about 40 min.

Meanwhile

Planning aids

Built from this guide's own data

Open Planning aidsClose Planning aids3 partsIn numbers · Trips here · Local time

Region in numbers

Where to sleep: 1 base
Day trips: 2, 45 min to 1 h 30
Nights suggested: 4–6 nights

Trips that stop here

From the Taiwan guide

Taipei only, 5 nights
5 nights here
taipei
Taipei + Hualien, 8 nights
5 nights here
taipei → hualien
Taipei + Tainan + Kaohsiung, 10 nights
5 nights here
taipei → tainan → kaohsiung
Taipei only
5 days · 5 nights here
Taipei
Taipei and Hualien
7 days · 4 nights here
Taipei → Hualien
West coast by high-speed rail
10 days · 4 nights here
Taipei → Sun Moon Lake → Tainan → Kaohsiung

All Taiwan trips →

Local time

What time it is there now, compared with the clock on your device.

Taipei
…
Checking your clock…Asia/Taipei

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