Taiwan

📊 Quick Facts for Your Travel guide to Taiwan

• Capital: Taipei💡 Home to about 2.5 million people
• Currency: New Taiwan dollar (TWD)💡 Cash for night markets; cards in hotels. Check today's rate
• Language: Mandarin Chinese💡 Taiwanese Hokkien, Hakka and Indigenous languages also spoken
• Population: About 23.3 million💡 2026 estimate
• Area: 36,197 km²💡 About the size of the Netherlands
• Time zone: UTC+8💡 No daylight saving. Convert times
• UNESCO sites: 0💡 Taiwan is not a UNESCO member, so it has no listed sites
• Power: 110 V, plug types A and B💡 The same plugs as the US and Canada

ℹ️ Figures in this travel guide to Taiwan are 2026 estimates from official and international sources.

📍 Where Is Taiwan?

Taiwan is a leaf-shaped island in the western Pacific, separated from mainland China by the 160 km Taiwan Strait. Japan's southern islands lie to the north-east and the Philippines to the south. A spine of high mountains runs down the middle, rising to Yushan (Jade Mountain, 3,952 m). Most people live on the flat western plains, where Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung are linked by high-speed rail; the east coast is wilder.

Taipei is about 3 hours from Tokyo and Hong Kong and 15 hours from the US west coast. The high-speed rail runs from Taipei to Kaohsiung in about 1 hour 35 minutes. Check the distance from your city with our distance calculator.

📅 Best Time to Visit Taiwan

The best time to visit Taiwan is October to December, when it is warm, drier and clear, and March to May, with spring blossoms and comfortable temperatures (20–27 °C). Summer (June–September) is hot and humid, with afternoon storms and a risk of typhoons from July to October. Winter is mild in the south but cool and damp in Taipei, which is perfect for hot springs. Big events include the Lantern Festival (February or March) and the Dragon Boat Festival (June).

📅 Use the seasons in this travel guide to Taiwan to match your trip to the weather, festivals and prices you want.

🛂 Taiwan Visa & Entry Requirements

Visa-free for many visitors: citizens of the USA, UK, EU countries, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea can visit Taiwan visa-free for up to 90 days. Several other countries get shorter visa-free stays or can apply online for an eVisa. All visitors must complete the online Taiwan Arrival Card before landing.

• PassportValid for at least 6 months from arrival.
• Arrival cardOnline only, free, within 3 days before arrival.
• Onward ticketHave a return or onward ticket ready.
• Main airportTaoyuan International (TPE), about 40 minutes from Taipei by the airport MRT.

🔗 Official sources: Bureau of Consular Affairs · National Immigration Agency (arrival card). Entry rules change, so always confirm before booking and avoid paid look-alike sites.

🛂 Entry rules in this travel guide to Taiwan were last checked in October 2026.

🏮 10 Best Places to Visit in Taiwan

These are the places we recommend most in this travel guide to Taiwan, with the best months to see each one.

🗺️ 7-Day Taiwan Itinerary: Taipei, Sun Moon Lake & Tainan

A first loop by train: Taipei and the north, then down the west coast by high-speed rail. Get an EasyCard for metros, buses and convenience stores.

Follow this route from our travel guide to Taiwan day by day, or shorten it to fit your trip.

1. Taipei: Longshan Temple, Ximending, Taipei 101 and Raohe Night Market.
2. Taipei: the National Palace Museum, Beitou hot springs and Shilin Night Market.
3. Jiufen & Shifen: day trip for sky lanterns and teahouse views.
4. Sun Moon Lake: high-speed rail to Taichung, then bus to the lake.
5. Sun Moon Lake: cycle the shore and ride the ropeway; evening to Chiayi.
6. Tainan: Anping Fort, Confucius Temple and a street-food crawl.
7. Back to Taipei: high-speed rail (under 2 hours) for your flight.

➕ With more time: add Alishan for sunrise, Hualien and the open parts of Taroko, the east coast to Taitung, Kaohsiung, or Kenting's beaches.

💵 How Much Does a Trip to Taiwan Cost?

Taiwan is good value, especially for food and transport. These are approximate daily costs per person in 2026, excluding flights. Use our currency converter to see them in your own currency.

💡 All prices in this travel guide to Taiwan are per person, per day, and change with the season and exchange rates.

🚆 An EasyCard works on metros, buses, trains and in 7-Eleven. Tipping is not expected; many restaurants add a 10% service charge. Night markets are cash-only.

💡 Safety & Travel Tips for Your Travel guide to Taiwan

Taiwan is one of the safest places in Asia, with very low crime. The main hazards are natural: earthquakes, typhoons (July–October) and landslides on mountain roads, especially around Taroko and Hualien. Scooter traffic is heavy, so take care when crossing roads. Follow alerts on your phone and check your government's travel advice before you go.

🏨 Best Hotels in Taiwan: 8 Top Picks

Stay in Xinyi, Da'an or near Taipei Main Station for easy transport, and book Sun Moon Lake and Alishan hotels ahead at weekends.

🔎 How we chose for this travel guide to Taiwan: hotels are picked for location, reputation and a spread of regions and styles. Prices and availability change daily, so the buttons open live Booking.com results for each property.
🤝 Affiliate disclosure: hotel buttons are affiliate links. If you book through them, AtlasWise may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes which hotels we list.

🎓 Top Universities in Taiwan

Taiwan has excellent universities, particularly in engineering, semiconductors and medicine, and many programmes taught in English.

🔎 How we chose for this travel guide to Taiwan: the leading universities in Taiwan by reputation and research. Last checked: October 2026.

🧋 Taiwanese Culture & Food

Taiwanese culture blends Chinese, Japanese and Indigenous influences, with 16 recognised Indigenous peoples. Temples are busy with incense and offerings, the night markets are the centre of social life, and festivals such as the Lantern Festival, the Mazu pilgrimage and Ghost Month fill the calendar. People are famously polite and helpful to visitors.

Try beef noodle soup, xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), lu rou fan (braised pork rice), oyster omelettes, gua bao, stinky tofu if you dare, bubble tea (invented in Taiwan), shaved ice with mango, and pineapple cakes to take home.

📚 Trusted Resources for Your Travel guide to Taiwan

• Taiwan Tourism AdministrationOfficial tourism website
• National Immigration AgencyTaiwan Arrival Card
• Taroko National ParkOfficial access updates

Finished this travel guide to Taiwan? 🌍 More East Asia guides: Japan · South Korea · China · Philippines · Vietnam
⚖️ Compare Taiwan with other countries in Compare Countries.
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