1. Weather
Check the weather before selecting your flight dates. I heard from the taxi drive that in July there is a higher possibilities to meet with Tai Fung (台风). And people spent 2-3 days in hotel as all operation are closed even public transport. of course, Taiwan celebrates chinese new year, and most of the restaurants are either closed or fully booked. You would want to avoid that. You can always check the seasons & weather here.
2. Planned Itinerary
If you are planning a backpack trip, yes you will need a detail plan to go around. Check out the operation hours of the tourist attraction site before planning. Going with the tour would be fine too :)
3. Weigh your luggages
Oh yes, bring sufficient clothings will do, not too many. If possible maximum 2 pairs of shoes will do. Because for girls like us we will be buying tons of good stuff back. It is common to find a minsu/hotel with washing machine & dryer facilities included, so that you can bring lesser clothings
4. Book your driver in advance
Some of the drivers in Taiwan are so famous that their schedule is full till next year. To avoid any disappointments do book them in advance. I found a great driver for day trips, I will recommend it to you in my later post. You will need to note that the drivers in Taiwan have license to fetch tourist in a specific area.
If you are travelling from Taichung to Taipei to Tainan. You will need to find various driver to bring you around. ( This information might be inaccurate, because this was claim by our taxi driver when we were there)
If you are asking how advance should you book, I would say 3-4 months would be better.
5. Book minsu/ hotel in advance
Yes, better to book your minsu 3-4 months in advance, to avoid any disappointments.
* If you are travelling in the month of May, umbrellas and raincoats play an important role too.
* Travelling in fours will always be the best, because you are able to share the cost equally.
6. Get a youth card for discount
With this youth card, travellers from age 15-30 are entitled to discounts on various tourist attraction site. It is FOC to apply, you will just need to pass the PIC your passport. You may apply in any visitors centre. For more info, pls refer here.
7. Local phone card will be handy
You can apply phone card in any telco centre or 7 eleven. The person in charge will help you out during your application. Telco centre
8. Easy Card to travel easier
The easy card could be obtain at any MRT train station, there will a charge of deposit TWD 100 for every card. The deposit will be refunded upon returning the card. This easy card can be used in all MRT, bus and even purchases in 7-eleven. It will be cheaper travelling with this card on MRT, buying ticket at each station would be rather expensive, might be TWD 10-20 extra.
If you ask me whether it is worth to buy the 2/3/5 days pass, I would say no, after my own calculation. I listed down my routes and added it up. It will be TWD 200-300 cheaper using the easy card instead of the 5day pass. This is because I did not spent my whole 8 days in Taipei. For more accuracy, I would suggest you do your own calculation. MRT price list for your reference here.
Note: Do remember get the hardcopy of MRT map for an easier travel.
6. Get a youth card for discount
With this youth card, travellers from age 15-30 are entitled to discounts on various tourist attraction site. It is FOC to apply, you will just need to pass the PIC your passport. You may apply in any visitors centre. For more info, pls refer here.
7. Local phone card will be handy
You can apply phone card in any telco centre or 7 eleven. The person in charge will help you out during your application. Telco centre
8. Easy Card to travel easier
The easy card could be obtain at any MRT train station, there will a charge of deposit TWD 100 for every card. The deposit will be refunded upon returning the card. This easy card can be used in all MRT, bus and even purchases in 7-eleven. It will be cheaper travelling with this card on MRT, buying ticket at each station would be rather expensive, might be TWD 10-20 extra.
If you ask me whether it is worth to buy the 2/3/5 days pass, I would say no, after my own calculation. I listed down my routes and added it up. It will be TWD 200-300 cheaper using the easy card instead of the 5day pass. This is because I did not spent my whole 8 days in Taipei. For more accuracy, I would suggest you do your own calculation. MRT price list for your reference here.
Note: Do remember get the hardcopy of MRT map for an easier travel.
This trip was really an anticipating trip for me, it was a long wanted trip to Taiwan.
Baggages and return flights from JB to KL, the cost were approximately RM 700-800 per person as follow. (I could not give an exact figure because I couldn't recall the price due to excitement)
Return Flights (KL To Taiwan): RM 499
Return Flight (JB To KL): RM 150 (approximate)
Baggages: RM400 (40kg depart & 60kg for return)
Of Course, with the convenience of transportation in Taiwan, we decided to go backpack. I spent approximately 1 month to get my itinerary and bookings done. Yes, you need to study and plan well to have a fully maximize trip. Hard work always pay off.
Lastly, enjoy your trip!
Lastly, enjoy your trip!
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