AsiaTaiwan

9 Things You Must Do in Taiwan

Planning holiday can be daunting, especially when your lazy friends leave nitty-gritty details to you. How do you come up with an itinerary that caters to the different personalities in your clique? Fortunately, this post covers eight things for you to do in Taiwan. Whether you’re travelling for leisure or business, Taiwan has a place for everyone!

1. Visit the night market

A typical packed nightmarket in Taiwan
A typical packed nightmarket in Taiwan (Flickr/ Harry Li)

More than 71% of the tourists in Taiwan stated experiencing Taiwan’s culture as their main reason for travel, according to a 2015 survey done by Tourism Bureau, MOTC Republic of China (Taiwan). To fully immerse in Taiwan‘s culture, you have to visit Taiwan’s night market at least once!

From Shihlin Night Market and Keelung Night Market in the north to Fengjia Night Market in the central to Ruifeng Night Market in the South to the independent night markets in the east. With almost every city in Taiwan having their very own night market for you to explore and nom on delicious street snacks, we guarantee that you won’t starve to death in Taiwan.

With night markets, you get all kinds of unique snacks in one street. Think: oyster omelettes, smelly tofu, fried bee hoon, pork intestine oyster vermicelli, tempura, popiah, soup noodles, meatballs, braised pork rice etc. Mhmm, just the thought of the food is making our mouth water! Did we mention the best part yet? Everything we mentioned is cheap but delicious. Of course, how can we forget Taiwan that is the birthplace of our favourite drink – bubble tea!

2. Tour Taiwan’s historic-cultural monuments

Fort Provintia, Tainan, Taiwan
Fort Provintia, Tainan, Taiwan (Flickr/ MaoxMao)

Located at a prime spot at sea, Taiwan has been a coveted country causing wars and countless change of leadership from the Dutch to Spanish, Zheng He and even Japanese. With influences from the different rulers, Taiwan soon became a multicultural society, with each part of Taiwan having its own unique characteristics, setting it apart from the rest. Don’t be surprised to see the streets of Taiwan filled with monuments like Japanese and Baroque architectures, European style red brick buildings etc. filled with all kinds of style of the monuments.

3. Get close to nature

Taroko National Park, Taiwan
Taroko National Park, Taiwan (Flickr/ Jorge Gonzalez)

Taiwan has one of the highest densities of mountains worldwide. Therefore, it should be of no surprise to you that many tourists visit Taiwan to enjoy the rock formations, cliff walls and breathtaking scenery. Hiking up the mountains, not only do you get closer to nature while taking in the awe-inspiring landscape, you can also unwind after spending much of your time in the city.

4. Water activities

Kayaking in Sun Moon Lake, Yuchi, Nantou, Taiwan (Flickr/ Piper Gu)

With the sea surrounding Taiwan, it would be a shame to not engage in water activities there. Running from North to South, the coastlines and rocky terrains are reasons beaches in Taiwan are so mersmerising. No wonder both locals and tourists alike flood these beaches for all kinds of recreation and team-building activities. Go have a splashing good time!

5. Lake tour

Sun Moon Lake, Yuchi, Nantou, Taiwan
Sun Moon Lake, Yuchi, Nantou, Taiwan (Flickr/ Mark Kao)

Although a relatively small country, the amount of mountains and seas Taiwan has make up for its size. Sun Moon Lake is a prime example of this – a pale green lake surrounded by mountains, making it look like it came right out of a fairy tale. Psst, this where you take beautiful photos for your next Instagram post! It certainly speaks volume about this lake’s beauty when there are innumerable lakes in Taiwan yet Sun Moon Lake is a favourite amongst most people.

6. Hot springs

Lisong Hot Spring, Taitung, Taiwan
Lisong Hot Spring, Taitung, Taiwan (Flickr/ Drew Bates)

Due to it’s geographical location, Taiwan is one of the recipients of the greatest gift from Mother Nature: hot springs. Be it on flatlands, mountains, valleys or even the sea, there are no lack of hot springs in Taiwan.

If you’re in the northern part of Taiwan, visit Jinshan Hot Springs near Datun Volcano, Beitou Hot Springs or Yangmingshan hot springs. There’s also Lushan Hot Spring in central Taiwan, Guanziling Hot Spring in the south,  Chihpen Hot Springs in the east.

Tip: the one you can’t miss out is Su’ao Cold Spring in Yilan County! Emitting carbonated bubbles, Su’ao Cold Spring is one of only few bubble cold springs in the world.

From cold springs to a variety of hot springs, it’s of no wonder Taiwan is known as the world’s hot springs museum! Comparable to hot spring kingdom Japan, both locals and tourists frequent Taiwan‘s hot springs during the hot spring season in fall and winter.

7. Experience local culture

Hand puppet show in Taiwan
Hand puppet show in Taiwan Flickr/ rafa_luque

When in Rome, do as the Romans do; when in Taiwan, enjoy unique Taiwanese aboriginal dance performances and realistic hand puppet shows. To complete your experience, don’t forget to indulge in Taiwan‘s Hakka cuisine or a traditional Taiwanese cuisine. Bet you never knew Taiwan offers more than just historical monuments and natural sceneries!

8. Massage

Massage in Taipei, Taiwan
Massage in Taipei, Taiwan (Flickr/ Maya-Anaïs Yataghène)

Travelling allows you to relax and gives you an excuse to pamper yourself once in a while so how can we forget massages! A myriad of massages are available, ranging from traditional Chinese meridian massage that makes use of your acupuncture points to foot massage to traditional Taiwanese massage that makes use of steaming hot towels to help you relax. Whichever your choice is, the massages provide great respite for you after a long day of shopping and eating.

9. Shopping

This one’s pretty self-explanatory, no? KKday’s Taiwan travel experts brings you the best places to shop in Taiwan. Yes, we’re bringing out the shopaholic in you and we aren’t guilty! After all, who can leave Taiwan without bags of cheap, unique finds?

 

Still thinking of more things to do in Taiwan?

>> 4 Not So Common Activities You Should Try in Taiwan
>> 5 Most Epic Bars for a Happening Night in Taipei
>> 8 New Food to Discover in Shida Night Market

Or let KKday guide you!

>> “The King of River” River Adventure trekking in Hualien
>> (Departs from Taipei) Taiwan High Speed Railway 25% Discount e-ticket
>> One day tour at Sun Moon Lake

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