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Taiwan
🇹🇼 Taiwan
EasyCard in, cash for night markets, LINE for everything else.
Ready-made routes
Know before you go
The practical facts for Taiwan, at a glance.
Currency
New Taiwan Dollar (TWD)
roughly NT$32 to US$1 — divide NT prices by 32 for a fast read
Tap to pay
Partly. Taps work in the chains, but the metro will not read your bank card.
Power
Type A / B (same as US)
110V, 60Hz
Tap water
Tap water is treated but locally people boil or filter it. Bottled and convenience-store water is cheap; refill stations are common in MRT stations and public buildings.
Tipping
Not expected anywhere. Restaurants may add 10% service; leaving extra cash confuses more than it pleases.
Emergency
Police 110 · Ambulance 119
112 · Works with no SIM, no signal
Best months
October–December and March–April: dry, mild, low typhoon risk
Entry requirements
Visa-exempt entry for many passports (commonly 90 days for US/EU/UK/CA/AU, 14–30 days for some others). Rules change — confirm against your own passport on the Bureau of Consular Affairs site before you book.
Paying in Taiwan
Partly. Taps work in the chains, but the metro will not read your bank card.
Tap to pay works
7-Eleven, FamilyMart and the other convenience stores
Department stores and chain cafés
Hotels and larger restaurants
YouBike, once an EasyCard is linked
Carry another way to pay
Night market stalls
Small family restaurants
Many taxis
Temple donation boxes
MRT and bus gates read EasyCard or iPass only — a foreign contactless card is refused. Buying an EasyCard in your first hour solves transit, convenience stores and vending machines at once.
Apps to download
The apps people in Taiwan actually use, in the order to set them up.
LINE
Free
Critical
Taiwan runs on LINE — restaurants, tour guides, landlords and new friends will all ask for your LINE, not your phone number.
Before you fly
EasyCard (悠遊付 / EasyWallet)
NT$100 for the physical card (non-refundable) + whatever you load
Critical
The EasyCard is the single most useful object in Taiwan; the app shows your balance and history so you never get stuck at a gate.
Metro Taipei
Free
Critical
Official MRT app with exit-by-exit guidance — picking the right exit is the difference between a 2-minute and a 15-minute walk.
Google Maps
Free
Critical
Transit directions in Taiwan are unusually accurate here, including bus numbers and live arrival times.
Before you fly
YouBike 2.0
NT$10 per 30 min, but registered members get a NT$10 city subsidy per ride and single-ride users do not
Important
NT$10–20 gets you across a district faster than the bus for short hops the MRT does not cover.
Uber
Free app; rides NT$150–400 typical in-city
Important
Removes the language barrier from taxis entirely — the destination is already in the driver's app.
Before you fly
Klook
Free app; varies by booking
Important
Where Taiwan attraction tickets, THSR discounts and day tours are actually cheapest, often with skip-the-queue entry.
T Express (THSR)
Free app; NT$1,490 Taipei–Kaohsiung standard
Important
Taipei to Kaohsiung in 96 minutes, and the app holds your ticket as a QR code.
foodpanda
Free app; NT$29–59 delivery typical
Important
Food delivery covers almost every Taiwanese city, and it works when jetlag hits at 2am.
Wise
Free account; ~0.4–0.6% conversion fee
Important
Interbank exchange rates and a card that does not add a 3% foreign transaction fee to every purchase.
Before you fly
Airalo
From ~US$4.50 for 1GB / 7 days
Critical
Data the second you land, without hunting for a SIM counter with your bags in hand.
Before you fly
Physical tourist SIM (Chunghwa / Taiwan Mobile)
NT$300–1,000 depending on days, usually unlimited data
Important
The only clean way to get a Taiwanese phone number, which several local apps require.
Google Translate
Free
Critical
Camera translation of menus, signs and medicine boxes — the single highest-leverage app for a non-Chinese reader.
Before you fly
CWA Weather (Central Weather Administration)
Free
Important
The official source for typhoon warnings and earthquake alerts — foreign weather apps lag it badly.
Booking.com
Free app
Important
The widest Taiwanese hotel inventory, and offline access to your reservation details.
Before you fly
Step-by-step setup for each app is in the iPhone app.
First 60 minutes after landing
1
Get an EasyCard before you leave the airport
Information desk or any convenience store in Terminal 1/2. NT$100 for the card plus whatever you load — NT$500 covers several days of transit. This one card runs MRT, buses, most convenience stores and many taxis.
2
Airport wifi is free and actually works
Connect to "TPE-Free" or "Airport Free Wi-Fi" to activate your eSIM or download offline maps before you head into the city.
3
Withdraw cash once, at the airport bank ATM
Bank of Taiwan and Mega Bank counters sit in arrivals with better rates than exchange desks abroad. NT$3,000–6,000 covers night markets and small shops that never take cards.
4
Do not exchange currency at home first
Home-country TWD rates are poor. Airport bank counters and local ATMs beat them nearly every time.
5
Screenshot your accommodation address in Chinese
Taxi drivers outside the airport often read no English. A Chinese-character address on your lock screen solves a 10-minute problem in 10 seconds.
Where to stay in Taiwan
4 cities
Taipei
Dense, MRT-shaped, and the easiest major Asian city to arrive in cold. You can function on day one with EasyCard + Google Maps alone.
Watch out for
MRT has no eating or drinking — including water. The fine is real and enforced.
YouBike 2.0 needs a phone number tied to an EasyCard; do the registration on hotel wifi, not at the dock.
Taxis take EasyCard but many drivers prefer cash after 11pm.
Kaohsiung
Flatter, hotter, more spread out. Two metro lines plus a light rail loop cover less than Taipei — plan for more taxi/scooter use.
Watch out for
YouBike docks cluster away from the tourist strip — the walk to a dock often costs more time than the ride saves.
Metro closes earlier than Taipei. Check the last train before a late night at Liuhe.
Summer heat is a routing constraint, not a comfort issue — build in indoor stops.
Taichung
One MRT line only. The city runs on buses, scooters and taxis — EasyCard still works, but Google Maps transit is essential.
Watch out for
First 10km on city buses is free with EasyCard — tap on AND tap off or you lose it.
Fewer English menus than Taipei; Google Lens earns its keep here.
Hualien / Taroko
Gateway to Taroko Gorge. Rail in, then scooter, tour bus or rental car — public transit inside the gorge is thin.
Watch out for
Book TRA tickets the moment they open (28 days out) for weekends and holidays.
Taroko access changes after typhoons and earthquakes — check the park status page before committing a day.
Card acceptance drops sharply outside Hualien city. Carry cash.
Getting around
Taoyuan Airport → central Taipei
40 km. Your first decision, usually while tired and carrying bags.
Airport MRT Express (purple)
Follow the purple signs from arrivals. Tap in with EasyCard or buy a single token. Express trains are purple; Commuter (blue) stops everywhere and takes 50 min.
NT$150
36 min to Taipei Main
Airport bus (Kuo-Kuang 1819)
Bus bays outside arrivals. Pay the driver in cash or tap EasyCard. Runs 24 hours.
NT$140
55–80 min depending on traffic
Uber / booked airport taxi
Request from the designated pickup area, or pre-book at the counter in arrivals.
NT$1,100–1,600
45–60 min
Getting around Taipei
One of the easiest cities in Asia to move through. Default to the MRT.
MRT
Tap EasyCard in and out. Trains every 2–6 minutes.
NT$20–65 per ride
Fast and predictable
Walking
Covered arcades along most main roads make rain and sun manageable.
Free
Often faster than you expect
Bus
Tap per the sign by the driver. Signal the driver by waving as the bus approaches.
NT$15 per section
Varies with traffic
Taipei → other cities
Taiwan is small. Almost everywhere is a day trip if you want it to be.
High Speed Rail (THSR)
Book in the T Express app or on Klook for the foreigner discount. QR at the gate.
NT$1,490 to Kaohsiung, NT$700 to Taichung
96 min to Kaohsiung
Taiwan Railway (TRA)
Book in the TRA app or at a station counter the moment the 28-day window opens.
NT$340–440 to Hualien
2h 10m to Hualien on a Puyuma
Intercity bus
Buy at Taipei Bus Station. Overnight services have reclining seats.
NT$300–600
4–5 h to Kaohsiung
Staying connected
Yes — a carrier-locked phone cannot use a local SIM or eSIM
Airalo
Tsingtao Mobile — Taiwan
3 GB · 30 days · US$8.5
Data only, no local number. The default choice for a one-week trip.
Airalo
Tsingtao Mobile — Taiwan
10 GB · 30 days · US$18
Comfortable for maps, messaging and moderate hotspot use over two weeks.
Nomad
Taiwan
10 GB · 30 days · US$17
Frequently a dollar or two under Airalo; app is slightly less polished.
Ubigi
Taiwan unlimited
Unlimited (fair use) · 7 days · US$19
Genuinely unlimited within fair-use limits. Good if you tether a laptop.
Chunghwa Telecom
Tourist prepaid SIM (physical)
Unlimited · 10 days · US$16
The only option that includes a Taiwanese phone number, which YouBike, foodpanda and delivery couriers all want. Bought at the airport with your passport.
Holafly
Taiwan unlimited
Unlimited · 10 days · US$39
Convenient but expensive, and no hotspot on most plans. Compare before buying.
When to go
Best months
October–December and March–April: dry, mild, low typhoon risk
Hardest months
July–September: typhoon season plus heat and humidity that reshape your day
Languages
Mandarin Chinese, Taiwanese Hokkien, English in transit hubs
Getting it right socially
Queue properly and stand right on escalators — it is followed here, not aspirational.
No eating or drinking on the MRT, including in stations past the gates.
Take rubbish with you; public bins are deliberately rare.
Hand things over with two hands, especially money and business cards.
Shoes off when a doorway has a shoe rack or a step up — homes, some guesthouses, temple halls.
Ready-made routes
Taiwan island loop in 7 days
7 days · about US$85 a day
Taipei, the west coast, the Taroko gorge and the southern port — a full circuit on trains that actually connect.
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