5D4N Taipei Itinerary!

[Tornesoul]

Hi guys, planning a 5d4n trip to taipei during May. This is my current itinerary, appreciate any suggestions/opinions from the hwz taiwan pros, still ironing it out!

Total 2 pax, staying at Ximending Jogging Bear minsu for entire trip. Looking for more shopping, food etc, rather than sightseeing. Really need advice for day 3 and 4.


Day 1, Wednesday:
-710am Depart Singapore, Changi Airport Terminal 1
-1155am Reach, Taoyuan Airport Terminal 1
- buy Sim Card? (Chung Hwa / Da ge da)
-Taipei main station via Kuo Kuang Bus 1819 (to buy one way ticket for 125 twd or both ways, there and back for 230 twd?)
-Taipei Main Station to Ximen Station
-check in minsu
-walk around xmd (?)
- shida nightmarket (?)

Is the afternoon to night itinerary enough? Or will there be alot of spare time?

Day 2, Thursday:
- Breakfast @ yong he dou jiang, xmd branch
- Taipei 101
- taipei 101 din tai fung lunch
- taipei 101 starbucks (35th floor)
- wufenpu
- raohe night market
- back to minsu

Is day 2 too empty or just nice?

Day 3, Friday:

- yehliu geopark (is jingguashi worth going to? saw some pics didnt seem that interesting to me. as well as the golden waterfall)
- jiufen
- shifen release lanterns
- keelung, miaokou nightmarket
- back to minsu

(?) don't know if this is possible via public transport, really need advice!

Day 4, Saturday:

- beitou hot spring (?)
- damshui lao jie
- fisherman's wharf via ferry
- shilin night market
- ningxia night market (?), optional if there's time and not tired
- back to minsu

any recommendations for a private hotspring for an hour or two? or will wulai be a better place compared to beitou?

Day 5, Sunday:
- 12pm Check out of Jogging Bear
- (?)
- taipei main station
- Kuo Kuang 1819 to taoyuan
- 7.55pm Depart taiwan - Taoyuan Airport Terminal 1
-12.30am Reach sg

not sure what we can do btn checking out and going to taoyuan airport.


Any help would be appreciated!

Thank You!

 

[hoshiyume]

hi may I know how did you make reservation for jogging bear? Cant seem to find accommodation

 

[Tornesoul]

hi may I know how did you make reservation for jogging bear? Cant seem to find accommodation

heya, you gotta email yengun88@gmail.com

The owner's name is Norman. He speaks english, so no need to type in chinese.

Not much info online. My reservation was done through email only.

joggingbear

 

[butterbarter]

You not going to Sun Yat Sen memorial, Chiang kai shek Memorial or the National Palace museum? These are the top sights and you really shouldn't miss them even if sightseeing isn't your top priority. I would say these are better than Beitou or Danshui.

DAY 1
Not sure why you put a question mark next to "walking around xmd". You don't need any transportation since the Ximen mrt station is right at XMD entrance.

You can also catch a mrt to Shida mkt. Alight at the taiwan electric tower station (台电大楼). Unfortunately, there's no clear directions to Shida night market, and it's hidden in some small alley ways. But if you walk north on Shida Road, you'll notice there's progressively more people as you approach the university. Shida night market is right near where the university meets Shida Road. If you have a GPS, the location is N 25 deg 01.478' E 121 deg 21.737'. It took me a fair bit of walking around before I found it and I quickly noted it's GPS coordinates, so I hope the GPS location will be useful to you. Do not use the location provided by Google maps. It's wrong.

Personally, I didn't like Shida night market. It's quite scattered around several streets and there isn't much to eat. Mostly shopping, which you can do in any other part of Taipei and Wufenpu. And the crowd is VERY young, mostly uni students. If you are above 30 years old, you'll probably feel abit out of place, like I did.


DAY 2: looks fine

DAY 3:
Jinguashi is not really worth a visit unless you have a huge interest in gold mining. The only thing I found interesting was the giant lump of gold on display.

DAY 4: Beitou - you can take MRT there. There are many private hotsprings in hotels, and a public one (very cheap ) that is about 10 mins walk from the train station. Public one is very spartan (just some lockers and a few pools of varying hotness) and filled with noisy uncles and aunties.

DAY 5: Looks like you have some spare time. Leave your luggage in the lockers in the underground Mall that is nearest to the West Terminal (where the KuoKuang Taoyuan bus is. Don't go to the wrong one as there are 2 bus stations near the train station). Go visit the memorials or national palace museum. If you wanna shop, the underground malls, or the areas around Zhongxiao Fuxing are prime shopping areas.

Hi guys, planning a 5d4n trip to taipei during May. This is my current itinerary, appreciate any suggestions/opinions from the hwz taiwan pros, still ironing it out!

Total 2 pax, staying at Ximending Jogging Bear minsu for entire trip. Looking for more shopping, food etc, rather than sightseeing. Really need advice for day 3 and 4.


Day 1, Wednesday:
-710am Depart Singapore, Changi Airport Terminal 1
-1155am Reach, Taoyuan Airport Terminal 1
- buy Sim Card? (Chung Hwa / Da ge da)
-Taipei main station via Kuo Kuang Bus 1819 (to buy one way ticket for 125 twd or both ways, there and back for 230 twd?)
-Taipei Main Station to Ximen Station
-check in minsu
-walk around xmd (?)
- shida nightmarket (?)

Day 2, Thursday:
- Breakfast @ yong he dou jiang, xmd branch
- Taipei 101
- taipei 101 din tai fung lunch
- taipei 101 starbucks (35th floor)
- wufenpu
- raohe night market
- back to minsu

Day 3, Friday:

- yehliu geopark (is jingguashi worth going to? saw some pics didnt seem that interesting to me. as well as the golden waterfall)
- jiufen
- shifen release lanterns
- keelung, miaokou nightmarket
- back to minsu

(?) don't know if this is possible via public transport, really need advice!

Day 4, Saturday:

- beitou hot spring (?)
- damshui lao jie
- fisherman's wharf via ferry
- shilin night market
- ningxia night market (?), optional if there's time and not tired
- back to minsu

any recommendations for a private hotspring for an hour or two?

Day 5, Sunday:
- 12pm Check out of Jogging Bear
- (?)
- taipei main station
- Kuo Kuang 1819 to taoyuan
- 7.55pm Depart taiwan - Taoyuan Airport Terminal 1
-12.30am Reach sg

Thank You!

 

[Tornesoul]

You not going to Sun Yat Sen memorial, Chiang kai shek Memorial or the National Palace museum? These are the top sights and you really shouldn't miss them even if sightseeing isn't your top priority. I would say these are better than Beitou or Danshui.

DAY 1
Not sure why you put a question mark next to "walking around xmd". You don't need any transportation since the Ximen mrt station is right at XMD entrance.

You can also catch a mrt to Shida mkt. Alight at the taiwan electric tower station (台电大楼). Unfortunately, there's no clear directions to Shida night market, and it's hidden in some small alley ways. But if you walk north on Shida Road, you'll notice there's progressively more people as you approach the university. Shida night market is right near where the university meets Shida Road. If you have a GPS, the location is N 25 deg 01.478' E 121 deg 21.737'. It took me a fair bit of walking around before I found it and I quickly noted it's GPS coordinates, so I hope the GPS location will be useful to you. Do not use the location provided by Google maps. It's wrong.

Personally, I didn't like Shida night market. It's quite scattered around several streets and there isn't much to eat. Mostly shopping, which you can do in any other part of Taipei and Wufenpu. And the crowd is VERY young, mostly uni students. If you are above 30 years old, you'll probably feel abit out of place, like I did.


DAY 2: looks fine

DAY 3:
Jinguashi is not really worth a visit unless you have a huge interest in gold mining. The only thing I found interesting was the giant lump of gold on display.

DAY 4: Beitou - you can take MRT there. There are many private hotsprings in hotels, and a public one (very cheap ) that is about 10 mins walk from the train station. Public one is very spartan (just some lockers and a few pools of varying hotness) and filled with noisy uncles and aunties.

DAY 5: Looks like you have some spare time. Leave your luggage in the lockers in the underground Mall that is nearest to the West Terminal (where the KuoKuang Taoyuan bus is. Don't go to the wrong one as there are 2 bus stations near the train station). Go visit the memorials or national palace museum. If you wanna shop, the underground malls, or the areas around Zhongxiao Fuxing are prime shopping areas.

Thanks for your inputs!

Day 1

Was wondering if it was too much time around XMD area

I may check out Sun Yat Sen memorial and Chiang kai shek Memorial. Been to National Palace Museum before. Is there any entry fee or?

For Shida Market is it relatively big?

Day 3

Thanks I was feeling that way too, but not sure if the golden waterfall nearby is worth going to?

Day 4

Would you recommend wulai or beitou?

Day 5

Are taipei underground malls around taipei main station?

 

[butterbarter]

since you arrive around noon, yes, that's a lot of time to be hanging around XMD. Grab a quick lunch at the Taipei station first. Don't spend too much time in XMD, since your minsu is there, you'll be walking through XMD every evening anyway.

Never been to the golden waterfall. Been to Beitou, and frankly I don't think it's a must-visit. It looks just like any other town. The hotsprings are mostly inside the hotels, so unless you really want to try out hotsprings, Beitou won't be that interesting.

Shida market is quite small. My guess its about 200+m long and 30-50m wide, approx. And only part of it sells food (the northern end), and there are probably 20-40 food stalls. So its not a good choice if you like street food. As I said, it sells mostly clothes, shoes, and trinkets. Having visited several other night markets in Taiwan, I would say Shida ranks pretty low TO ME, unlike, say Fenjia(another University night market) in Taichung, which feels more vibrant.

Some people actually prefer the young crowd and clothes shopping there, so to each his own.

Around the Taipei Main station are several underground malls, heading off in different directions. It's easy to get confused because they look similar, but have different names. There are big signs posted everywhere so just keep a lookout.

If you happen to around the train station and have nothing to do, drop by the 228 Peace Park, about 5 minutes walk south of the train station. This park commemorates the 228 Incident/Massacre, in which the ruling gov of the day put down a revolt and killed thousands of civilians. It's a peaceful retreat in the middle of the city.

Thanks for your inputs!

Day 1

Was wondering if it was too much time around XMD area

I may check out Sun Yat Sen memorial and Chiang kai shek Memorial. Been to National Palace Museum before. Is there any entry fee or?

For Shida Market is it relatively big?

Day 3

Thanks I was feeling that way too, but not sure if the golden waterfall nearby is worth going to?

Day 4

Would you recommend wulai or beitou?

Day 5

Are taipei underground malls around taipei main station?

 

[grungeattitude]

Thanks for your inputs!

Day 4

Would you recommend wulai or beitou?

Day 5

Are taipei underground malls around taipei main station?

Wulai i haven't been but heard it's more authentic than beitou. Beitou is really for the convenience- i think in terms of the quality of the hot spring there it can't compare to other places. Kagaya
is very good but very expensive if you want an authentic hot spring experience in Beitou. The rest are all pretty ok, and as others have said the free public one is very bare, no frills... Must visit beitou library if you go beitou, it's beautiful.

the entire area under TMS is a huge mall itself. there are 2 eslite bookstores alone in that area, and loads of clothes stores and eateries.