Was wondering whatâs a good cheap travel destination in taiwan? I feel like some of the places requiring a long boat ride like green island is so expensive that going outside taiwan seems a better valueâŠ
How about lodging down south? How much can I expect to pay? Iâm hearing horror stories of lodging around popular destinations like sun moon lake costing over 5000 a night⊠That seems a ripoff.
Actually with the 1200 pass Iâm wondering whatâs good in the taoyuan area?
There are many areas. Itâs just a matter of finding the hotel. Itâs easy to get on a train around the country for 600-900. You wonât get Thailand or Philippine prices for housing, but you can find decent rooms for 1200-1800 a night.
Jiaoxi, Taidong, zhiben, hualian, etc.
Another option is xiaoliuqiu
You eat pork? If so, Iâd be hard-pressed to think of a cheaper place to eat (with good small eats) than Tainan. Heaps of small temples to visit too.
With the food scene there, I would not recommend this for vegetarians though. 
Guy
Iâd take a short plane ride to jeju island, youâll get much better value there and the weather is nicer
Taiwan has become not great value for money when traveling. Everyone from hotels to home stays seems to be raising prices. In kaohsiung thereâs still some affordable hotels - I usually stay at kindness hotel or some other cheap ones for 1000-1500NT a night.
Plenty of places offer shared bunk rooms for as cheap as NT$400 a night.
I kinda liked Tainan for all the cheap food they have. I havenât gone there in a while.
Xiaoliuqiu can be really expensive for accommodation. The weekends there are $$$.
Lanyu is also crazy these days and the internal flights in Taiwan are now more expensive than flying to the Philippines (unfortunately just Manila is direct I think).
I would recommend taking the Keelung Matsu boat and sleep in the bunks as a cheap holiday but it broke down yesterday and had to be towed. Matsu is a very cool place to visit though.
Drive around in Yilan near äžæ and everyoneâs idea seems to be converting their farm into a homestay that charges 4k NT a night and of course doesnât issue çŒç„š
Take a cheap highway bus to get there; reserve a cheap place to stay; enjoy the snacks and the change of scenery. Viola, cheap holiday! 
Guy
Nor do they even give you breakfast half the time.
I was in Jinlun Beach éćŽæ”·ç, yesterday with visitors from Eu/baltics, they love the warm weather, its 20 in Vilinus so here is like Hawaii to them. CoCo nut plams. Pineapple juice and empty beaches with few gals taking photos and come chat in broken English haha or my Japanese. Not as cheap as Japan or the Batics or as modern, but nice and quiet.
Its scary that Taiwan is more expensive than Japan eh.
The secret to cheaper travel is do it on the weekdays.
How is it that people are charging 4000 a night in taiwan and domestic flights costing more than international ones? Feels like going to Japan is a better value because I can avoid the heat and itâs just a little more expensive.
It seems like you can go to fulong on the 1200 ticket, seems like a good way for day trips to get a break at a beachâŠ
Jinlun Beach éćŽæ”·ç has nice hot spring hotels, its cheaper now than the winter. And to Euros they wonder why Taiwanese do not go the water, it was calm yesterday so no worries about rip currents and no rain (I am back in Kaohsuing and has light rain showers).
And its cheaper than Kyushu , Japan where I am from. Tokyo maybe more as is Okinawa now, but most of Japan is cheaper otherwise.
and try some local dishes like fried leaves and others, some decent food for small town, and some nice large homes
For equivalent value, itâs been like that since I moved here in the early 2000s, though thankfully better acceptable bargains in accommodation can now be found, if youâre patient enough, on platforms like booking [dot] com.
Guy
My wifeâs guest house doesnât. But the local eateries open at 5am so there is that. Good food pretty cheap. Easier to just go there and bring back if guests hungry for breaky
Yes we do get deals by looking around as well, itâs possible. There are some local b&b lists that are handy too. I mean itâs still way cheaper than my ridiculously expensive home country.
Anything is better than those terrible not especially cheap old school hotels, with dirty carpets and cigarette stains all over. No thanks!
Guy
Bad memories!
