Need advice

Travel Taiwan Travel
1

Hi,

I discovered this forum a few days ago through a friend’s recommendation.
Have been browsing through some topics and find it really useful.
But I seriously don’t have enough time to spare to read through every one so I need some help.
I’ll be visiting Taiwan with a friend late next month or November and are planning to travel free & easy, hopefully for 2 weeks.
I’ve a few questions to ask:

We’re on a tight budget as we’re still poor students :stuck_out_tongue: (saving up real hard)
Considered staying at hostels, but do all hostels have curfew?
I noticed that they’re actually not much cheaper than hotels?
I think they charge by per person. So I’m in a dilemma.

Secondly, we’re unfamiliar with the place and would like to go to places like Jiufen, Yehliu, Pinghsi, Yilan etc…
and also the Sun Moon Lake but I think it’s in Taichung & we’ll be going to Taipei.
Heard that we can reach by train but they seem kind of confusing.

Lastly, are there any must see places which you’d recommend?
Sorry for this long post >.<

Thanks =)

Regards,
Tidey

2

Tidey,
Buy the new edition of the Lonely Planet guide; it comes out next month I think. It will answer most of your questions.
For people travelling together, cheap hotels are a good deal. A NT$700/night hotel split between two is much better value than a hostel.

BTW, late October/November is a great time to visit Taiwan.

John

3

I second John’s advice. October and November are the very best months to visit Taiwan. Average temperature 25 degrees, slightly windy conditions keeps pollution levels low in the cities and skies are always blue.

John is also right about sharing a hotel. Many hotels charge by the bed, not person, so four people sharing a twin can usually get a good deal. It should be no problem to get a twin (two beds for four people) for NT200-250 a person. Also, when you travel mid-week you almost always get a good discount: 30-40% is normal.

There are also more and more campgrounds being built in Taiwan so you should bring a tent (though many places also offer tents and sleeping at the site).

What kind of things do you want to see? Natural, cultural, urban, rural, etc. Do you want to stay close to Taipei, say within two hours? Let us know and we can help you with a rough itinerary. Please note that the top five or so threads (the stickeys) should help you a lot with ideas.

Juifen and Pingxi are quite close to each other and there are a couple threads in the travel section here on these places. Also the new Lonely Planet will have more on these areas. Both are easily accessible by train from taipei.

By the way, here is the English train service website for the whole country. In case you haven’t checked yet, Taiwan is well served by the internet. Every area has its own English travel website.

203.67.46.20/english/

Here is Taiwan’s main tourism website:

202.39.225.132/jsp/Eng/html/search/index.jsp

Yehliu is cool, but it’s just a day trip from Taipei. There are beaches, museums, bike paths, hot springs, and other cool stuff along the north coast in either direction. Yehliu has a good tourist centre with English brochures so when you get there you won’t be lost.

I wouldn’t recommend Sun Moon Lake without a car. Too hard to get around.

4

Thanks for all the help :slight_smile:
Will it be cheaper if we stay outside Taipei?
I’ll be there with only 1 friend, so that’s 2 of us.
Was thinking of staying there during the weekend and outside on normal days.
Yup I’ve read through some of the threads, that’s where to prob comes in now… There’s really too much we wanna see so we don’t know where and how to start :help:
Would probably give museums & temples a miss.
More of scenery & shopping perhaps. And good food of course :smiley:
Oh I heard from a friend that we’ll get the fattest crabs during that period? drooling
Pity my Taiwanese friends aren’t in Taiwan, otherwise it’d be much easier.
Thanks for the links, will do more research during the weekend when I’ve more energy and time.

5

Hi!
Perhaps I could help you.
I could help you arrange city tours/package tours around the island.
We have 2N/3DKenting Park Tour for instance.
5 days around the island excursion.
if you are interested, please let me know ,so I could send you an itinerary.
Where in Taiwan do you stay?
What country are you came from?
What type of visa are you holding?
lenght of stay?
If you have more queries would like to ask please e mail me at jessicakuo@mail.itrip.com.tw
I would be glad to assists you.
Thank you very much.
Cassyk

6

You can hire bikes there. As long as you are reasonably fit they are a good way to get around.

7

You can hire bikes there. As long as you are reasonably fit they are a good way to get around.[/quote]

Aside from the fact that you’d be taking your life into your hands and surely inviting death - couldn’t you rent a scooter for the Sun Moon Lake part? I wouldn’t recommend one for Taipei :noway:. It makes my brain want to hemmorage just WATCHING :help: traffic.

I’ve never actually tried to rent, ride, or borrow a scooter because my wife threatened to abadon me on the side of the road if anything happened.

8

Damn - Just answered my own question. You can rent in Taipei. [Rent a scooter in Taipei?

Still don’t know if they go for the international driving permit, though.

9

“Foreign-issued International Driving Licenses/Permits”;
[Foreign-issued International Driving Licenses/Permits

10

You can hire bikes there. As long as you are reasonably fit they are a good way to get around.[/quote]

Last time I was there, May, there were no bike rentals in the main village. The nearest place was the Youth Activity Centre, way out there.

Still, you’re right, there are ways to get around. Besides biking, you can take boats to get across the lake, or even row yourself. Busing is a little hit-and-miss.

Also they are in the midst of constructing a round-the-lake boardwalk. A few kilometres are in place now. Don’t expect it to be finished any time soon though.