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Taiwan Travel Guide & Tips Posts
Taipei is a big city with a lot to keep you busy, but there are also some great things to do and see not far from the city. Here are some of the ones I recommend, in alphabetical order.
Beitou Hot Springs
Beitou 北投區 (Peitou in Wade-Giles) is a northern district of Taipei famous for its hot springs. Due to the smell of sulphur and the constant rising of steam, the Beitou valley had the appearance of a witch’s cauldron, and so the Aboriginal inhabitants of the area named it paktaaw, meaning ‘witch’. Beitou is the Sinicized form of this name.
Beitou has two faces. Old Beitou is the area where the local people have lived and worked for over a century and is located around Beitou MRT Station and Beitou Market, while Xin Beitou (New Beitou) is the area around Xin Beitou MRT Station and Qinshui Park that was developed as a hot spring resort during the Japanese era (1895-1945).
Beitou is on the MRT red line. From Beitou station, a one-station branch line runs to Xin Beitou station, which is near the hot springs area.
Traditional public hot spring etiquette requires that bathers thoroughly wash and rinse off their bodies before entering the bath, do not wear clothing (including swim wear) in the bath and tie up their hair so that it does not touch the water. Finally, people with high blood pressure, heart disease or open wounds should not enter the baths.
The hot springs in Beitou are known for their high sulphur content—the water is often yellow because of it. Please consider, if you are sensitive to the smell of sulphur. But on the other end this is just what makes a sulphur bath.
Some of the public outdoor hot springs in the Beitou area, especially the ones geared more towards foreign tourists, are modeled more after European spa centers and require swimsuits since you will be bathing in mixed company. Take a peek and check before peeling off all your clothes.
There are many hotels and traditional baths located around Qinshui Park (previously called Xin Beitou Park). This park is located directly across from Xin Beitou MRT station (Danshui line). Xingyi Road, the main road from Tianmu to Yangming Mountains in Beitou, also has many hot-springs-cum-restaurants, plus a couple of free public baths (at the top end where the bus turns back). For Xingyi Road, take bus 508 from Wenlin Road, Shilin (from Shilin MRT station exit 1, follow the overhead tracks and turn left at Zhongzheng Road and right at next crossroads [with pedestrian overpass], the 508 stop is on the right). On its way to Xingyi Road, the bus makes a stop opposite the Veterans Hospital in Shipai. The spring water in Beitou is acidic, so don’t wear anything that could be damaged by acid, such as pearls.
- Spring City only has private rooms or an outdoor swimming pool-type pool for non-guests.
- Beauty Age Hotel (美代) offers private of family size baths. The family baths are as low as ~NT$600 for 2 without accommodation or NT$1,000 (NT$1,200 at weekends) per room (irrespective of the number of people) – this is a well maintained hotel offering a very relaxing environment.
- Sweetme Hot Spring Resort (Shuimei) .
- Millennium Hot Spring is an outdoor public hot spring. At NT$40 (plus an additional NT$20 if you store your stuff in a locker), it’s a great choice for the budget minded. After exiting the Xin Beitou MRT station, you’ll see a park across the street. Walk up Zhongshan Road, along the left side of the park. On the way you’ll pass the Hot Spring Museum. After the museum, you’ll come to a fork in the road. The entrance to the hot spring is on the right. As with most outdoor hot springs in Taiwan swimwear is required. Do bring your own swimwear, purchase it on-the-spot is available however limited choices and it can be quite expensive. They have a number of rules, available on English signs; it would behoove you to follow them lest the guy in the red shirt blow his whistle at you.
Note: I had intended to visit this but a winter weather front came through the city when I originally wanted to go and I thought uncomfortably cold to go so I dropped it from my itinerary.
Bitou Cape Hiking Trail (Bitoujiao Scenic Area)
The Bitoujiao Scenic Area is a beautiful slice of nature near the coast that offers a pleasant and not too strenuous hike. You can get there in a couple of hours from Taipei city center by either bus or a combination of bus and train (train to Keelung and then a local bus; Google Maps can help with this). Depending on your day’s schedule, you may be able to combine this with a visit to one of the other places on this list in one day. It’s especially nice if you go before sunset, but be warned that the buses back from this area tend to stop running early and even Google’s information was wrong (saying a bus was coming when it was not) when I tried to plot a way back to Taipei.
Heping (Hoping) Island Park
Heping (Hoping) Island (和平島) used to be called She-liao Island. It is the doorway island to Keelung Harbor. It was a main fort built by Spanish in 1626. Inside the park, you can see many eroded rocks and coasts have formed special shapes by the wind and sea. There is a bridge that connects the island to Keelung City, and you can also take bus 101 at Keelung Railway Station, get off at Hoping Island station and walk for about 5 minutes.
Heping Island is easily accessible from the Zhengbin Port color houses area so I recommend combining the two (and the houses don’t really take long to see anyway).
I believe you can go swimming if the weather is nice, but I went in the winter so that wasn’t an option. There is also a fairly short and easy hiking trail that will take you past the interesting rock formations and other natural features of the area.
Huotong Cat Village
Houtong Cat Village (猴硐貓村) was formerly a prosperous coal-mining town. The village was on the verge of disappearing until some local residents started a project to care for local stray cats which gained much attention throughout Taiwan, making the settlement famous for its large cat population.
The village is small but pleasant, next to a river with a nice bridge and scenery. There is some nice street art all around and, of course, lots of cats. There are only a couple of cafes and restaurants so you might be better off eating before or after you visit.
The village is accessible from Houtong Station. From Jiufen, it is approximately 10 minutes and NT$350 by taxi, which makes it a good secondary destination after Jiufen if planning a day trip. Houtong is also the origin of two trails which can be hiked to reach Jiufen. Houtong is alson on the Pingxi Branch Line route (discussed below), so if you are planning to do that, you might combine them.
Jiufen & Ruifang
Jiufen or Jioufen (九份; Jiǔfèn), historically spelled Chiufen, is probably one of the most popular side trips from Taipei. It’s a must-visit for any Studio Ghibli fans who will find many of its streets familiar from the movie Spirited Away. A long standing rumour suggested that Jiufen was the inspiration for the film, but its director Hayao Miyazaki has firmly denied this.
The town of Jiufen is built into the side of the hills slightly inland from the Pacific Ocean coastline. The main area of interest to visitors are the town’s historic commercial district which is covered by two pedestrian streets: Jishan Street (基山街), Qingbian road which runs along the ridge line and Shuqi Street (豎崎路), actually steep steps which run up and down the slope of the hill. The area is small enough to cover on foot.
From Taipei, take the train north to Ruifang. Buses to Jiufen and Jinguashi leave from a stop a little away from the train station exit: turn left on the busy street in front of the train station, cross to the opposite side of the street and keep walking straight ahead for 200 m until you pass a police station. The bus stop heading to Jiufen and Jinguashi is located a little past it. Then take the Keelung bus 788 (every 20-30 minutes, NT$15, 15-minute ride) or bus 1062 to Jiufen. On their return journey the buses use the same number, and stop in front of the train station square. Another option is to take the 856 bus (also known as the Golden Fulong Shuttle Bus). You may purchase a one-day pass (NT$50) for unlimited rides for that day, or pay per trip (adults at NT$15, students at NT$12, and half-price at NT$8 per section). The 856 bus makes stops at a number of tourist attractions including Jiufen, the Gold Museum, and the Golden Waterfall.
From Taipei, take a train to Keelung, then Keelung bus 788 (every 20-30 minutes, NT$30, 45 minute ride) to Jiufen and Jinguashi. This bus passes through Ruifang. In the weekend bus 788 passes by the National Marine Museum of Science and Technology, the end station for the NMMST-Ruifang-Pingxi tourist train line.
Not all buses show the correct route information or have bilingual signs, or are able to adhere to a strict timetable during peak and off-peak hours.
Ruifang is not, as far as I know, an especially interesting place to visit by itself, but it makes a good place to spend the night if you want to spend a bit of extra time at Jiufen, ride the Pingxi Branch Line, or just want to stay a night outside, but not too far, from Taipei. I did spend one night here. The local covered food market was good, and there were plenty of other restaurants, street food, and, of course, bubble tea shops nearby.
Keelung
I didn’t really explore Keelung itself but I traveled to it’s station several times as it’s the most convenient place to catch buses to several of the other places listed here. The area around the station is nice but I am not sure what there is to do.
The easiest way to get to Keelung from Taipei is by commuter trains, which run every 15 to 20 minutes and stop at many stations. Be aware that although the city lies on the extreme north end of the main Western Line it is not accessible on all trains running north, many of which are bound for the east coast and will not pass through Keelung but branch off at Badu. Only take trains with Keelung clearly shown as their final destination or you may accidentally find yourself on the train to Taitung. If this happens to you (usually on an express train), get off before the Badu station.
Pingxi Branch Line
The Pingxi Branch Line is an 8-mile narrow-gauge railroad line that runs along the Keelung River from Sandiaoling to the tiny mountain town of Jingtong. Taking a ride on the Pingxi Line is a popular day trip from Taiwan and is especially good if you enjoy hikes and waterfalls. There is also a village where you can float sky lanterns.
To ride the Pingxi line, you’ll first need to make your way to Ruifang.
You may or may not be able to explore all the stops along the Pingxi branch line, depending on how long your day is and how many of the hikes you want to do. If you think you’ll need more than a day, spending a night in either Shifen or Pingxi will offer the most in terms of accommodations and restaurants open in the evening. You can also opt to stay in Jiufen or Riufang.
A one-day ticket on the Pingxi Train line costs NT$80. You can purchase these at the rail stations in Ruifang, Houtong, Sandialong, Shifen, Pingxi, and Jingtong. It will cover all the stops on the line.
I had planned to do this line and most of the hikes and waterfalls. Unfortunately, I saved it for the very end of my trip, and those days were both cold and rainy so I had to cancel the plan.
Shen’ao Rail Bike (Badouzi Station)
The Shen’ao Rail Bike is series of pedal powered cars (2 person capacity) on a 1.3 km rail line that goes along the mountains near the coast line between Badouzi Station and Shen’ao Station. Both stations can be a departure stop, and it is available for you to take a one-way or round trip (one-way ticket NT$150, round-trip NT$250). It takes about 30 minutes each way. Departures are once per hour, on the hour from Badouzi Station and on the half hour from Shen’ao Station, between 09:00 and 17:00.
Note that I tried to do this twice but the first time I went a bit late and there were no tickets left. I went in the low season so if you are going in the high season, you may wish to book ahead.
You can access the rail bike by local train, bus, or combination of the two. See Google Maps for the best itinerary when you wish to go. Since the two endpoint stations are not big stations, you may be better of taking a train from Taipei to Keelung and then switching to bus.
This is a pleasant little thing to do and since it doesn’t take to long you can combine it with one or maybe two of the other things on this list.
Zhengbin Port Color Houses
The Zhengbin Port color houses are not an overly impressive attraction, but they are are worth a short visit, especially as they are on the way between Keelung and some of the other places on this list, especially Heping Island Park.
Other
There are some other places worth considering that I didn’t personally include in my itinerary for various reasons, including: Dragon Caves, Fulong Beach, Tamsui Fisherman’s Wharf (淡水漁人碼頭), and Wulai Old Street.
