Budget Travel in Taiwan: How to Explore Cheap, Vegan, and Stress-Free
When it comes to travelling on a budget, Taiwan is a destination that offers incredible experiences that don’t need to break the bank.
We spent 6 weeks in Taiwan with our backpacker-sized budgets and enjoyed cheap and delicious street food, an extensive and affordable public transportation system and explored the most gorgeous (and free) national parks.
It certainly isn’t the cheapest country to travel to in Asia and the far-east, but there are many ways to keep costs down.
The best budget places to visit in Taiwan
In this article, we look at the costs of traveling in Taiwan and advise on how to budget for the best experiences.
Taiwan is a fascinating destination boasting many captivating attractions and places of interest for every type of visitor.
Compared to the more typical South East Asia backpacker hotspots of Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia - Taiwan is slightly more expensive, but not by much, and certainly a lot kinder on the pennies than neighbouring stops in the Far East region such as Japan and Hong Kong.
How much are activities & attractions?
The good news for those visiting on a tight budget is that many popular activities, temples, attractions and the beautifully preserved and administered national parks are mostly free to enter and enjoy.
The national parks in particular are incredible experiences, full of immaculately maintained hiking paths through the most spectacular gorges and wonderful landscapes around the island's unique land, sculped over millennia squeezed between 2 continental tectonic plates.
All Taiwan’s national parks are free, which taking into the account the obvious costs and
consideration spent on their immaculate upkeep is particularly surprising.
What to expect?
Some of the bigger tourists attractions do charge for entry, and this can vary from as little as 50 TWD (£1.20) to enter the historic Anping Castle in Tainan, to 600 TWD (£14.50) for the most basic package at Taipei 101’s viewing platform and 350 TWD (£8.50) for the National Palace Museum.
Many of the more popular temples also charge an entrance fee - albeit no more than 50 TWD, but most are free or by donation. On the whole, activities and attractions are very affordable and not where the bulk of your budget will ultimately end up - even the food is cheap.
The most expensive part of travelling in Taiwan is easily the transport and accomodation - but don’t worry, we have some tips for how to save on those!
In this article we look into some of the very best budget attractions Taiwan has to offer, accommodation costs and how to budget for meals.
Elephant Mountain
Taipei
FREE
A 183 meter high trek that takes around 40 minutes (to an hour on the most accessible and easier route) and 20 minutes for the steepest and most demanding way.
At the top you get to experience arguably the best viewing platform in Taipei, offering a fantastic 360 view of the Taipei’s famous skyline, including an uninterrupted line of sight to take in Taipei 101 in all its 508 meters. The trek is moderately challenging, and free to enter.
Taroko Gorge
Hualien
FREE
Located outside of Haulien is Taiwan’s biggest and most spectacular national park - Taroko George. Although the park itself, the hikes, and viewing platforms inside the park are completely free of charge, you will need to either rent a motorbike, cycle, a bus, or taxi from Hualien to get there.
Home to attractions such as the Eternal Spring Shrine, Xiangde Temple and Zhuilu Suspension Bridge, there’s no shortage of things to see and paths to walk and cycle. The park is meticulously looked after with well maintained walkways, bridges, refreshment areas, and signage.
Sanfong Temple
Kaohsiung
FREE
The “most instagrammable temple in Kaohsiung”. Sanfong temple is adorned with 1000s of gorgeous red lanterns and beautiful architectural structures over 350 years old.
Stunning during the day and even more spectacular at night.
Try Jai Bei at Sanfong - an ancient ritual, where red cresent blocks are thrown revealing answers to questions from ancient gods.
Chiang-Hiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall
TAIPEI
FREE
One of the busiest tourist attractions in Taipei. Built in 1980 to commemorate former preside Chiang Kai-Shek. The famous changing of the guards ceremony happens here on the hour, every hour from 9am to 5pm daily. Don’t forget to check out the fantastic museum and beautiful gardens spread over the 70 acre site.
921 Earthquake Museum
Taichung
50 TWD
The 921 Earthquake museum is a fascinating and informative educational experience built around a fault line and the preserved remains of a school that was destroyed during the devastating earthquake that hit the region on 1.47am on September 21, 1999.
Try the eye-opening earthquake simulator, and experience what a 7.2 earthquake feels like.
Fo Guang Shan Monastery
Kaohsiung
FREE
The Buddhist centre of South Taiwan, established in 1650 features a stunning collection of over 480 standing Buddha, more than 10k Guan Yung statutes and one huge 36 meter tall statue of Amitabha Buddha. Entry is free, and the restaurant on site is 100% vegan - and delicious.
Hand Painted Film Posters
Tainan
FREE
Arguably Tainan’s most famous resident, artist Yan Jhen-Fa (pictured) has been hand painting huge movie posters outside Cin Men Theatre nearly every day for the past 48 years.
His work has become a national landmark, and you can see his work today outside the theatre.
At 66 years old Yan is the last poster artist in Taiwan, and understandably has reduced his hours over recent years. Nevertheless, if you’re lucky you can catch him painting the latest release on the streets outside the theatre today.
Raohe Street Night Market
Taipei
FREE
Taipei springs to life as the sun goes down. Raohe Street Night Market is possibly the most famous of Taiwan’s many night markets, hosting a huge variety of affordable food, drink and entertainment.
Check our page 48 for what vegan goodies to look out for, like the famous gigantic mushrooms and the super stinky tofu.
Jiufen Old Street
Jiufen
FREE (+ travel costs)
A beautiful picturesque mountain village located a short train ride outside of Taipei.
Spend a day walking up and down the sprawling village, packed with of boutique traditional shops, restaurants and drinking spots. There are a couple of fantastic vegan restaurants to discover too, such as Ci Hong Vegan (page 56).
Dining
Eating out is generally inexpensive, driven in part by the island’s night market culture and unfussy local eateries found all over Taiwan. How much you spend on food depends on where you decide to eat:ou
Street Market Stalls
Street markets and their 100s of tiny food stalls are part of Taiwanese culture. You'll find sugar-glazed fruit for as little as 10 TWD, 20 TWD for sweet potato balls and 30 TWD for vegan dumplings. Bigger dishes such as braised soya mock meat and rice can be bought for 50-100 TWD.
Typical meal: 50-80 TWD (£1-2)
Local Street-Side Eateries
Small eateries that operate during the day and often extend the dining area to become part of the weekly night market. Orders and payment are made at the counter, and food is brought to your table. Priced from 60TWD for a noodle dish and 40TWD for side mock meats such as Vegan sausages, spring rolls and marinated tofu.
Typical meal: 120 TWD (£3)
Mid-Range Restaurants
Taiwanese restaurants sometimes offer buffet options and specialist items such as stinky tofu or signature noddle dishes. They are clean, with modern decor, air conditioning (or at least a fan) and the occasional English menu.
Typical meal: 200 TWD (£5)
Tourist Restaurants
The most expensive option are restaurants found in and around the tourist regions of national parks and popular city centres. The food here is prepared for tourists and affluent locals, displayed on english menus and comparable to European pricing.
Typical meal: 350+ TWD (£9+)
Accommodation
Where and how you sleep when travelling in Taiwan is likely to be most expensive part of your stay on the island. Hostels in the capital Taipei start around £13 a night for the cheapest bed in a shared dormitory room during the week, and double that at the weekend.
Outside of the big cities prices start around £18 a night for a double room, and we strongly recommend using Airbnb, and seeking out guesthouses for the most genuine, culture rich and affordable stays in Taiwan.
Save on stays
Book early
Rooms in Taiwan tend to get booked early. Finding a last minute bargain is difficult, particularly at weekends when choices are few and far between.
Beware of busy weekends
Seemingly everyone in Taiwan heads to the main cities (particularly Taipei) over the weekend. Finding a room between Fri-Sun is near impossible on short notice.
Use Airbnb and flatshares
There are plenty of family guesthouses and bargains to be found on flat sharing websites.
Don’t be afraid to share bathrooms
The best value rooms have shared facilities. Bathrooms in Taiwan are modern, clean and shared spaces tend to be well respected. So don't let that put you off when choosing where to stay.
Shopping
Shopping for everyday items, gifts and clothing is generally a little expensive in Taiwan. As a remote island many imported goods tend to cost more in Taiwan.
Scooter rental..... 400-500 TWD
Domestic beer............... 55 TWD
Imported beer......... 80-100 TWD
Cup of coffee................120 TWD
Loaf of bread................ 40 TWD
Good dorm bed....from 600 TWD
Good double rooms..... 800 TWD
T-shirts....................... 300 TWD
Ramen noodles.............. 35 TWD
In summary
We were initially apprehensive about visiting Taiwan and assumed it'd be similar to Japan or Hong Kong in terms of cost. We were relieved to find out although it is a little more expensive than the likes of Thailand and Vietnam, apart from some aspects such as accommodation and motorbike rental - visiting Taiwan on a budget was definitely possible!
The ease of getting around, coupled with the shared number of free and cheap attractions, help make Taiwan super accessible for all budgets... and the best thing for backpackers - the 90-day free visa they grant on arrival means you don’t need to rush and can take your time exploring this magical island.
