4D3N DIY TRAVEL GUIDE TO TAIWAN

Taiwan Travel Guide
Day 1: Taipei City Tourist Spots
Day 2: Taipei Expo Park, Yangmingshan, Beitou & More!
– Yangmingshan Travel Guide
– Beitou Travel Guide
Day 3: Keelung City, Yehliu Geopark, Shifen Old Street, Jiufen, Jinguashi and more!
Day 4: Taichung City, Taiwan

Taichung (臺中 or 台中; Tái-zhōng) is located in the west-central part of Taiwan. With a population of around 2.5 million, it is the 3rd biggest city and has grown rapidly in recent years on the back of diverse manufacturing.

Like some other areas, Taichung has the ever popular night markets (ChungHwa, Feng-Chia, and Chung-Shiao) with the requisite food and drinks diversity, but more uniquely it is the home of a world-class science museum and has some great hiking trails into the hills. Among the activities to catch when visiting Taichung: the world-class science museum and hiking in the nearby hills.

Pre-booked Tours

It’s better to plan your travel so you don’t have to waste hours in thinking if a place to go when you are there. Instead, write it down on a paper/notebook or type it down on your phone. Plus book your activities online beforehand as its way cheaper than buying it when you get there.

Where to get cheaper tours?Based on our personal experiences, Klook Are a great company for discounted tours for your trip to Taiwan and we took the following from KLOOK.

book Formosan Aboriginal Culture tour

book A Day at Sun Moon Lake Tour

Book Gaomei Wetland & Rainbow Village Tour

• ‘Unite Traveler’ 4G SIM Card (TW Airport Pick Up) for Taiwan
• Taipei at Night
• Taipei Double Decker Bus Tour
• Taipei 101 Observatory E-Ticket
• Yangmingshan National Park & Hot Springs Tour
• THSR One Way Ticket to or from Taipei
  

Other Taichung Tours

 How to Get there:

By Bus
Bus is the most convenient and cost-effective option and leaves from Taipei Train Station. Take the Tong-Lien Bus (統聯客運), Kuo-Kuang Bus (國光客運). Tickets cost from NT$100-350, depending on what day of the week you travel on. Buses depart several times an hour from the early morning through evenings and the entire ride is about three hours long.

By Train

• High Speed Rail (HSR)
  All Taiwan High-Speed Rail (HSR) trains between Taipei and Kaohsiung stop at Taichung. The High-Speed Rail station is located on the outskirts of Taichung. You can take a regular train between the two stations in about six minutes, in addition, a free bus is available to take HSR passengers downtown, to the universities, etc.
• Mountain Line
  In addition, Taichung is a major stop along the Western Line with all north and southbound trains a making a stop here. Express trains (ZiQiang) are NT$375 from Taipei and NT$470 from Kaohsiung. Midrange ticket prices (Jukuang class) typically run around NT$289 from Taipei or NT$363 from Kaohsiung. The entire trip takes about three hours from both Taipei and Kaohsiung. The Western Line station is located in central Taichung.

By Car
You can rent a small car for about 2200 NT per day.

Getting around Taichung

We only had a day in Taichung and since some of the places in my itinerary were somewhat hard to get to without a car, we tried our best to reach these destinations the DIY (Do-it-yourself) way. Taichung is a big province and tourist spots are far from each other. You have an option to take the High-Speed Rail (HSR) or via Mountain line. For those of you with a bit more cash, you can hire a cab that will take around Taichung. In our case, we choose Youbike to tour around the city and took an Uber to get to the more remote places.

Where to stay in Taichung City

Best Budget Hotels in Taichung City

Kiwi Express Hotel From around Php 350 / USD 6 CHECK RATES HERE	TC HOTEL From around Php 400 / USD 9 CHECK RATES HERE
Hosin Hotel From around Php 500 / USD 10 CHECK RATES HERE	Moon Lake Hotel From around Php 490 / USD 10 CHECK RATES HERE
Chance Hotel From around Php 580 / USD 11 CHECK RATES HERE	Backpacker 41 Hostel From around Php 600 / USD 12 CHECK RATES HERE

Top Hotels in Taichung City

1969 Blue Sky Hotel From around Php 3,300 / USD 61 CHECK RATES HERE	KUN Tour Hotel From around Php 3,100 / USD 59 CHECK RATES HERE
Moving Star Hotel  From around Php 3,100 / USD 59 CHECK RATES HERE	Kun Hotel  From around Php 3,000 / USD 57 CHECK RATES HERE
Fushin Hotel Taichung From around Php 2,700 / USD 51 CHECK RATES HERE	Taichung Fengjia From around Php 2,600 / USD 50 CHECK RATES HERE

Places to Visit

Zhongshe Flower Market 中社花市

ZhongShe Flower Market is probably the most Instagram-worthy destination you’ll visit in Taichung, and that’s saying a lot (just check out the “Rainbow Village” to see what we mean!) Field after field of every kind of flower – it’s breathtaking and will keep you camera buffs super busy and if the flowers are not enough there are some great settings like gazebos, mini bridges and like some surreal film set for a Beatles movie, a white piano in a field of lavender – John and Yoko would have loved it!

• Try to visit when it’s not hot unless you’re into sweating!
• If you do go on a hot day, take a hat, umbrella etc., to give yourself some shade.

Address: No. 333, Sec. 5, Sanfeng Road, Houli Dist, Taichung City 421, Taiwan
Opening Hours: 9am to 6pm daily
Contact: 04-2557-6926
Website: http://www.flowerjs.com.tw/
Entrance Fees: Jan-Mar (Tulip season) – 150NTD (adult) / 75NTD (child between 3 to 12 years old, and elderly aged 65 and above) Apr-Dec – 120NTD (adult) / 60NTD (child between 3 to 12 years old, and elderly aged 65 and above)

How to get there:
Option 1:

Option 2:

Miyahara

How to get there:
Option 1: 

Option 2:

Taichung Park

Taichung Park is the oldest park in Taichung city and was built during the Japanese-ruling era and features Some great views across its 10 acres. These include an artificial lake, pavilion, arch bridge and much more as well as recreational areas like an outdoor gym, tennis courts and a playground. There are also lots of recreational equipment, like an outdoor stadium, playground, and tennis court.

Taichung Park was built-in 1903, and the park was announced a historical spot by Taichung City Government in 1999. Taichung Park is one of the eight main scenic spots in Taiwan, and the figure of the pavilion in Taichung Park is a landmark of Taichung.

Address: No.37-1,Gongyuan Rd.,Central District,Taichung City,Taiwan (R.O.C.)

How to get there:

Option 1: 

Option 2:

By Car :	From Taya Highway Interchange(大雅交流道), connect to Taya Rd(大雅路) towards the city direction and then connect to Kungyuan (Park) Rd(公園路) to reach.
By Bus :	Take Taichung public bus(台中客運) route 100,102,9,14,105, to Taichung Park exit directly.

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National Museum of Natural Science

The National Museum of Natural Science is a must to visit and is set in a fantastic area of 22 acres. It is divided into six distinct including the Space IMAX Theater, Life Science Hall, Chinese Science Hall, Science Hall, Botanical Garden, and Global Environmental Hall. Additionally, there are over 30 exhibition areas that cover a wide array of subjects like astronomy, ecology, tropical plants, and gems and minerals. The most spectacular is The Space IMAX Theater with its half three-dimensional doom tilting at 30 degrees, display model of the galaxy and if you get there at the right time there are shows as well.

It’s a very hands-on museum and features many exhibitions that encourage visitors of all ages to interact with them.  Great fun and educational as well!

How to get there:
Option 1: 

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Rainbow Village

Taichung’s Rainbow Village (彩虹眷村) is not what you might suspect from its name, but is an incredible, one-of-a-kind, art display. Its 3-5 houses are eclectic and vibrant examples of eccentric and unusual designs. It’s a must for lovers of contemporary art and lucky to have survived e-commercial pressures of developers who had earmarked the area for upscale housing! Vibrant, colorful art painted on the remaining street & homes of a former veterans’ village.

Note: The place is quite small and you should plan for 30 mins or so. To avoid crowds, go on a weekday morning. Basically, it’s still a residential area, so don’t expect to find public toilets or foods here.

Address: 408, Taiwan, Taichung City, Nantun District, 春安路56巷

Opening Hours: Open 24 hours
Phone: +886 920 162 888

How to get there?
Option 1: Option 2:
This attraction is located in Nantun District, quite far from Taichung city center. Except for the village itself, there is nothing of interest in this area. The Chinese name is Caihongjuan Village (彩虹眷村).

TAICHUNG THSR STATION TO RAINBOW VILLAGE
By Taxi:	About 160-200NTD.
By Bus:	Bus #26-70-99, direction Lingtung University. Stop Nantun Tongan House (南屯同安厝)(it should be the 10th stop from the THSR station). Then walk about 240m along Lane 19, Zhongyong Rd. Bus #655 will connect Rainbow Village with XinWuri Rail Station (adjacent to Taichung THSR Station) and Gaomei Wetlands, but only on weekends, public holidays, summer and winter school vacations.
TAICHUNG MAIN RAILWAY STATION TO RAINBOW VILLAGE
By Taxi:	The ride will cost 260-300NTD.
By Bus:	Bus #27-29-30-40, direction Lingtung University. Stop Lingtung University (嶺東科技大學(嶺東路)). Then walk about 400m to the south along Lingtung Rd. (see photo below). You will see the village on the right. Also, bus #56 and #89, that start their route at the north side of Lingtung University (Yongchun Road), can be ridden to reach the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts in the city center.

Other Places you may visit:

Gaomei Wetland

Address: Gaomei Wetland, Qingshui Dist., Taichung City 
Opening Time: The boardwalk is closed at high tides.

How to get there:
From April 8th, 2017, bus #655 will link Taichung THSR Station (Xinwuri Station), Rainbow Village, Gaomei Wetlands Visitor Center and Taichung harbor Fishing Port. But only on weekends, public holidays, summer and winter school vacations (so, roughly, from mid-June to mid-September, from mid-Jan to the end of February).

So many tourists prefer to rent a taxi. A taxi ride from the High-Speed Railway will cost about 800NTD, from Qingshui Railway Station about 250NTD.

Feng Chia Night Market

Address: Surrounds the Feng Chia University of , Xitun Dist., Taichung City
Opening Hours: 12pm- 2am

Princess Annie’s Garden Restaurant 

Address: No.223 Zhongxing Street, Xinshe District, Taichung City
Contact Number: 04-2593 1567
Opening Hours: Daily / 9am – 8pm

Rollin Farm (Ruo Yin Nong Chang)

Address: No 1 XueShan Road, Heping District, Taichung City
Contact Number: 04 2597 1218

XinShe Castle

Carton King

Address: 2 Second Alley, Tungshan Road, Beitun district, Taichung 406, Taiwan

Places of interest near Taichung:

Lugang: temples, ancient Chinese culture
Changhua: gateway to Baguashan, a nice Confucius Temple
Baguashan: A giant Buddha sculpture (22m-high), temple
Sun Moon Lake: Taiwan’s biggest lake
Dakeng: Hiking trails
Sanyi: Wood sculpting, tea, countryside, Hakka food