One city, four nights, and the whole north of the island within an hour of it. Night markets, a mountain temple, a lantern released over a railway line, and the cheapest good food anywhere in Asia.
FromUS$335per person, twin share — four nights in central Taipei and the guided north coast day. Budget separately for flights, the airport transfer and meals, which here cost very little. See what's included
Fly into Taoyuan International (TPE). The airport MRT express runs to Taipei Main Station in 35 minutes for about NT$160 — there is no reason to take a taxi. Tell us your departure city and we will price the flights with the tour.
Confirmation
Tell us your dates and a hotel tier → we confirm the hotel and your north coast day within 24 hours → a deposit holds them → vouchers by email before you fly. Departs any day.
There is no internal transport to buy on this trip. Everything on this itinerary is either inside Taipei or a day trip from it, which is unusual and is the reason this trip costs what it does. The one guided day exists because Yehliu, Shifen and Jiufen are strung along the north coast in a line that public transport does badly. Everything else is on a metro that is clean, bilingual and costs about a dollar a ride.
The trip at a glance
Taipei
Days 1 & 3–5
01
Taipei
Show route
Arrive Taipei AT LEISURE
Into Taoyuan, then the airport MRT express — 35 minutes to Taipei Main Station, about NT$160. Transfers are not included, and on this route you genuinely do not want one.
Settle in Ximending, the pedestrian quarter, and let Taipei introduce itself over dinner.
Buy an EasyCard at any metro station or convenience store. It works on the metro, buses, the airport line and in every 7-Eleven in the country.
Overnight in Taipei.
The North Coast
Day 2 · the guided day
02
North coast
Show route
Yehliu, Shifen & Jiufen GUIDED
A full guided day along the north coast, departing from Ximen — a walk from your hotel, which is the whole reason we book this one.
Yehliu Geopark first: a cape of wind-carved sandstone, and the Queen's Head that everyone queues for.
Shifen Old Street, built along a working railway line. Write a wish on a paper lantern and release it between trains — the trains really do still run, and that is the point.
The Golden Waterfall, then Jiufen at dusk — a gold-mining town stacked up a hillside, all red lanterns and tea houses.
Jiufen is the reason to do this as a tour rather than alone: the three sit in a line along a coast that public transport serves badly, and getting between them yourself eats the day.
Overnight in Taipei.
In your price today — with your guide
Yehliu, Shifen & Jiufen north coast day
03
Taipei
Show route
Taipei on foot and by metro AT LEISURE
Taipei 101 — half a kilometre tall, and the 660-tonne damper that holds it steady in a typhoon is on public display near the top.
Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, with the changing of the guard on the hour. Free, and worth timing.
Longshan Temple, founded 1738 — busy at any hour with people praying rather than sightseeing. Also free.
Evening at Shilin Night Market. Oyster omelette, pepper buns, and stinky tofu, which smells far worse than it tastes.
Overnight in Taipei.
Add to this day — approximate gate prices
Taipei 101 observatoryNT$600Book aheadLevels 88–91 and the damper. NT$980 adds Skyline 460, the open-air deck on the 101st floor. Sunset slots go first and the queue is worst at weekends.
Chiang Kai-shek Memorial HallFreeFree to enter, and the changing of the guard runs on the hour.
Longshan TempleFreeFree, open late, and busiest with actual worshippers rather than visitors.
Shilin Night MarketFree to enterYou pay for what you eat, and NT$300 is a generous dinner.
We can book any of these with your tour. Tell us which you want when you confirm and the tickets travel with your documents.
04
Taipei
Show route
Beitou & Elephant Mountain AT LEISURE
Beitou — sulphur hot springs at the end of a metro branch line, 25 minutes out, steaming publicly in the middle of a park.
Public baths cost a few hundred NT dollars; private rooms more. The Thermal Valley is free to look at and too hot to touch.
Late afternoon, Elephant Mountain — twenty minutes of steps for the photograph of Taipei 101 everyone recognises. Free, and busiest an hour before sunset.
Overnight in Taipei.
Add to this day — approximate gate prices
Beitou public hot springNT$60The Millennium Hot Spring is municipal and costs almost nothing — NT$60, plus NT$20 for a locker. Bring a swimsuit; these are mixed public pools, not private rooms.
Beitou Thermal ValleyFreeFree to look at, and far too hot to touch — the water leaves at around 90°C.
Elephant MountainFreeTwenty minutes of steps, no ticket, and the best view of Taipei 101 there is.
We can book any of these with your tour. Tell us which you want when you confirm and the tickets travel with your documents.
05
Departure
Show route
Taipei → onward AT LEISURE
A Taiwanese breakfast — soy milk, egg crepe, and a fried dough stick — costs about a dollar and is the correct last meal.
The airport MRT express from Taipei Main to Taoyuan takes 35 minutes. Some airlines let you check bags in at the station, which is worth asking about.
Your Hotels
Four nights in central Taipei, twin share, in Ximending or within a couple of minutes of a metro station — which in a city this compact is all that matters. Every property is independently rated 8.0 or better by recent guests. Staying in one hotel for the whole trip is deliberate: everything here is a day trip, so there is no packing and moving.
Comfort · 3★ central
Ximending or beside a metro stationA well-reviewed 3-star in the pedestrian quarter or a short walk from the metro. Taipei rooms are compact and spotless, and the value at this level is among the best in Asia.
Deluxe · the larger city hotels
More space, a restaurant, a proper lobbyThe bigger Taiwanese and international chain hotels, still central. A 5-star tier is available on request; we quote it live rather than list a rate here.
You will know exactly where you are staying before you pay a balance. We name the property in your confirmation, in writing, as soon as the room is held — and if it is ever unavailable for your dates we substitute at the same tier or better, never below it.
Restaurants worth trying
No meals are in the price on this trip, so all of them are yours to choose. Here is where we would eat. We do not arrange any of these and you would pay for them yourself. They are simply places we rate, near where the trip goes. Tick any you like and they appear on the map.
Suggested, not included. Opening hours and prices are theirs, not ours — and a place that is busy at eight will be busy whether or not you booked through us.
Tour Price
All prices are per person, twin share, in US dollars — the figure below is what you pay us. It covers four nights in central Taipei and the full guided north coast day. The tiers differ by hotel only. These are website estimates, confirmed against live availability for your actual dates. Two tiers, not our usual three — a 5-star tier is quoted live rather than listed.
Hotel tier
Per person, twin share
Single supplement
Comfort — 3★ central, twin share
from US$335
+US$220
Deluxe — larger city hotels, twin share
from US$455
+US$310
5★ — quoted live
on request
on request
Included
4 nights in central Taipei, twin share, in Ximending or beside a metro station · the guided north coast day — Yehliu Geopark, Shifen Old Street, the Golden Waterfall and Jiufen at dusk, with a guide and coach throughout · a day-by-day self-guided plan for the other days, naming the exact metro lines and fares
Not included
International flights · airport transfers — the airport MRT is about NT$160 and takes 35 minutes · breakfast, which Taiwanese hotels vary on · meals, though you will struggle to spend NT$300 a head · Taipei 101 observatory · travel insurance · any visa
How the flexi tour works. Choose any departure date and a hotel tier → we confirm availability and the exact price within 24 hours → pay a deposit to hold it → your final documents and vouchers arrive by email a week before you fly. There is no group to join and no fixed departure day.
Seasonal pricing.September is shoulder season and these rates come from it. Typhoon season runs roughly July to October — a direct hit is rare and passes in a day, but it can close the north coast day, so travel insurance earns its keep here. October to April is the pleasant stretch and prices firm up accordingly. Avoid Lunar New Year, when much of the island shuts and the rest of it travels.
Budget separately for:airport transfers — the MRT express is about NT$160 each way, deliberately excluded · Taipei 101 observatory, the one real ticket in the city · Beitou hot spring entry · meals, though NT$300 is a generous dinner · metro fares, rarely more than NT$100 a day · international flights and travel insurance.
Start your booking
Tell us who you are and when you want to go.
We’ll reply within a business day with the price and what’s available.
A deposit holds it, and comes back in full if we can’t get your dates.
✓
That is with us
If you do not hear from us, email
info@dltravel.net and we will pick it up.