5 Days in Taiwan: The First-Timer Plan
Five days in Taiwan is enough to properly settle into Taipei, the capital, and still ride the high-speed rail south for two more cities without any day feeling rushed. Budget in New Taiwan Dollars (TWD, NT$), never the Chinese yuan; Taiwan runs its own currency, its own visa-free entry (about 90 days for most Western passports), and since 1 October 2025 a mandatory TWAC online arrival card filed within 7 days of landing. Load an EasyCard the day you land, eat your way through at least two night markets, and let the HSR do the heavy lifting south to Tainan and Kaohsiung, Taiwan’s old capital and its big southern harbour city.
This plan spends three days in Taipei, then swaps in two HSR days south to Tainan and Kaohsiung. Only have a weekend? The 2-day plan and 3-day plan stay closer to the capital. Want the fuller version? The 4-day plan covers the same first three days plus one HSR city, while the 6-day and 7-day plans push further down the coast or out to the east.
Book these before you go:
- The Jiufen, Shifen and Yehliu day trip, on GetYourGuide : this three-stop combo sells out on weekends, and a guide clears Jiufen’s worst crowds faster than the DIY bus route.
- A Tainan street food tour, on Viator : the best stalls rarely run English menus, and a local guide finds them faster than you will alone.
- A hotel near Kaohsiung’s Zuoying HSR station, rates on Booking.com : book early if either Kaohsiung night lands on a weekend.
- Your TWAC arrival card, filed at the official twac.immigration.gov.tw : free, mandatory since October 2025, and the one item here you genuinely cannot skip.
Do you need a visa or arrival card for Taiwan?
Yes to both, and the second part catches more travelers than the visa question does. Passport holders from the US, UK, EU, Canada, Australia and Japan can enter visa-free for about 90 days, no advance application needed. But since 1 October 2025, every visitor, visa-free or not, must also file the free TWAC arrival card online, up to 7 days before landing, at the official twac.immigration.gov.tw; several fake look-alike sites charge a fee for the same free form, so bookmark the real domain before you travel.
Day 1: Taipei 101, Elephant Mountain and your first night market
Kick things off at Taipei 101, the skyscraper that held the world’s-tallest-building title for years and still dominates the skyline. The 89th-floor indoor deck is the obvious photo op, though its ticket counter moved to the tower’s ground floor during 2026 renovation work, so build in a few extra minutes to find it. Then do what Taipei locals actually rate higher: climb Elephant Mountain (Xiangshan), a steep 20-30 minute stepped hike a few MRT stops away, for a skyline shot with the tower in frame. It is free, and better at sunset than the paid deck at any hour.
Xinyi, the district around the tower, is also home to one of Din Tai Fung’s original branches, the restaurant that made xiao long bao famous worldwide. It did not invent the soup dumpling (that tradition traces back to Shanghai), but it is the reason the rest of the planet knows the dish. Queue under 30 minutes and it is worth the wait; otherwise save your appetite.
Spend the afternoon at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, a marble complex with a still-running changing-of-the-guard ceremony and a major landmark whatever you make of Taiwan’s own domestic debate over how to frame that era. Close day one at Shilin Night Market for the full sensory overload, or Raohe if you would rather eat than queue for the entrance photo. Graze five stalls instead of sitting down for one meal: oyster omelette, stinky tofu, and a cup of the bubble tea Taiwan actually invented in the 1980s.
Day 2: imperial art, a working temple and hot springs
Get to the National Palace Museum early: one of the world’s great collections of Chinese imperial art and artifacts, shipped out of the mainland in 1949, and worth two unhurried hours rather than a fast lap past the Jadeite Cabbage. From there, Longshan Temple in the Wanhua district is the day’s real find, a working Buddhist and Taoist temple founded in 1738 where locals are lighting incense and shaking fortune-telling blocks, not posing for photos. Watch, do not perform.
Head to Beitou next, Taipei’s hot-spring district at the end of its own short MRT spur. Put the money you saved skipping the Taipei 101 deck toward a private tub instead, and bring cash since the smaller bathhouses will not take a card. Finish in Ximending, Taipei’s youth-culture shopping strip, for dinner and an early night, because day three starts early and covers a lot of ground.
Day 3: Jiufen, Shifen and Yehliu on the northeast coast
Jiufen Old Street is a former gold-mining town stacked up a hillside, all narrow lantern-lit alleys and teahouses. You will see it compared online to the town in Spirited Away; Hayao Miyazaki has said that is not actually where the film’s setting came from, but the lantern glow at dusk earns Jiufen’s reputation on its own. Arrive early or stay past sunset, because midday is wall-to-wall tour groups.
From Jiufen, push on to Shifen to watch, or launch, a painted sky lantern from the old railway tracks, then finish at Yehliu Geopark for the wind-and-sea-carved rock formations, the “Queen’s Head” among them. All three fit into one long day, by guided tour or independently by bus with more patience; getyourguide.com and viator.com both cover the combination well. Roll back into Taipei for a second, quieter night market: Ningxia is a good pick if you already hit Shilin on day one.
Day 4: high-speed rail to Tainan, Taiwan’s old capital
Book the Taiwan High Speed Rail (HSR) at thsrc.com.tw; Taipei to Tainan runs about 1h45, and trains are frequent enough that you do not need to lock in a specific departure days ahead. This is also the slot where a lot of itineraries send you to Taroko Gorge instead. Skip that trade for a 5-day trip: Taroko’s two most photographed trails, Swallow’s Grotto and Shakadang, are still closed years out from the 2024 Hualien earthquake, and getting there and back eats most of two days on the slower east-coast rail line. Tainan trades that logistics headache for food and history, and gets there in under two hours.
In Tainan, visit the Confucius Temple, founded in 1665 and the oldest in Taiwan, then Chihkan Tower for the city’s Dutch- and Qing-era layers. Tainan is widely rated Taiwan’s best food city, so eat around rather than committing to one restaurant, and expect prices below what you paid in Taipei.
Day 5: Kaohsiung’s harbour, temples and an island ferry
Ride the HSR from Tainan to Kaohsiung’s Zuoying station, a short hop further down the same line, then head straight for Lotus Pond, a lake ringed with temples and pagodas that is Kaohsiung’s signature image. From there, the Pier-2 Art Center turns a former warehouse district into public art, galleries and pop-up shops, a good afternoon wander with plenty of shade and coffee stops. Finish with a short ferry ride out to Cijin Island for beach time, fresh seafood, and a sunset over the harbour that beats anything you will get back in landlocked Taipei.
Kaohsiung has its own international airport (KHH), so if your flights allow it, flying out from here instead of riding the HSR back to Taipei saves a half-day of backtracking. If you do need to return north, the HSR run from Zuoying to Taipei takes roughly 1.5 to 2 hours depending on the train.
| Day | Focus | Region / train | Rough daily spend (TWD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Taipei 101, Elephant Mountain, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial, night market | Taipei | NT$1,200-2,200 |
| Day 2 | National Palace Museum, Longshan Temple, Beitou hot springs, Ximending | Taipei | NT$1,000-1,800 |
| Day 3 | Jiufen old street, Shifen sky lanterns, Yehliu Geopark | Taipei day trip | NT$1,300-2,000 |
| Day 4 | HSR to Tainan, Confucius Temple, Chihkan Tower, street food | HSR Taipei to Tainan (~1h45) | NT$1,800-2,600 |
| Day 5 | HSR to Kaohsiung, Lotus Pond, Pier-2 Art Center, Cijin Island ferry | HSR Tainan to Kaohsiung (short hop) | NT$1,700-2,500 |
Does Taiwan use the Chinese yuan?
No, and it is one of the easiest facts to get wrong before a trip. Taiwan’s currency is the New Taiwan Dollar (TWD, NT$), issued by its own central bank and entirely separate from the mainland’s yuan. Taiwan operates as a self-governing democracy with its own government, currency and entry rules; its political status is disputed with mainland China, but that dispute changes nothing about what is in your wallet here.
Is 5 days enough for Taiwan?
For Taipei plus a proper taste of the south, yes. Five days covers Taipei’s icons, a full day trip up the northeast coast, and two HSR cities without a single rushed transfer. It will not stretch to Sun Moon Lake, Kenting’s beaches further south, or the east coast; save those for the 6-day or 7-day version of this same spine.
Load your EasyCard the day you land (MRT stations and every convenience store sell one) and tap it on the MRT, buses, local TRA trains, and even 7-Eleven runs, just not the HSR itself, which needs its own ticket. Tipping is not expected in restaurants or taxis, so do not tack it on out of habit. Taiwan sits at the US State Department’s lowest, safest advisory tier; typhoons (roughly May through November) and the occasional earthquake are the real planning factors, not crime, and the country’s infrastructure handles both well. Autumn and spring are the easiest seasons to land in, with lower humidity and a smaller chance of a typhoon reshuffling your HSR bookings. Check eng.taiwan.net.tw for official trip-planning guidance and boca.gov.tw if your passport needs a closer look at the visa-free list before you book flights.