Going To Taipei, Taiwan? In this installment of our Taiwan Travel Guide Series, we share our Taipei Itinerary on how to best spend your 5 days in Taipei!
Taipei + Hualien 5 Days 4 Nights Trip Report Blog
Contents in this Article
In this itinerary, we explored the both Taipei and Hualien within 1 trip.
Summary of Our Taipei + Hualien Itinerary
| Day | Highlights | Overnight Location | Hotel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ding Tai Fung Breakfast, Mango Smoothie House, Little Three, National Palace Museum | Taipei | CityInn Hotel Taipei Station Branch III |
| 2 | Taroko Gorge 1 Day Tour, Jin San Jiao Shopping Area, Zi Qiang Night Market | Hualien | Hotel Bayview Hualien |
| 3 | Grand View Resort Beitou Hotspring, Dinner @ Shin Yeh 101 | Taipei | Cosmos Hotel |
| 4 | Jiufen, Shifen Waterfalls, Pingxi Sky Lantern | Taipei | Cosmos Hotel |
| 5 | Flight back to Singapore | Singapore | Home Sweet Home |
Discover Book Travel Recommends:
Here’s our Taipei itinerary! Click on the links (opens in new window) for more details.
Day 1 Singapore -> Taoyuan (Taipei Itinerary Starts)
- 2230 Check in Flight
- 2300 Supper @ SATS Premier Lounge
- 0055 Board Flight Scoot TZ 202 to Taipei
- 0530 Arrive at 桃園國際機場 Terminal 1
- 0615 Board Kuo Kwang (國光客運) 1819 Bus to Taipei Train Station
- 0730 Reach Taipei Train Station (台北火車站)
- 0745 Check-in CityInn Hotel Taipei Station Branch III (新驛旅店)
- 0800 Metro to Dongmen Station (東門捷運站)
- 0900 Breakfast @ Ding Tai Fung (鼎泰豐)
- 1000 Mango Desert @ Smoothie House (永康街思慕昔)
- 1130 Visit Little Three (小三美日)
- 1300 Metro to Shilin Station (士林捷運站)
- 1330 Bus RED 30 to National Palace Museum (国立故宫博物院)
- 1400 Visit National Palace Museum
- 1600 Tea Break @ San-hsi-tang (三希堂)
- 1700 Bus RED 30 to Jiantan Station (劍潭站)
- 1730 Metro to Taipei Train Station
- 2030 Back to Hotel
Read More: 10 Most Beautiful Places in Taiwan
Day 2 Taipei & Hualien
- 0630 Rise and shine
- 0700 Check-out CityInn Hotel Taipei Station Branch III (新驛旅店)
- 0740 Board Puyuma (普悠瑪號) 408 Train to Hualien
- 0830 Breakfast on Train
- 0939 Cab Pick up at Hualien Train Station (花蓮車站)
- 0950 Check in Hotel Bayview Hualien (七星潭渡假飯店)
- 1000 Taroko Gorge (太魯閣國家公園) 1 Day Tour
- 1700 Drop off for Dinner @ Hualien City
- 1800 Visit Jin San Jiao Shopping Area (金三角商圈鬧)
- 1830 Visit Zi Qiang Night Market (自强夜市)
- 2100 Cab Back to Hotel
Read More: Top 10 Best Things to Do in Taipei, Taiwan
Day 3 Hualien, Beitou & Taipei
- 0715 Rise and shine
- 0730 Breakfast @ Hotel Bayview Hualien
- 0810 Transfer to Hualien Railway Station
- 0845 Board Puyuma 211 Train to Taipei Main Station
- 1050 Reach Taipei Main Station
- 1100 Check-in Cosmos Hotel (台北天成大飯店)
- 1130 Metro to Beitou Station (北投站)
- 1200 Reach Beitou
- 1230 Complimentary Shuttle to Grand View Resort Beitou (北投麗禧溫泉酒店)
- 1300 Enjoy Hotspring at Grand View Resort Beitou
- 1500 Metro to Taipei Main Station
- 1530 Metro to Taipei 101 Station (台北101站)
- 1600 Shopping at Taipei 101
- 1800 Dinner @ Shin Yeh (欣葉101食藝軒)
- 1930 Metro to Zhongxiao Fuxing (忠孝复兴站)
- 2000 Shopping
- 2200 Back to Hotel
Day 4 Jiufen, Shifen and Pingxi
- 0730 Rise and shine
- 0800 Breakfast @ Cosmos Hotel
- 0900 Tze-Chiang Limited Express (自強號) 416 to Ruifang
- 0935 Reach Ruifang Train Station (瑞芳火車站)
- 0945 Cab from Ruifang to Jiufen Old Street (九份老街)
- 1000 Walk around Jiufen
- 1115 Cab back to Ruifang
- 1205 Train 4722 from Ruifang (瑞芳) to Pingxi (平溪)
- 1300 Release Sky Lanterns at 平溪
- 1400 Walk around 平溪
- 1523 Train 4727 from 平溪 to Shifen (十分)
- 1535 Visit Shifen Waterfalls
- 1753 Train 4733 from 十分 to 瑞芳
- 1829 Reach 瑞芳
- 1905 Chu-Kuang Express (莒光號) 527 to Taipei Train Station
- 1955 Reach Taipei Station
- 2100 Back to Hotel
Read More: Best Bubble Tea in Taiwan
Day 5 Taipei -> Singapore
- 0800 Rise and shine
- 0830 Breakfast @ Hotel
- 0900 Free and Easy
- 1200 High Speed Rail Train 649 from Taipei Main Station to Taoyuan Station
- 1219 Reach Taoyuan HSR Station
- 1230 Ubus 705 to Taoyuan Intl Airport Terminal 1
- 1245 Check in Flight
- 1330 Lunch @ Airport
- 1545 Board Flight TZ 201 to Singapore
- 2015 Reach Singapore
We hope our itinerary do help you in your planning for a quick getaway trip to Taipei. Do share with us if you have any comments on the itinerary! 🙂
First Published 5 Jul 2015
Last Updated 7 Dec 2019
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You may visit www.awaynation.com to plan your trips using our recommendations.
Is it very cold on Jan? heard that Jan is the coldest month in Taiwan.
I'm from Malaysia, plan to bring parents with me to Taiwan from 5 Jan to 12 Jan but not sure if the weather will be too cold for them.
Hi Ewe Chin,
Thanks for visiting our blog!
The temperature was around 10 to 18 degrees Celsius when we were there around January this year.
You will need warm clothing, preferably with thermal wear.
Excellent! Detailed, specific and very, very helpful!
Hi! May i just check with you, during your trip to taroko gorge, is the 白杨步道 to 水帘洞 inaccessible?
@Anonymous
Hi,
Thanks for visiting our blog!
If we remember correctly, I think it was closed as there were some works going on.
Hi what train company you reckon to go to Taroko gorge? Shd I book online few days before?
@Anonymous
Hi,
You might want to read more about it in the following post! 🙂
http://discoverbooktravel.blogspot.com/2015/04/puyuma-408-train-from-taipei-to-hualien.html
Just want to ask, what conditions may be fulfilled to be able to use the SATS premier lounge ? Thank you !
@Eternity Evan B.C.
Hi,
We used the complimentary vouchers from the American Express Krisflyer Ascend card. It was given to us when we first sign up for the card. IF you pay the annual fee every year, the vouchers will be given to you every year.
You may want to refer to our post for more details.
http://discoverbooktravel.blogspot.sg/2015/02/airport-lounge-review-sats-premier.html
Hi! Do you know the website to buy train tickets to Ruifang?
@Anonymous
Hi,
Thanks for visiting our blog!
The official site is http://www.railway.gov.tw/en/.
You may want to refer to the following blog guides on how to purchase the tickets! 🙂
http://www.alectravelguide.com/2015/03/04/how-to-book-railway-train-tickets-in-taiwan/
http://taiwan-itinerary.blogspot.sg/2015/08/traintickets.html
Hello, may I ask if you have the contact number of the cab driver for the 1 day tour in Hualien? Thanks! 🙂
Hi,
Thank you for visiting our blog!
The driver was arranged by our hotel in Hualien.
Unfortunately, we did not retain his contact number after the trip.
Hi, may i know how much is your trip??
including hotel, flight, foods and transportation.
Hi,
Thanks for visiting our blog!
We spent around 2k for the trip for the 2 of us
Here's a rough breakdown for your reference:
Hotels: $475 for 4 nights
Flight: $565
Transportation / Admission Fees: $335
Travel Insurance: $56
Meals: $260
Others: $300
Hope the above helps! 🙂
Have a safe and fun trip ahead!
Great blog! I especially like the way you list your itinerary in detail -very very helpful:))
Hi eva,
Thanks for visiting our blog.
Glad that you like our itinerary! 🙂
Great work…i've been there but didn't make any day trips off Taipei…next month going for exactly 4 nights, will take the Jiufen / Shifen itineraries of yours.CHeers!
Hi Adel,
Thanks for visiting!
Have a great trip ahead!
This page is very helpful. Thanks for posting!
sharing my experience
Thanks a lot for sharing your itinerary. It was extremely informative and helpful.
Hi ruffeecola and Charming,
Thanks for your kind comments.
Glad you find the itinerary useful! 🙂
Hi, I will be bringing my mom to Taipei in Dec 2016. Thought of visiting Hualian. Your itinerary mentioned Cab Pick up at Hualian Train Station; is this the pre-arranged by the Hotel? Is it thereafter a whole day private tour guided by the Cab driver? Is Hualian suitable for old folks to walk? Thanks in advance:)
Hi Rosalind,
Thanks for visiting our blog.
Yes- the cab pick up is arranged with the hotel. It is a private tour with the driver after dropping our luggage at the hotel. The Taroko gorge can be quite rocky and difficult to walk at times.
The beach near our hotel is pretty walkable though.
You can also spend some time at the city centre as well.
Do read our posts and reviews for more information! 🙂
Hi how do you book the private cab to Taroko Gorge? Is it a flat rate?
Thanks
Chris
Hi Yummy Bakes,
We booked it with the Hualien hotel that we stayed.
Hi can i ask if you guys stayed at jiufen till noon how's the place? is it quiet or crowded during morning-noon period? or shld we visit at night?
@Guang Ming
Thanks for visiting our blog!
It was ok when we first reached earlier in the morning.
The tour groups start coming around the later part of the morning.
We did not visit Jiufen at night before.
Perhaps anyone could advise?? 🙂