Taipei Travel Tips

Taipei Weather

Taipei's climate is subtropical with hot summers and cooler winters. Occasional cold fronts in winter.
Taipei summers are hot and humid; however get cooler in the evening due to near proximity to the sea.
Usually, November to April are the best months to visit Taipei considering Taiwan heat and humidity.

Clothes & Shoes

If visiting in winter, bring a jacket as it can get cold. Bring a good pair of walking shoes as you will be walking a lot.

Taipei Local transportation

Tourist attractions are connected very well either by Taipei MRT (subway/train) network and/or bus system.
MRT and public buses are inexpensive, organized, efficient, and fastest way for local commute in Taipei and surrounding areas.
Taxi cabs are inexpensive for short distances.

Taipei MRT
(Metro Train)

The MRT is frequent, travels to most attractions, and fairly inexpensive.
For your convenience buy an Easy Card at a metro station. It saves the time of purchasing new tickets every time you go on the metro. These can be reloaded as needed at any MRT station kiosk.
Easycard Stores value card NT$500 (Deposit NT$100 Stored value NT$400). It offers 20% discount on fares when using Easycard compared to single trip tickets fares. Easycard can be used both on MRT and Buses.
Otherwise buying an MRT or Metro tourist day-pass may be good value if you are planning to travel a lot in Taipei in ONE day. A 1-day unlimited metro pass cost NTD180, however MRT is cheap. Just to give you an idea, from Taipei station all the way up north to Tamsui station is NTD50 one way.
You can find out detailed information about fares at Taipei MRT Website

Taipei is a food town, especially known for its night markets and beef noodle soup.
Most local restaurants have English menus and are very affordable.
Many restaurants offer live seafood items that you select from tanks in front of the restaurant. Point to the items you want and they will cook it for you in whatever way you want. Caution, prices are usually posted but if not ask!
Use caution when eating at night markets. Make sure food is piping hot when given to you.
Avoid any drinks that use tap water or ice.
The larger bottles of water are half the cost of smaller ones. Buy the largest water bottles and transfer them to smaller ones in case you want to refrigerate water in your room.

Safety in Taipei

Taipei is a very safe city. People are friendly and always ready to help strangers.
Although Taipei is safe, it is a city and you should consider these safety tips:
Don't wear expensive jewelry and flash cash around.
Be aware of your purse or backpack, especially when on crowded subways or buses.
Always know where you are going and how to get there before you leave.

Language in Taiwan

English is spoken by most hotel front-line staff, mall shops, big restaurant and tourist places. However, English is not as widely spoken in Taipei. The younger educated generation in Taiwan usually can communcate in English well.
Chinese (Taiwanese/ Mandarin) is the most commonly spoken language.
Remember to carry your hotel card and/or a map in case you need to ask directions. Many hotels have ready made hotel cards with the list of Taipei attractions in English and Chinese to make visitors life easy.

Electricity (Power)

If visiting from outside, Taiwan has 110-120 Volts (Same as U.S./Canada, most other areas are 220-240 Volts) power supply.