First time in Taiwan
 

I'll be in Taiwan for a first time (weekend trip 1st weekend in March). will be arriving Friday night and departing Sunday night.

Browsing related threads I came up with the following:

Arrival: use bus and train to Taipei railway station, walk to the hotel (Sheraton Grand). Total travel time ~1.5 hours

Saturday:
Day tour to Taroko Gorge
Taipei Night tour (Dinner, Lung Shan Temple, Hwahsi Night Market, Taipei 101)

Sunday:
Taipei day tour (8.30am) (Presidential Building, Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, Martyrs' Shrine, Traditional Taiwanese Temple (have no idea what that is), National Palace Museum, Handicraft Center)

17:00 departure from Taipei station to the airport on high speed rail (train 867 departure 17:00 arrival 17:21) - I assume it is sufficient time for 20:00 flight?

I understand I can explore Taipei on my own, the only reason I am taking tours is supposedly save some time and the need to research where exactly to go and how.

Any comments will be greatly appreciated.
AX

That seems like a lot to try and pack in. I seem to recall it taking a few hours each way between Taipei and Taroko plus time to explore there would be a full day on its own. To add a night tour on that evening seems like too much to expect to me. Especially if you expect to do a full city tour the next day.

Frankly I would just do a little research on things that sound interesting for Sunday and see them on your own. You could spend all day at the National Palace Museum alone. Or at least a few hours anyway and it tends to be quite crowded with bus tour groups from the Mainland. Things like CSK Memorial Hall are very easy to reach on your own. The "handcraft center" sounds like a tourist trap designed to sell you things. There are several traditional temples around the city. The Confucius Temple and Baoan Temple are very near to one another (a couple of minutes on foot). Taipei is generally easy to get around and the MRT goes most places you want to go or gets you pretty close. The main exception being the National Palace Museum which requires a bus after you get off the train. So a taxi might be a better option if you're pressed for time.

You basically have only a day and a half. As much as I liked Taroko Gorge, you're probably better off just touring Taipei. Also depending where you're coming from, don't forget to factor in jetlag if applicable.

Elephant Mountain is a good climb if you're up for it. The city at night from up there is a pretty awesome sight.

Thanks glennaa11.

I will fly from the same time zone so jet lag is not an issue to consider.

The only reason I wanted to take night tour is to take some photographs of Taipei at night. If I'll skip that, anyone can recommend a good vantage point to take some photos and where taipei 101 is visible?
AX

I'm not much of a Taipei expert, but for night views, I suggest the Maokong Gondolas·

You can take the MRT to the gondolas, then ride them to the top. You'll have good views of the city (including Taipei 101), and you can have dinner at the top at one of the many restaurants and tea houses.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5288/5...7cbacb43_b.jpg

If you don't mind the climb (it is a lot of stairs, make sure to take water), Elephant Mountain is great for the night time views over the city.

https://guidetotaipei.com/visit/elep...1%B1-xiangshan

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-p...2" width="800"

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-S...0" width="221"

Totally agree, Taroko Gorge requires a 2 hour bullet train ride to Hualien (if you are lucky and get the one with the least stops, otherwise it could be up to 3 hours on the bullet train). Once at Hualien, its about another 45 minute drive without traffic in a car or expensive taxi ride. If you pre-scheduled a bus tour, those will take at least an hour to get there. Recommend just touring Taipei

Just a point of clarification, I guess it depends on how you define "bullet train", but Taiwan High Speed Rail (HSR) does not service Hualien. They have "Express Trains" that are faster than the normal trains, but they are not HSR.

All: thanks a lot for valuable insights.

Thanks glennaa11. I don't mind the climb at all - but can you advise whether the area is safe after the sunset?

Interesting idea, Skyman65. I looked at the website and tripadvisor review, and my present thinking is to climb Elephant mountain in the evening and take gondolas up during light time on Sunday, perhaps taking glass bottom one.

babypuwet, yes I looked into that and that was the reason I decided on and booked organized day tour to Taroko Gorge which starts ~6am and gets me back to Taipei at ~4pm.

One more question I have - is it necessary to buy tickets for high speed train from airport to Taipei station in advance, or tickets are freely available at Taoyuan station?

AX

I think in general Taiwan is absolutely safe. Obviously I was there after dark. I went up with a photographer/friend/guide but then went back down on my own. The stairways are lit. I was pretty jelly-legged on the walk back down though. Taipei is a pretty friendly city in my experience. I never felt unsafe at all in my time there including a fair bit of wandering around the city after dark.

As long as you don't have to cross a street, or ride a motorscooter, Taiwan is one of the safest countries on the planet. I wouldn't worry about it being safe to hike at night.

For that time frame, I would skip the national park. I was just there a couple months ago. I was underwhelmed. It's not much different than driving around the Rockies in Colorado, in my opinion, which I have done many times. I was also in Sabino Canyon in Tucson a few days ago and noticed it was also very similar to the Taroko experience.

Yangmingshan is a national park that is just north of Taipei. I've never been there, so I cannot comment on it.

If you decide to go up one of the hills to get some night time photos, please bring a flashlight. And make sure you check the operating time of the transportation option you decide to use.

If you come to Yangmingshan in March, you may encounter the annual flower season. Most of them are beautiful cherry blossoms, thanks to the Japanese.
As Yangmingshan is a group of "dead" volcanoes, you can absolutely enjoy the wonderful "hot spring" in nearby Japanese-styled resorts/hotels.
You can even smell the odour of sulphur when the bus to the mountains are approaching the Park.

A day of travelling will be recommended as many Jp/Cn/Kr tourists flock to the Park recently, so you may not be able to get on every shuttle bus. (I just went there 2 weeks ago)

Any updates of your trip. We are going in June for 4 nights. Any personal experience with the trip including transportation means, tours links or cost etc and payment options would be welcomed. We are doing Taipei only unless otherwise suggested.