MNSWEEps

I see other Asian countries like HK, Singapore, Thailand , Vietnam popular among travelers but don't see Taiwan on the list. I am thinking of taking family for a week (6 full days) next Sprint (April first week). What are your thoughts?

UAPremExecflyer

Your question is unanswerable.
Family interests? Budget? Size of family? Age of family members? Likes? Dislikes?
If you took two mins and did a basic search "Taiwan" you'd find myriad threads that might inform a more focused question(s)
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/asia/...ggestions.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/asia/...sim-cards.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/asia/...ip-taipei.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/asia/...ay-taipei.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/asia/...me-taiwan.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/asia/...tual-tour.html

MNSWEEps

1. visiting tourist places.. walking around is what is preferred.
2. $750 per head including air.
3. 5. 2 seniors, 2 adults , 1 teen
4. 3 are vegetarians, 2 eat chicken only in meat.

calbear2005

1. Taipei is easy to get around and site see via the MRT and walking.
2. Where are you coming from? Flights from the west coast of the US are as low as $600, maybe $500 if you're lucky. Your budget may be somewhat tight since you'll need accommodations and food as well. I'd budget for $1000/person at least.
3. Ok.
4. There are vegetarian restaurants and you can do a chicken-only diet there, but then you're missing out on a huge draw of Taiwan - the abundance of good, cheap food.

taipeipeter

In addition to your thinking about ideas in the threads cited above, you will probably want to spend most of your time in Taipei, but with 6 days you should also get out of the city.

The MRT makes Taipei easy to get around. Taxis are also easy and fairly cheap in Taiwan, though you will need addresses written in Chinese. (Also, most drivers won't take 5 people in one cab.)

I would suggest an overnight trip to Tainan via high-speed rail. And definitely an excursion to Taroko Gorge, possibly a one-day bus trip.

glennaa11

given your tight budget I agree it might be a little but of a struggle.

I would look for an apartment on Airbnb or a similar service to save some money.

I think there's enough to do in Taipei for that amount of time. And public transport is extensive so you can even get a bit out of the hustle and bustle of downtown quite easily.

I liked the tea house area reached by the Maokong gondolas south of town for some fresh air and nice views. As well as a good walk.

And Tamsui/Danshui was also nice for an afternoon/evening.

CrazyInteg

$750 per head including air is going to be real tight. Here's a breakdown of the trip I made in 2015. Obviously you could cut out beers and entertainment. We had a hotel with a huge breakfast buffet and free drinks 24 hours, so that saved us quite a bit on food and drink.

8 nights Taiwan for 2 people
Flight to Taiwan Sep 1 2015
Flight to USA Sep 9 2015
About $900 + $1550 for flights
Total spend is $2450 or $1225 per person

Taiwan SIM card --- 450 TWD -- $14.12 USD
Bus to hotel --- 280 TWD -- $8.79 USD

food --- about $100 USD
beers --- about $85 USD
drinks --- about $7 USD
souvenirs --- about $100 USD

Laundry --- 180 TWD -- $5.64 USD
EasyCard --- 600 TWD -- $18.83 USD
National Palace --- 500 TWD -- $15.69 USD
Movie --- 776 TWD -- $24.35 USD

EasyCard Add Value --- 200 TWD -- $6.28 USD

Train to Taroko --- 1560 TWD -- $48.95 USD
Taroko Bus tickets --- 500 TWD -- $15.69 USD

Zoo admission --- 120 TWD -- $3.77 USD
Taipei 101 --- 1000 TWD -- $31.38 USD

EasyCard Add Value --- 200 TWD -- $6.28 USD

Hotel (8 nights) --- about $405 USD

Bus to airport --- 250 TWD -- $7.84 USD
EasyCard refund --- -148 TWD -- $-4.64 USD

ProleOnParole

First of all, 4/4 is Children's Day and 4/5 will be the Tomb-Sweeping Day in 2018. Both are holidays as is the 4/6. Avoid visiting Taiwan during the public holidays as everything gets congested and overcrowded. 4/4-4/8 is not a good time to visit in 2018 then. Consider choosing different time to visit if you can.

It would be more helpful to know your budget without the airfare but it doesn't seem like a lot on a per-person basis. Perhaps you can make some savings travelling as a group of 5 but in general you should expect to pay at least 2000 TWD ($67) night for a double room, with 1000 TWD ($33) being the absolute minimum. Accommodation will eat the most of your budget for the whole trip. Once you have a place to stay, moving around is generally cheap except the high-speed rail where it helps to book much in advance or take advantage of their tourist offers if you plan to use it a lot.

As for eating out, there is a lot of choice in the budget range, which also includes the most interesting food to sample as a tourist. (On the other hand, many supposedly premium restaurants that charge a lot are quite mediocre and completely not worth it.) Alcohol is generally not cheap though if you plan to frequent bars.

Vegetarian food is widely available but as calbear2005 said you'll be missing out on a lot of the local snacks.

CrazyInteg

I was a bit curious, so did some searching.
From LAX to TPE, looks like you can find deals around $550 RT per person.

Quick glance on AirBnB, looks like a decent 1 or 2 bedroom apartment with sleeping areas for 5, costs around $600 all in for 7 nights. So right now we're at $670 per person. With a budget of $750, that leaves $80 per person, or about $10 per day.

I see studio apartments for about $450 all in for 7 nights, so that would be $640 per person. That leaves $110 per person leftover or about $13 per day.


Even if accommodation was free, you're left with $200 per person, which would be about $25 per day.