Taiwan Travel Guide

Taiwan runs on warmth and detail. Trains that arrive on time, streets that stay clean, and a culture where a stranger will walk you to the right platform. That same care shows up in a Michelin-listed restaurant as much as in a tiny stall with a stool and a steaming pot. You don't plan for these moments, they just happen, and they're usually what people remember most.

It's also easy to underplan. Taiwan is small enough to look like a quick add-on, and that's the trap: travellers give it three days, see Taipei and nothing else, and leave before the island has started to open up. A good trip and a great one rarely differ by how many stops were on the list. They differ by how much time you had for the mountains, the coast and the food.

We've been designing holidays since 2013. Not templates, routes built around how you like to travel. We pick the neighbourhood before the hotel, the pace before the itinerary, and we'll tell you when something isn't worth your time. This is our Taiwan Travel Guide. You can find our opinions on what places to include, what time to visit, how long your visit should be and more.

Food is usually what people talk about most when they get back. Taiwan is one of the best food destinations in Asia, and much of it is affordable and unfussy. Beef noodle soup is the unofficial national dish, xiaolongbao are soup dumplings, and braised pork rice, oyster omelette and gua bao are night-market staples. Bubble tea was created here, and pineapple cakes make a good gift. The Michelin Guide covers Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung.

One thing worth clearing up, Taiwan is one of the easier places in Asia for vegetarians. Vegetarian Buddhist restaurants and buffets are common, and many of them avoid onion and garlic. Look for the character 素 on signs. Some stock and sauces in ordinary restaurants still contain meat, so we brief restaurants in advance. Indian restaurants can be found in Taipei. We don't pick restaurants by reputation, we pick them based on what you actually want, whether that's a tasting menu, a night-market crawl, or a tea-house lunch.

Quick tip: Leave your evenings open for night markets. The best meals are rarely the ones you booked, and most stalls are inexpensive enough to try several.

Shopping here is worth doing slowly. Oolong tea from Alishan, Pinglin or Maokong, pineapple cakes, local craft goods, and designer boutiques in Taipei's East District are the classics. Night markets suit clothes and accessories, and Guanghua Digital Plaza is the place for electronics. Eslite Spectrum is an excellent bookstore and design store.

Visitors can usually claim a refund of sales tax (VAT) on eligible purchases from participating stores above a minimum spend. Ask for the refund form at the till.

Travenza tip: Buy tea from a proper tea shop where you can taste first, and look for the harvest month and elevation on the package.