7-Day Classic Private Tour of Taiwan

Day 1 – Arrival at Taipei International Airport and explore Taipei City

• Fly into Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport near Taipei.
• Depending on time available and weather, this may include a look at Taipei Botanical Garden, a visit to Taipei 101 and its observatory for sunset views over the city, a soak in a hot spring, or a stroll around Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (a landmark dedicated to Taiwan and Nationalist China’s former leader).
• Visiting the fabulous National Palace Museum is an option, especially if you’re arriving on a Friday or Saturdays when it stays open to 9pm (closing time on other days is 6.30pm ).

Day 2 – Explore areas surrounding Taipei City

• If you’ve already seen the magnificent National Palace Museum, then we suggest a thorough look at the living-and-breathing culture that’s visible in Wanhua, one of the oldest and most interesting parts of Taipei. Here we can find the city’s best-known hall of worship, Longshan Temple.
• If the hills are calling to you, we can drive up to Yangmingshan National Park via Martyrs Shrine, where the hourly changing of the guard is a display of breathtaking precision. On Yangmingshan we can enjoy the view over coffee and cake at Grass Mountain Chateau.
• If you’re in Taipei on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Saturday, taking in a show at Taipei EYE is an option. To finish up the evening, we can bring you to that most Taiwanese of places: A local night market, where tasty snack foods are sold by outdoors vendors. A former residence of Chiang Kai-shek, it was built in 1920; even after a complete renovation less than a decade ago, it continues to look thoroughly Japanese, right down to the sliding doors.

Day 3 – Taroko National Park

• We recommend making a reasonably early start and eating a hearty breakfast because we have a four-hour drive ahead of us.
• The journey can be broken with a stop at the hot springs park in Jiaoxi in Yilan County, or a walk on the windswept Pacific-facing beach at Dongao. A good option for lunch en route is the acclaimed aboriginal restaurant Dageeli.
• Arriving in Taroko National Park around 2pm will give us time to visit the Eternal Spring Shrine and the Yanzikou Trail (Swallow Grotto) before checking into our preferred hotel at 4pm. The property has excellent food and spa services, outdoor and indoor pools, and is a short walk from Xiangde  Temple.

Day 4 – Taroko National Park

• Today can be as energetic or as lazy as you like. Depending on your enthusiasm for walking and your passion for stunning natural landscapes, we can take you along the flat but very pretty Baiyang Trail, the more challenging hike up to Lianhua Pond, or to the Lushui Trail to glimpse macaques.
• If you’re the kind of person happy to enjoy the national park from a car seat, we’ll drive you to the finest vantage points, and have lunch at Buluowan, a former Truku aboriginal settlement where there are demonstrations of indigenous handicrafts.

Day 5 – Sun Moon Lake

• After breakfast, we’ll head into the higher reaches of Taroko National Park, stopping if you like for hot ginger tea at Bilu Sacred Tree, a 50m high, 3,200-year-old Lunta fir.
• We’ll make regular stops, including one at the road’s highest point (3,275m above sea level), so you can photograph the gorgeous scenery and stretch your legs. Lunch can be a feast of roast chicken and mountain vegetables – or a simple picnic nearly two miles above sea level.
• We expect to get you to the lakeshore around 4pm, in time for a delightful boat cruise around Sun Moon Lake to enjoy views of the water and the surrounding mountains.

Day 6 – Sun Moon Lake

• Almost everyone agrees that just after daybreak, as the sun climbs up over the nearby peaks, is a splendid moment to appreciate the beauty of Sun Moon Lake – but of course it’s up to you whether you want to sleep in or not. After breakfast and a brief tour of lakeside attractions like Cien Pagoda (built on the orders of Chiang Kai-shek to honour his late mother) we’ll move toward the Hakka heartland of Miaoli.
• It’s not a long drive and we’ll be sure to make a few stops along the way, perhaps in the vicinity of the woodcarving centre of Sanyi to visit Shengxing Railway Station and Longteng Broken Bridge. The former is a gorgeous Japanese-era wooden building at the heart of a picturesque village. The latter is what remains of a railway bridge built in 1909, damaged beyond repair in a terrible earthquake in 1935, then further wrecked in another big quake in 1999.
• The Hakka account for around one seventh of the island’s population, speak their own language, and have distinctive culinary traditions. In the past, many Hakka dishes were thought to be oily and salty; in line with modern preferences for healthy fare, innovative chefs have updated the cuisine, while retaining its characteristic pork and pickle flavours. For dinner, we can sample some of these delicacies.

Day 7 – Wrap Up

• Whatever time your flight out, we’ll help you make the very most of your final day in Taiwan. Before arriving at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, we can take in some of the region’s scenic attractions, such as the picturesque inland towns of Nanzhuang and Beipu, or bring you to the scenic township of Emei where Taiwan’s oriental beauty tea is grown.
• At Fuxing Tea Demonstration Centre we can try local green, oolong and oriental beauty teas, and take a look at the pre-World War II tea-processing equipment preserved inside.

If you don’t think this 7-day private tour of Taiwan is for you, go over our 5-day private tour of Taiwan and our 9-day private tour of Taiwan.