Taipei + Taiwan in 6 Days on a Budget

Six days lets you treat Taipei as the starting point of a longer loop instead of the whole itinerary. The first half stays in the capital and its coastline; the second half rides the High Speed Rail south to Sun Moon Lake and Tainan before the line loops you back to Taoyuan for departure. Only have 5 days for the north coast and Sun Moon Lake without Tainan, use our 5-day Taipei + Taiwan itinerary ; want the deep in-city version of days 1-2 instead, see the 6-day Taipei itinerary .

Book these before you go:

Every leg of this runs on an EasyCard or a train ticket, no car needed. Base yourself in Ximending or Zhongshan for the Taipei nights, both walkable to the MRT and cheaper than the Xinyi business-hotel rates. Get an EasyCard the day you land at Taoyuan (TPE): it taps on the MRT, buses, YouBike docks, the Maokong Gondola, and most convenience stores, at roughly 20% off cash fares, and you’ll use it constantly for the first three days before switching to HSR tickets.

Day 1: Temples and old Taipei

Start at Longshan Temple in Wanhua, the oldest working temple in the city, free to enter and thick with incense smoke and the old-town alleys around it. Cross town to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall for the free grounds and the changing of the guard on the hour.

For dinner, try Din Tai Fung once, if only to understand what the queue is about: it’s a homegrown Taiwanese chain, not a mainland or Hong Kong import, started as a Taipei oil shop in 1958 and selling dumplings since 1972. Expect NT$500-800 a person and a wait. If you’d rather skip the line, a family-run dumpling shop in Wanhua does the same job for less.

Day 1 spend: roughly NT$650-900 without Din Tai Fung, NT$950-1,200 with it.

Day 2: The skyline, done cheaply

The Taipei 101 observatory ticket (88F-91F) costs NT$600; skip the NT$3,000 outdoor Skyline 460 add-on, since the extra platform doesn’t buy you much more view for the money. One fact worth knowing before you go up: 101 was the world’s tallest building only from 2004 to 2010, before the Burj Khalifa overtook it, so treat any “world’s tallest” framing in the elevator as outdated. The ticket entrance also moved to the tower’s 1st floor as of July 2026.

Get the same skyline for free instead by climbing Elephant Mountain, a steep 20-40 minute stair hike that’s arguably the better photo, especially at sunset. In the afternoon, visit the National Palace Museum (NT$350) for the jadeite cabbage and the meat-shaped stone, then spend the evening in Ximending’s pedestrian shopping streets, or, if you’d rather trade crowds for hot water, take the direct MRT out to Beitou for a soak. Beitou’s free public foot baths and Thermal Valley are an underrated half-day that most 6-day itineraries skip in favor of a second trip to Jiufen, and the MRT ride there is easier than the day trip you’re doing tomorrow.

Day 2 spend: roughly NT$950-1,100.

Day 3: North coast day trip

Jiufen, the lantern-strung hillside town, is a day trip from Taipei, roughly 1 to 1.5 hours away, not a neighborhood you can bolt onto a city-day. A guided minibus tour covering Jiufen, Shifen, and Yehliu Geopark runs about NT$1,200-1,800 per person and takes the transfers off your hands. Doing it yourself, TRA train to Ruifang plus onward buses (or the direct 1062 bus from Taipei), costs roughly NT$150-250 round trip in fares, tapped on the same EasyCard from the city.

Weekday mornings or evenings are strongly preferred: Jiufen’s narrow stepped alleys become a standstill on weekends and holidays. Shifen’s sky lantern release and old railway street pair naturally with it; add Yehliu’s wind-carved rock formations only if you have the stamina and time for a third stop, since it’s a separate bus ride (route 1815, about 75 minutes).

Day 3 spend: roughly NT$150-250 DIY, or NT$1,200-1,800 for the guided tour.

Day 4: HSR to Taichung, then Sun Moon Lake

Check out and take the High Speed Rail to Taichung, about an hour, for roughly NT$700-750 in standard class. From Taichung HSR Station, a bus to Sun Moon Lake takes about 1.5 hours and costs around NT$166 one way, bought at the station counter or an iBon machine rather than tapped with EasyCard, since this leg runs its own ticketing.

Sun Moon Lake is Taiwan’s largest lake and worth the overnight rather than a rushed day trip from Taichung: mountain air, a lakeside path, and a ropeway with panoramic mountain views for NT$300 round trip. Book the lakeside room; it’s cheaper than the view suggests, precisely because most visitors don’t stay over.

Day 4 spend: roughly NT$1,000-1,200, HSR, bus, and the ropeway included.

Day 5: Lake morning, then onward to Tainan

Get out on the water early, either along the shore path by rented bike or on a short inter-pier boat ride, before the midday crowds bus in from Taichung. Then, instead of doubling back to Taipei, keep heading south: bus back to Taichung HSR Station and take the HSR onward to Tainan. The Taichung-to-Tainan hop is quick, well under an hour, and noticeably cheaper than booking Taipei-to-Tainan directly.

Tainan is Taiwan’s oldest city and its historic core is compact enough to see on foot. Settle in and, if there’s daylight left, walk to Chihkan Tower, a former Dutch fort rebuilt over centuries into a mix of Dutch, Chinese, and Japanese layers, entry around NT$70 (roughly half that with student, senior, or military ID).

Day 5 spend: roughly NT$500-700, the short HSR hop plus one attraction.

Day 6: Tainan’s old town, then back to Taipei

Spend the morning at Anping Old Fort, the original Fort Zeelandia site and the oldest fortification in the country, also around NT$70 entry. If you’re doing more than one historic site, the Tainan Historic Site Pass (NT$210) covers Anping Old Fort, Chihkan Tower, Anping Tree House, and Eternal Golden Castle, and pays for itself the moment you hit a third stop.

By early afternoon, take the HSR straight back to Taipei, about 1h45 and NT$1,305-1,350 depending on reserved or non-reserved seating, in time for an evening flight out of Taoyuan.

Day 6 spend: roughly NT$1,375-1,560, the long HSR leg plus entry fees.

Day Focus Distance from Taipei Rough spend
1 Longshan Temple, CKS Memorial in city NT$650-1,200
2 Taipei 101, Elephant Mountain, National Palace Museum in city NT$950-1,100
3 Jiufen, Shifen, optional Yehliu 1-1.5 hrs one way NT$150-1,800
4 HSR to Taichung, Sun Moon Lake ~1 hr HSR + 1.5 hr bus NT$1,000-1,200
5 Sun Moon Lake morning, HSR to Tainan ~1 hr HSR + short hop NT$500-700
6 Tainan old town, HSR back to Taipei ~1h45 HSR NT$1,375-1,560

How much does this whole 6-day loop cost?

Budget roughly NT$4,600-7,600 across the six days if you do Jiufen DIY, before hotels: three HSR legs (Taipei-Taichung, Taichung-Tainan, Tainan-Taipei) make up the single biggest cost block, more than food or sightseeing combined.

Do you need a rental car anywhere on this loop?

No. MRT and EasyCard cover Taipei, the High Speed Rail covers the long hops between cities, and local buses handle the last mile to Sun Moon Lake. A car adds cost and parking hassle without saving real time on this specific route.

Quick tips:

  • Cash still matters at night markets, small Tainan eateries, and Sun Moon Lake bus counters, even on a trip otherwise run on EasyCard and HSR tickets.
  • Eating or drinking inside MRT paid areas, water included, carries a fine of NT$1,500-7,500. That goes for bubble tea too, which Taiwan invented in Taichung, not Taipei, whatever the Ximending signage suggests.
  • Typhoon season runs June through October, peaking August-September; it can knock out both HSR schedules and Sun Moon Lake buses, so keep a spare afternoon of slack in the itinerary if you’re traveling in that window. October through April, especially October-November and March-May, is calmer and cooler at 19-28C.