Taiwan in 3 Days on a Budget (Daily Costs)
Three cheap days in Taipei, one train day trip to Jiufen
Taiwan’s capital is Taipei, and its currency is the New Taiwan Dollar (TWD, NT$), not the Chinese yuan. Most passports, including the US, UK, EU, Canada, and Australia, enter visa-free for up to 90 days, but every foreign visitor must also file the free TWAC arrival card online at the official twac.immigration.gov.tw within 7 days of arrival, a rule that only started on 1 October 2025 and trips up travelers still working from older advice. Load an EasyCard on arrival and this trip stays genuinely cheap: a night-market dinner runs under NT$200, the Elephant Mountain view over Taipei 101 is free, and a public hot-spring pool in Beitou costs a few dollars. Three days is enough for Taipei plus one cheap train day trip, not the rest of the island.
This route spends two full days inside Taipei, then uses day three for a cheap train trip out to Jiufen and Shifen and back before dark. Want more time and a second region by rail? The 5-day plan adds Sun Moon Lake or Tainan, and the 7-day itinerary covers a fuller west-coast run.
Book these before you go:
- A Jiufen, Shifen, and Yehliu day tour from Taipei: check options on GetYourGuide , useful if you would rather skip the local train and bus transfers on day three.
- A Taipei city and night market tour: compare options on Viator , a way to add a guide to day one without paying much more than the DIY version.
- A budget hostel bed near Ximending or the main station: check rates on Booking.com , roughly NT$600-900 a night for a dorm bed, the single biggest lever on this budget.
Day 1: Taipei 101, Elephant Mountain, and Shilin Night Market
Buy an EasyCard at any MRT station on arrival, NT$100 for the card itself plus whatever balance you load, and use it for the metro, buses, and convenience-store purchases for the rest of the trip. Ride the MRT to Taipei 101 and weigh the 89th-floor observation deck ticket (commonly upward of NT$600) against the free alternative: the short, popular hike up Elephant Mountain (Xiangshan) for a sunset view over the same tower and skyline, genuinely one of Taipei’s best free things to do. Spend the afternoon around the Xinyi district, then head to Shilin Night Market for dinner, dozens of stalls selling stinky tofu, oyster omelets, and bubble tea for a few hundred NT$ total.
Rough spend: hostel bed (NT$600-900) + EasyCard load and MRT rides (NT$100-150) + night-market dinner (NT$150-250) = roughly NT$850-1,300 (about US$27-40).
Day 2: Longshan Temple, the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial, and a Beitou hot spring
Start at Longshan Temple in the Wanhua district, a working Buddhist and Taoist temple founded in 1738 and free to enter, then walk or MRT to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Liberty Square, also free, still one of Taipei’s biggest landmarks whatever the ongoing domestic debate over how the site frames its namesake’s era. In the afternoon, take the MRT’s short Xinbeitou spur line to Beitou and swap a paid spa resort for the public hot-spring pool, a genuinely local way to soak for a fraction of a private bathhouse’s price. Round out the evening at Raohe or Ningxia Night Market, smaller and less overwhelming than Shilin.
Rough spend: hostel bed (NT$600-900) + MRT/EasyCard (NT$100-150) + Beitou public pool (NT$40-60) + dinner (NT$150-250) = roughly NT$890-1,360 (about US$28-42).
Day 3: Jiufen and Shifen by train, Taiwan’s cheapest big day out
Take the TRA local train from Taipei Main Station to Ruifang, then a short bus to Jiufen’s lantern-lit old street; the train fare is well under NT$100 each way and the EasyCard covers it. Skip the popular claim that Jiufen inspired Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away, Miyazaki has denied it, and just enjoy the hillside alleys, teahouses, and taro balls on their own terms. From Jiufen, a short bus reaches Shifen, where you can release a sky lantern (roughly NT$150-200 for a small one, split among a group) over the old railway tracks and see Shifen Waterfall before the train back to Taipei. Prefer coastline over lanterns? Swap this day for Yehliu Geopark instead, reached the same cheap way by bus from Taipei.
Rough spend: train and bus (NT$150-250) + a shared sky lantern (NT$40-60 a person) + food (NT$150-250) + hostel bed (NT$600-900) = roughly NT$940-1,460 (about US$29-45).
What 3 days in Taiwan actually cost
| Day | Focus | Base | Rough Daily TWD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taipei 101, Elephant Mountain (free), Shilin Night Market | Taipei | NT$850-1,300 |
| 2 | Longshan Temple (free), CKS Memorial (free), Beitou hot spring | Taipei | NT$890-1,360 |
| 3 | Jiufen and Shifen day trip by TRA train | Taipei (day trip) | NT$940-1,460 |
That is roughly NT$2,680-4,120 (about US$85-130) for three days of hostel beds, transit, food, and one lantern splurge, before flights and before any paid observation-deck ticket. The EasyCard and the free viewpoints, not any single meal, are what keep this trip cheap; skip the paid Taipei 101 deck and the daily total barely moves.
Do you need a visa or an arrival card for Taiwan?
Most passports, including the US, UK, EU, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, enter Taiwan visa-free for up to 90 days with no advance application. Since 1 October 2025, every foreign visitor also has to file the free TWAC digital arrival card at the official twac.immigration.gov.tw within 7 days of arrival; it is not a visa and not a paid service, so ignore any third-party site that charges a fee for it.
Does Taiwan use the Chinese yuan?
No. Taiwan has its own currency, the New Taiwan Dollar (TWD, NT$), its own central bank, and its own entry rules, entirely separate from mainland China’s. Night markets and small vendors still lean on cash, so keep some NT$ on hand even though cards and mobile pay now work in most restaurants and hotels; tipping is not expected anywhere on this itinerary.
Is 3 days enough for Taipei?
It is enough for Taipei’s essentials plus one cheap day trip, not the rest of the island. Two full days cover the night markets, the free viewpoints, and the temples; day three’s train ride to Jiufen and Shifen is the one add-on that fits without rushing. Readers wanting Sun Moon Lake, Tainan, or Taroko Gorge on top should look at the 5-day or 7-day version of this route instead.
Is Taiwan safe to visit on a budget trip like this?
Yes. The US State Department rates Taiwan Level 1, its safest advisory tier, and Taipei is comfortable to walk at night with low crime. The real risks here are typhoons and the occasional earthquake, not crime. Taiwan is also a self-governing democracy with its own government and currency, a status disputed by mainland China, though none of that changes how a visitor books, pays, or gets around on a trip like this one.
One concrete tip: buy the EasyCard the moment you land at Taoyuan Airport’s MRT counter; it covers the metro, city buses, the TRA train to Ruifang for day three, and convenience-store purchases for the rest of the trip. Confirm the current TWAC arrival-card window at twac.immigration.gov.tw, general trip planning at eng.taiwan.net.tw, and Taiwan’s visa-free terms at boca.gov.tw before you book flights.