This is a two-week trip to Taiwan to visit tourist sites. The emphasis is on off-shore islands (4 of 13 nights on Taiwan are spent on off-shore islands) and snorkeling or diving. May or October would be ideal times to do this. Summers would work well, but put plans at risk from typhoons. This trip wouldn’t be so good in the winter, as temperatures in the ocean would make the emphasis on swimming on islands less comfortable.
  Travel to see Taipei, Taroko Gorge, Taitung, Green Island, Zhiben Hot Springs, Tainan, and Penghu Islands.
   
  Short Summary.
  Day 1 Fly from the United States to Taiwan Overnight flight
  Day 2 International Date Line Flying over the Pacific Ocean
  Day 3 Arrive in Taoyuan at the airport, take shuttle to Taipei, and spend the night in Taipei. Taipei
  Day 4 Day to recover from jet lag in Taipei. Taipei
  Day 5 Palace Museum in Taipei Taipei
  Day 6 Taipei to Hualien. Visit Taroko National Park. Tienhsiang
  Day 7 Hike in Taroko Gorge. Train down Eastern Rift Valley. Taitung
  Day 8 Taitung, then to Green Island Green Island
  Day 9 Day on Green Island. Green Island
  Day 10 Green Island to Taitung. Train to Zhiben Hot Springs. Zhiben Hot Springs
  Day 11 Train from Zhiben to Tainan. Evening in Tainan Tainan
  Day 12 Tainan to Makung in Penghu Islands Makung, Penghu Islands
  Day 13 Day on Penghu Islands Makung, Penghu Islands
  Day 14 Penghu to Taipei Taipei
  Day 15 Day in Taipei Taipei
  Day 16 Flight back home. home
 

See our list of trips.

See a longer version of this trip.

My Travel Resources Page
  Full Description
  Day 1 Friday Fly from the United States to Taiwan Overnight flight
  Day 2 Saturday International Date Line Flying over the Pacific Ocean
  Day 3 Sunday Arrive in Taoyuan at the airport, take bus or train or hotel shuttle to Taipei, and spend the night in Taipei. Taipei.
Stay at the Grand Hotel because it is a famous landmark (rooms are about 28.3 Myrftis per night). Or, a budget hotel would be the Dong Wu hotel (18.6 Myrftis per night) or the Cosmos Hotel (23 Myrftis per night).
  Day 4 Monday Day to recover from jet lag in Taipei. There will probably be time to see some attractions and visit a museum. Taipei
  Day 5 Tuesday The Palace Museum in Taipei will take the better part of a full day. Taipei
  Day 6 Wednesday Taipei to Hualien. Visit Taroko National Park.
Take the 9:16 a.m. train from Taipei (#1086 Tze-Chiang limited Express from Tianzhong to Hualien) to Hualien, arriving in Hualien at 11:30 a.m. After a lunch in Hualien, catch a hotel shuttle or else get a public bus (about 90 minutes for the 45 km ride and about 1.2 Myrftis per person), or taxi (can do the distance in about an hour, and ought to cost about 11.3 Myrftis out to Tienhsiang).
Arrive in Taroko Gorge between 2:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. After checking in to a hotel there would be time for a short hike. 		Tienhsiang.
Stay at Silk’s Place, or the Bruwan Leader Village.
  Day 7 Thursday Hike in Taroko Gorge. Take a train down the Eastern Rift Valley. In Taitung there should be time this afternoon or the following morning to visit the Prehistory Museum. Taitung.
Stay at Taitung Bali Suites.
  Day 8 Friday Taitung in the morning, then take a very short flight to Green Island. Green Island
  Day 9 Saturday Day on Green Island. There is some good snorkeling and coral. There is a special hot spring pool. It is possible to take a hike up in the hills on forest trails. There is a monument to human rights, and also a small museum in a visitors center. Green Island
  Day 10 Sunday Take a morning flight from Green Island to Taitung. In Taitung take a train to Zhiben Hot Springs. Spend the afternoon hiking and soaking around the Zhiben Hot Springs area. Zhiben Hot Springs.
Stay at Royal Chihben.
  Day 11 Monday Train from Zhiben to Tainan. There is a train that leaves Zhiben at 2:02 p.m. and arrives in Tainan at 5:15 p.m. This allows one to spend the evening in Tainan. There are some interesting temples and historic sites to visit in Tainan in the evening or the next day in the morning. Tainan.
Stay at the Tayih hotel.
  Day 12 Tuesday Tainan to Makung in Penghu Islands. Makung, Penghu Islands. Stay at Villa Romano B&B.
  Day 13 Wednesday Day on Penghu Islands. Certainly go snorkeling. There is plenty to see, both on land and in the water. Makung, Penghu Islands
  Day 14 Thursday Take a flight from Penghu to Taipei Taipei. Stay at the Hotel Royal Taipei.
  Day 15 Friday Day in Taipei Taipei
  Day 16 Saturday Flight back home. Because you get back a day from crossing the International Dateline, you'll arrive home just a few hours after leaving Taiwan (most flights depart Taiwan at 10:00 a.m.), even though your total travel time will be nearly 24 hours. home
 

Costs. (Day, expense, Cost in 2011 U.S. Dollars, Cost in percent of median year-round full-time income)
(Thus 1,080 Myrfti is 10.8% of a median year-round full-time American income, while 230 Myrfti is 2.3% of median year-round full-time income. To convert costs into current dollars, simply multiply the costs in the far right column times the current median year-round full-time American income, and you'll have an idea of current costs. Otherwise, use a Consumer Price Inflation adjustment to 2011 with the dollar figures. The resulting cost estimates should be similar, at least if travel costs and incomes have matched inflation).
The two-person prices assume an adult couple sharing a bed, and the four-person costs assume a family of four with two children aged between 12 and 17.
  Day 1 and 16 Air travel tickets for this trip. Prices for tickets to Asia very tremendously. Costs in 2011 were as low as $1,200 (in March and November), while in July-August prices ranged from $1,600 to $3,600. Let's assume a price of $1,500 in 2011 dollars (303 Myrftis)

2 persons $3,000
4 persons $6,000

 2 persons 606
4 persons 1212
  Days 3-6 Price given here is for the Grand Hotel. Other more modest hotels that are more highly rated and closer to the train station would save about 20% compared to the Grand Hotel.

2 persons $420
4 persons $840

 2 persons 85
4 persons 170
  Days 3-6 Costs in Taipei include: taking a shuttle from the airport to the hotel (cheap, 0.64 Myrftis per person), three dinners, two lunches, and three breakfasts, taxis and MRT passes, admission to museums including the Palace Museum, and some extra money for drinks or snacks. The assumption here is that people eat out at nice restaurants for dinner.

2 persons $415
4 persons $740
2 persons 84
4 persons 150
  Day 6 Transport from Taipei to Hualien, then transport from Hualien to either Tienhsiang or the Bruwan leader village (assuming use of train and taxi, not public bus). Using a bus service provided by the hotel for transport from Hualien to Taroko Gorge National Park would reduce costs by about 5 Myrfti for four person).

2 persons $98
4 persons $140
2 persons 19.8
4 persons 28.3
  Day 6-7 One night in the Taroko Gorge area

2 persons $270
4 persons $315
2 persons 54.4
4 persons 63.6
  Day 6-8 Meals from the time leaving Taipei to the time arriving on Green Island include 2 dinners, 3 lunches, and 2 breakfasts.

2 persons $77
4 persons $154
2 persons 15.6
4 persons 31.2
  Day 3 Transport from Taroko Gorge down to Taitung

2 persons $52
4 persons $104
2 persons 10.5
4 persons 21.0
  Days 8-10 Full cost of transport to Green Island and hotel on Green Island using Green Island Adventures package tour, assuming the use of flights to and from Green Island rather than ferry boat.

2 persons $770
4 persons $973
2 persons 155.6
4 persons 196.6
  Day 8-10 Two dinners, two lunches, and snacks on Green Island

2 persons $50
4 persons $100
2 persons 10.1
4 persons 20.2
  Days 10-11 Costs of museum in Taitung, transport in Taitung, transport to Zhiben, costs in Zhiben, and food in Taitung and Zhiben.

2 persons $85
4 persons $136
2 persons 17.3
4 persons 27.4
  Day 10 Hotel in Zhiben Hot Springs. The Royal Chihpen is available with special deals online, and that’s the price for the two person stay. If not, Hoya Hot Springs Resort is a possibility, and has been priced for two rooms for four persons.

2 persons $154
4 persons $245
2 persons 31.1
4 persons 49.5
  Day 10 A night in Taitung at the Bali Suites Hotel.

2 persons $67
4 persons $105
2 persons 13.5
4 persons 21.2
  Day 11 A night in Tainan at the Tayih Hotel in Tainan (for two) or Cambridge Tainan Hotel (for four).

2 persons $140
4 persons $122
2 persons 28.3
4 persons 24.7
  Days 11-12 Train from Zhiben hot springs to Tainan, food in Tainan, six taxi rides in Tainan, and admission at museum in Tainan.

2 persons $216
4 persons $304
2 persons 43.7
4 persons 61.4
  Days 13 & 14 Flight from Tainan to Magong in Penghu and flight from Magong in Penghu Islands to Taipei.

2 persons $294
4 persons $588
2 persons 59.4
4 persons 118.8
  Day 12-14 Two nights in Magong in the Villa Romana B&B.

2 persons $137
4 persons $172
2 persons 27.6
4 persons 34.6
  Days 12-14 Boat trip, museum admission, two dinners, two breakfasts, and one lunch in the Penghu Islands, motor scooter rentals or car rentals.

2 persons $126
4 persons $224
2 persons 76.4
4 persons 45.3
  Days 14-16 Two nights at Hotel Royal Taipei booked through Agoda website (price is for double, whether two or four persons). The cost at San Want Residences (better hotel, without swimming pool) would be a little higher, at slightly over $400 for two nights in a room for two persons.

2 persons $336
4 persons $336
2 persons 67.9
4 persons 67.9
  Days 14-16 Costs in Taipei, including transportation, two dinners, two lunches, and two breakfasts. Museum admissions. Shopping budget.

2 persons $290
4 persons $580
2 persons 58.6
4 persons 117.2
  Days 1-16 Extra expenses and spending money

2 persons $200
4 persons $400
2 persons 40.4
4 persons 80.2
    TOTAL COST (in 2011 US$ and Myrftis) For two persons, this will cost 15.05% of a median year-round full-time worker’s income, and for four persons the cost is about 25.4% of a median year-round full-time worker’s income.

2 persons $7450
4 persons $12,580
2 persons 1,505
4 persons 2,540
   

In 2010, the median earnings for a year-round full-time male employee was about $56,000, and for a female employee the median was about $43,000, so $49,500 would be an adequate estimate of a median year-round full-time income. Incidently, the median household income was about $50,500 in 2010. To afford a vacation like this for four persons every two years, a typical family budget for a family earning 120% of the median year-round full-time income (about $59,500 in 2011) might allocate money in this way each month:

Housing and utilities: 29.2% ($1,450 per month in 2011)
All taxes: 15% ($744 per month)
Groceries, food, and household supplies: 9.1% ($450 per month)
Car expenses: 8.5% ($420 per month)
Savings for a trip like this every four years: 10.5% ($520 per month)
Savings for retirement: 6.1% ($300 per month)
Savings for children's college expenses: 5.4% ($270 per month)
Health insurance and health care expenses: 4.8% ($240 per month)
Other entertainment, Internet, travel, cable television, movies, etc.: 3.2% ($160 per month)
Miscellaneous other expenses: 3.2% ($160 per month)
Clothing: 2.8% ($140 per month)
Charitable giving: 2.0% ($100 per month)

  
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