>
Yes! Whenever people mention they had visited Taiwan, its mostly about food & shopping. Does Taiwan offers more than that?
Therefore, I had decided to visit Taiwan for the first time in my life. Ya, Taiwan, the usual popular destination among Singaporeans or rather South East Asians. So what’s there to prepare before visiting Taiwan?
Things to know/do before trip to Taiwan
1) Book Airfares!
But next question is which airline? When to do it?
Don’t worry, with Taipei being a hot destination, there are many flight options to choose from. Eva Air is a good option to start your travel journey as it offers good airline deals from Singapore to Taipei!
If you have a tight budget, choose budget carriers from Scoot Air to TigerAir & JetStar Asia. Please note TigerAir recently came up with a new venture named Taiwan TigerAir. These flights operate from its home base in Taipei.
One of the best flight timing if you would want to maximize your Annual Leave is to arrive Taipei early. What better flight timing to choose from than Scoot which will arrive around 0600H in the morning. You can have a good sleep on the night flight and when you wake up, you will be in Taipei with practically the whole day to discover amazing Taiwan.
Best time to book Scoot would be often on early Tuesday morning (0700H-0900H). Book 1 way ticket while for the return way, you may choose TigerAir or JetStar which is usually a bit cheaper if you book on Thursday or Friday under its weekly promotion fare.
2) Taiwan does not only have food as its attraction, but natural scenery! Discover, plan in your trip!
Taiwan have many natural attractions. The usual popular attractions are Sun Moon Lake, Alishan mountain region. Do include Taroko Gorge located in Hualien region to your itinerary! If you love to see whales, visit Hualien and you may spot one in the Pacific Ocean subject to seasonal conditions and of course, your luck!
3) Locate accommodations
The list of MingSu can be found on this website: http://www.minsu.com.tw
If you travel during peak season or popular travel dates, you have to book early! I have intended to book the popular MingSu 3 months in advance, but there were no rooms! You have to at least stay 1 night in a MingSu. It would allow you to experience Taiwanese warm hospitality and it would change your opinion of staying in a hotel… because of its coziness one will get, just like in your home away from your country.
4) Grab your Freebies (Given by Taiwan Visitor Association)
If you are a free & easy traveller and touring Taiwan, there is freebies waiting for you. What are you waiting for?
Simply head down to the nearest Taiwan Visitor Association in your country and grab it.
For Singapore, the Taiwan Visitor Association will be at 30 Raffles Place, #10-01, Chevron House, Singapore 048622
What you need to claim it?
* Show hotel confirmation of at least 1 night stay which you have paid for
* Individual traveller’s air ticket
They usually have Taipei MRT card, Snacks Vouchers, Hot Spring vouchers, etc. And with that, I have received mine.
5) Collect Coupons and brochures to do your planning
Yes, Taiwan Visitor Association certainly have too much information at your disposal. They have categorize the brochures into Northern , Eastern, Central and Southern Taiwan region.
One tip is to collect some basic information online and know roughly which area you would want to visit. Ask the friendly staff over there. I was there 5 minutes before they are close and yet, the staff have patiently answered all my questions. Furthermore, they give me more information that I had actually enquired. In the end, I walk out the Taiwan Visitor Association 30 minutes after their closing time. And the final farewell I heard from them : ” Hope to see you in Taiwan! Have a good trip! ”
Categories: Asia Region, Travel Tips
Hola! I’ve been reading your web site for some time now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from Austin Texas! Just wanted to tell you keep up the good job!