Taiwan · TOUR REVIEWS
A long weekend or a fortnight, the problem is the same: one small island, four wildly different halves of it. The 15 below are the days that earn their place, priced and timed, with the full catalogue underneath when you want to go deeper.
Spend nine hours with a Chinese, English, or Japanese-speaking guide visiting Shifen Waterfall, releasing a wish lantern, walking Jiufen Old Street, and seeing Yehliu’s Queen’s Head. Shared tours meet at Taipei Main Station, while private tours include hotel pickup and drop-off.
“i enjoyed the waterfall and Jiufen old town. maybe a bit more history on each of the towns.”
You get an eight-hour private Taipei tour with hotel pickup, an air-conditioned vehicle, bottled water, and a local guide such as Vincent, Ben, Henry, or Nicolas. Shape the day around temples, food, shopping, museums, Taipei 101, or Elephant Mountain, with optional entrance fees paid separately.
“A great overview of the Taipei’s major sites and then some. We even got to hike Elephant Mountain! It was a great way to see the city with a limited time and in comfort.”
This 9-hour Edison Tours trip links four northern Taiwan highlights by air-conditioned vehicle: Yehliu Geopark, Jiufen, Shifen Waterfall, and Shifen Old Street. You get a shared sky lantern, time for tea and snacks, and a live guide such as Kevin Su, Tony, Chiara, or James, depending on the departure.
“Great trip. Our guide ‘Handsome Kevin’ was very good and super helpful.”
Travel from Taipei to Shifen Waterfall, decorate and release a sky lantern on Shifen Old Street, then explore Jiufen at dusk with a licensed Chinese, English, or Japanese guide. Guides such as James, Amy, and Trix are known for clear explanations, photo help, and smooth crowd management.
“James was great!! Very friendly, knowledgeable, and kept us on schedule!”
Visit Taipei 101’s 89th-floor Observatory for wide city views, the 660-tonne tuned mass damper, telescopes, and access to higher viewing areas. Choose a standard ticket or fast-track option, and use the 5th-floor redemption machine or counter as instructed.
“The elevator! It’s a long queue! But over all we love it!”
Leave Taipei by private, air-conditioned vehicle for Yehliu Geopark, Jiufen, and Shifen Waterfall and Old Street. Your guide handles the driving, parking, and route while you explore at your own pace. Guides such as Junior, Vincent, Cody, Jack, and Sean have been praised for clear explanations, photos, and flexible scheduling.
“We did a full day private tour with our driver and guide Vincent. Because we started early we got to beat the crowds in every spot, we had a lovely time and learned a ton from our guide who was knowledgeable, kind and took nice pictures of us.”
Walk Taipei’s Zhongzheng District with a private guide such as June, Eva, Sonia, Judy, or Garen. Try up to 10 Taiwanese dishes and drinks, including scallion pancake and braised pork, while learning about local food, history, and customs.
“June was a friendly and warm guide. She did a great job explaining historical contexts while enjoying the food. Would highly recommend her to have an authentic and worry-free experience!”
Spend five hours outside Taipei visiting Shiding’s Thousand Island Lake, Bagua Tea Garden, Pinglin Tea Museum, and a local tea shop. Your guide explains Taiwanese tea, brewing, and rural life before a tasting of local teas. Small-group and private options are available.
“A real calm and relaxing day, the views were perfect and our guide Dave was lovely.”
Choose a breakfast or dinner food walk with TourMeAway. Guides such as Leo, Cornelia, Mina, and Cyndi lead you to 7 or more Taiwanese dishes, Michelin-rated street food, bubble tea, and a traditional convenience store. Expect 150 to 270 minutes of walking and a full meal’s worth of tastings.
“Great guide great tour! I definitely had better food in Taiwan but this is very much worth it to try a bunch of new foods. Plus the no hunger guarantee means you can just keep eating! Highly recommended.”
Use a priority ticket for Taipei 101’s 89th-floor Observatory Deck. You’ll collect a physical ticket at the 5th-floor Fast Pass Counter, take an express elevator upward, see Taipei from 509 meters, visit the giant tuned mass damper, and use the express queue back down.
“The skip the line pass made our experience stress free. I also found out that there was a skip the line cue for exiting.”
Spend about nine hours beyond Taipei with a licensed guide such as Kevin, Walter, Julie, or Kwan. See Yehliu Geopark, Jiufen Old Street, Shifen Waterfall, and launch a shared sky lantern. A comfortable small-group vehicle handles the mountain roads, but expect a full day with plenty of walking.
“James was friendly, sweet and caring. He does speak a little soft so hearing was a bit hard, however he answered all our questions and is very knowledgeable. Super talented to be trilingual as well. If youre not sure what to do, you smash out Read more”
Spend about eight hours with a private English-speaking guide such as Alex, Sam, Vincent, or Jimmy, traveling from Hualien to Taroko Gorge, Qingshui Cliff, Sakul Trail, Qixingtan, and the Japanese-era General Hall. You set the pace, ride in an air-conditioned vehicle, and receive local history, nature notes, photo help, and food advice.
“Jimmy was and excellent guide - very knowledgeable about all the secret spots in Taroko & wealth of knowledge on the geology, flora and fauna. The itinerary was also flexible allowing us to sample some gourmet delights and excellent coffee along the way!”
Travel by private air-conditioned vehicle from Taipei to Yehliu Geopark, Shifen Waterfall, Shifen Old Street, and Jiufen. Your guide sets the pace, explains local history, helps with photos, and provides one sky lantern per car. Guides may include Vincent, Nana, Junior Wu, or other YOLO Taiwan staff.
“Our tour guide, Rachelle, did an excellent job showing us around. The day was full of fun experience and activities.”
Start with a traditional Taiwanese breakfast, then ride through old Taipei with guides such as Mike, Tony, Priscilla, Rita, and Edwin. Visit temples, markets, Dihua Street, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, and the riverside. The mostly flat route covers a lot in four hours, but you must be at least 150 cm tall and comfortable on a bicycle.
“Mike was quite knowledgeable and pleasent. The tour was awesome !! It combined historical places as well as current important locations and memorials , government offices, river, ...”
Spend eight hours with a private English or Chinese-speaking driver-guide visiting Yehliu Geopark, Jiufen, Shifen Waterfall, and Shifen Old Street. Guides such as Vincent, Hicks, James, and Nicolas are praised for cultural insight, safe driving, and excellent photos. Add tea at A-Mei Tea House if time allows.
“We had a great day with our wonderfull guide Steven. I recommend starting the tour early (8:00 the latest), so you evoid the big tourist busses at the geological park. As the tour includes the main attractions in the region, you will allways have lots of other visitors around you. Steven managed to get us smoothly through the herd of tourist and allways found a great photostop. Definitely would go again.”
Pick a coastline, a kitchen or a mountain.
