Taiwan Explorer: Lanterns, Lakes & Skyline Views (Self-Launched)
9 days · Taiwan
G Adventures charges £1,715
No-markup version: ~£660 per person
Estimate only, not a guaranteed price. Always verify costs independently before booking.
A self-launched, solo-friendly version of G Adventures' 9-day Taiwan circuit — Taipei's temples and skyline, an Indigenous Bunun village stay near Sun Moon Lake, the old capital of Tainan, Kaohsiung's Dragon and Tiger Pagodas, and the lantern-lit mountain lanes of Jiufen. All done on Taiwan's superb public transport (HSR, local trains, buses, YouBike) with hostel and guesthouse stays instead of hotels. Group tour price starts at ~$2,174 USD (about £1,715) at 25% off; the rack rate is $2,899 USD (~£2,285). Costs here are backpacker estimates and exclude international flights.
Day-by-day
Arrive Taipei — settle in and night market orientation
Taipei
Land at Taoyuan Airport and take the Airport MRT into Taipei Main Station (~NT$150/£3.70, 40 mins). Check into a hostel in Zhongzheng or Ximending (Star Hostel Taipei Main Station and Meander 1948 are solid mid-range hostels, dorms ~£16-20/night). Do your own orientation walk: wander Ximending's pedestrian streets after dark, then ride the MRT two stops to Longshan Temple to see it lit up and locals chanting the evening sutras (free). Dinner at Huaxi Street Night Market next door — try snake-alley-adjacent stalls for cheap noodles and oyster omelette (~£5).
🚌Airport MRT ~£3.70; MRT day pass optional ~£4
🛏Hostel dorm, Zhongzheng/Ximending (~£18)
- →Ximending night wander
- →Longshan Temple evening visit
- →Huaxi Street Night Market
Taipei city highlights and Elephant Mountain sunset
Taipei
DIY the classic Taipei loop on the metro. Start at Longshan Temple (free), walk the metro to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (free, changing of the guard hourly), then lunch on beef noodle soup near Yongkang Street (~£6 — Lin Dong Fang is the famous one). Late afternoon, take the MRT to Xiangshan station and hike Elephant Mountain's ~600 steps for the best Taipei 101 skyline view at golden hour (free, 30-40 mins up). Evening: Shilin Night Market for oyster vermicelli, giant fried chicken and bubble tea (~£8). Optional add-on: Taipei 101 observation deck (~£16) — book on Klook for a small discount.
🚌MRT, ~£4
🛏Hostel dorm, Zhongzheng/Ximending (~£18)
- →Longshan Temple
- →Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
- →Elephant Mountain trail
- →Shilin Night Market
HSR to Taichung, Bunun village and Sun Moon Lake
Shuanglong / Sun Moon Lake
Take the high-speed train from Taipei to Taichung (~NT$700/£17, 1 hour) — book online via the Taiwan High Speed Rail site or Klook 1-2 weeks out for early-bird discounts. From Taichung HSR, bus 6670 goes to Sun Moon Lake (~NT$190/£4.70, 1.5 hrs); for the Bunun community experience, arrange a homestay or community visit in Shuanglong (Shuanglong Bunun Village) directly by email — several community-run guesthouses offer name-giving ceremony experiences, forest walks to the Shuanglong suspension bridge and waterfall, and a cultural talk with local elders for ~£30-40 including a home-cooked lunch. Not as slick as the tour version but genuine and money goes straight to the village. Evening transfer or next-morning bus to Sun Moon Lake.
🚌HSR Taipei–Taichung ~£17; bus to Sun Moon Lake ~£5
🛏Bunun community guesthouse near Shuanglong (~£20, shared)
- →High-speed train ride
- →Bunun village community visit and name-giving ceremony
- →Shuanglong suspension bridge and waterfall walk
- →Indigenous home-cooked lunch
Sun Moon Lake by bike, boat and tea
Sun Moon Lake
Rent a bike at the Shuishe or Ita Thao pier (~NT$300/£7 for a half day) and ride the lakeside trail — the section from Shuishe to Xuanguang Temple is the postcard stretch, and the full loop is about 30km. Alternatively take the hop-on-hop-off lake ferry (~NT$300/£7) between Shuishe, Xuanguang and Ita Thao, and visit the Wenwu Temple and Ci'en Pagoda. In the afternoon, take the local bus or a taxi (~£10) to a Sun Moon Lake tea plantation for a tasting — Antique Assam Tea Farm near Yuchi runs informal tastings (~£5-8). Slow evening by the lake with a bento and a beer.
🚌Bike rental ~£7; ferry ~£7; local bus/taxi ~£5
🛏Guesthouse near Sun Moon Lake (~£20, shared)
- →Sun Moon Lake bike trail
- →Lake ferry hop-on-hop-off
- →Wenwu Temple
- →Tea plantation tasting
Bus to Tainan — Taiwan's old capital on foot
Tainan
Take the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle or a local bus from Sun Moon Lake to Taichung (~£5), then a TRA train (not HSR — Tainan HSR station is far out of town, the slower TRA train drops you downtown, ~NT$350/£8.50, 1.5 hrs). Tainan is Taiwan's food capital: start with danzai noodles and coffin bread around Guohua Street (~£6). In the afternoon, do the Anping district yourself — Fort Zeelandia (entry ~NT$50/£1.20), the Anping Tree House (banyan roots swallowing a warehouse, ~£1.20) and Anping Old Street for shrimp rolls and taro ice. Optional evening: Chihkan Tower and Confucius Temple (both under £2).
🚌Bus + TRA train ~£14
🛏Hostel or guesthouse in West Central Tainan (~£18)
- →Guohua Street food crawl
- →Fort Zeelandia
- →Anping Tree House
- →Anping Old Street
Tainan to Kaohsiung — Buddha, pagodas and Lotus Pond
Kaohsiung
Take a local TRA train from Tainan to Kaohsiung (~NT$100/£2.50, 40 mins). Drop bags at a hostel near Formosa Boulevard or Liuhe Night Market (~£16). Then head north to Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum — take the E02 bus from Kaohsiung HSR/Zuoying (~£3, 40 mins); entry is free and the 108m golden Amitabha Buddha is genuinely staggering. Back in the city, visit the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas and Lotus Pond (free, and you can walk through the dragon's mouth into the tiger's jaws), plus the Summer and Autumn Pavilions. Evening: Liuhe Night Market for papaya milk and grilled squid (~£7). Optional: ferry to Cijin Island for the beach and seafood (~£1.50 return).
🚌TRA train ~£2.50; city bus to Fo Guang Shan ~£3; MRT ~£2
🛏Hostel dorm, Kaohsiung (~£16)
- →Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum
- →Dragon and Tiger Pagodas
- →Lotus Pond and Summer/Autumn Pavilions
- →Liuhe Night Market
HSR back to Taipei — free day and beef noodles
Taipei
High-speed train Kaohsiung to Taipei (~NT$1,490/£36, 1h40m; early-bird or Klook booking can knock 20-30% off). Check back into your Taipei hostel and spend the afternoon on your own list: the National Palace Museum (~NT$350/£8.50), Huashan 1914 creative park, Dadaocheng's old streets for tea and dried goods, or the Songshan Cultural Park. Dinner is compulsory beef noodle soup — Yongkang Beef Noodle or Lin Dong Fang (~£7). Optional evening: Taipei 101's 89th-floor deck or the free-ish Maokong Gondola up to the hillside tea houses (~£3).
🚌HSR ~£36; MRT ~£3
🛏Hostel dorm, Taipei (~£18)
- →National Palace Museum
- →Dadaocheng old streets
- →Maokong Gondola or Taipei 101
- →Beef noodle dinner
Jiufen, Golden Waterfall, Heping Island and Keelung night market
Jiufen / Keelung / Taipei
Do the north-coast loop on public transport. From Taipei Main Station take the TRA train to Ruifang (~£1.50, 45 mins), then bus 1062 or a taxi up to Jiufen (~£1). Wander the lantern-lit Shuqi Road lanes, stop for taro balls at A-Gan Yi and tea at a hillside tea house (~£6). From Jiufen, bus 856 or a local taxi takes you past the Golden Waterfall and Yin Yang Sea (gold-tinted water from old copper mine runoff) to Keelung (~£2). In Keelung, visit Heping Island Park for the wave-cut coastline (~NT$120/£3, bus 101 from Keelung station) and finish at Miaokou Night Market — stinky tofu, crab soup and tempura (~£7). Last train/bus back to Taipei (~£2).
🚌TRA + local buses ~£8
🛏Hostel dorm, Taipei (~£18)
- →Jiufen old streets and tea houses
- →Golden Waterfall and Yin Yang Sea viewpoint
- →Heping Island Park
- →Keelung Miaokou Night Market
Last breakfast and depart
Taipei
Grab a final soy milk and youtiao breakfast at Fu Hang Dou Jiang near Shandao Temple (~£3), pick up pineapple cakes for the flight, and take the Airport MRT back to Taoyuan (~£3.70). If you have a late flight, leave bags at the hostel or a station locker and do one last wander around Songshan or Dihua Street.
🚌Airport MRT ~£3.70
🛏—
- →Taiwanese breakfast at Fu Hang Dou Jiang
- →Souvenir shopping
Self-launched vs. G Adventures
| This itinerary (self-launched) | G Adventures | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per person | ~£660 | £1,715 |
| Duration | 9 days | 9 days |
| Who books it | You and your group, direct | Tour operator, guided group |
| Savings | £1,055 per person (62%) | |
Estimate only, not a guaranteed price. Always verify costs independently before booking.
Want to see more G Adventures-style trips? Check them out here.~£660
estimated per person
You never pay Travel Crew for this — you pay hostels, transport, and activity providers directly, the same as if you'd booked it all yourself.
This publishes your dates so other travellers can find and join you — no tour operator needed.
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Frequently asked questions
How much does Taiwan Explorer: Lanterns, Lakes & Skyline Views (Self-Launched) cost?+
Doing it yourself with this self-launched itinerary costs an estimated £660 per person for 9 days in Taiwan. This is an AI-generated estimate based on typical budget-traveller prices — actual costs will vary by season and how you book.
Is this cheaper than booking with G Adventures?+
Yes — G Adventures charges around £1,715 per person for a similar tour. Doing the same route independently, using the same standard of accommodation and activities, costs an estimated £660 — a saving of roughly £1,055 (62%) per person.
How long is the Taiwan trip?+
This itinerary runs 9 days, covering 9 day-by-day stops through Taiwan.
How do I join this trip?+
You can join an existing open departure using this itinerary if one is scheduled, or launch your own departure with your own dates and invite other travellers to join you — no tour operator required.
Isn't it easier to just use a tour operator?+
Well, yes, a tour operator will book all the individual parts of your travel for you and provide a guide. That's obvious, but doing this has the potential to save the group thousands, which can in turn improve your itinerary substantially or save you huge amounts of money. Also, when you launch a departure, Travel Crew has tools in place to help you book the individual sections of the trip or make it easier for you to do this as a group. Really, you do not need a middle man. If you are more comfortable paying more and using a middle man, then you should certainly do this.
Is it safer to book through a tour operator?+
Arguably, there isn't much difference. A self-launched trip runs on the same principle as a group travel crew: collective responsibility, everyone looking out for each other, the same way it would if a group of friends organised the trip themselves — because that's exactly what's happening. You should always take out travel insurance before you go, self-launched or not; that doesn't change either way. Every open departure is published publicly with real dates and a real trip organiser, so it's never an anonymous arrangement, and our support team is reachable any time you need help, including in an emergency while you're away. Longer-term, we're building direct relationships with ground DMCs in popular destinations, offered as an optional paid add-on for extra on-the-ground support. Ultimately, though, the group is responsible for its own conduct and safety on a self-launched trip, same as on any trip you plan yourself.
What kind of trip is this?+
This is a culture, city-breaks, foodie trip through Taiwan, self-launched rather than run by a tour operator — you organise it with a group you find or bring yourself.
Would you like to name the operator, name the trip, or have any suggestions about how to improve this itinerary?
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