Planning a Central Taiwan trip and want to know the top things to do? Look no further! Below is the 7 Days Central Taiwan Itinerary (Self-Drive) that we’ve used for our May/Jun-2023 trip. Go ahead and share this with your travel kakis!
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7 Days Self-Drive Central Taiwan Itinerary
Day 1 (Arrival at Taoyuan International Airport and Taichung)
- Arrival Taoyuan Airport and collect car
- Drive to Taichung (2 hours)
- Taichung
- Afternoon: Mitsui Outlet Park (Taichung)
- Late afternoon/sunset: Gaomei Wetlands 高美濕地 (next to Mitsui Outlet Park)
- One of the TOP places for sunset in Taichung. Excellent sunset views. Definitely a must-visit while in Taichung
- Night: Feng Chia Night Market 逢甲觀光夜市 (Taichung City)
- One of the biggest and best night market in Taichung
- Accommodation: Near Feng Chia Night Market (Taichung City)
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Day 2 (Taichung and Chiayi)
- Taichung
- Morning/afternoon: Dongfeng Bicycle GreenWay 東豐自行車綠廊 and Houfeng Bike Path 后豐鐵馬道
- Approximately 23km north of Taichung city centre, Dongfeng Bicycle Green Way and Houfeng Bike Path are extremely popular with both tourist and locals
- Both bikeways start at the same point, with Dongfeng bikeway heading east while Houfeng bikeway heads north
- There are plenty of bike rental shops at the starting point offering a wide range of bicycles (including power-assisted bikes) and free parking (for customers only)
- Dongfeng Bicycle Green Way:
- First bikeway in Taiwan that is converted from abandoned railway tracks. The bikeway is 13.6km per way (27km return) along Dajia River. It heads east and ends at Dongshi Hakka Culture Park
- Houfeng Bike Path:
- The bikeway is 5.8km per way (12km return) and heads north, ending at Houli Horse Ranch. Highlight of the bikeway includes Dajia River Steel Bridge (length 382m) and the 1.2km-long Tunnel No.9.
- Late afternoon: Drive to Chiayi City
- Morning/afternoon: Dongfeng Bicycle GreenWay 東豐自行車綠廊 and Houfeng Bike Path 后豐鐵馬道
- Accommodation: Chiayi City
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Day 3 (Alishan and Chiayi)
- Alishan
- Morning/afternoon: Drive up to Alishan 阿里山 (2 hours)
- Approximately 65km (1.5 hours drive) east of Chiayi city centre, Alishan National Forest Recreation Area is the most famous and popular forest recreational area in Taiwan
- See below for the officially suggested itinerary (by the park authority) for visiting Alishan
- Late afternoon: Drive back to Chiayi City
- Night: Wenhua Road Night Market 文化路觀光夜市 (Chioyi City)
- Morning/afternoon: Drive up to Alishan 阿里山 (2 hours)
- Accommodation: Chiayi City
Suggested itinerary for Alishan
- Park at Alishan Visitor Centre (Alishan Station)
- Take train from Alishan Station to Zhaoping Station
- Walk from Zhaoping Station to:
- Sister Pond
- Shouzhen Temple
- Suspension Bridge
- Three Generation Tree
- Xianglin Sacred Tree
- Cihyun Temple
- Alishan Sacred Tree (remains) (Sacred Tree Station)
- From Sacred Tree Station, take train back to Alishan Station (Alishan Visitor Centre)
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Day 4 (Sun Moon Lake)
- Morning: Drive to Zhushan Zinan Temple 竹山紫南宮 (along the way to Sun Moon Lake)
- A small but extremely popular temple that is well-known amongst locals seeking good fortune
- Noon/afternoon: Drive to Sun Moon Lake 日月潭
- Situated at the foothills of Taiwan’s Central Mountain Range, it is the largest lake in the country
- One of the “Eight Beautiful Scenic Attractions” in Taiwan
- Places to visit in Sun Moon Lake
- Shuishe Pier 水社碼頭
- Lake cruises departs from here
- The cruise is a 3-stop hop-on-hop-off service around the lake (stopping at 3 different jetties)
- It takes approximately 40 minutes for the boat to come back to ShuiShe Pier
- XiangShan Visitor Center 向山眺望平台
- WenWuTemple 文武廟
- A grand Chinese-palace style Taoist Temple overlooking the lake
- Shuishe Pier 水社碼頭
- Accommodation: Sun Moon Lake
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Day 5 (CingJing and HeHuanShan)
- Morning: Drive up to CingJing 清境 (highland town)
- CingJing is a highland town that is often the base for travellers visiting HeHuanShan, which is ~40 minutes (23km) away
- Late morning/afternoon:
- Once at CingJing, check the weather condition at HeHuanShan 合歡山.
- If weather is clear, drive up to HeHuanShan.
- If weather is bad/cloudy, stay in CingJing and explore the town
- HeHuanShan
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- One of the most popular mountain range in central Taiwan
- Much of the area is >3000m (altitude) and is home to the highest paved road (Wuling 3275m) in the country
- From the visitor centre, it is an easy drive to the head of several popular hiking trails (ranging from short 30 minute trails to those in hours)
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- Places to visit in CingJing:
- CingJing Farm 清境農場青青草原
- CingJing SkyWalk 清境高空步道
- Places to visit in HeHuanShan
- Wuling 武嶺 (highest paved road in Taiwan)
- Try to hike the two shortest trail on HeHuanShan:
- Trail 1: Hehuan Jianshan 合歡尖山 (3217 m), 0.5-1 hour return. Start point is next to Hehuanshan Visitor centre.
- Trail 2: ShiMenShan Trail 石門山 (3237 m), 1hr return (adjacent to Trail 1)
- Accommodation: CingJing
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Day 6 (CingJing and HeHuanShan)
- Morning: Backup time for exploring CingJing or HeHuanShan
- Noon/early afternoon: Drive to Puli 埔里 (enroute to Taichung)
- Afternoon: BaoHu DiMuTemple 寶湖宮天地堂地母廟 (Puli)
- A grand Taoist temple with panoramic view of surrounding plains.
- Late afternoon/evening: Drive to Taichung
- Accommodation: Taichung
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Day 7 (Taichung and Tamsui)
- Morning: Shopping at malls in Taichung (e.g. LaLaport Mitsui Shopping Park)
- Early afternoon: Drive to Tamsui Fishermans Wharf 淡水漁人碼頭
- Late afternoon/evening: Shopping at Gloria Outlets 華泰名品城 (Taoyuan)
- Accommodation: Taoyuan
- Stay at Taoyuan (near airport) in preparation for next day’s return flight.
END OF TRIP
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- Tokyo Highlights (Free & Easy Japan)
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- Hakone Highlights (Free & Easy Japan)
- Okinawa Travel VLOG 2019
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