Taiwan Day Trips by Train and Bus
Start from the capital
Four of Taiwan’s most photographed places sit within about an hour of Taipei, which makes day trips here easy to stack. Choose one or two per day and leave the evenings for night markets.
Jiufen, Shifen and the Pingxi line
Jiufen is a hillside former gold-mining village, roughly an hour east of Taipei. Its lantern-lit stone staircases along Shuqi Road lead to the multi-storey Amei Tea House, which is often compared to the bathhouse in an animated Japanese film. Pair it with Shifen, where lantern shops sit beside live railway tracks. A single-colour paper lantern costs about NT$200, and a multicolour one NT$250 to NT$350. Entry to the street is free. A guided minibus tour covering Jiufen, Shifen and Yehliu runs about NT$1,000 to NT$1,600 per person including transport and an English guide, and you can compare Jiufen and Shifen tours on GetYourGuide .
Yehliu Geopark
On the north coast, about an hour from Taipei, sea erosion has carved mushroom-shaped rock formations. The Queen’s Head is the best-known of them, so arrive early and bring a hat.
Wulai, hot springs and a log train
Wulai is a mountain village roughly 45 minutes south of Taipei, in Atayal territory. A vintage narrow-gauge log cart carries passengers 1.5 km to a roaring waterfall, daily from 08:00 to 17:00. Maintenance happens on the first Tuesday of each month, so avoid that day.
Sun Moon Lake from Taichung
Take a bus of about 1.5 hours from Taichung to the lake. Boat hops between the Shuishe, Xuanguang Temple and Ita Thao piers are about NT$100 each, and a full-lake round trip is roughly NT$300. Wenwu Temple sits on the shore, and a cable car climbs to the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village.
Beitou on the way back
If you finish early, stop at Beitou for the free foot baths at Fuxing Park or the public Millennium Hot Spring at NT$40 to NT$60.
Plan around the weather
Taiwan’s typhoon season runs July to October, and mountain and coastal sites may close. Check the Central Weather Administration the night before and the Taiwan Tourism Administration for event dates. Keep drinks and snacks in your bag until you are past the MRT exit gates, because eating or drinking inside stations draws fines of NT$1,500 to NT$7,500.
Shifen Waterfall and Tamsui
Shifen Waterfall is a short walk from the lantern street and spreads in a wide curtain over a rock lip. Tamsui makes a gentler fifth option: ferries cross from Tamsui Old Street to Fisherman’s Wharf for NT$34 to NT$40 one way, and the riverside bike paths are a pleasant ride with a rented YouBike at NT$5 to NT$10 per 30 minutes.
Pairing the trips
Jiufen and Shifen sit on the same side of the city and combine in one day. Yehliu is better matched with the north coast, and Wulai pairs with the hot springs at Beitou on the way back. Sun Moon Lake deserves its own day and ideally a night.
For a plan that sequences some of these, see the 2-day itinerary . Tip: go to Jiufen on a weekday morning, when the stairs are quiet.