This is a review of the best tours in Taipei City, Taiwan. Keep on reading to find an ideal tour for you.
I’ve lived around Taipei City for over 5 years and have experienced a fair number of tours. That inspired me to make this guide to help you find worthy tours of blowing your travel fund while in Taiwan.
Best Tours to try in Taipei
- Iconic Food Tour: Top pick
- Private Custom Taipei Airport Tour: Best for layovers
- Family Walking Tour: Best non-self-guided walking tour
- 4-Hour Morning City Cycling Tour: Best bike tour
- Beitou and Yangmingshan One-Day Tour: Best one-day tour
- Private Tour with Locals: Best private tour
- Din Tai Fung Dinner & Raohe Street Night Market Guided Tour: Best night market tour
- Private Food Tour: Best food tour
- Private Day Tour from Taipei: Best for seeing Taipei 101
Best Tours in Taipei
The following sections will cover essential information about each tour, such as whom each is best for, whether it’s worth the price, noteworthy locations, and other facts you should know beforehand.
These tours are inside Taipei City, not New Taipei. For instance, I won’t cover tours for the Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival. You’ll need to view a separate guide for that.
1. Iconic Food Tour: Best Overall
| Duration | 3.5 hrs |
| Tour Guide Language | English |
| Meeting Point | Yongchun MRT Station |
The Iconic Food Tour is best for foodies or anyone interested in Taiwanese food culture who wants a local to show them all the good stuff.
Of course, it’s worth the price. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have included it in this list. However, if you have internet access and don’t mind doing some research, you could save money and have your own food tour.
Research what to eat at night markets, typical Taiwanese meals, etc. I cover all this information throughout various guides I’ve written.
What kind of foods will you try during this tour?
The tour guide will take you to a wet market in Xinyi district and introduce you to foods like Taiwanese burgers, stinky tofu, bubble tea (boba tea), and Taiwan shaved ice. I’m not going to explain what all these are in this post.
Throughout the tour, you’ll try 10-11 different foods and 1–2 drinks.
The tour guide will also take you through Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall, a popular tourist attraction in Taipei dedicated to a prominent figure in Taiwanese history, Sun Yat-Sen. And you’ll have a chance to do a photo op at Taipei 101.
One of the world’s tallest buildings.
Yongchun MRT Station is on the Blue Line of the Taipei Metro.
This tour isn’t ideal for layovers. The next one is.
2. Private Custom Taipei Airport Tour: Best Taipei Layover Tour
| Duration | 6–8 hrs |
| Tour Guide Language | English & Mandarin |
| Meeting Point | Arrival Hall (terminal varies) |
The Private Custom Taipei Airport Tour is best for anyone having a layover in Taipei City for over 8 hours.
And it’s worth the money if you want to quickly rush through the city’s major tourist attractions.
The driver will pick you up at the Tourist Service Center counter of the arrival hall of your terminal station. Since Taoyuan Airport has 2 terminal stations, it’ll be one of those. Ensure you check your ticket before booking this tour.
Upon following the driver, you’ll get in a private, air-conditioned vehicle with passenger insurance.
Upon getting in the car, here are all the places the driver will take you:
- Dalongdong Bao An Temple: 30 minutes
- Dihua Street: 40 minutes
- Taipei Confucius Temple: 30 minutes
- Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall: 45 minutes
- Taipei 101: Drive-by only
The tour isn’t wheelchair accessible, but it’s fine for infants and folks with strollers.
It’s a great way to explore all the traditional areas in Taipei City within a short period and one of the best ways to utilize a layover period. Before entering Taiwan during a layover, ensure you know what type of visa you’d enter with.
Do you have longer than a day in Taiwan with your family? Consider the next tour.
3. Family Walking Tour: Best Taipei Walking Tour
| Duration | 2 hrs |
| Tour Guide Language | English & Mandarin |
| Meeting Point | Shin Kong Life Tower |
The Family Walking Tour is a great way to blow a couple of hours with your family in the heart of Taipei City.
It’s worth the money if you don’t want to do a self-guided tour. Otherwise, I recommend just walking around Taipei with your family.
The tour will teach you about Taipei’s history while teaching you about the various cultural and architectural sites within the city.
Otherwise, there’s not much else to the tour.
The Shin Kong Life Tower is outside the Taipei Main Station—Taipei MRT Blue/Red Lines.
If you’re not traveling with a family, consider this next tour.
4. 4-Hour Morning City Cycling Tour: Best Taipei Bike Tour
| Duration | 4 hrs |
| Tour Guide Language | English |
| Meeting Point | Taipei Bike Works “In a park” |
The 4-Hour Morning City Cycling Tour is best for anyone who has the stamina to ride a bike for several hours and wants to explore Taipei in a more “intense” way.
It’s worth the money, so long as the weather’s good.
You’ll find yourself riding bikes on a 9-mile (15 km) well-maintained and flat path. Meaning that most cyclists shouldn’t have an issue with this.
For some reason, the listing says it’s unsuitable for folks under 4’ 9”. Kids shouldn’t do this.
They’ll give you a helmet if you want. And a rain poncho if the weather isn’t ideal.
They begin the tour with a traditional Taiwanese breakfast and coffee or tea. Afterward, you’ll explore temples, wet markets, and other exciting architecture that reflects Taipei’s rich history.
You should spend the day a different way. Let’s check out the next tour.
5. Beitou & Yangmingshan One-Day Tour: Best Taipei One-Day Tour
| Duration | 8 hrs |
| Tour Guide Language | English, Japanese, or Mandarin |
| Meeting Point | Zhongxiao Xinsheng MRT Station |
The Beitou and Yangmingshan One-Day Tour is best for anyone who doesn’t mind getting some exercise to see some of Taipei’s most beautiful sites.
Making it 100% worth the money.
The tour begins at the Beitou Thermal Valley, a great place to take pictures and to feel like you’re emerging from a thick cloud of fog. Despite being called “Hell Valley,” it’s quite relaxing.
Afterward, the tour will go toward the Flower Clock in Yangmingshan National Park. Show up from February to March, and you’ll see cherry blossoms in this area. Otherwise, you’ll find various flowers on display.
Then you’ll see the lake formed at Qigu and Qixing Mountains.
The tour will end at Shilin Night Market, one of Taipei’s most popular night markets. It’s a great place to try Taiwanese sausages and cold noodles (vegetarian option).
You may want a more private tour. Let’s explore the next pick.
6. Private Tour w/ Locals: Best Taipei Private Tour
| Duration | 3.5 hrs |
| Tour Guide Language | English or Mandarin |
| Meeting Point | Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall Station |
The Taipei Private Tour with Locals is best for anyone who wants to quickly explore the city’s hidden gems.
It’s worth the money if you don’t want to spend time researching “hidden gems” in Taipei. It’s also worth it because you’ll learn about Taiwanese culture from a local’s perspective.
And not from some stranger on the internet.
What are these hidden gems? You’ll find out along the way.
Otherwise, you’ll visit places like Dalongdong Bao An Temple, Maji Square, and a Chiang Kai-Shek Statue. You’ll also have an opportunity for a single local drink and food tasting.
You may not find this to have enough food. Let’s check out another tour.
7. Din Tai Fung Dinner & Raohe Street Night Market Guided Tour: Best Taipei Night Market Tour
| Duration | 4 hrs |
| Tour Guide Language | Mandarin, English, or Japanese |
| Meeting Point | Zhongxiao Xinsheng MRT Station |
The Din Tai Fung Dinner & Raohe Street Night Market Guided Tour is best for anyone who wants to try some of Taiwan’s best dishes and learn more about the city from a local’s perspective.
It’s worth the money, as Din Tai Fung has some of the best food I’ve tried.
Yes, I’m a bit biased. But it’s a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant. Meaning that many food critics deemed it worthy of being labeled as the best restaurant in its food category [1]. You’ll have Xiao Long Bao at Din Tai Fung.
Think of them as a type of dumpling.
You’ll also have an opportunity to try other Michelin Star restaurants at Raohe Night Market. Their black pepper buns and mochi rank the highest in Taipei.
After venturing into Raohe Night Market, you’ll explore the Songshan Ciyou Temple. It’s a great place for religious and history buffs to learn about the building’s architecture and spiritual practices.
Here’s what the tour looks like in-depth:
- Taipei 101: 40 minutes—tour doesn’t include 89th floor Observatory tickets.
- These tickets cost NT$600 each.
- Din Tai Fung @ Taipei 101: 45 minutes
- Raohe Night Market: 50 minutes
- Rainbow Bridge: 20 minutes
- Songshan Ciyou Temple
Need more food? Okay… Here’s another food tour.
8. Private Food Tour: Best Taipei Food Tour
| Duration | 3 hrs |
| Tour Guide Language | English or Mandarin |
| Meeting Point | Dongmen MRT Station |
The Taipei City Private Food Tour works best for anyone who wants to try various popular Taiwanese dishes and staple foods. This tour’s also an excellent option for vegetarians.
It’s worth the money to explore Taiwan’s food culture in-depth.
You’ll get 10 food and drink tastings, with vegetarian options available. Aside from food, you’ll explore areas like the remains of the Taipei Prison Wall, Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, and Mazu Temple.
Making it also a great tour for history and religious buffs.
Do you want to specifically visit Taipei 101? Let’s check out the last pick.
9. Private Day Tour From Taipei: Best for Visiting Tourist Attractions
| Duration | 6 hrs |
| Tour Guide Language | English, Mandarin, or Japanese |
| Meeting Point | Your hotel |
The Private Day Tour from Taipei is best for anyone who wants a private tour to explore some of Taipei’s most popular attractions.
It’s worth the money if you want to escape the heat and explore Taipei in an air conditioned car.
You’ll explore Taiwan’s most popular temple, Longshan Temple in addition to these areas:
- National Palace Museum, Taipei: Place where you’ll find the most Chinese artifacts on Earth.
- Chiang Kai-Shek Residence, Shilin: Place where Chiang Kai-Shek used to live.
- National Revolutionary Martyrs Shrine: Shrine dedicated to fallen Republic of China (ROC) soldiers
- Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall: Area dedicated to Sun Yat-Sen.
- Taipei 101: One of the world’s tallest buildings.
- Longshan Temple: Largest & most popular temple.
- Huaxi Street Night Market: Otherwise known as Snake Alley.
It won’t give you a tour of everything inside Taipei 101, for example, the 101st floor or the 89th floor Observatory. But it’s a great way to see the lower floors and the interesting architecture inside.
Booking Tours: KKday vs. KLOOK vs. GetYourGuide
KKday is a Taiwan-based business that provides lower prices on some tours than KLOOK or GetYourGuide.
Hong Kong-based KLOOK offers the Taipei Attraction pass, which gives you a small discount on entering tourist attractions like the Taipei 101 Observatory, Leofoo Village Theme Park, and more.
You must group these attractions in bundles of 2, 3, 4, or 5 activities. However, the Taipei Fun Pass offers a similar discount—often better. And it’ll include an EasyCard and unlimited access to the Taipei MRT (on some passes).
Compare the Taipei Attractions Pass to the various Fun Passes and see where you’ll have the most savings.
GetYourGuide is based in Germany and offers a couple of variations of the Fun Pass on their site, which makes it easier to order and pick up than trying to deal with when in Taiwan.
KLOOK and KKday offer more deals on single attractions. KKday tends to offer more single tourist attractions than KLOOK. Then GetYourGuide offers better tours.
All 3 websites have loyalty programs that allow you to accumulate points and get discounts. I can’t specify whether there’s a winner in this category. Because whatever option’s best depends on whether you’d utilize the reward tiers each service offers each loyalty tier.
FAQs
How many Days in Taipei is Enough?
5 days in Taipei would allow you to explore all the major tourist attractions in-depth. And would allow you to hike in areas such as Elephant Mountain and Yangmingshan. Get away with 3 days if you only want to visit places like the Memorial Halls, Taipei 101, and shop a bit.
