Taipei in 5 days — the complete city and day-trips itinerary

Five days gives you the full Taipei picture

Three days covers the highlights; five days lets you go deeper — an unhurried morning at the National Palace Museum, a proper hot spring afternoon in Beitou, volcanic craters in Yangmingshan, and the old fishing port at Tamsui at golden hour. This itinerary is designed for travellers staying in central Taipei and moving by MRT and local train, with one guided-tour day for the northeast coast where logistics genuinely justify it.

Costs in TWD: NT$35 ≈ €1, NT$32 ≈ US$1. Budget reference: NT$2,500–3,500/day per person including mid-range accommodation.


Where	Old Taipei, northeast coast, Yangmingshan/Beitou, Tamsui
Cost	around NT$2,500–3,500/day mid-range, all-in
Time needed	5 full days, arrival day included
Getting there	MRT + TRA train, one guided-tour day optional
Best time	Feb–Apr for cherry blossoms; Oct–Nov for clear skies
Day	Focus
Day 1	Landing & Ximending
Day 2	Old Taipei deep-dive
Day 3	Northeast coast
Day 4	Yangmingshan & Beitou
Day 5	Museum & Tamsui

Day 1: Landing, orientation, and Ximending

Afternoon: Airport to city

Taoyuan Airport MRT (Terminal 1 and 2 stations) runs direct to Taipei Main Station in 35–37 minutes, NT$160. Runs every 6 minutes during peak hours, 15 minutes off-peak. Do not take a taxi from the airport — metered taxis are honest but cost NT$1,000–1,300 for the same journey. Pick up an EasyCard at any MRT station (NT$100 deposit, top up NT$500 minimum). See the airport to Taipei transport guide for full options.

Check into Ximending or Zhongzheng — both are on or near the Red Line and give fast access to every day trip in this itinerary.

Evening: Ximending and Ningxia Night Market

Ximending for an hour at dusk: pedestrian zone, street fashion, takoyaki, and bubble tea from one of the 40+ competing shops (Chun Shui Tang on Wuchang Street is the original, NT$75–120). Walk or ride the MRT one stop north to Zhongshan, then 10 minutes on foot to Ningxia Night Market for dinner. Oyster vermicelli, braised pork rice, and taro balls cost NT$250–350 for a full session.

Day 2: Old Taipei deep-dive — temples, Dadaocheng, Zhongzheng

Morning: Longshan Temple and Wanhua

The Longshan Temple experience is best before 9 am when the tour groups haven’t arrived. Free entry; allow 45 minutes. The surrounding Huaxi Street (Snake Alley) is touristy at night but an interesting dead-end walk by day. From Longshan Temple MRT, walk 10 minutes north to the riverside park for Taipei’s best unobstructed mountain views.

Late morning: Dadaocheng and Dihua Street

MRT Red Line to Shuanglian (3 stops), walk south to Dadaocheng. Dihua Street’s 19th-century Baroque shophouses sell medicinal herbs, tea, and dried goods. Yongle Market (fabric upstairs, snacks downstairs) is worth 30 minutes. Best snack: fried taro cake from the stalls at the market entrance (NT$40).

Afternoon: CKS Memorial and 228 Peace Park

MRT Red Line to NTU Hospital or Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall for the Zhongzheng district. The National Memorial Hall plaza is one of the grandest public spaces in East Asia — colonnaded walkways, koi ponds, and the main building housing a bronze Chiang Kai-shek statue watched by hourly guard changes. The 228 Peace Park next door has a small but serious museum about the 1947 massacre; NT$30 entry, essential context for understanding modern Taiwan. The National Museum of History (free) is another 5 minutes west. Allow 2.5 hours for the area.

Evening: Zhongxiao Dunhua or Da’an night food

The stretch of restaurants around Zhongxiao Fuxing and Zhongxiao Dunhua MRT stations (Blue Line) is Taipei’s most practical eating district: everything from NT$80 beef noodle shops to NT$500 sit-down Sichuan. Lin Dong Fang beef noodle (108 Linsen N. Road, Zhongshan) is the classic recommendation — perpetually ranked, perpetually queued, NT$240 for the red-braised large bowl.

Day 3: Northeast coast — Yehliu, Jiufen, Shifen

This is the most logistics-intensive day and the one where a guided tour genuinely earns its cost if you’re not comfortable with Taiwan rail timetables.

Option A — Self-guided (recommended for independent travellers)

TRA train from Taipei Main Station to Ruifang (50 minutes, NT$57). Bus 788 or 825 to Jiufen (15 minutes, NT$15). Spend the morning in Jiufen before the day-trip buses arrive around 11 am. Take bus back to Ruifang, then Pingxi Branch Line to Shifen (20 minutes, NT$26). Sky lantern release at the tracks (NT$200–250), waterfall (NT$80). Return to Taipei via Ruifang before 18:00. For Yehliu, add Bus 790 from Jinshan; but doing Yehliu + Jiufen + Shifen in one day makes it a 12-hour rush. See the Jiufen day trip guide for precise timetables.

Option B — Guided day tour

This 9-hour guided group tour covers Yehliu Geopark, Jiufen Old Street, and Shifen sky lanterns with hotel pick-up from central Taipei. Costs from NT$1,500/person — worth it if you’re combining all three sites in one day (from NT$1,500/person).Check availability

Evening: Raohe Night Market

Return via Songshan TRA station, 5-minute walk to Raohe Street Night Market. The temple at the entrance is worth 10 minutes of its own (Songshan Ciyou Temple, free). Signature dish: black pepper buns from the temple-front stall (NT$55), line 15–25 minutes.

Day 4: Yangmingshan and Beitou hot springs

The volcanic national park north of the city and the hot spring district below it make a natural pairing — Yangmingshan in the morning, Beitou soak in the afternoon.

Morning: Yangmingshan National Park

Bus S9 from Jiantan MRT Station (Red Line) or Red 5 from Taipei Main Station climbs to Yangmingshan (30–40 minutes, NT$15–30). Yangmingshan is best visited February–April for cherry blossoms and calla lilies, or October–November for clear skies and manageable crowds. The main Qingtiangang grassland loop hike takes 2.5 hours round-trip and passes volcanic vents with sulphur smell (harmless). Xiaoyoukeng area has active fumaroles and is the only spot with genuine danger signs (respect them: the acid gas is real). Xiaobaiyou footpath leads to panoramic views over Taipei and the coast on clear days — Taipei 101 is visible from here.

The Yangmingshan hiking guide has trail maps and seasonal notes. Cherry blossom timing is late February to mid-March; arrive before 8 am in peak season.

If you’d rather have a driver for the day who can adjust to weather and crowds, this combined Beitou and Yangmingshan day tour (9 hours) picks up from Taipei and handles all transport logistics.Check availability

Afternoon: Beitou hot springs

Bus back to Xinbeitou (or walk 90 minutes downhill through Lengshuikeng trail). MRT to Xinbeitou takes 40 minutes from Jiantan. Beitou has three price tiers:

Public bathhouse (Beitou Hot Spring Public Bathhouse): NT$100–200, communal pools, mixed gender swimwear required
Millennium Hot Spring (publicly run): NT$40 (outdoor, less crowded, no private rooms)
Private hotel rooms: NT$800–2,500 for two hours (Spring City Resort, Sweetme Hotspring Resort are reliable)

Thermal Valley (地熱谷, Direchiku) is 5 minutes walk from Xinbeitou Station: vivid jade-green boiling pool, NT$70 entry, 20 minutes is enough. The Beitou hot springs guide has the full breakdown of public vs. private options and Japanese colonial heritage sites.

Return MRT to city centre for dinner. Din Tai Fung is a reasonable splurge (NT$350–500, book ahead or wait 60+ minutes at Xinyi and Zhongxiao locations).

Day 5: Tamsui, National Palace Museum, and farewell dinner

Morning: National Palace Museum

MRT Red Line to Shilin, then Bus R30 or taxi (NT$120) to National Palace Museum. The museum holds the world’s largest collection of Chinese imperial art — 700,000 pieces, rotating displays of 3,000–5,000. Entry NT$350. Allow 2.5–3 hours for a curated visit: the Jadeite Cabbage (Jade Gallery, 3F), the Meat-shaped Stone (same gallery), and the rotating calligraphy exhibitions (1F). The museum guide identifies the 10 pieces worth seeking out specifically.

Lunch at Silks Palace inside the museum (dim sum NT$400–600, make reservations) or the museum food court (NT$100–150).

Afternoon: Tamsui

MRT Red Line from Shilin to Tamsui terminal station (30 minutes, NT$40). Tamsui is a former colonial port: Fort San Domingo (Dutch/Spanish/British) is NT$80 entry, well-restored, excellent sea views. Tamsui Old Street along the waterfront has aggressively tourist-priced iron eggs (NT$40 for 3, try to bargain or skip) but the riverside walk at golden hour — looking across to the mountains of Bali — is one of Taipei’s best free views. Fisherman’s Wharf (take Bus 836 from Tamsui Station, 20 minutes) is cheesier but has the famous Lover’s Bridge and good sunset positions.

Evening: Da’an or farewell dinner

Return to city for a final dinner. Ding Tai Feng Shin Vegetarian (忠孝店) near Zhongxiao Dunhua does a vegetarian version of everything you’ve been eating this week (NT$150–300). Or: Addiction Aquatic Development near Zhongshan for high-quality sashimi and seafood market (NT$400–800).

How this compares to 3 or 7 days

Five days sits in a sweet spot: enough for Yangmingshan and a proper museum visit without the pressure of the 3-day version, but without stretching to Sun Moon Lake or Taroko like the 7-day itinerary does. If you find yourself with a spare afternoon anywhere in this plan, Elephant Mountain’s sunset viewpoint (covered in the practical notes below) is the single best low-effort addition — free, 40 minutes round trip, and it doesn’t need its own day.

Pacing tips for a 5-day trip

The temptation with five days is to schedule something for every waking hour; resist it. Day 2’s old-Taipei deep-dive and Day 5’s museum-plus-Tamsui day are both naturally full without padding, so don’t try to squeeze in an extra market or district on top. If jet lag hits on Day 1, it’s the easiest day to trim — Ximending will still be there on a later evening, and a slower start protects your energy for Day 3’s more logistically demanding coast trip. Travellers doing this itinerary in reverse (starting with Tamsui and finishing with the coast) report it works just as well; the order here is optimised for jet lag recovery, not for any fixed sequencing requirement.

Practical notes for 5 days in Taipei

Daily MRT budget: NT$80–120/day covers all intra-city travel on EasyCard. Day trips add NT$120–200 in train/bus fares.

What to skip: Elephant Mountain (Xiangshan) at sunset is genuinely beautiful but extremely crowded 16:00–19:00. Visit before 10 am or after 20:00. Full details in the elephant mountain hike guide.

Typhoon season: July–September is risky for day trips to Jiufen and Yangmingshan — both are exposed, and mountain trails close with typhoon warnings. The Taipei typhoon season guide explains what to do if a typhoon hits during your trip.

Booking ahead: National Palace Museum, Din Tai Fung, and Taipei 101 observatory tickets benefit from advance booking. Everything else is walk-in.

See the Taipei first-timer guide for accommodation-booking timing, SIM card options, and cash-vs-card advice.

Frequently asked questions about Taipei

Is 5 days better than 3 days for a first visit to Taipei?

Yes, if you can manage it — the extra two days let you add Yangmingshan’s volcanic park and a genuinely unhurried National Palace Museum visit, both of which feel rushed on a tighter 3-day version.

Do I need a guided tour for the Jiufen and Shifen day, or can I do it independently?

Independent travel by TRA train and Pingxi Line bus is entirely manageable and covered step-by-step in Option A above; a guided tour mainly helps if you want to add Yehliu Geopark to the same day without the extra logistics.

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