Day Trips from Taipei, With the Transport and the Closures

The 10 best day trips, ranked

Ordered by how well they repay a full day - factoring travel time, what you can actually see, and how easy they are without a car.

1. 
   1

   Jiufen

   Lanterns, teahouses and the sea below

   35 km northeast · ~1 h each way

   A gold-mining town stacked up a hillside above the sea, with a covered old street of food stalls and the tiered teahouses that made it famous. Go late afternoon: the lanterns come on, the day-trip coaches leave, and the view down to the Pacific is the whole point. It is crowded and it is still worth it.

   Getting there: Train from Taipei Main Station to Ruifang, which takes 30 minutes on an express and up to an hour on a local service, at around NT$76 express or NT$46 local. From outside Ruifang station take bus 1062 up the hill to Jiufen, about 20 to 25 minutes for roughly NT$15. Fares and times here come from specialist Taiwan travel sources rather than from the operators' own English pages, so treat them as indicative and check the board at the station.

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2. 
   2

   Shifen and the Pingxi Line

   A waterfall and a railway that runs through the street

   45 km east · ~1h30 each way

   Shifen Waterfall is the widest in Taiwan, a broad curtain into a green pool, and it is a short walk from the station. The old street is where people release paper sky lanterns onto the railway line, which is either charming or litter depending on your view, and worth knowing about before you arrive expecting a quiet gorge.

   Getting there: Same train to Ruifang, then change to the Pingxi branch line, which runs about hourly and costs around NT$20 to Shifen. The branch is a single-track rural line that runs between the houses, and the stations are the attraction as much as the destinations. Pair it with Jiufen in one day by doing Shifen first and Jiufen at dusk, which is the order the bus timetable supports.

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3. 
   3

   Yehliu Geopark

   Rock formations that do not look real

   50 km north · ~1h15 each way by bus

   A cape of wind-eroded sandstone hoodoos that look engineered rather than weathered, the famous one being the Queen's Head. It is a compact site you can see properly in ninety minutes, which makes it the best value single sight within reach of Taipei, and it pairs naturally with Keelung on the same coast.

   Getting there: Buses run from Taipei to Yehliu on the north coast; there is no train. The park's own site gives opening hours of 08:00 to 17:00 year round with a summer extension to 18:00, and the last ticket is sold at closing time. Admission is reported at NT$120 for adults and NT$60 concession, a figure that appears on the Taipei city tourism product site rather than on the park's own price page, so confirm at the gate.

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4. 
   4

   Beitou

   Hot springs without leaving the metro map

   12 km north · ~35 min each way on the metro

   A hot-spring town inside the city, developed by the Japanese administration and still full of its architecture, with the steaming Thermal Valley at the top of the park and public and private bathhouses at every price. It is the one trip here you can do on a half day and the one that works in rain.

   Getting there: The easiest trip on this page: take the red line to Beitou, then change to the short branch shuttle to Xinbeitou. Our routing puts the Beitou Hot Spring Museum a measured 446 metres and six minutes from Xinbeitou station. It costs a normal metro fare, so if you have bought a One-Day Pass at NT$150 or a 24-hour pass at NT$180 it is already included.

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5. 
   5

   Tamsui

   Sunset, street food and a fort

   20 km northwest · ~40 min each way on the metro

   A river-mouth town of street food, a Spanish and then Dutch fort at Fort San Domingo, and the best sunset within a metro ride of central Taipei. It is the cheapest good afternoon on this list and the one to keep for a day when the mountains are under cloud.

   Getting there: The red line runs to its northern terminus at Tamsui, and the ride itself is worth having because the last stretch runs along the river. A normal metro fare covers it. From the station the old street and the waterfront start immediately, and a ferry crosses to Bali on the far bank.

6. 
   6

   Maokong

   Tea, a cable car and the city from above

   12 km south · ~50 min each way

   Tea terraces on the ridge above the city, with teahouses that let you brew your own and look back down at Taipei 101 from above. Go for late afternoon and stay for dark, when the city lights up below you. It is the best cheap view in Taipei after Elephant Mountain.

   Getting there: Brown line to Taipei Zoo, then the Maokong Gondola up the ridge. The gondola takes EasyCard and the cabins with glass floors cost extra. It closes on Mondays for maintenance in most weeks, which catches people out, so check before you build an evening around it.

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7. 
   7

   Yangmingshan National Park

   Volcanic landscape on the city's doorstep

   20 km north · ~1 h each way by bus

   An active volcanic landscape half an hour from a city of two and a half million, with steaming fumaroles, silver grass ridges and hot springs. The sulphur vents at Xiaoyoukeng are the single most surprising thing within reach of Taipei, and in winter this is where the city goes when it snows on the peaks.

   Getting there: Buses run up from Jiantan and Shilin stations into the park, taking about an hour. There is no rail access and the park is large, so pick one target rather than trying to cover it: Xiaoyoukeng for the sulphur vents, Qixingshan for the summit, or Zhuzihu for the calla lily fields in spring.

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8. 
   8

   Keelung

   A real port and a serious night market

   30 km northeast · ~50 min each way by train

   A working port city rather than a pretty one, which is the appeal. Miaokou is one of the best night markets in Taiwan and it runs at lunchtime as well as after dark, and Zhengbin's row of painted houses reflected in the harbour is the photograph people come for. Black kites circle the port, which few visitors expect.

   Getting there: Frequent trains from Taipei Main Station to Keelung, at the end of the line. The Miaokou night market is a short walk from the station and Zhengbin Fishing Harbour is a local bus or a short taxi from there. It combines well with Yehliu, which is along the same coast.

9. 
   9

   Wulai

   A gorge, a waterfall and hot springs

   25 km south · ~1h15 each way by bus

   An Atayal indigenous town in a river gorge, with a waterfall you can walk to, hot springs in the riverbed, and a small log-train that runs up to the falls. It is quieter than Beitou and feels considerably further from the city than it is.

   Getting there: Bus from Xindian, the southern terminus of the green line, up the river valley to Wulai, about 40 minutes from there. It is the most mountainous trip on this list that does not need a full day, and the road follows a gorge most of the way.

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10. 
    10

    Taroko Gorge

    Two days, and only after checking what is open

    180 km east, in Hualien · ~2-2.5 h each way by express train. Read the closures first.

    A marble canyon that is genuinely one of the great sights in Asia, and in 2026 it is only partly open. Read the spotlight below before you book anything, because the three trails most people come for are not scheduled to reopen until 2031 and a day trip from Taipei was already a stretch before the earthquake.

    Getting there: Express trains, the Taroko, Puyuma and Tze-Chiang 3000 services, run from Taipei to Hualien in about two to two and a half hours, with slower trains taking three to four, at a reported NT$440 one way. Hualien station is not the gorge: you still need a bus, a taxi or a tour for the last stretch, and inside the park the road now runs on scheduled release windows rather than freely.

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Day trips from other cities