How I Travelled 4 Days in Taiwan with Less Than US$200 Pocket Money

This Filipina budgetarian celebrated her birthday by travelling to Taipei, Taiwan for 4 days & 3 nights under USD$200.

Hi, everyone! Since I’ve been receiving messages on how I did my 4 Days 3 Nights Taipei, Taiwan solo travel for less than US$200,  I’ll share with you a summary of my trip. Everything was DIY or Do It Yourself, and I had no itinerary at first, but I just wrote a list of possible things to do.

My flight happened on 8 Nov 2016, with departure time at 9.45pm and arrival at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Terminal 1 at 12.25am. This flight schedule is not okay for everyone so I ended up sleeping at the airport.





Initial expenses

• AT (Airport Tax) – ₱1,620
• TF (Terminal Fee) – ₱750
• AFT (Airfare Ticket) – ₱1,020.80 from Cebu Pacific
• Visa – free with ROC travel authorization certificate, although Taiwan visa is expensive
• ₱10,000 converted to US$200 – US$1 was around ₱46
• US$200 converted to NTWD or New Taiwan Dollar which is NT$6,199 (minus charge of NT$30 from NT $6,229)

Purpose of this trip

A solo travel in Taiwan on my birthday week — it’s a first time experience. I should be travelling with a friend, but due to unforeseen circumstances, she had to cancel.

2 Easy ways to reach Taipei Main Station

• From the airport, there is a bus bound to Taipei Main Station
• To experience the HSR, take a bus to HSR Taoyuan Station, purchase ticket going to Taipei Main Station

Where to stay in Taipei?

I stayed at Main Inn Taipei which I booked through Hostelworld.

4 Days 3 Nights Taipei – Budget & Itinerary

Day 1 – 9 Nov 2016

• Sleeping at the airport arrival at 12.25am
• EasyCard – Top up with NT$200 (Easy Card borrowed from Jeremy, a friend, who had been to Taiwan)
• Taking a bus to HSR Taoyuan Station in the morning – swipe with EasyCard
• Taking the High-Speed Rail from Taoyuan Station to Taipei Main Station for NT$155
• Arrival at Main Inn Taipei – paid NT$1581 for 3 nights
• Meet up with Janice – we got acquainted through a travel forum and met in person at last in Taipei to show me around
• Beef noodles for NT$140, Bubble Tea Milk for NT$40, water for NT$20 c/o by Janice
• Taking the MRT going to XianXiang for Elephant Mountain
• Elephant Mountain with no cost
• Family Mart lunch or snack c/o Janice
• Taipei 101 Building
• Chiang Kai Shek Hall at night (best to go in broad daylight)
• Dinner at Ximending Night Market c/o Janice
• Back to hostel at Main Inn Taipei
• Drinking beer during my birthday eve c/o Yoshi from Japan until midnight

Day 2 – November 10, 2016

• Hey shawty, it’s my birthday!
• EasyCard top up for NT$100
• Woke up late because of tired legs from hiking
• Sushi breakfast for NT$60
• Conversation with Tony from the US talking about Philippines and US politics
• Meet up with Kohei from Japan in the afternoon
• Beef Ramen – Late lunch at Taipei City Mall for NT$59
• Sun Yat Sen Hall at night (best to go there in broad daylight)
• Taipei 101 Observatory at night for NT$600 c/o Kohei as a birthday present
• Food hopping at Shilin Night Market
• $50 chao fan plus drink (Chao fan is $90 c/o Kohei / drink is $30)
• $40 Fresh Fruit juice
• $90 (2 bubble tea milk), as you can see Kohei paid almost everything
• $60 potato fries ($120 per serving)
• Back to hostel

Day 3 – November 11, 2016

• $60 sushi for breakfast
• Easy Card top up for $100 (should have top up $200 or more)
• $40 bus ($90 bus to Jiufen – use Easy Card or pay exact amount of cash on the bus as there is no change)
• $400 souvenirs in Jiufen
• $800 to $1000 Jioufen Tea House
• $100 bus back to Taipei
• Dinner at Din Tai Fung c/o Kohei
• Back to hostel

Day 4 – November 12, 2016

• $100 sushi for breakfast
• Meet up with Ghing and Princess
• MRT to Taipei Zoo
• $120 Maokong Gondola
• $60 Taipei Zoo entrance
• McDonald’s late lunch c/o Ghing

• Meetup with Kohei and friends
• Ice cream waffles c/o Kohei
• $1300 taxi going to the airport due to unnecessary circumstances
• $40 locker because I accidentally brought Kohei’s pocket wifi and earphone
• Fortunately, I was able to catch up my flight at 1.00am the next day
• A bus and HSR is going to the airport which you could pay less.

Itinerary and breakdown of expenses

Please visit this Google doc: Taiwan Itinerary and Expenses to see my itinerary and breakdown of expenses.

Personal budget in Taipei

• Accommodation for three nights – NT$1581
• Daily food budget right for three meals multiplied for four days – NT$500 x 4 days = NT$2,000
• Daily MRT fare multiplied for four days – NT$200 x 4 days = NT$800
• The rest would be miscellaneous for shopping and souvenirs
• Conclusion

Four days in Taipei is not enough. I missed visiting some places because of the rain; I preferred staying in bed while waiting for the rain to stop.

Travelling on a budget in Taipei is possible. Taipei 101 Observatory, High-Speed Rail and Dinner at Din Tai Fung are optional. You might want to consider doing the FREE activities instead.

I thank my friends for the birthday treat: Jeremy for the Easy Card, Janice for meeting me and showing me around, Yoshi for the beer, Kohei for the reunion meet-up from Cebu, Ghing and Princess for the fun at Maokong Gondola and Taipei Zoo.

Source by www.tripzilla.com
Contributed by I Travel Rox