11 Days Taiwan Food Tour

Arrive at Taipei Taoyuan airport where you’ll be greeted by your local guide. Escorted by your driver, you’ll be transported directly to your hotel, on the way taking the opportunity to learn a little about this vibrant city. After check-in, you’re free to rest, relax, or explore the local surroundings. Be sure to check with your guide for insider local dining options.  

Meals included: Nil  

Step out after breakfast ready to take on Taipei. The day’s adventure commences with a visit to the city’s famous Nanmen Market, perhaps the most traditional of Taipei’s food markets. You’ll join a two-hour cooking class at Cook Inn during which you’ll be paced through the steps of favorite local Taiwanese savory and sweet culinary classics. 

After imbibing the fruits of your labor, enjoy a change of pace by visiting the National Palace Museum. Here you’ll discover the museum’s remarkable collection of 700,000 plus artifacts, treasures, and antiquities that transport you through Chinese history. Spend the afternoon enthralled by the bird’s-eye panoramic view of Taipei city and well beyond by taking the lift 89 storeys to enjoy the Taipei 101 Observatory.  

Come back down to earth and make your way to dinner at Din Tai Fung Restaurant. There are almost too many Taiwanese dishes to count, but the one you simply can’t go past is Xiao Long Bao. Yes, they taste as good as they look, so be prepared to eat at least a handful of these stuffed steamed buns (or dumplings) loaded with different fillings. And if that wasn’t quite enough, under the helpful eye of your trusty guide, dive into the feast of tasty street food and snacks at the perennially popular Ningxia Night Market. While a walk may be in order, you’ll be transferred back to the hotel by car to rest up before the next day’s travel. 

Meals included: Breakfast  

Note: Due to the closure of the National Palace Museum each Monday, your tour guide may adjust your itinerary. 

In the morning, drive to the small Hakka town Beipu, a rural town in Hsinchu County that has many claims to fame. Apart from the architecture reflected in the traditional houses and streets, Beipu is renowned for its history and tea. You’ll be hosted for a meal at local favorite Beipu Shitang – also known as Beipu Canteen – where you’ll have the opportunity to savor local specialties.  

Leave Beipu and drive to Sun Moon Lake. Here you’ll climb aboard a private motorboat for an hour of cruising on the lake itself. Shift gears and get back on the road for a drive around the lake, making stops at Wenwu Temple, Ida Thao Indigenous Village, and Cien Pagoda; each offering a unique panoramic view of the lake and the opportunity to capture beautiful photographic memories. Your guide will check you in at the hotel for an evening of relaxation and reflection, and if needed, assist with ordering from the hotel or at a local restaurant. 

Meals included: Breakfast 

Take a morning walk or a short scenic bike ride along Sun Moon Lake before leaving for Alishan via Yushan National Park with a stop at Tataka Visitor Center (2,610 meters). Here you’ll enjoy the fresh air, and mountain views, and learn about Yushan National Park. Be sure to have your camera ready to capture beautiful photographic memories here.  

After all the exertion, relish lunch at one of the local restaurants in the Alishan area, ordering with help from your guide. After checking in at your Alishan hotel. Once checked in at your hotel, your guide will lead you on a forest walk following a trail densely populated with ancient cypresses that rise up around you like a green ‘cloak’, pointing out sights like Sisters’ Pond and Plum Garden. Spend the evening resting, relaxing, and appreciating the quiet mountain environment. 

Meals included: Breakfast 

Rise early for what is arguably Taiwan’s best view*, visible only by taking the old Alishan train to Chushan (and if weather permits). Get back on the road after breakfast for the drive to Chiayi, a city in southwest Taiwan. Here you’ll visit Hinoki Village, where restoration of Japanese houses built between 1914 and 1945 has been undertaken progressively since 2009. With faithful attention to materials used in the original construction – cedar and China fir – the 28 houses and wider village provide an insight into life under Japanese occupation, which began in 1895.  

After wandering through the village, enjoy lunch at the city’s most famous local restaurant, Smart Fish. Featured on Netflix’s Street Food, Smart Fish is an establishment dining in Chiayi, not least because it has fed loyal locals for over 60 years. Its most popular and famous dish is the unique stewed fish head soup served with rice, made with deep-fried carp heads simmered in a milky pork broth with vegetables, mushrooms, and tofu.  

After lunch, it’s back on the road for a 75-minute drive to Tainan, formerly the Old Capital of Taiwan and once a 17th-century Dutch colony. Your tour of the city will start at Chihkan Tower, previously referred to as Provintia. Sights of note in this area include the Warrior Temple, Koxinga’s Shrine, Confucius Shrine, the Fort of Anping (Zeelandia), and old Shenong Street. You’ll have an opportunity to visit them all with your guide providing commentary on the region’s history, variously punctuated by international trade, occupation by the Dutch and Japanese, dereliction, and now restoration as efforts are maintained to preserve it.  

Reflect on the day’s sightseeing over a traditional Taiwanese dinner at the famous A Sha (A Xia) restaurant, first established in 1940. With a reputation for showcasing the craftsmanship, ingredients, and flavors of Taiwanese cuisine, the restaurant is now owned and operated by the Hao family’s third generation of artisans who bring a commitment to creating exceptional food with heart. 

After dinner, you will be taken for check-in at your Tainan hotel where you can savor the experiences of the day. 

Meals included: Breakfast 

*Alishan sunrise view is optional for tour guests. 

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel if you choose, however, if it’s a guaranteed opportunity to try the Tainan breakfast favored most by locals – a traditional homestyle beef soup – your guide will steer you in the right direction. Once topped up, you’ll drive to Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Monastery to enjoy a relaxed walking tour around this remarkable shrine to Chinese Buddhism in all its forms. Appreciate the serenity of the surroundings and the temple’s residents who have dedicated their lives to the practice of Buddhism. 

Enjoy a typical vegetarian monastery lunch before heading to Kaohsiung located approximately 45 minutes by road. Kaohsiung is the second-largest city in Taiwan and is its largest port. Known for its beautiful harbor, you’ll gain an appreciation of its importance when you take the ferry to Chi-Jin Peninsula, which provides a magnificent view of the city’s. While in the area, choose between a walking tour of the city’s heartbeat – the Chi-Jin seafood street – or jump on board a rickshaw for an altogether different tour of the area. 

Head back to Kaohsiung to visit Renai River, also referred to by locals as Love River, then head on to the Pier-2 Art Center. Savor a dinner of local specialties, then visit the Liuhe Night Market or Kaohsiung Metro’s Formosa Boulevard Station (or both). When you see the design and glasswork at the station, you’ll understand why it is ranked as one of the most beautiful in the world. Your guide will ensure you are safely checked in to your hotel in Kaohsiung where you can finally relax and rest for the next day’s adventure, but not before enjoying one of Kaohsiung’s traditional street food specialties; a healing, herbal mutton soup of finely sliced lamb, tofu, mushrooms, and flavorsome broth made by a local street food vendor.  

Meals included: Breakfast  

After breakfast, drive to Kenting National Park for time with nature. Admire Maopitou (Cat Nose Tip), Sail Rock, Oluanpi Light House – the southern-most point of Taiwan, and Longpan Park – delivering a magnificent view of the island’s coastline.  

On the final stage of your day’s travel, drive to Taitung where you’ll check in to your hotel and enjoy a natural hot spring bath. Your guide will help with selecting a local dining option that highlights the best of the region. 

Meals included: Breakfast 

Leave Taitung and drive along Taiwan’s east coast, enjoying the coastal scenery along the way. Your guide will stop at sights of interest with Xiaoyeliu, the Amis Folk Center, Sanxiantai, Baxian Cave, Tropic of Cancer Marker, and Shitiping among others. Arrive in Hualien, located on Taiwan’s east coast. Your guide will assist with check-in for the overnight stay here, and if needed, help you with dining options.  

Meals included: Breakfast 

After breakfast, make your way to the beautiful Taroko Gorge for a walking tour that showcases the very best of the Taroko National Park. Delight in scenic spots along the way Taroko Gorge Gateway, Shakadang Trails, Eternal Spring Shrine, Swallow Grotto, Tunnel of Nine Turns, and more. With the help of your guide, enjoy a typical indigenous-flavored lunch at the renowned Dageeli Indigenous House. Rejoin the Suhua Highway making stops at scenic Qingshui Cliff and Fenniaolin Fishing Port, both perfect spots to capture beautiful travel memories that showcase the very best of Taiwan’s ocean and mountain landscapes.  

In the afternoon, visit the National Center for Traditional Arts, a thoughtfully designed facility dedicated to the preservation of traditional performing and creative art forms in Taiwanese culture. Finish the day’s adventure with dinner at the Golden Gate Restaurant, considered by locals as the home of authentic traditional Yilan food. Enrich your cultural insights further with a visit to the Luodong Night Market, a favored food destination with locals, before checking in to your hotel.  

Meals included: Breakfast 

After breakfast makes your way to Sanxing where you’ll find a well-known scallion farm with an eco-friendly philosophy to agriculture. Join the farm’s guide who will offer a full farm-to-table experience, instructing on the harvest of scallions and the local traditional method for preparing scallion pancakes.   

Once you’ve enjoyed your fill of scallion pancakes, your trip recommences as you head north to Jiufen. Enjoy a faithful recreation of the traditional mine worker’s lunch, similar to that eaten by the miners from last century, then wander along Jiufen Old Street, once the central hub of a busy gold mining village that even today retains much of its historical old world charm.  

Carry those memories with you on the relaxing return drive to Taipei. Dinner awaits at the fabulous Shi-Yang Restaurant, after which you can enjoy the final evening on tour. 

Meals included: Breakfast 

Today you will be met by your guide and transferred to Taoyuan International Airport for your departure flight, concluding your tour of Taiwan. 

Meals included: Breakfast