Parental Leave Travel Q3/2024 – Leg IV: Taiwan, incl. Itinerary

Travel Dates: August 1st – August 25th

How did we end up in Taiwan?
The journey from Australia back to Europe is long—really long. And with kids in tow, we knew we didn’t want to push through it all in one go. So we thought: why not make one more stop, somewhere new and exciting, to break up the trip and give everyone a breather?

That’s how Taiwan found its way into our hearts.

Our time in Taiwan began in Taipei, after a short domestic flight from Xiamen, where we’d already taken a little pause. So in a way, we didn’t just cut the travel time in half—we broke it into quarters 😉

Taipei Songshan Airport (SOA) is tucked right into the city, which made our arrival feel wonderfully easy. We swapped 10 AUD for 200 NTD, picked up an EasyCard, and hopped on the MRT. Just 20 minutes later, we were in the heart of the city, rolling our suitcases into our hotel—excited and a little bit amazed at how smoothly everything had gone.

---

Taiwan Travel Itinerary

The rare blogs on Taiwan with kids were quickly read, and we quickly knew what Must-See spots we absolutely couldn’t miss on our trip.

Our 21-day journey through Taiwan was packed with unforgettable moments. We visited some truly incredible places, and here’s the breakdown of our stops:

3 days – Taipei
2 days – Taichung
3 days – Sun Moon Lake
3 days – Kaohsiung, including Tainan
3 days – Kenting for Diving, Sandy Beaches, and Beach Bars
2 days – Taitung
2 days – Hualien, including Taroko Gorge
1 day – Jiufen
2 days – Shifen and Yangmingshan Volcano National Park, including Hot Springs
1 day – Taichung HSR to Taipei

By now, you’re probably wondering: What about Alishan? And why did we go back to Taichung when all the flights to Europe depart from TPE?

Well, Alishan was one of those places we consciously decided to skip. After three days at the tranquil and breathtaking Sun Moon Lake, the boys had officially had enough of mountains and forests. They were ready for something different!

As for returning the rental car in Taichung—it was just much cheaper than dropping it off at TPE. Plus, it gave us the perfect excuse to experience the Taiwan High-Speed Rail (THSR)—just a 45-minute ride covering roughly 220 kilometers. A beautiful way to travel, if you ask me!

And speaking of the rental car… let me tell you, driving in Taiwan can be a bit of a mixed bag. At first, it’s fun—but then you realize how many traffic lights there are and how long you can end up waiting at each one (sometimes up to 90 seconds!). That’s when we decided to leave the car behind and rely more on public transport for the rest of the trip.

For our time at Sun Moon Lake, it was super easy to get around with the EasyCard and the MRT. But after that, it wasn’t always clear how long our drives would take. So, we chose to explore the next 15 days by car.

I won’t sugarcoat it: renting a car in Taiwan isn’t exactly cheap. We ended up paying 430 € (around 29€ per day) to a local Chinese provider right at the Taichung THSR station. Their English wasn’t great, but the car itself was shiny, brand-new, and ready to go, so it worked out just fine.

---

Earthquakes

Our first earthquake experience happened in Taitung. It was a 6.3 magnitude quake—and let me tell you, it’s unsettling when you get an alert on your phone and, just seconds later, your hotel room starts to shake, and everything around you begins to rattle. To make matters a bit scarier, we were staying in a resort and had specifically booked a high room with a panoramic view. After a few moments of intense shaking, it all stopped, and we casually went to breakfast like nothing had happened.

What we learned is that earthquakes are actually pretty common on Taiwan’s east coast. Over the next few days, we felt a few more, but they were weaker and lasted longer. It was definitely an experience we won’t forget—but it also taught us how resilient and calm people here are in situations like this.

---

Culinary Highlights

Now, let’s talk about food—because Taiwan truly is a paradise for anyone who loves to eat. Here’s a glimpse at some of the culinary highlights that made our trip unforgettable:

• Pepper snails, flambéed in brine – A unique local dish that was as exciting to watch as it was to eat!
• Shrimps – Fresh, flavorful, and perfectly cooked.
• Dry noodles with pork – Simple, comforting, and so delicious.
• Dim Sum / Dumplings / Traditional Knödel – These little parcels of joy never disappointed.
• Sugar apple and yellow melon – A sweet treat you won’t find anywhere else.
• Betel nut – The locals say it’s like having 6 cups of coffee in one go!
• „Salad of a thousand fish“ – We had this for breakfast at Sun Moon Lake—basically a salad made up of a variety of tiny fish. It sounds a bit odd, but it was amazing!
• Whole river prawns – Yes, we ate them whole! It was an adventure for the taste buds.
• Steamed vegetables – Fresh and perfectly seasoned.
• Edamame – Simple, yet always satisfying.

Breakfast and dinner often felt like a repetition, but honestly, we didn’t mind. The upside? We got to eat our veggies first thing in the morning, which was a nice healthy start to each day.

Thanks for reading and we wish you always safe travels.

Final Thoughts

Traveling around Taiwan is surprisingly easy. Seriously, you can do just about everything with the EasyCard—whether it’s buying a cold beer or paying for parking! The island offers so much to explore, with an abundance of delicious vegetables and fresh seafood. We were there in August, so it was hot—34-36°C, with the „real feel“ showing 39°C on our phones most of the time 😉. But the heat didn’t stop us from diving into everything Taiwan had to offer.

One thing that was a bit surprising, though: after being completely spoiled by the abundance of playgrounds in Australia, we found that public playgrounds were few and far between. Our best chances for finding one were at elementary schools, where we occasionally stumbled upon a nice spot for the kids to run around.

The high temperatures were tough, especially for the kids. Some days, it felt like the heat was just a bit too much, but we powered through with plenty of breaks and water!

---

Und nochmal das ganze in Deutsch :)))
Reisezeit: 01.08. – 25.08.

Wie sind wir auf Taiwan gekommen? Einfach die Rückreise von Australien nach Europa dauert sehr lange, somit wollten wir für die Kids noch einen weiteren Stop einfügen um die Reisezeit zu halbieren. Daher sind wir auf Taiwan gekommen. Unsere Taiwan Reise startete in Taipeh mit einem Inlandsflug aus Xiamen, wo wir einen weiteren Zwischenstop eingelegt hatten. Somit haben wir unsere Reisezeit quasi geviertelt 😉 Der Flughafen SOA liegt genau nahe dem Stadtzentrum. Also los, 10 AUD zu 200 NTD gewechselt, Easykarte gekauft und rein in die Metro / MRT. Innerhalb von 20 Minuten waren wir Downtown bei unserem Hotel.

Die rar gesehten Blogs über Taiwan mit Kids waren schnell gelesen und somit wussten wir schnell welche must-see auf keiner Taiwan Reise fehlen dürfen. Unsere 21 Tage Reise beinhaltete folgende Stops:

• 3 days – Taipeh
• 2 days – Taichung
• 3 days – Sun Moon Lake
• 3 days  – Kaohsiung, incl. Tainan
• 3 days . – Kenting Tauchen, Sandstrand, Beachbars
• 2 days – Taitung
• 2 days – Hualien, incl. Taroko Gorge
• 1 day – Jiufen
• 2 days – Shifen and Yangmingshan Vulcano National Park, incl Hot springs
• 1 day – Taichung HSR to Taipeh

Sicher fragt ihr euch jetzt und was ist mit Alishan und warum seid ihr zurück nach Taichung wenn doch alle Flüge vom Flughafen TPE Richtung Europa gehen.

• Alishan haben wir Bewusst ausgelassen. Die Jungs hatten nach 3 Tagen SML genug von Bergsehen und Wäldern
• In Taichung den Mietwagen zurück zu geben war einfach deutlich billiger als in TOA. Außerdem konnten wir so mit dem Taiwan Highspeed Rail (THSR) fahren – 45 Minuten für ~220km.
• A propo Mietwagen: Das Fahren macht bei unendlich vielen Ampeln und bis zu 90s Wartezeit nur bedingt Spaß. Zum SML war es supereasy (also mit der Easycard) mit den Öffis zu reisen. Danach war es nicht mehr so leicht herauszufinden, wie lange man für die Strecken benötigen würde, daher erkunden wir 15 Tage Taiwan mit dem Auto. Es ist relativ teuer sich ein Auto zu mieten, wir bezahlten 430 € (29€ pro Tag) bei einem chinesischen Anbieter direkt an der THSR Station Taichung. Sie konnten kein Englisch, dafür war der Wagen brandneu.

Erdbeben

In Taitung erlebten wir unser erstes Erdbeben mit 6.3 Magnitude. Es ist beängstigend wenn man die Erdbeben Info auf das Handy bekommt und sekunden später fängt das Hotelzimmer an sich zu bewegen und alles klappert. Hinzu kommt noch das wir in einem Resort waren und extra ein hohes Zimmer gebucht hatten. Nach einigen Momenten war dann alles vorbei und wir gingen frühstücken als wäre nichts passiert. Wir lernten Erdbeben sind sehr Häufig an der Ostküste. Die nächsten Tage erlebten wir noch einige Schwächere Beben, die aber teilweise deutlich länger dauerten.

Kulinarische Highlights

Unsere Kulinarische Highlights waren:

• Pfefferschnecken auf Salzlake flambiert
• Shrimps
• trockene nudeln mit pork
• Dim Sum / Dumplings/ traditionelle Knödel
• sugar apple, gelbe melone
• betel nut = 6 cups of coffee
• Salat der tausend fische (in SML gab es zum frühstück einen speziell angemachten Salat der hauptsächlich aus vielen kleinen Fischen bestand)
• Flusskrebse als ganzes gegessen
• Gedünstetest Gemüse
• Edamame

Morgens und abends immer das gleiche Essen, dafür gibt es morgens schon Gemüse.

Fazit

Es ist supereasy in Taiwan zu reisen (alles geht mit der Easycard vom Bier kaufen bis zum Parkplatz bezahlen).
Es gibt viel leckeres Gemüse und Meeresfrüchte. Wir waren im August / Sommer da. Somit war es häufig schwül heiß, 34-36°C (real feel wurden immer 39°C im Handy angezeigt 😉 ). Nachdem wir in Australien mit Spielplätzen nur so verwöhnt wurden, gab es hier sogut wie keine öffentlichen. Die besten Chancen hatten wir bei Grundschulen, dort fanden wir welche.

Die hohen Temperaturen machten es teilweise schwer sich zu bewegen. Gerade die Kids hatten damit zu kämpfen