Duration
8 days / 7 nights
Price Per Person
Interests
Cuisine, Post-Covid Wellness
Destinations
Taiwan

Arrive hungry and remember to pack your taste buds as this ultimate foodie tour of Taiwan takes your tongue on a tantalizing journey to the island’s best culinary destinations. Graze at night market street food stalls given the nod by Michelin’s Bib Gourmand, roast your own beans at an aboriginal coffee plantation, learn how to make signature xiao long bao at a five-star restaurant, dine on experimental fusion cuisine with a local chef at his Taipei apartment-studio, swill award-winning local whisky… then make sure you leave room for dessert! Taiwan has never tasted so good.

This itinerary is an example. It’s designed to inspire you and provide you with thoughtfully curated ideas. You can choose to do this exact itinerary or completely personalize it. All trips are 100% bespoke.

Highlights

  • Fine Dining: Drink and dine at Bib Gourmand street food stalls, five-star restaurants, Taipei’s best watering holes (according to the highly-regarded World’s Best and Asia’s Best Bars lists) and the award-winning Kavalan Whisky Distillery.
  • Interactive Experiences: Hands-on foodie activities with experts include a market tour with a local chef, soup dumpling workshop at a five-star restaurant and coffee roasting sessions with coffee farmers.
  • Culinary Heritage: Taiwan’s food scene is nothing if not diverse; from high-end fine dining to night market snacking, and quintessential Taiwanese favorites (bubble tea, xiao long bao) to indigenous recipes passed down through generations by the island’s aboriginal tribes.

Day-by-Day

Day 1

Taipei

Upon arrival into Taiwan, you’ll meet your guide and driver at the airport and transfer to your accommodation, the Mandarin Oriental Taipei. This luxury city-center property is the capital’s finest five-star hotel and facilities include temperature-controlled outdoor pool, a spa featuring a steam and sauna, as well as six dining and drinking options: Ya Ge (classic Cantonese cuisine) Bencotto (Italian cuisine), Café Un Deux Trois (international), The Jade Lounge (afternoon tea), M.O. Bar (Art Deco bar with world-class cocktails) and the Mandarin Cake Shop

However, you won’t need to dine at the Mandarin Oriental this evening. Instead, you’ll warm up your taste buds to Taiwanese cuisine with a tour of Taipei’s most esteemed street food stalls. Graze around Taipei’s famous night markets, visiting vendors that boast Michelin’s Bib Gourmand accreditation. Your guide will introduce you to dishes such as beef noodles and beef entrails soup, Fuzhou black pepper buns and chen tung pork ribs medicinal herbal soup. 

Hotel Options
Why We Love This Hotel

Location: In the Taipei’s central business district, the Mandarin Oriental is located near to MRT stations and is only a short distance from Songshan Airport.

Service: From the moment a reservation is made, staff are on hand to cater to guests’ every need before they ask, offering world-famous Mandarin Oriental service.

History: Since its opening in spring 2014, the Mandarin Oriental Taipei has been wowing guests and proving its reputation as Taiwan’s finest five-star hotel.

See Hotel
Mandarin Oriental, Taipei Preferred Hotel

Day 2

Taipei

On your first full day in Taipei you’ll try your hand at making one of Taiwan’s famous dishes, xiao long bao (soup dumplings) at a five-star restaurant brand that boasts Bib Gourmand status. Under guidance from the chef, learn the trick of how to get the soup into the dumpling, cook by steaming, then tuck into your creations while they're still hot!

Next, you’ll head out of the city to Wulai, a small town just a 45-minute drive from the capital, nestled in the mountains and well-known for its aboriginal culture and hot springs. The tribe here is descended from the Taiyals, the headhunters of Taiwan. While in Wulai, plunge in the clean, odorless hot springs, shop for hand-woven cloth and taste aboriginal specialties such as roasted boar, barrel-roasted chicken, sticky rice cooked in bamboo and aboriginal-style fried vegetables. The food of aborigines is often overlooked, but the enduring tastes of the island’s indigenous settlers hold a special place in the Taiwanese palette.

Taipei
Taipei

Day 3

Taipei

Next, you’ll head to Beipu, Hsinchu (around 1 hour 15 minutes from Taipei) for a Hakka cuisine tour. The Hakka are Taiwan’s second-largest ethnic group, representing almost 20% of the population, and Hakka villages can be found scattered across the island. The Hakka people have a fascinating history, having migrated from the mountains of central China to other parts of the country, Taiwan and Southeast Asia too. One of the best places to try Hakka cuisine is in Beipu, a small township in the county of Hsinchu, considered the “Hakka capital” of Taiwan. Hakka dishes to try include flat noodles, radish buns, Hakka mochi, pounded tea, wild ginger lily rice dumplings, ginger pork intestines and sweet potato or taro cakes.

Continue your education on Hakka culture by exploring nearby Miaoli, an off-the-beaten-path county located between Hsinchu and Taichung. Visit the Hakka Roundhouse, cycle around Mingde Reservoir and ascend Lion’s Head Mountain – just a few of the things to do in Miaoli. If you’re visiting during April or May, don’t miss the pretty tung blossoms that fall, covering the streets like a blanket of snow – tung blossoms are very significant in Hakka culture.

Day 4

Taroko Gorge

Leave Taipei and embark on a scenic road trip down Taiwan’s east coast to Taroko National Park. The journey takes around three hours, though we recommend you break up the drive with a stop in Yilan to visit the award-winning Kavalan Distillery, followed by a local fishing village for a seafood lunch with a view.

In the afternoon, enjoy a banquet of indigenous delicacies with the Taibalang tribe, one of Taiwan's 10 aboriginal ethnic groups. The Taibalang live on the East Coast and East Rift Valley of Taiwan and the name "Taibalang" translates as "crab," as the group is named for the river crabs found in this region. First, you’ll visit a local market to buy freshly-picked vegetables and other ingredients, then you’ll enjoy a barbecue, featuring meats caught by the tribe’s hunters. Other dishes to try include sticky rice balls and seasonal vegetable soup.

Your accommodation for the next two nights is Silks Place Taroko, set deep in the lush landscape of Taroko National Park. A world away from the skyscrapers of Taipei City, this spot is the perfect place to unwind and breathe in Taiwan’s natural beauty. Enjoy a local aboriginal performance at the Fire Pit, then sip on a “Cocktails Combo” of 16 shot-glass-sized cocktails inspired by Taiwan’s indigenous groups, set on a wooden board shaped into a map of the island.

Hotel Options
About

This large, sleek, contemporary Chinese style hotel offers sweeping vistas of Taroko Gorge and its surrounding mountainside. The hotel has many five-star well-being facilities including an indoor and outdoor pool, a spa, sauna and gym with fitness classes.

This accommodation has been personally vetted by the Remote Lands team and is the best available in the area. More information on this property is available on the “Hotels” tab at the top of the page.

Taroko Gorge
Taroko Gorge

Day 5

Taroko Gorge

Spend the day working off those calories and exploring a lesser-visited side of Taiwan, Taroko National Park. Choose from one of the region’s excellent hikes - Baiyang Waterfall, Shuilan Cave, or Shakadang Trail – then pay a visit to Tienhsiang Village. This small village is a popular stop for those exploring the area. If you’re feeling up to it, hike up the suspension bridge to the Hsiangte Temple, located on the highest point in town. Then, stop at the plum garden for a rest - the plum blossoms are beautiful when they are in bloom in December and January.  

Day 6

Taipei

Start your morning with a cup of morning Joe with a visit to an organic coffee farm in Hualien County run by one of Taiwan’s indigenous tribes. Here, you can sample tribal cuisine with farm-to-table dining, learn about Taiwan’s indigenous cultures and roast your own coffee beans the traditional way. The Pacific Ocean view is ideal for relaxing and enjoying your well-earned, personally-roasted cup of coffee, ready for your train ride from Hualien back to Taipei.

Once you’re rested and settled back into Taipei, glam up for the evening and take a tour of Taipei’s best bars, including those that feature on the prestigious World’s Best and Asia’s Best Bars lists. Describe your tastes and a cocktail is handcrafted for you by mixologists who seem to read your mind to create your perfect drink. Slip into a quiet speakeasy to experience Taipei’s cool and exclusive drinks scene for those in the know, or even try a “cocktail on draft” at one of the city’s quirkiest bars. Chat to award-winning bartenders and sip on original Taiwanese creations made using local ingredients.

Hotel Options
Why We Love This Hotel

Location: In the Taipei’s central business district, the Mandarin Oriental is located near to MRT stations and is only a short distance from Songshan Airport.

Service: From the moment a reservation is made, staff are on hand to cater to guests’ every need before they ask, offering world-famous Mandarin Oriental service.

History: Since its opening in spring 2014, the Mandarin Oriental Taipei has been wowing guests and proving its reputation as Taiwan’s finest five-star hotel.

See Hotel
Mandarin Oriental, Taipei Preferred Hotel
Taipei
Taipei

Day 7

Taipei

Meet with a local chef who specializes fusion cuisine for a guided market tour and private lunch at his Taiwanese-style apartment. Observe how to pick the freshest ingredients, chat with the chef about his experimental cooking style as he prepares your meal, then enjoy a menu of Taiwanese-Western fusion dishes as part of a private hosted lunch.

Spend your final evening in Taipei enjoying a whisky tasting session. Taiwan’s award-winning Kavalan Distillery, based in Yilan, has come to the capital in the form of a new whisky bar. Here, you can try three types of World Champion Whisky, plus a “cask to glass” self-tap service (this bar is reportedly the only one in the world where you can tap whisky from an oak barrel).

Day 8

Departure

Checking out of the Mandarin Oriental, you’ll transfer to Taipei Airport in plenty of time for your onward journey – perhaps just a few pounds heavier, but with your inner foodie fully satisfied.

Suggested Hotel For Days 1–3

Mandarin Oriental, Taipei
Preferred Hotel

Mandarin Oriental, Taipei

The utterly stunning Mandarin Oriental Taipei stands shining over Dun Hua North Road in central Taipei. Just a short distance from both Songshan Airport Station and from Nanjing East Road MRT station, this architectural marvel is within easy reach of the city and all its delights. Nearby attractions certain to interest guests include Taipei Arena, Taipei Fine Art Museum, a number of beautiful riverside parks and the city’s shopping district with Taipei 101. Within the hotel are a range of opulent rooms and suites to suit all tastes, sumptuously decorated and well equipped for comfort and luxury. Guests can choose between three formal restaurants serving a range of cuisines from around the world, while the hotel’s bar and cake shop serve delightful little treats. What’s more, the pool, spa and lounge encourage guests to relax and unwind, while the fitness center is perfect for invigorating workouts. 

Suggested Hotel For Days 4–5

Silks Place Taroko

Silks Place Taroko

This large, sleek, contemporary Chinese style hotel offers sweeping vistas of Taroko Gorge and its surrounding mountainside. The hotel has many five-star well-being facilities including an indoor and outdoor pool, a spa, sauna and gym with fitness classes. The hotel’s deluxe rooms are well-furnished with modern amenities and private balconies overlooking either the nearby mountains or the river below. Diners may enjoy Chinese or international dishes al-fresco amongst the rugged gorge edges, or inside in the elegant restaurant with two private rooms. In the evenings, guests can indulge in a few after dinner drinks and star gazing at the Fire Place bar -complete with stylish outdoor heaters.

Suggested Hotel For Days 6–7

Mandarin Oriental, Taipei
Preferred Hotel

Mandarin Oriental, Taipei

The utterly stunning Mandarin Oriental Taipei stands shining over Dun Hua North Road in central Taipei. Just a short distance from both Songshan Airport Station and from Nanjing East Road MRT station, this architectural marvel is within easy reach of the city and all its delights. Nearby attractions certain to interest guests include Taipei Arena, Taipei Fine Art Museum, a number of beautiful riverside parks and the city’s shopping district with Taipei 101. Within the hotel are a range of opulent rooms and suites to suit all tastes, sumptuously decorated and well equipped for comfort and luxury. Guests can choose between three formal restaurants serving a range of cuisines from around the world, while the hotel’s bar and cake shop serve delightful little treats. What’s more, the pool, spa and lounge encourage guests to relax and unwind, while the fitness center is perfect for invigorating workouts. 

Similar Itineraries

Classic Taiwan

Duration
8 days / 7 nights
Price Per Person
From $10,500
See Itinerary

Charming Taiwan: Taipei, Jiufen, Hualien, and more

Duration
11 days / 10 nights
Price Per Person
From $11,600
See Itinerary

Coastal Taiwanese Road Trip: Kaohsiung to Taipei

Duration
7 days / 6 nights
Price Per Person
From $6,000
See Itinerary

Discovering Historic Taiwan

Duration
5 days / 4 nights
Price Per Person
From $5,400
See Itinerary

Taiwan Top to Bottom with Kids

Duration
9 days / 8 nights
Price Per Person
From $6,300
See Itinerary

Total Taiwan: Around the Island in Twelve Days

Duration
12 days / 11 nights
Price Per Person
From $14,000
See Itinerary

Uncover Chinese Culture Through Expansive Artistic Venues

Duration
10 days / 9 nights
Price Per Person
From $9,400
See Itinerary
Why Remote Lands?

Exclusively Asia

With Remote Lands you'll travel with people who have made Asia the solitary focus of their own lifelong adventure. As our guest, you'll discover Asia on a journey that is completely, authentically your own, adapted from our own remarkable experiences and adventures over the years.

Travelogues

An Asia-focused magazine brought to you by Remote Lands - a platform for adventure, luxury, and authenticity from experts and explorers around the continent.

What Others Say

Here is a small selection of the kind words our clients have said about us recently.