Taipei Travel Guide 2026: Everything You Need to Know Before You Go

Taiwan runs one of the more generous visa-free regimes in Asia for a wide range of nationalities. Citizens of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, most of the EU, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea, among others, can enter visa-free for up to 90 days. Several Southeast Asian nationalities, including Thailand, Brunei and the Philippines, have had a shorter visa-free trial extended into 2026 as well, typically for 14 days. Regardless of visa-free status, every visitor needs a passport valid well beyond the planned stay and must complete Taiwan's online Arrival Card (TWAC) within three days before landing — this is a straightforward form, not a visa application, but skipping it can cause delays at immigration.

Taiwan's entry system is entirely separate from mainland China's and from Hong Kong's — don't assume any exemption or visa from one covers the others if your trip spans more than one.

The New Taiwan Dollar (TWD, often written NT$) is the local currency. Credit cards are widely accepted in malls, hotels and chain restaurants, but a large share of night market stalls, small eateries and local shops are cash-only or prefer it, so carry some NT$ rather than assuming card payment everywhere. The single most useful purchase for any visitor is an EasyCard — a rechargeable contactless smart card that covers the MRT, city buses, many convenience store purchases, and bike-share docks, functionally the same role Hong Kong's Octopus or Japan's Suica play in their own cities.

Tipping is not expected in Taiwan — restaurants often add a 10% service charge automatically on larger bills, and further tipping beyond that is unusual rather than appreciated.

Taipei's MRT subway system is clean, frequent, and easy for a first-time visitor to navigate without local help — stations are signed in English as well as Chinese, announcements are bilingual, and a direct line connects Taoyuan International Airport to the city center in roughly 40-50 minutes. Buy an EasyCard at any MRT station or convenience store on arrival and top it up at station machines or 7-Eleven counters; tapping in and out is faster than buying single-journey tickets for every ride, especially if you're adding a few day trips to Jiufen or Beitou that start from an MRT station.

Taxis are plentiful, metered and reasonably priced, though language can be a barrier outside the tourist core — having your destination written in Chinese characters (most hotels will do this for you) smooths this out considerably. Scooters are everywhere and part of the city's texture, but renting one as a short-term visitor without a Taiwan-recognized license is legally complicated and not advisable.

Mandarin Chinese is the official and dominant language, with Taiwanese Hokkien widely spoken among older generations and in daily life, especially outside the city center. English is taught in schools and spoken by many younger residents and in hospitality settings, but it's noticeably less universal than in Hong Kong or Singapore — menus at smaller local eateries and night market stalls are often Chinese-only, which is part of why a guided food tour is worth it on a first visit.

Night market food culture, dim-sum-adjacent dumpling houses and genuinely excellent bubble tea (invented in Taiwan, with competing claims between a Taichung and a Tainan teahouse over who did it first) define Taipei's food identity more than formal restaurants do. Taipei is dense and efficient but generally warmer and more patient with visitors than some other major Asian cities — locals are often willing to help with directions even through a language gap.