3D2N in 台中 Taichung, there are enough Taichung attractions to keep families entertained.
Nature, Hiking, hot Springs, 文创 Cultural, FOOD! Hey we did cycling at Houfeng too, thus far our best family activity in 台湾 Taiwan. More photos in our Facebook albums (here).
I would recommend Taichung as a base to explore nearby counties.
1)East to 南投 Nantou (Cingjing), Xitou, Alishan and Sun Moon Lake
2)South to 彰化 Changhua, 台南 Tainan
3)North to Miaoli (Flying Cows and Strawberries)
Balmy 14 degrees, Blue skies, no more mist, and a pianist :p
Photo above show Ah Xin playing the piano at 中社觀光花市 Zhong She Flower Market.
We started the first 3 days of our Taiwan trip in the mountains and amidst the cold, cloud and mist, love it! But we sort of miss the Sun too. (Our itinerary here )
We headed to Miaoli from Sun Moon Lake (2 hour trip), bypassing Taichung along the way. Miaoli is famous for Flying Cow Farm, but did you know Miaoli is also famous for strawberries and grapes?
Chapter 1 Strawberries
And the most famous street in 苗栗 Miaoli for strawberries must be 大湖 Dahu. The whole street left and right is packed with strawberry farms for at least two kilometres!
Our driver recommended 六合 (GPS 24.443889, 120.873889) because the hydroponic method meant we can pick the strawberries with ease. Those traditional farms meant you need to squat and might be back breaking after 30 minutes.
This is the first season for Strawberries so many of them are still babies, not really plumb yet and slightly sour.
Part of the fun is challenging each other to find the biggest strawberry, snip snip. It will not take long to gather a full basket, make your payment (pay by grams) at the counter and enjoy some strawberry products.
These are not pluck by us, definitely looked richer and juicier!
On to the next stop, there are a lot of silver grass in the hilly country side, glimmering and swaying under the sunlight. Many cyclists are challenging gravity too!
Chapter 2 Hakka Lunch and old Train station
Xiao Li told us that many 客家 Hakkas are staying around this area.
Ok, there are at least three “百年” 客家 restaurants along the street. One of the best lunch we enjoyed in Taiwan was at 勝興客栈.
The internal decoration felt unchanged from the last decades, and the food was really delicious. The menu is written on the bamboo scripts (sorry we did not understand traditional Chinese and needed help with food ordering).
The whole dining experience felt like those 80s, 90s Hong kong dramas 客栈 (where are the 龙门客栈 swordsmen?), and the staff are super friendly.
Delicious home cooked food, the 扣肉 (pork) simply melted in our mouth.
Second round of rice for us, the chicken was a little bloody for the kids.
(Photo below) This is off the menu, camerised sweet potato. This is the bomb! Sweet, crunchy and appetising. Thank you 小李 for the lunch treat 🙂
Visited an old nostalgic Train station 勝興 across the road. 勝興車站 Sheng4 Xin 3 Train station is just across the road from our restaurant.
The cute Minion Kombi van was spotted in a carpark. Left photo (below) is the entrance, walk through and you will see the tracks.
Backdrop for more Instagram poses and selfies, you can walk inside the tunnel too. Not as happening and crowded as Shifen but interesting stop (literally) nevertheless.
You will see buskers and even a small street market along the street.
Chapter 3 Flowers! 中社花海
Fees apply, nice photo opportunities but go during the morning when the Sun is less harsh. I could imagined weekends will be super crowded.
Kids taking a photo with our friendly driver and guide, 小李.
(Many bloggers know him)
*Take note 中社花海 “Zhong She” is different from 新社花海 “Xin She” (flower photos in link), 新社花海 is free but exhibition is only available in Nov and Dec.
Although both exhibitions are famous for flowers and equally stunning, if you want to pose with Pianos, choose 中社花海 (GPS 24.334388, 120.730397).
Entrance fee for Zhong She.
Lavender fields and many other variety of blooms. We would recommend minimum 45 minutes at this area. If you love photography or flowers, spend 2 hours here with your darlings 🙂
Kids can feed the fishes in the pond too.
The pianos in the center of the flower fields are super popular! Looks so drama!
More photo opportunities, 花痴 haha 🙂
Love the swings, which visitors eagerly pose with. Depending on the season, different flowerbeds will be curated.
Our favourite is still the mysterious Lavender. Many photobombs inside the flower fields, be patient to capture the best angle.
Taichung attractions
As we head back towards the city, the setting sun lingers over the horizon.
Chapter 4 Dinner street food or restaurant
We heard Steak Akaoni 赤鬼炙燒牛排 is popular (GPS 24.176006, 120.645352). Presentation looks good but meal is so so (rate 3.5/5)
Some of the Northern attractions mentioned in this blog post are in the screenshot below, do a Google and you will find many more Taichung attractions.
We will blog about 逢甲夜市 Fengjia night market in another post. We love street food, thus we always order less for our main meals and complement with extra portions night Market !
Other attractions which you can try in Taichung, GPS all in our Google sheet. We will share some of them on our Day 2 Taichung post.
-薰衣草森林 Lavender Cottage -谷關溫泉 Guguan Hot spring
-大坑 Dakeng (choose from 10 hiking trails )
Presenting our 10D9N Taiwan Itinerary for families.
(The itinerary and links to our photos and each day’s blog post are at the end of this page)
We love 台湾 Taiwan’s forest, mountain and waterways . Trails and hikes are simply refreshing for us, away from urban cities and just enjoying the great nature. We make an effort to spend more time to absorb the greens and fresh air in the mountains.
As it was near to Winter and with the high altitude, we were constantly blanketed with mist. So mystical and surreal, LOVE !
Boon Kang taking a breather at Aowanda
We last visited Taiwan as a family six years ago, read our precious itinerary here. Kids have all grown up and we can afford to add more sports and hiking into our itinerary.
[4 videos below]
YouTube link – 10D9N in 2 minutes, we Love Taiwan Day and Night, Dry or Wet
溪頭 Xitou’s mini hike was actually my second favourite activity, but I over-estimated our family’s fitness. Just amazing to see the bamboo forest :p
清境 Cing Jing farm, everyone knows about the sheep and fresh air, but did you know about the sheep poo :p (It was still a lot of Fun for our family)
奧萬大 Aowanda National Forest’s famous suspension bridge, only 180m long.
Our 10D9N trip took us from Nantou to Taichung to Ruifang and back to Taipei. We plan for only 4 or 5 sights per day so that we can fully enjoy and appreciate each hop.
We are still sorting out the photos. Tips, Venue and GPS will be added later. If you have any urgent requests, just drop us an email “andy@SengkangBabies.com”
Day 1 (Thu) – Dec 2017
Taiwan Itinerary for families start at 桃園 Taoyuan Airport. We hired a van to 清境 Cing Jing (Nantou).
1)Aowanda National Forest (奧萬大國家森林遊樂區) for hiking and maple leaves. The maples will not be as stunning as Osaka’s.
(Ticketed, recommend 2 to 3 hours, you need 1 hour to walk from entrance to bridge)
Taiwan Itinerary for families
2)Do take note Carton King 紙箱王 and Swiss Garden 小瑞士花園 are closed till end December 2017.
3)Our Minsu 好家寨民宿, 8 min walk to 7-11 and Starbucks. One thing we quickly realised is we need a cab to get around. Would be challenging to drive when the fog sets in.
For meals, you can call the F&B outlet and they will provide complimentary transfers.
4)We visited 廬山 Lushan for a dip in their hot spring (aka Onsen, 泡湯, 溫泉). Feels shiok to indulge in hot spring in cool autumn or winter period (be it indoor or outdoor pools).
Temperature can drop to 7 degrees in the evening, we all love our snug and heated blankets.
We love the weather, the mist, the sheep and all the photo opportunities.
(ticketed, recommend 2 to 3 hours, including tea break)
Trailed 487 steps from horse ranch and walk back to 7-11. We did not try Sunset trail 4pm (Sun sets around 1705 during Winter time).
How come there are so few stars in the Winter evenings?
The cold weather gave us the perfect excuse to indulge in Hot Chocolate and cheese cake. Visited 星巴克 Starbucks every night 🙂
Day 3 (SAT) Xitou and Sun Moon Lake
9)Visited 妖怪村 Monster Village and 溪頭自然教育園區(Xitou), they are side by side. Nature lovers can spend up to half a day here. Famous icons are the bamboo forest and 天空走廊 “Sky corridor”. (Ticketed, recommend 2 to 3 hours)
Families might find Monster village fascinating, like a Japanese popup neighbourhood. Look deeper and you will find all stuffs quirky and even crass haha. (1 hour should be enough)
Taiwan free and easy family
Love the mist which keeps floating in and out, so cool (literally).
10)We spent so much time at Xitou that we had to skip 車埕 and 貯木池.
11)Sun was setting and we had to forego cycling around 日月潭 Sun Moon Lake. If time permits, cycle towards “向山觀景台 天空步道” within 20 to 30 minutes. One round around the lake is about 25km, or 2 hours.
Rested at Sun Moon Lake 日月潭民宿 水社海 for the night (Homeaway link)
Day 4 (SUN) Taichung 台中
Finally, the SUN came out to play with us but temperature is still a cool 15 to 20 degrees YES!
12)苗栗大湖採草莓 Strawberry picking along Dahu (Miaoli). This is the first batch of strawberries so size is smaller and slightly more sour.
(Pay by grams, we recommend 30 to 60 mins)
13)勝隆客栈 (客家 Hakka restaurant) restaurant was recommended by our driver, Xiao Li. Love the old school feel and delicious home-cooked food.
Do visit the old Sheng Xin Station too, so nostalgic.
(1 to 2 hours, lunch and attractions)
14) 中社花海 Zhong She Flower Market (Take note this is different from 新社花海, which is free but open only in Nov/Dec). We found our Lavender field, pity too much photobombs.
(Ticketed, 30 to 60mins to pose with Piano and props :p )
We rented bikes (got eBikes too) and cycled South to the famous 九號隧道 Tunnel 9. Trains used to run through the tunnel!
(Go and Google Map “隧道口烤肉租車中心” for estimated bike rental location. The whole lane has at least 10 rental stalls, yet bikes can be fully rented during weekends!) (recommend 60 to 90mins easy ride time)
The kids all agree that Taichung cycling was the best activity from our trip
(I had planned for goKart too, but did not have time to drift).
16) 逢甲夜市 Fengjia Night market
After a few days of hills, Tai Chung offered our first Night Market and YES, 泡泡茶 bubble tea. Street food are best shared 🙂
The nights are still 15 to 18 degrees, huddle together to keep warm. Boon Kang (no2) mentioned he loves the aircon weather 🙂
17)台中逢甲葉綠宿旅館 Green Hotel is just 6 min walk from night market, plenty of food options around and dry cleaning washers downstairs.
The Mrs prefer Taichung to Taipei, I can understand why. It is slightly more laid back, and the small lanes are packed with good food and boutique shops.
18) 動漫彩繪巷 Painted animation lane was recommended by my boy, pity many painting had been demolished. (30 to 45min is enough, Manga fans can spend more time with selfie)
19) 彩虹眷村 Rainbow Village
SengkangBabies started with Mummy and Daddy. Rainbow Village has a lot of mushy couplets, perfect for love birds. (we recommend 30 to 60mins)
20) Taichung yummy Food tours 🙂
From Famous ice cream, 太陽餅 Sun cake, 鳳梨酥 pineapple cake to 日出蛋糕 (cheese cake) , you must visit 宮原眼科 Miyahara.
Besides the “eye treats”, the building interior is also Instagram worthy 🙂
(recommend 30 to 60mins)
21)大東屋日本活鰻店 (Japanese style eel was not suitable for kids, too much bones) and 春水堂 Chun Shui Tang, rumoured to be the world’s first Bubble Tea 🙂
(recommend chill 30 to 60mins each)
Boon Xin (no 4)’s favourite activity is actually hunting for Bubble tea at all the night markets haha. Kids all love to catch a toy or two at the Night Markets‘ arcades.
22)Optional tours in Taichung:
-新峰農場 Xin Feng to pluck Grapes – not in Season during our trip
-高美濕地 Gaomei Wetlands (check the tides and sunset timing first)
-九二一地震教育園區 Earthquake Museum (educational tour)
29) Skipped a few attractions due to rain and heavy fog.
-南雅奇石 Nanya rocks formation
-黃金瀑布 Golden Fall (10 mins)
-九份老街 Jiufen Old Street (60 to 120mins, inclusive lunch)
(Skipped)
-金瓜石黄金博物馆 Gold Museum (trailhead for Teapot mountain hike)
-不厭亭 Buyen Pavillion
30)十分大瀑布 Shifen waterfall (15 mins)
十分天燈 Shifen Lantern + train (passes by hourly)
(we recommend 30 to 45mins)
31) Optional tours near Ruifang:
-鼻頭角燈塔 Bitou lighthouse (previous blog link)
-猴硐貓村 Cats Houtong (for cats lover)
32)Taipei stay (Homeaway link) at Nanjing Fuxing Station (central location)
Play the Instagram video (slide to second picture below), felt like Christmas has come earlier. This Taipei Homeaway unit totally exceeded our expectations 🙂
33) Visited 遼寧夜市 Liao Ning Night Market (8 min walk from our unit)
34) Legs Massage (爽 shiok)
Day 8 (THU) Taipei
35)永康街 Yong Kang for brunch and ice mango (many famous food here). Maybe you can visit 師大夜市 Shida Night Market (1km South), for dinner and snacks after Yong Kang.
(60 to 90 min to explore the corners, just follow the queues)
36)西門町 Xi Men Ding, sightseeing and 阿宗麵線 :p
(recommend 60 mins)
37) Split- Gals went 五分埔 Wu Fen Pu (recommend 60 mins) , boys hiked 象山 Elephant Mountain (recommend 60 mins, including 30mins for slow climb)
38) Gather at 饒河夜市 Rao He Night Market for snacks again 🙂
Acting cute, kids always role play Assassin Creed with their hoods :p
Day 9 (FRI) Taipei
39) Christmas toys shopping 東東玩具百貨
(10min walk from Taipei Main Station)
40) 北投區 Beitou hot spring dip our sore legs for free (recommend 20 mins)
Beitou Hell valley hot spring 地熱谷 (di4 ri4 gu3) (20 mins for surroundings)
滿客屋拉麵 Full House Ramen, enjoy some good broth in cool weather. Do sit outside.
41)士林夜市 Shilin Night Market. Kids thought all Night Markets are the same until they visit the Mother of all Night Markets.
A pity I ran out of time to discover the Coffin Bread stall, it is now located at basement near to prawn catching.
42) Back to Taipei 101 but minimum Christmas celebrations here.
“Frozen” special exhibit (ticketed) close at 10pm.
If you wish to soak in the Christmas festive atmosphere, take a train to 新北市板橋區 Banqiao Station (GPS 25.013666, 121.464886, Facebook link).
Day 10 (SAT) Taipei
43) walk around neighbourhood, no itinerary. Just anyhow explore.
Rest, eat, relax, eat and recuperate. This is our type of Holiday 🙂
Boon Yee (No3) is easy to feed. Just buy him 滷肉飯 (Lu3 Rou4 Fan4) and 鸡蛋糕 (Ji1 Dan4 Gao1) :p
Boon Wee (no 1)’s favourite activity is exploring Night Markets, because of abundance of cheap and delicious food choices! Our 50th bowl of Lu Rou Fan.
Our kids actually prefer local “mixed rice” compared to fancy restaurant or cafes! So easy maintenance right.
We did notice there are many accessories for pet dogs. Why do Taiwanese like to parade their pet dogs?
* 44) Taiwan culture is best experience. Most folks are very hospitable and helpful. 人情味 is so strong in Taiwan, and I hope the kids remember the friendly guides, host, drivers and many other vendor, hawkers we met in Taiwan.
Taiwanese know we are from Singapore or Malaysia from our accent haha.
As the Sun set somewhere in Taiwan, we got 10D9N of memories to bring home. 台灣赞!
Additional tips :
a)Be it high in the mountain, deep in the forest or exploring some back alleys in Taipei, ChangiWiFi from Changi Recommends did not disappoint. We could connect up to 6 devices simultaneously.
ChangiWiFi could last us 4 hours easily before a recharge.
Being Online means we can utilise Google Map, Google Images, Email, Social Media and if parents allowed, online games for the kids :p
Rental of ChangiWiFi is only $5 per day for Taiwan, more details here www.changiwifi.com
b)YouBike is very popular in cities, but you need a Taiwan number for registration. When we were walking around in Taichung and Taipei, we love the dedicated bike lanes, there was minimum risk of being knocked over by a reckless eBike or eScooters.
By the way, bikes can only park at designated lots, thus no messy situation like Singapore’s bikes.
Easy connections via the Train routes 🙂
c)Lastly, we wish to recommend our guide and driver for 3 of the days, 小李 Xiao Li (from Tour Taiwan Hong Lee).
He did not know we are blogger but he treated us like VIP because we were introduced by Angeline (https://www.lifestinymiracles.com). Thank you Angeline 🙂
小李’s Hello Kitty van is his trademark and he is very popular with Singaporean tourists. Kids are comfortable around him and he never hard-sell any attractions. Do Whatsapp or WeChat 小李 +886 955 133572
We cannot guarantee that his price is the cheapest, but you will get honest recommendations and feedback, and most importantly “Peace of mind“.
d)Do follow our Instagram hashtag #SengkangBabiesTaiwan for all our Taiwan Fun episodes 🙂
Instagram #sengkangBabiesTaiwan
This page is the overview of our 10D9N Taiwan Itinerary for families. Too much Fun! , pardon the spam of photos.
Do pop by this page again as I will be updating the urls for new photos (on Facebook) and each day’s blog post. We hope our itinerary will be useful for your planning and reference.
Do visit our Google Sheet for our 10D9N itinerary (and Google Map tips)
*Updated 2019Oct – We cycled 250 km from Hualien to Taitung. Super Fun !
Cycling Hualien to Taitung
Photo albums :
–Day 1 Aowanda, Cing Jing
–Day 2 Cing Jing
–Day 3 Xitou Nature Education Area, Monster Village, Sun Moon Lake
–Day 4 Taichung (Zhongshe flower, ShengXin station, Cycling, Fengjia)
–Day 5 Taichung (Animation Lane, Rainbow, Miyahara)
–Day 6 Keelung 基隆 -Day 7 Ruifang, Jiufen and Shifen -Day x Taipei HomeAway and Neighbourhood
–Day 8 永康, Xi Men Ding, 象山, 饒河 Raohe
–Day 9 and 10 北投 Beitou, Toyshop, 士林 Shilin
ps..
for the two Homeaway links above (Sun Moon Lake and Taipei), use promo code “HomeAwaySKBabies” and enjoy 8% off your booking (Valid until 31 Mar 2018)
