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Hi, Scott
Things are fab here, thanks.
Yes - New Year's day is a holiday, and perhaps because it fall on a Tuesday - it will be formed into a four-day weekend. If so, places could be busier and hotel room prices - and availability - might be an issue. Shopping won't be a problem. In fact it'll likely be business as usual apart from banks and post offices.
I think you get a 30-day free visa upon arrival. Will you be here longer than that? Yo may want to check that out.
It's hard to know about festivals like the one you experienced. I've often come across processions like that and it seems they 're just organised by local temples.
What's your route?
Hey, Graham. Rachael and I will be coming back to Taiwan this winter for another loop of the island. We’ll be there for about 6 weeks this time, arriving about a week before Christmas and flying home in late January. I might trouble you with a few questions when it gets closer, but for now I’m curious about holidays and festivals in this time period. I know that New Year’s Day is a national holiday, and wonder how much we should plan around that. Are we likely to have trouble finding stores open? Should we plan on being in a larger place?
Also, is there any information about smaller, local festivals? On our first visit we stumbled by accident on what I assume was a Matsu festival in Lukang. It was a real highlight of the trip. If we knew of other smaller celebrations like this we might plan our itinerary around them.
Hope you and Debbie are well,
Scott
We’re planning on staying 6 weeks, arriving mid-December and flying home at the end of January. I think that US visitors are good for 90 days without a visa, so we should be fine on duration.
6 years agoStill puzzling through the itinerary, but in general we’ll bike counterclockwise this time, beginning in Taipei, ending in Hualien and taking the train back. Expected stops include: Wuling, Jiaoxi/Yilan/Luodong; around the top to Tamsui, Hsinchu, Taichung, Sun Moon Lake, Alishan, Chiayi, Tainan, Pingtung, Hengchun, Kenting, Manzhou, Dawu, Taitung, East Rift Valley, Hualien.