Welcome to Taiwanese Secrets
Online Travel Guide!

View all the Taiwanese destinations featured on this website.

Hi, my name is Ugo and I've been living in Taiwan for 11 years. I've created this website to help you prepare your trip to Taiwan the right way.

Taiwan is the most diverse - and underrated - travel destination in Asia! It's got gorgeous beaches, excellent hiking, hot springs, jungles, and world-class cities with unique attractions. It's the only place in the world where you can witness genuine, ancient Chinese culture. Add to that the opportunity to make good money teaching English plus some of the best Mandarin language programs on earth, and you can understand why Taiwan is growing in popularity with travelers.

My 10 Favorite Travel Destinations in Taiwan

Taipei: Taiwan's capital is one of the most dynamic cities in Asia. Taipei has ancient temples, a museum that holds the world's largest collection of Chinese artifacts, vast memorials, world-class hotels, the popular Taipei 101 Tower, and endless shopping opportunities.

Green Island: Scuba dive, snorkel, or soak in a sea-water hot spring on tiny, lush Green Island (Lyudao), in the Pacific Ocean, 30km east of Taitung.

Sun Moon Lake: Walk around, or paddle across Taiwan's largest lake in the beautiful green hills of the Central Mountain Range. Sun Moon Lake is Taiwan's most popular natural tourist attraction.

Taroko Gorge: With its marble-walled canyons, remote mountains and rushing rivers, Taroko National Park is one of the most beautiful places I've seen in my life. I've visited the area at least 50 times since moving to Taiwan and I still go back again and again to hike, swim, or just cruise along the scenic Cross Central Highway.

Hualien has a lot of charm, beautiful beaches and a laid-back atmosphere. It is the biggest city on the east coast of Taiwan and is home to many ethnic minorities. Hualien is the gateway to Taroko Gorge and one of my favorite places to surf in Taiwan.

Kenting is the most popular beach resort in Taiwan. The warm tropical weather makes it a favorite travel destination in winter. Kenting also has wicked surfing, decent scuba diving sites and some hiking trails.

Maolin has remote mountains, waterfalls, rushing rivers, hot springs, a verrrryyyy lonnnng suspension bridge, and even a butterfly sanctuary. This wild, unspoiled region is also home to the friendly Rukai aboriginal tribe.

Lugang is one of Taiwan's oldest towns and is famous for its old market street, magnificient temples, curved streets, and fine traditional handicrafts.

Tainan is Taiwan's temple capital. It's the best place to witness ancient Chinese traditions and age-old religious ceremonies. Tainan is my favorite city in Taiwan. If you're into photography, make sure to put Tainan way at the top of your list of places to visit in Taiwan.

Mt. Hehuan is located in Central Taiwan, on the western edge of Taroko National Park. This alpine station is characterized by rolling green hills that often disappear in a sea of clouds. This is where you'll find the most accessible high altitude hiking trails in Taiwan with most peaks reaching heights of more than 3000m.

Take a look at all the destinations listed on this website.

My eBooks About Taiwan

Taipei Travel Guide: Expert Advice!	Teaching English in Taiwan	Directory of 600 ESL Schools

Study Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan

• Top 11 reasons to study Mandarin Chinese
• Best school to learn Chinese in Taiwan (where I studied)
• What's difficult about learning the Chinese language?
• Choose the right Mandarin language program.
• 10 cool facts about the Mandarin language
• What to expect from a Mandarin language class?

Teach English in Taiwan!

Finding ESL work in Taiwan is quite easy! The money is very good, and you don't need experience to score a job! All you need is a university degree and the desire to do something different. Find out why Taiwan is the best place in the world to teach ESL. Take a look at my Teaching English in Taiwan page for more information about jobs, work permits, and tips on how to get ready for interviews.

Getting Around Taiwan

Traveling around Taiwan is extremely convenient and cheap. Consult the following links or my travel in Taiwan page to know how to get around the island: Bus Travel | Normal Train Travel (TRA) | High Speed Railway (HSR) | Scooter / Motorbike

Facts About Taiwan - Practical Tips - Travel information

The following links contain everything I've learned in the past ten years working, living and traveling around Taiwan.

• Accommodation: Introduction to places to stay in Taiwan.
  
• Climate: How's the weather in Taiwan? Does it rain a lot? Is it hot?
  
• Cost of Living in Taiwan: How far can your money go? Is Taiwan expensive?
  
• Etiquette: A guide to having good manners with Chinese people.
  
• Festivals: A guide to the many Taiwanese festivals and holidays.
  
• Food: An introduction to Taiwanese and Chinese food and snacks.
  
• Geography: In two words... fascinating and unique!
  
• Getting to Taiwan: Information on airports and airlines, and airfares.
  
• Health: Precautions, vaccinations, Chinese medicine.
  
• History of Taiwan: From headhunters to computers.
  
• Hot Springs: People are crazy about hot springs in Taiwan.
• Money: What is Taiwan's currency? Learn about the NT$.
  
• Population: It's estimated at around 23 million people!
  
• Typhoons: When is the typhoon season in Taiwan? How to get ready?
  
• Visa to Taiwan: Do you really need one? Visa information, requirement.
  
• Where is Taiwan? Taiwan is located in the South China Sea, next to China.
  
• Work in Taiwan: Teach English in Taiwan and make big buck$.

Click here to read even more Facts About Taiwan!

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Who is behind Taiwanese-Secrets.com?

Ni hao! My name is Ugo and I'm from Montreal, Canada. Taiwanese Secrets Travel Guide is a personal website, I'm not a company or a travel agency. I created this website simply to share my travel experience on the island and to help you prepare your own journey. I really hope you find what you're looking for and that you'll get inspired by the pictures.

Please, use the guestbook to let me know how you like this site or how I could improve it. You can also contact me if you have a question about anything related to travel in Taiwan. Thanks for your visit. Travel safely!

Ugo

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