Taiwan - Arrival Essentials

Traveling through the small yet mighty island left us in awe. We hope that by the time you finish reading the blog, this country is high on your travel list and that you find useful tips to plan your itinerary.

In our opinion, navigating through the visa requirements for the country was straightforward. Based on your citizenship and residency, you can find more information on  https://www.boca.gov.tw/. As Indian citizens with Canadian permanent residency, we were visa-exempt as long as we stayed in the country for a maximum of 14 days. So we put together an itinerary for 12 days, including days for arriving and departing from Taiwan, and just got our passport stamped on arrival at the airport.

We flew with Eva Air from Vancouver to Taipei and the journey took approximately 10 hrs 45 minutes. A direct flight was convenient, especially with Eva Air's hospitable customer service and above-average food quality. The passengers on the flight were quiet and coupled with warm treatment from the flight stewards, it proved to be a sweet little insight into the country’s culture and manners. 

Three essential items you would want to cross off your list soon after landing at the airport are:

1. Currency exchange

You don’t need to carry Taiwanese Dollars from your home country. Currency exchange at the Taipei Taoyuan Airport (TPE) is easily accessible and located next to the baggage collection area. When we traveled in February 2023, we got an exchange rate of approx. $22 NTD per $1 CAD.

Generally, payment through credit cards is conveniently accepted almost everywhere in the country (other than perhaps small local stores and night markets where you’ll find tons of vendors!), but the added transaction fees and the possibility of credit card fraud in a foreign country were reasons why we used local physical currency as much as possible.

2. SIM card

Right from the get-go, access to the internet in the country can help you tremendously, whether it’s for google translate or for navigation. SIM cards are easily available at the TPE and you’ll find options for desired days of unlimited data and calling options. In our experience, connecting to public Wifi was difficult and not easily available everywhere.

Pro-tip: we were able to our phone’s hotspot to access the internet on other personal devices through a single SIM card but we eventually felt the need to get another SIM card so that each of us had some access to the internet independently and so that we could contact each other in case we got lost or separated. Another reason why getting a SIM card for each mobile device is handy is because Taiwan offers a public bike rental service (https://eng.taiwan.net.tw/m1.aspx?sNo=0029053) in all major cities but you can only access the bikes after online registration, which requires each user to have a mobile number.

Other than above mentioned two considerations, we found that having one SIM card would not hamper access to places or the overall experience in the country. 

3. Easy card (This is the best!)

A card that does it all - Easy Card is a fantastic facility to pay for tickets during traveling (such as buses, plains, ferries. and even a You-bike) and convenience stores. You can add more balance to your card at transit facilities or a local convenience store like 7-Eleven, Family Mart, and similar establishments. The country has a quirky way of making the most mundane things look playful. Most illustrations across the country are typically inspired by cartoon characters, animals, and all things adorable - often with catchy bright colors. As you would have guessed, the Easy Card was no exception.