When Is The Best Time To Visit Taiwan In 2018?

Taiwan has increasingly become a popular travel destination for Filipinos because of two things: cheap flights and no visa. Ever since the visa-free privilege came into fruition in November this year, a lot of Filipinos have been booking to this Southeast Asian neighbor. This gives Filipinos the liberty to stay up to 14 days in Taiwan for no extra visa requirements.

According to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, however, this nine-month no-visa trial is ending on July 31, 2018. When the visa-free entry agreement expires on July, we can’t be sure if the arrangement will be extended immediately—or if it will be extended at all. Because of this, we’ve put our efforts to finding out when is the best time to travel to Taiwan, with seven months still remaining in our clock.

Taking into consideration cost, weather, and activities, we found that March 2018 is the best time to travel to Taiwan.

 

Cost

While your Christmas bonus dough is still hot (and not yet wiped out), might as well scour the airlines for the best deals and start booking your trip right now. Costs of flights get higher as you book closer to your preferred dates. With March still three months away, you’ll still get good deals in various airlines for as low as P3,000 for a one-way ticket.

 

Weather

Taiwan has four seasons and if you book on the wrong months, your trip can get ruined by too much heat or too much rain. Spring in Taiwan is from March to May and temperature ranges from 15º to 27º Celsius. You get to steer clear of the hot and humid days that can make sight-seeing uncomfortable and thunderstorms that can ruin your whole itinerary.

Coming from a tropical country, it’s always welcome when we travel to places that are a little cooler than what we’re used to. Traveling to Taiwan in Spring is amazing because you get to enjoy bright cool days and colder nights. This also means your OOTDs can feature light comfortable clothing during the day and trendy layered outfits at night.

 

Flowers

Photo from YangChen

 

And since Spring means flower-blooming season, your trips to Taiwan’s famous Yangmingshan National Park will be glorious. March is when the azaleas, camellias, wild peonies, peach blossoms, and the sea of flowers that cover the Yangmingshan Park are at full bloom.

If you’re a fan of sakura or cherry blossoms, this is also the time when they look their best. Visiting Sun Moon Lake and Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village in Northern Taiwan during this month is the most rewarding since you get to witness over 2,000 blossoming cherry trees.

 

Events

Photo from Jirka Matousek

 

Happening on March 2, 2018 is the Taiwan Lantern Festival, one of the biggest and most beautiful annual festivals in the whole of Taiwan that culminate the grand Chinese New Year celebrations in the country. You can get to experience the lantern festival differently in the different parts of Taiwan so choose your location wisely. Some of our favorites are the highlights in Pingxi, Chiayi, and Kaohsiung.

In New Taipei Pingxi, the Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival will be held where over 100,000 lanterns will be lit up and sent to the sky simultaneously.

In the East and west banks of the Love River in Kaohsiung, a huge lantern carnival will be lit up, showcasing Kaohsiung culture and art.

In Chiayi county, several events will happen in the land, air, and water venues to symbolize the three major components of the event which are “Water, Land, and Sky.” Water and light shows will be held in the water zone, high-tech lanterns will be flown in the air zone, and traditional arts and crafts by local artists will be showcased in the land zone.