Every year, many travelers plan to visit Taiwan during Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year) to get a feeling of the atmosphere.
Is it a good idea? Let us share with you the suggestions for traveling to Taiwan in the Lunar New Year.
First, you should know the restrictions and situations you have to face if you would like to visit Taiwan during the Chinese New Year.
1. Some sites or shops will be closed during Chinese New Year
Every year, the vacation of Chinese New Year will be 5 to 9 days. During the Chinese New Year, most Taiwanese will return to their home town and gather with their family (it’s like Christmas in western countries). So, some sites or shops will be closed during this period, which might influence your travel.
2. Hard to find a restaurant to have your meal
The restaurants will be closed as well. For example, the famous Din Tai Fung is closed on Chinese New Year’s Eve and the first day of the lunar calendar. On the other hand, some restaurants only provide banquet set for a whole family over 10 people. So, please do call the restaurants you plan to go to check when they will take days off and make reservations in advance.
3. The traffic will be extremely busy
There will be traffic jam on most of the highways because people will visit their “families” (the husband’s family and the wife’s family and even friends’ families) to celebrate the New Year. The time you spend on traffic will be at least twice as normal.
4. It will be VERY crowded at every tourist attraction
Taiwanese will grab this “rare” long holiday to travel with family. You will find it very strange that our capital Taipei will be almost empty and very quiet during this period, because most of people who work or live in Taipei are actually from other counties.
5. The price of accommodation will be VERY expensive
It’s the peak tourism season for Taiwanese or Chinese. And the cost of a tour guide will also be higher because they will sacrifice their time with their family to provide services for the guests.
Seeing this, you may feel “Oh My God! Then should I not come to Taiwan for the Lunar New Year?”
We know that during this time, for some Chinese families living overseas, it may be the only chance to gather the whole family and travel together So we will give you the following suggestions:
1. If you haven’t buy the air tickets, we will suggest that you visit Taiwan AFTER the Chinese New Year if possible
After Chinese New Year, most the shops or markets will be opened as normal and people will return to their regular routine life. The decorations from Chinese New Year will remain, since we like to extend the feeling of happiness longer. You will find red couplets, firecrackers, and lanterns still hung on the wall or ceiling.
On the other hand, try to include famous Lantern Festival into your travel dates. There will be a decorative lantern fair in Taipei City, and the Sky Lantern Festival in Pingxi. It is worthwhile to visit!
2. Based in Taipei and travel to nearby towns only
As mentioned, Taipei will not be as crowed as other main attractions in Taiwan, and compared to other area, the cost of hotel in Taipei is more reasonable. So if you base in Taipei and only visit the nearby townships such as Shifen, Yehliu, Beitou, Danshui, Keelung…etc, the tour will be smoother.
3. Don’t waste too much time on traveling from one city to another
If your travel days are long and you would like to go the cities outside Taipei, it is recommended that you choose only one destination where you can explore deeper and then save the time you waste on traffic.
Have any other questions about traveling in Taiwan? Ask us for more information.