Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SLEEPING PRICE RANGES
The following price ranges refer to a double room with bathroom.
$less than NT$1600
$$$NT$1600-4000
$$$
$$$more than NT$4000
Camping
Camping is generally safe and inexpensive, and hot showers (may be limited to the even-
ings) and toilets are standard. It is best to bring a free-standing tent, as many sites have
raised wooden platforms. You can pick up a cheap tent in Taiwan for NT$1000. Along the
east coast you can set up a tent on pretty much any beach, but it can get very hot if you
aren't under the shade. Public campgrounds tend to have the best facilities.
Homestays & B&Bs
Mínsù
(homestays) offer travellers a way to meet local people as well as fellow travellers.
There has been an explosion of new homestays in the past few years, and most are well
run and offer good accommodation at a fair price. In fact, many are far superior to hotels
and often offer locally cooked meals. Signs for homestays are everywhere and you can
usually just drop in without reservations on weekdays (when rates are often substantially
discounted).
If you have a Youth Travel Card (
www.youthtravel.tw
), you sometimes get a discount
rate at homestays.
Hostels
A basic dorm bed starts at NT$400 to NT$500, though the better places charge NT$600
to NT$800 per night. Private rooms are usually tiny and start at NT$800. You can often ar-
range weekly or monthly rates. Taiwanese hostels affiliated with
Hostelling International
(
http://taiwan.yh.org.tw
)
or the
Youth Travel Card
(
www.youthtravel.tw
) program offer dis-
counts for cardholders. Many affiliates are hotels, not hostels, and offer a limited number
of twin rooms (two beds) for sharing.
Almost all genuine hostels are technically illegal, though there is nothing dodgy about
them (bizarre regulations, such as the need to have a parking lot, prevent them from get-
ting licences). Hostels generally have laundry, simple cooking facilities, computers, ADSL
or wi-fi and a room for socialising.
