Accommodation Tips
Choosing where to stay in Taiwan can dramatically shape your experience of the island. Rather than simply recommending specific hotels or neighbourhoods, this guide will help you understand what factors to consider when selecting accommodation, so you can make choices aligned with your own travel style and interests.
The question isn’t “where is the best place to stay?” but rather “what do I want easy access to, and how does Taiwan’s geography work?”
Taiwan’s urban development is remarkably even, with most areas offering good infrastructure and safety. Rather than avoiding “bad neighbourhoods,” think about atmosphere and convenience. Do you want to be in the heart of night market energy, or would you prefer quieter residential streets where you can observe local daily life? Both are legitimate choices with different rewards.
These two factors: MRT access and convenience store proximity, interact rather than standing alone. An accommodation’s value comes from how these elements work together to support your particular travel style.
Consider these scenarios:
Scenario: You’re spending a week in Taipei, wanting to explore the city thoroughly whilst making day trips to Jiufen.
Prioritise: Accommodation within 5-10 minutes’ walk of an MRT station on the Bannan (Blue) or Tamsui-Xinyi (Red) lines near Taipei Main Station. This gives you easy access to both the MRT network and intercity trains. Convenience stores will be abundant, so that’s less critical to optimise for.
Scenario: You’re splitting time between cities, moving between Taipei, Taichung, and Tainan.
Prioritise: Accommodation near train stations or High Speed Rail stations in each city. Since you’ll be moving frequently, proximity to intercity transport outweighs perfect positioning for exploring any one neighbourhood. MRT access matters in Taipei, less so in Tainan where the system doesn’t yet exist.
Scenario: You’re staying a month, working remotely whilst exploring Taiwan gradually.
Prioritise: A neighbourhood you genuinely enjoy, possibly slightly away from tourist centres. Here, local character and your personal comfort matter more than optimising every journey. MRT access remains valuable for flexibility, but you might accept a 15-minute walk in exchange for a neighbourhood that feels more like temporary home. Convenience store proximity becomes more important for everyday life: paying bills, picking up parcels, daily coffee.
Scenario: You’re exploring rural and coastal Taiwan, with minimal time in major cities.
Prioritise: Proximity to bus stations or train stations in smaller towns. MRT access is irrelevant outside major cities. Convenience stores remain valuable, but remember they’re so ubiquitous that this largely takes care of itself.
The goal isn’t to find objectively perfect accommodation: it’s to find accommodation that supports your specific intentions for visiting Taiwan. By understanding how location, transport access, and local infrastructure interact, you can make informed choices rather than relying on generic recommendations that might not suit your particular style of exploration.
Taiwan’s infrastructure makes it remarkably easy to explore, provided you understand how to position yourself within it. With these criteria in mind, you’re equipped to evaluate accommodation options through the lens of how they’ll actually function for your visit, rather than simply trusting hotel star ratings or generic neighbourhood reputations.