Car Renting, Taxis and Ride-Sharing

Renting a Car

Car rental in Taiwan involves complications. You’ll need either a Taiwanese driving licence or a Chinese translation of your home country licence obtained from an authorised translation service or your country’s Taiwan representative office. An IDP alone typically doesn’t suffice. Taiwan requires the Chinese translation.

Major international rental companies operate at airports and major cities, alongside local companies offering competitive rates. Expect to pay NT$1,500-3,000 daily depending on vehicle size and rental duration. You can also rent a car via mobile app called iRent. iRent has physical rental sites as well.

Taiwan drives on the right side of the road. Traffic in cities is dense and aggressive, with scooters surrounding your car from all directions. Traffic lights frequently use countdown timers, you can see how many seconds you have to wait until the green line.

Parking presents constant challenges in cities. Public parking garages exist but fill quickly, and they are expensive. Hence, avoid cars for Taipei city sightseeing. In Kaohsiung and Taichung, cars help reach scattered attractions but expect traffic. For eastern Taiwan or mountain areas, cars transform the experience, allowing stops at viewpoints, small towns, and hiking trailheads between major destinations. GPS navigation in English works well with Google Maps or Apple Maps. Road signs increasingly include English, at least for major routes, but knowing destination names in Chinese characters helps verify directions.

Taxis and Ride-Sharing

There are two types of taxis in Taiwan, metered taxis and on-demand taxis. The first ones use metres starting around NT$80 and it depends on cities and time (e.g., night supercharges). You can flag taxis on streets, join taxi ranks at stations, or call dispatch services. The second ones are Uber and several local providers like 55688, you can order a taxi via app and see the price.

When taking metered taxis, noted that few taxi drivers speak English, so it’s recommended to have destination addresses written in Chinese characters or use translation apps. Show drivers your phone with the destination marked on a map. Most drivers appreciate seeing exactly where you need to go.