When you visit Taiwan or any country for that matter, there are travel must-haves that you should be mindful about. These are the things that you should bring with you to make sure your trip is hassle-free. During my travel to Taipei for 3 days, I realized that there are things to bring and should never be disregarded.

These Taiwan travel must-haves will ensure that you are well-equipped when roaming around Taipei and nearby cities. I’m pretty sure you have your money, camera, and a list of things to do or visit, so that’s not what I’m going to cover here.

Without further ado, here’s my checklist for your travel must-haves when going to Taiwan:

Pocket Wifi

You will most likely have a wifi connection at your hotel, but you won’t be staying there all the time. Having an internet connection will help when you need to use Google Maps or any navigational tools on your phone to make your way around.

Trust me, even if most of the signages in Taiwan has an English version, you’ll still want something within your reach that you can check from time to time to determine your whereabouts. And of course, without a pocket wifi, you won’t be able to share your travel real time on social media. I’m sure you want that, hehe

Klook.comThis travel must-have device can be rented for several days. Prior to our flight, I already paid for Pocket Wifi for 3 days. I picked it up at Taoyan International Airport.

Local SIM

I purchased a Taiwan local SIM also from KK Day. At first, I bought it just for souvenir, but having a SIM ended up to be a blessing in disguise. I used it as a secondary source of internet connection. But you cannot discount the possibility of needing to make a call.

During our tour to the northern part of Taiwan through Klook, we encountered a very stressful scenario which made me realize having a local SIM is very important when traveling. Pingxi was our last stop for the sky lantern experience, and my cousin decided to leave her camera at the tour bus. It was actually intentional because she didn’t find the need to bring it with her having accidentally left the battery at our hotel room.

With the assurance from our tour guide that nothing will be lost at the bus, she thought of doing so. Unfortunately, when we’re about to go back to the bus at the end of our activity, we couldn’t find our way back. We were lost.

We tried to figure it out on our own, but still had a hard time. When we saw a bus from afar, we know that’s our bus but it’s too late for us to get there in time. We were left at the Pingxi Railway. And although it would have been okay, the fact that we need to retrieve the camera meant that we had to contact our tour guide.

We went back to the shop where we got our paper lanterns hoping that they have the contact number of our tour guide. True enough, we were able to get his mobile number. We were able to contact him and coordinate how to get the camera back.

Klook.comIt’s a good thing that we have a local SIM, otherwise it would have been expensive calling using our roaming service. It’s definitely a must-have. We were in constant contact from the moment we were still at Pingxi trying to negotiate a ride back to the city, up to the time when we alighted the cab at Ximending where we met with the tour guide.

EasyCard

An EasyCard is actually similar to the Beep Card in the Philippines. It’s a reloadable card that we used for taking the MRT, bus, and the gondola at Maokong, even paying for entrance at Taipei Zoo. It can also be used to buy food at convenience stores like 7-Eleven.

If this is not a Taiwan travel must-have, I don’t know which. We bought it at 7-Eleven in the airport for NT$100. Initially, we thought it already has value that we can use. Unlike buying a Beep Card, this one has to be loaded immediately upon purchase or else it’s useless.

Klook.com
I’d recommend that your initial top up would be NT$500 as it’s easily reloadable at MRT stations and convenience store. Klook has a good deal that I would recommend for first time travelers to Taiwan.

Raingear

I guess this is if you’re going to travel Taiwan for a specific season. Everybody said November is one of the best months to visit. Well, it was raining really hard when we visited Yehliu Geopark and Shifen Waterfall. It’s a good thing our tour guide came prepared with raincoats for sale.

Better check the weather forecast so you’d know if you should bring umbrellas and/or raincoats. And make sure to believe it. I ignored it and didn’t bring umbrella despite reading the forecast that it’ll be raining on the day of our tour, haha.

Comfortable Footwear

You will do a lot of walking, so make sure you’re wearing the most comfortable shoes that you can wear.  To be honest though, I think nothing can prepare you from this. Because no matter how comfy it may be, your feet is bound to hurt, even at the slightest.

You may want to wear a shoes that goes well with your OOTD, and I don’t have a problem with that. Just make sure it’s the most comfortable one to wear. Better yet, just bring an extra pair of really comfy sandals that you can wear instead when your feet is starting to kill you.

Navigational Apps

There are many apps that can be downloaded on your smartphone, whether it’s an iOS or an Android. I suggest you download more than one app and launch them while you’re still in the country of departure, and upon arrival. These apps offer different features and user interfaces. Choose the ones offering a good user experience.

Play around so you’ll get the feel and see if it’s something you’ll be able to easily work with during your travel. Some apps require payment for a full functionality and that’s not a practical option.

These are the things that you must have with you when you’re in Taiwan. For me, you cannot NOT have them or else you’re bound to experience inconvenience. Make sure you have some of the items before your flight. And take care of the rest as soon as you arrive at the hotel. Enjoy your travel to Taiwan! 🙂

Disclosure: I wrote this article with my biases, opinions and insights. Some of the links on this page are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

PS: Of course you should also be bringing your passport, identification cards, internationally-activated cards and a backpack or small bag with you. 😉

Klook.com