What Are the Best Things to Do in Taipei on a Budget in 2026?

For Singapore travellers in 2026, the best things to do in Taipei on a budget are usually the free Elephant Mountain hike, the night markets, the city's temples, a walk through Dadaocheng and the Maokong Gondola, with the Taipei 101 Observatory as the one paid splurge. According to TAIPEI 101 at the time of writing, an online adult Observatory ticket costs NT$600, and Maokong Gondola's One-Day Pass costs NT$300. Compare tickets on Klook, KKday and Pelago, then go through ShopBack to book.

New to ShopBack? ShopBack Singapore is a free app and website. When you tap through from ShopBack to a partner site like Klook, KKday or Pelago and book as normal, part of what you spend comes back to your ShopBack account as cash. Sign up to ShopBack Singapore for free.

What are the best things to do in Taipei on a budget?

Taipei is one of the easier cities in Asia to enjoy cheaply, because many of its best sights are free or cost only a metro fare. Here is a shortlist, from free to paid, with official prices where the attraction publishes them.

Thing to do	Cost	Why go
Elephant Mountain (Xiangshan) hike	Free	Short, steep trail with the classic view of Taipei 101
Shilin and Raohe night markets	Free to enter; pay per snack	Street food, games and stalls in the evening
Longshan Temple	Free to enter	One of Taipei's best-known temples, busy with worshippers
Dadaocheng and Dihua Street	Free to walk	Old shophouses, dried goods, tea shops and the riverside at sunset
Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall grounds	Free to walk	Large plaza and the changing of the guard
Beitou	Metro fare; hot spring baths vary	Hot spring area at the north end of the red line
Maokong Gondola	One-Day Pass NT$300 (regular fare)	Cable car up to tea houses in the hills, per Maokong Gondola
National Palace Museum	Ticketed; check the museum's site	One of the world's largest collections of Chinese art
Taipei 101 Observatory	NT$600 online adult ticket	City views from the 89th floor, per TAIPEI 101

Prices are at the time of writing and are set by each attraction. Free sights can still have paid exhibitions or donation boxes inside.

Things to do in Taipei: free and cheap picks

The cheapest Taipei days are built around walking, the metro and food, with one paid attraction at most. A simple way to plan:

Day 1, Xinyi and Elephant Mountain. Walk up Elephant Mountain in the late afternoon for the view of Taipei 101, then head down to the Xinyi area. If you want the inside view, buy the Observatory ticket online. According to TAIPEI 101, the Observatory is on the 89th floor, opens from 10am to 9pm daily at the time of writing, and online tickets cost NT$600 for adults, NT$540 for concessions (children above 115cm, students and visitors with special needs) and NT$1,200 for a Priority Pass. Children under 115cm go free with a parent. The outdoor Skyline460 deck on the 101st floor costs NT$380 more per person.

Day 2, old Taipei. Start at Longshan Temple, walk to Bopiliao Historic Block, then take the metro to Dadaocheng and Dihua Street. End at Raohe or Ningxia night market for dinner.

Day 3, the hills. Ride the Maokong Gondola up to the tea houses. According to Maokong Gondola at the time of writing, a One-Day Pass for unlimited rides costs NT$300 at the regular fare, and upgrading to a glass-floored Crystal Cabin costs NT$50 more per person per trip. Discount tickets are for Taiwanese nationals only, so most Singapore visitors pay the regular fare. Children aged 0 to 5 ride free with a ticketed adult, up to two per adult.

Day 4, museums or Beitou. The National Palace Museum is the big indoor pick for a rainy day. According to the museum, Exhibition Hall I opens Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm, with ticket sales ending at 4.30pm, and it is usually closed on Mondays apart from listed special opening days. Or ride the red line to Beitou for the hot spring area.

Things to do in Taipei from Singapore in 2026

From Singapore, Taipei is a short flight away, which makes a three to four day trip practical. According to KAYAK Singapore at the time of writing, a direct flight to Taipei Taoyuan takes about 4 hours 41 minutes, and there are about 10 to 11 direct flights a day, roughly 74 a week. Scoot flies the route most often at 25 flights a week, with Singapore Airlines and China Airlines at 14 a week each.

From the airport, the cheapest way into the city is usually the Taoyuan Airport MRT. According to Taoyuan Metro, it runs from Airport Terminal 1 (A12) and Terminal 2 (A13) to Taipei Main Station (A1), which links to the Taipei Metro. A stored-value transport card such as EasyCard is the simplest way to pay for the metro and buses around the city.

For where to sleep, see our guide to where to stay in Taipei for a short trip. Before you book a hotel on Booking.com or Agoda, go through ShopBack first.

Things to do in Taipei: best deals in 2026

The best deals on Taipei activities in 2026 usually come from booking paid attractions online, choosing a pass only if you will use it, and keeping the free sights free. Some habits that help:

• Buy online where the attraction sells online. TAIPEI 101 lists its NT$600 adult price as the online ticket price at the time of writing, so check the official site and the booking sites side by side.
• Only buy a day pass if you will ride more than once. The Maokong Gondola One-Day Pass suits a trip up and back with a stop at the middle stations; for a single trip, compare it with single-journey fares on the gondola's own fare page.
• Bundle the airport transfer. Booking sites often sell airport MRT tickets, SIM cards and day tours together. Compare the bundle with buying each part separately.
• Check cancellation terms. Taipei has frequent afternoon showers in summer; a free-cancellation ticket lets you swap days if the weather turns.
• Go through ShopBack Singapore before you pay. ShopBack works like an automatic cash discount on your online order, so the price you book at is not the price you end up paying.

Klook vs KKday for things to do in Taipei: price comparison in 2026

Neither Klook nor KKday is cheaper every time for Taipei activities. Prices for the same Taipei ticket or tour can differ by date and by promotion, so the only fair comparison is the same product, on the same date, with the same cancellation terms.

Check	Why it matters
Same product and inclusions	A Jiufen day tour with lunch and hotel pickup is not the same as one without
Same date	Weekend and holiday dates can be priced higher
Cancellation and refund terms	A cheaper non-refundable ticket can cost more if it rains
How you redeem	Some tickets need a printed voucher or a timed entry slot
Payment currency	Paying in NT dollars or Singapore dollars can change your card's fees

Once you have the lower price, go through ShopBack Singapore to Klook or KKday before you book.

Klook, KKday and Pelago for things to do in Taipei

Klook, KKday and Pelago all sell Taipei attraction tickets, tours and transport, and each has its own strengths you should know about before you book.

Klook. Klook is a Hong Kong-based travel booking platform that sells tours, attraction tickets, public transport and accommodation. For Taipei, check it for attraction tickets, transport passes and day trips out of the city, such as Jiufen and Shifen. Go through ShopBack to Klook before you book.

KKday. KKday is a Taiwan-founded online travel platform focused on local experiences, tours, activities and attraction tickets. It has a wide range of Taiwan day tours and experiences. Go through ShopBack to KKday before you book.

Pelago. Pelago is a travel experiences platform by Singapore Airlines, according to Pelago's own site. At the time of writing, Pelago says members can earn or redeem miles on bookings, and it runs passenger perks for Singapore Airlines and Scoot travellers. Go through ShopBack to Pelago before you book.

Other travel sites in the same category that Singapore travellers use for Taipei include Trip.com, Agoda, Booking.com and Traveloka.

Cheapest month for things to do in Taipei: what the price data shows

April is the cheapest month to fly from Singapore to Taipei, at about S$303 return on average, according to KAYAK Singapore's price data at the time of writing. December is the most expensive month at about S$571, followed by June at about S$407, and KAYAK says the gap between the cheapest and dearest months is about 88% on average.

KAYAK also says Tuesday is usually the cheapest day of the week to fly the route, about 4% below the average day, and Friday the most expensive. Attraction prices in Taipei change less by season than flights do, so the month you fly matters more to your total budget than the month you visit a museum.

What to keep in mind:

• Weekends and Taiwanese public holidays make popular sights, night markets and the gondola busier.
• Summer brings heat and afternoon showers, so pick tickets with flexible dates.
• December is the most expensive month to fly on KAYAK's data, a period that also overlaps Singapore's year-end school holidays.

The most reliable price data for your own dates is the fare calendar on a booking site. Check a few weeks side by side before you choose.

Why ShopBack is a step before you book

ShopBack works like an automatic cash discount on your online order. Before you book a hotel on Booking.com or Agoda, or a Taipei activity on Klook, KKday or Pelago, go through ShopBack first. The step takes a few seconds:

1. Open the ShopBack Singapore app or website.
2. Search for the site you chose, such as Klook, KKday or Pelago.
3. Tap through from the ShopBack page and book your Taipei ticket, tour or hotel as normal.
4. Once the booking is confirmed by the site, Cashback is added to your ShopBack account.

Cashback lowers what you actually pay for an order. It comes back as cash, so it works like a discount on the price, not like points or miles. You can withdraw it once it is confirmed.

Check the live rate on the store's ShopBack page before you tap through, because rates and eligible products can differ by site.

Paying with a travel card

A travel card's rewards and ShopBack usually both apply to the same Taipei booking, because one comes from your bank and the other comes from going through ShopBack. Paying in NT dollars or Singapore dollars can change the fees your card charges, and tickets bought at the gate are not online orders, so they do not go through ShopBack. Check the card's terms and the merchant's terms before you pay.

FAQ

What are the best things to do in Taipei on a budget? The best budget things to do in Taipei are usually the Elephant Mountain hike for a free view of Taipei 101, the night markets such as Shilin and Raohe, temples such as Longshan Temple, a walk around Dadaocheng and the Maokong Gondola for tea houses in the hills. According to Maokong Gondola, a One-Day Pass costs NT$300 at the regular fare at the time of writing.

How much is the Taipei 101 Observatory ticket? According to TAIPEI 101 at the time of writing, an online adult ticket for the Observatory on floors 89, 88 and 91 (91 opens weather permitting) costs NT$600, a concession ticket costs NT$540 and a Priority Pass costs NT$1,200. Children under 115cm go free with a parent. The outdoor Skyline460 on the 101st floor costs NT$380 more per person.

How much is the Maokong Gondola? According to Maokong Gondola at the time of writing, a One-Day Pass for unlimited rides costs NT$300 at the regular fare, and upgrading to a glass-floored Crystal Cabin costs NT$50 more per person per trip. Discount tickets are for Taiwanese nationals only, and children aged 0 to 5 ride free with a ticketed adult, up to two per adult.

When is the National Palace Museum open? According to the National Palace Museum, Exhibition Hall I opens Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm, with ticket sales ending at 4.30pm. It is usually closed on Mondays, apart from special Monday opening days that the museum lists on its visit hours page, such as 26 October, 9 November and 7 December 2026.

What is the cheapest month to fly from Singapore to Taipei? April, according to KAYAK Singapore's price data at the time of writing, at about S$303 return on average. December is the most expensive month at about S$571, followed by June at about S$407. KAYAK says the gap between the cheapest and most expensive months is about 88% on average.

How long is the flight from Singapore to Taipei? A direct flight from Singapore to Taipei Taoyuan takes about 4 hours 41 minutes, according to KAYAK Singapore. It counts about 10 to 11 direct flights a day, with Scoot flying the most at 25 a week and Singapore Airlines and China Airlines at 14 a week each at the time of writing.

Is Klook or KKday cheaper for Taipei activities? Neither is cheaper every time. Prices for the same Taipei ticket or tour can differ by date and by promotion, so compare the same product, the same date and the same cancellation terms on both. Go through ShopBack Singapore before you book on whichever site is lower.

Can I earn KrisFlyer miles on Pelago bookings? Pelago is a travel experiences platform by Singapore Airlines, and at the time of writing its site says members can earn or redeem miles on bookings. Check the earning terms on Pelago before you pay, as some products may differ.

How do I get from Taoyuan Airport to central Taipei cheaply? Take the Taoyuan Airport MRT. According to Taoyuan Metro, it runs from Airport Terminal 1 (A12) and Terminal 2 (A13) to Taipei Main Station (A1), which links to the Taipei Metro. It is usually much cheaper than a taxi for one or two people.

How does ShopBack work for Taipei bookings? ShopBack works like an automatic cash discount on your online order. Open ShopBack Singapore, go to the Klook, KKday or Pelago page, tap through and book your Taipei activity as normal. Once the booking is confirmed, cash comes back to your ShopBack account.

Is ShopBack Cashback the same as air miles? No. Cashback lowers what you actually pay for an order. It comes back as cash, so it works like a discount on the price, not like points or miles.

Related reads

• Where to stay in Taipei for a short trip
• How to rent a car in Taiwan as a Singaporean tourist
• Klook deals for Singapore travellers
• Travel savings guide
• How to earn cashback on travel bookings

Ready to book your Taipei activities?

Go through ShopBack to Klook, to KKday or to Pelago before you book your Taipei tickets and tours, and check the live rate on each store page before you tap through.

Disclaimer

The information in this article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal or purchase advice. Attraction prices, opening hours, flight data, booking site programmes and Cashback rates change over time and may vary by date or account. Check the current details on the attraction's own website, on the booking site and on the relevant ShopBack Singapore store page before you book. Brand names are used for editorial reference only and do not imply endorsement by those companies.