Site icon Travel Up

Travel Guide: Biking in Taipei, Taiwan

Kara Santos

While biking around Taipei, I couldn’t help but marvel at how amazing and safe the whole cycling infrastructure was. Right in the middle of the busy city, we could pedal for miles and miles along riversides flanked by lush greens and mangroves and scenic natural views.

The bike lanes weaved seamlessly through urban parks and gardens protected from the main highways where motorized vehicles pass and were set apart from motorcycle lanes with proper cement barriers, trees, or are placed on elevated cycle lanes and bridges over busy highways. Along the routes we took, there were numerous rest stops with water stations, public bike repair facilities, vending machines, clean restrooms, and bike parking areas.

While I’ve been to Taiwan a few times before and enjoyed the convenience of their highly efficient train network for sightseeing, going around by bicycles for three days put an active spin on our vacation and allowed us to experience the city differently.

ICYMI, Taiwan has extended its visa-free entry for Filipino travelers until July 2024, so it’s less of a hassle to plan quick trips here compared some other other bike-friendly countries. It felt very chill going around here, and the general vibe didn’t feel as hectic or fast paced as some other cities.

In case you’re interested in biking around Taipei for sightseeing on short trips, here’s a detailed guide of where you can rent bikes, possible cycling routes, guided bike tours, bike-friendly places to stay and eat, and some general travel tips based on our experience biking there in August 2023.

Where to rent bikes in Taipei 

You can rent bikes to get around from any of the numerous YouBike stations docked all over Taipei. This public bike share system gives locals and tourists an easy way to get around in combination with the greater public transport system.

However, using one requires an EasyCard, iPass Card or credit card and some setting up. You will get charged every minute you use the bikes and need to find a proper dock to park to end the trip, so this is better for those who want to do short bike rides in between major hubs from point-to-point and not whole day bike trips. 

You can also find traditional bikes for rent in many riverside stations along the cycling routes including Dadaocheng Pier Plaza near the Yanping Riverside Park with different-sized bikes for the whole family which are good for casual biking by the riverside.

Since we wanted to use bikes for several days and longer rides, we opted to rent bikes from Taipei Bike Works, a shop in the Datong district which is a quick ride away from the riverside cycling routes. The shop offers bike tours along with daily, 2-day, 3-day, and weekly bike rentals starting at NTD$400 a day. Their fleet of bikes are well-maintained, and they offer everything from city to road bikes, along with helmets, tools, spare tires, and a pump.

We opted for their Merida Explorers, fun and comfortable rides, which costs $600 a day or $1500 for 3 days. This touring bicycle has a comfortable seat, hydraulic disc brakes, and 21 or 27 gears. The shop staff and owners are very friendly and helpful and can give you advice on different cycling routes.

Top sights around Taipei

Aside from the usual spots around Taipei, popular day trips include Yehliu Geopark and Jiufen. Here are other things you can do

READ MORE: 10 things to do in Taipei, Taiwan

Possible cycling routes

The best thing about going around on bikes is you can plan your own itinerary or just bike around with no real route and still find hidden gems. In fact, you can bike around the entire island of Taiwan through protected bike lanes.

Taiwan Cycle Route No.1 is a 968 km bicycle route around the entire island of Taiwan clearly marked with road signs and road markings. This generally takes 9-12 days to complete, with rides lasting roughly 70-100 kms everyday.

Source: Taipei Bike Works

Another suggested full-day bike route around the city is to follow the “Taipei: Cycling Circle Trip” which takes you to 12 locations along the entire riverside bicycle trail network, where you can check-in at key landmarks like the Sailing boat at Dadaocheng Wharf, Dajia Amusement Park and LOVE Rainbow Bridge. This ride is about 66 kilometers.

Taipei Bike Works also offers 4-hour (15 km) and 8-hour (35 km) guided bike tours to key landmarks around the city if you want the expert services of a local guide. Your rides really depend on how much free time you have and what destinations you really want to visit along the way. 

Our bike itinerary

I’ll write more about our specific rides in more detailed travelogue posts but here’s a quick rundown of some of the bike highlights from our recent trip.

Day 1: Dihua area + Shilin Night Market

It can be tricky to bike in Taiwan during summer months as it can get very hot during the day and there’s a high chance of heavy rains during the afternoons, which we experienced right after securing our rental bikes.

Since it rained all afternoon, we just chilled out around the Dihua Historical Street area. This 19th-century riverside trading hub for herbs, medicines, dried goods, fabrics, teas, and other products has a lot of interesting cafes and restaurants.

When the weather cleared up, we took the riverside route to visit Shilin Night Market, the largest and most famous night market in Taipei, where you can enjoy famous street food.

Day 2: Tamsui Fisherman’s Wharf

The main highlight of our ride was our 50+ km ride from our hotel to Tamsui Fisherman’s Wharf and back.

The scenic riverside routes passes through some little cafes, bridges over the Keelung River and other iconic spots for bikers. Just biking there is already a treat and you can enjoy dining by the seaside in many areas. There’s a Starbucks by the Riverside that’s popular with bikers.

We found a seafood restaurant in the market area, that served great oysters, scallops, shirmp, grilled salmon and mackerel rice meals and cold drinks at affordable prices.

On the way back, we crossed the Guandu Bridge to check out the other side of the riverside, and passed a long elevated bike bridge right over the expressway. We crossed back via the Taipei Bridge to get to Yanping Riverside Park. We took a break back at the hotel before returning to the bike-friendly area for dinner and drinks later that night.

Day 3: Treasure Hill Artist Village + city landmarks

On our third day of biking around Taipei, we headed South from the riverside to check out Treasure Hill Artist Village, an artists enclave with an ancient temple and a couple of mountainside cafes and ateliers.

We found this cozy cafe called 3 Cats Club that served delicious Beef Shank Noodle Soup and Taiwanese Egg Rolls.

We also stopped by the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall for the requisite photo ops with some stops at the Guting Bike Observatory and Hakka Cultural Park along the way.

On the way to Longshan Temple, we also spotted the Bopiliao Historical District, a row of old shops and galleries. Then it was back to the riverside and sunset drinks again at Dadaocheng Pier before returning the bikes to the shop before they closed.

Where to stay

While in Taipei, we stayed in Queen Hotel II, a new hotel on the 4th floor of an old building in the Datong district. We picked this hotel mainly because it’s just a 5-minute walk from the bike rental shop and about an 8-minute walk from the Taipei Main station which goes directly to the airport.

From the outside, you wouldn’t think the building would have a hotel because the ground floor is full of old shophouse stalls for antiques and toys (reminiscent of Greenhills shops), but the rooms are very modern and clean and AC was great. Bikes can fit in the elevator. The hotel staff were all very friendly and helpful. Since we borrowed bikes for a few days, they let us park bikes in the hallway where they kept laundry and cleaning supplies at night. We just locked up bikes in the ground floor during the day.

The hotel also offers free water, coffee, milk tea, an outdoor sun terrace, has good WiFi, offers luggage storage and has a clean restroom where you can freshen up before or after check out. Rooms don’t come with breakfast, but you can easily buy food from Family Mart or 7-11 across the street. There’s also a grocery right beside the hotel.

Rates vary depending the dates of your stay and when you book, but rooms start about P2,500 a night.

Book rooms via Agoda here.

Here are some other hotels around Taiwan known for being bike-friendly as recommended by TravelinTaiwan.net :

What to bring

It can get very hot and humid and rainy biking during summer months. Bring breathable cycling wear and arm sleeves for biking as well as ponchos or windbreakers in case it rains. Water tumblers are a must. You can refill water in many free drinking stations.

Helmets are provided (but most of the time not required for the secure riverside areas). Bring bike lights and blinkers for biking at night. Most places are well-lit though so it’s not really needed. Bring a powerbank since taking photos/videos and navigation can drain phones quickly.

Travel tips and useful info

I’ll be sharing more articles about our Taiwan trip soon. Check out my other social media accounts for updates.

Exit mobile version