Travel Preparation

Many visitors travelling on US, Canadian, British Citizen, Australian, New Zealand and European passports qualify for visa-exempt entry for short visits. Eligibility and permitted stays depend on your passport and circumstances.

Check the official visa-exempt entry requirements. If you need a visa, check whether you qualify for an eVisa. Otherwise, follow the visitor visa application requirements and apply through a Taiwan overseas mission. Completing an online application form does not itself grant a visa.

Before travelling, check your government’s latest travel advice for Taiwan, including safety, health, entry requirements and local contacts.

• United States — Department of State
• Canada — Travel advice and advisories
• United Kingdom — Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
• Australia — Smartraveller
• New Zealand — SafeTravel
• Germany — Federal Foreign Office (Deutsch)
• France — Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (français)
• Singapore — Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Japan — Ministry of Foreign Affairs (日本語)

Visa-exempt entry generally requires at least six months of passport validity on arrival. US and Japanese passport holders have different validity provisions, so check the official requirements for your passport. Prepare a confirmed return or onward ticket and any documents required for your next destination.

Keep your accommodation details and tour contact information available. Some passport holders must also show accommodation bookings and sufficient travel funds. See the official entry conditions and exceptions.

Most foreign visitors arriving for a short stay need to complete the online Taiwan Arrival Card (TWAC). Check the official website for who must submit it. You can complete it within seven days before arrival; have your passport, email address, travel and accommodation details ready.

The TWAC is free and is not a visa. Use the official Taiwan Arrival Card website and complete it before immigration clearance.

Avoid bringing meat or meat products, including meat-based snacks, and do not bring fresh fruit. Plants, seeds and other animal or plant products may be restricted. Check the official rules before packing food or other restricted items.

See Taipei Customs arrival guidance. If you are unsure whether an item needs declaring, ask at the Red Channel before passing through customs.

Yes. Please book your accommodation before and after the tour yourself. For a Taichung departure, arrive the day before and stay in Taichung or Fengyuan; the relevant tour page explains the transport and hotel options. For a Taipei one-day tour, any hotel in Taipei is fine.

For tours of two days or more, we arrange the accommodation during the tour.

No. For tours of two days or more, we book the accommodation during the tour. Tell us your room preference or any difficulty with stairs when booking. You only need to arrange your stays before and after the tour.

Send the station or airport, departure time and date before booking. We need to check these against your chosen route; an airport transfer is not automatically included on every tour.

Typically, guiding hours are limited to 14 hours per day, with driving hours—defined as the total time from first using the vehicle to parking it at day’s end, including all drives and stopovers—capped at 12 hours.

No. Published prices are in US dollars for the whole private group, not per person. The price depends on your group size, vehicle and room arrangement. Extra rooms and eligible holiday dates may carry a supplement. Each tour page lists its prices and what is included.

You can pay by credit card through a secure payment link or by bank transfer. We send payment details privately with your invoice. Please request a card payment link a few days ahead, as our office issues it manually. Cash payment must be agreed in advance.

A 30% deposit is due six months before departure to secure accommodation. For bookings made less than six months ahead, or totals under US$3,300, no separate deposit is required: payment is made in one instalment. You may begin paying the balance two months before departure; full payment is normally due two weeks before departure.

For tours of three days or less, a balance up to US$2,000 may be paid in cash by prior agreement. New Taiwan dollars are easiest; US-dollar cash can also be arranged. We confirm the applicable schedule and currency conversion in your quotation.

If you cancel, the cancellation charge is a percentage of the tour price, based on the notice before departure:

• 41 days or more: 5%
• 31–40 days: 10%
• 21–30 days: 20%
• 2–20 days: 30%
• The day before: 50%
• Departure day or no notice: 100%

We refund the remainder. If actual unrecoverable costs exceed these amounts, we may charge the difference and provide a breakdown.

If war, a natural disaster or an official travel restriction prevents the trip and neither side is at fault, we refund payments after deducting only expenses already paid that cannot be recovered. A general travel alert without a restriction follows the cancellation schedule above; active conflict falls under the no-fault arrangement.

If the government declares a typhoon day off for the tour area, the tour does not run and we provide a full refund. Without such a declaration, rain alone does not cancel the tour; your guide adjusts the route to suit conditions.

To confirm your booking, we ask you to complete our Traveller Information Form for every person in your group. We use the details, including each traveller’s passport number, to arrange our Travel Agency Liability Insurance in Taiwan, which covers our responsibilities as the agency and is included in your tour price.

You do not need to buy personal travel insurance or provide a personal insurance policy to complete the form. A fully completed form is sufficient; you do not also need to send a passport copy. Alternatively, you may send a passport copy for each traveller instead of entering their identity details. We will still ask for any other tour information needed, such as dietary requirements.

Submitting traveller details does not require payment now. We contact you separately when payment is due. Please do not send passport information with your initial enquiry.

Our agency liability insurance does not replace personal travel insurance. We recommend arranging your own cover for cancellation, baggage and medical treatment abroad. See traveller details and insurance for the booking procedure.

No. Tipping is not expected in Taiwan, and you do not need to tip your guide. If your guide has done a particularly good job and you would like to say thank you, a tip is always appreciated, but it is entirely optional.

About US$10 per day in New Taiwan dollars is usually enough for small personal expenses such as drinks. A bottle of beer at an ordinary restaurant is typically around NT$80–180; hotels and bars may charge more.

You can exchange money at the airport or withdraw cash after arrival. Many convenience-store ATMs accept overseas cards; look for your card network logo. ATM fees vary by machine and by your own bank, and any local charge is shown on screen before you confirm the withdrawal.

Once we leave Dasyueshan, convenience stores are easy to find, and most chain convenience stores accept major credit cards. Keep a little cash for mountain areas and smaller businesses.

At local restaurants, we usually order several dishes to share around the table. Mountain lodges may serve a set menu with fewer choices, especially when we stay for more than one night. If you prefer a fork and spoon to chopsticks, bring a reusable set.

One-day tours do not include meals. On overnight tours, meals may be at restaurants, at the accommodation or bought from convenience stores. Check your detailed itinerary and quotation for the meals included each day.

Most hotels in Taiwan start serving breakfast at 7:00 a.m. or later, which can mean missing the early morning hours when birds are more active. Apart from our arrangements when staying on Dasyueshan, we use convenience stores for breakfast on many birding days so we can set off earlier and spend more time birding. Western-style options include yogurt, sandwiches, and coffee, subject to availability at each store. Breakfast arrangements also depend on the day’s birding plans. When staying in Tainan before the final day, we have breakfast at the hotel before departure. On waterbird days starting from Chiayi or Douliu, we may also have breakfast at the hotel before setting off, depending on tides and bird activity. Please refer to the detailed itinerary for included meals and meal arrangements.

We can accommodate vegan and lacto-ovo vegetarian diets. Please let us know when booking. Tell us about any other dietary restrictions, including seafood avoidance, so we can confirm what is practical for your itinerary. For halal dietary requirements, we can only arrange vegetarian meals; we cannot provide halal-certified meals.

Strict gluten-free meals are difficult to arrange. Sauces, seasonings and shared kitchens may involve gluten, and we cannot guarantee completely gluten-free meals or prevent cross-contact. Please discuss strict gluten-free requirements with us before booking.

If you have a food allergy, specify every ingredient you need to avoid, such as milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, crustaceans (shrimp or crab), molluscs (shellfish or squid), wheat, soy or sesame. Please also tell us about other allergens, including celery, mustard, lupin or sulphites, and whether you need strict precautions against cross-contact from shared utensils or kitchens. Please describe lactose intolerance or coeliac disease separately rather than simply stating a food preference.

We will discuss your requirements with restaurants and accommodation providers, but advance notice does not guarantee allergen-free food. Choices may be limited in mountain areas. Please discuss serious food allergies with us before booking so we can explain what can and cannot be arranged.

Bring your own water bottle and fill it before each day’s departure. Many public facilities have drinking-water dispensers, including hot water. Use a heat-resistant bottle or flask if you want to carry hot water. Your guide also keeps drinking water in the vehicle.

If coffee or tea before an early departure is important to you, let us know when planning the trip. Bring any snacks you particularly rely on, especially if you have dietary restrictions or need to eat at regular times.

Taiwan uses 110 V electricity with Type A and Type B sockets. Bring a plug adapter if your devices use a different plug. Check that each charger accepts 110 V; appliances made only for another voltage also need a voltage converter.

Most hotels have Wi-Fi. Some remote properties—including Minglan, Guanxingyuan and some accommodation on Lanyu—do not. Many restaurants do not offer Wi-Fi because mobile data is inexpensive and widely used in Taiwan. Bring mobile data or an eSIM if you need dependable access.

Bring your own toothbrush, toothpaste and other personal toiletries. Hotels provide bath towels.

Yes. Bring enough prescription and over-the-counter medication for your entire trip, preferably in the original packaging, plus a small extra supply. Medicines and brand names commonly sold in your home country—especially in the United States—may be unavailable or use different formulations in Taiwan. Do not rely on buying the same product after arrival.

Your guide brings drinking water and a laser pointer for helping you locate birds. A spotting scope is provided on tours that include wetland birding.

Loan binoculars are free. Tell us in advance how many pairs you need so we can prepare them.

For book details, prices and collection or postage, see A Field Guide to the Birds of Taiwan. Please order in advance.

Overnight accommodation in Dasyueshan is at approximately 2,275 metres. Electric blankets are provided, and some room types also have electric heaters.

At Cingjing Farm Guest House, accommodation is at approximately 1,750 metres. Electric blankets are provided, but rooms generally do not have electric heaters.

Alishan Youth Activity Center is at approximately 2,000 metres. Standard rooms have heating supplied in winter when the indoor temperature falls below 10°C; facilities differ by room type.

In the Guanghua area, Star Resort / Firefly Lodge is at approximately 900 metres. Rooms do not provide electric blankets or electric heaters.

Bring warm layers for evenings and early mornings, together with rain protection. Daytime birding around Hehuanshan may reach about 3,275 metres. Tell us before booking if altitude is a concern. Weather and road conditions may change the itinerary.

Accommodation depends on the itinerary and availability; check your detailed itinerary for the properties booked.

Before the tour, we share your guide’s contact details for LINE or WhatsApp. We keep eBird checklists during the tour and can share them afterwards on request.