Reddit reviews Lonely Planet Taiwan (Country Guide)

Caveat: I haven't been in about 3 years.

DO:

• Bring quick-dry everything. It will be pretty grossly hot, and if you're not used to crazy humidity, you will be sweating almost constantly.
  
  
• Get used to not being 100% dry. Ever.
  
  
• Bring bug repellent. I got absolutely DESTROYED by bugs when hiking. My white friend got bit maybe twice.
  
  
• Eat all the delicious Taiwanese food you can, you lucky bastard.
  
  
• Bring durable shoes. You'll probably be walking a lot.
  
  
• Have an umbrella! Fucking monsoons, man.
  
  
• Rely on 7-11s. They have everything. They're the fucking shit.
  
  
• Talk to the locals. I believe that Taiwanese people are the nicest Asians I have ever encountered. I don't think I met a single person who was not willing to stop what they were doing and direct me to wherever I was trying to get. One lady even insisted on driving me and my friend 15 minutes out of her way to one of our destinations. Crazy nice!
  
  
• Consider bringing a white friend. You get a lot of bonus points with a white person. It's weird.
  
  DO NOT:
  
  
• Wear cotton
  
  
• Have your hair too long. It's so hot and sweaty, god.
  
  
• Spend too much on food/drink in any one place. Food in Taiwan is wonderfully cheap (depending on what you get).
  
  
• Rely on street names to get around. It's as if all the roads in Taiwan are nameless. Seriously.
  
  
• Stay in Taipei for more than ~5 days total. There's so much to go see!
  
  
  Are you going down-and-dirty backpacking-style, or would you rather travel and stay in higher-end places?
  
  When I went, a friend and I took a clockwise tour around the island mainly using the High Speed Rail and stopped at cities or sites. One pretty memorable detour was our hike through ~10km of the Caoling Historic Trail and slept in a monastery at the end.
  
  If you've never been, you should probably make sure you hit:
  
  Taroko Gorge
  
  Alishan
  
  Kenting
  
  These are all great sights to see with a lot of hiking and other recreation about.
  
  Make sure you hit the night markets. This is a must. You should also go and eat at Din Tai Fung in Taipei (make reservations), and try a Mos Burger (you'll see them in big cities--fucking delicious).
  
  There is SO MUCH to do in Taiwan, and it's all incredibly traveller friendly. To my memory, there is a small information hut at the mouth of every train station with English-speaking guides who will tell you all about the area, including sites, activities, good lodgings, etc.
  
  You shouldn't have to worry too much about money in Taiwan, as (3 years ago) I could spend less than $1500 for a full month of sight-seeing and tourist-ing.
  
  I could probably go on and on and on about Taiwan as I remember things more clearly, but what I truly suggest is for you to go get the Lonely Planet: Taiwan guide book. I personally used the 2007 edition, which worked very well. There's a 2011 edition, but that has mediocre reviews.
  
  This reply is a bit all over to place, so I apologize for that; however, if you have any other direct questions, I'd be totally happy to answer. If you need specific travelling advice, I could probably do that, too!