For our full trip itinerary, please click here.
One of the seven national parks in Taiwan, the Yangmingshan National Park is located at Taipei City. The National Park is famous for its cherry blossoms (spring) and hot springs (winter), which explains why summer is probably the worst time to visit YMS. We went there on the third day of our trip but did not stay long as boredom took over us.
To make things worst, we were really annoyed with YMS’s low frequency bus route that generally runs four or fewer buses in an hour. FYI, leisure bus 108 will make several pit stops at tourist attractions along YMS and you pay only NT 60 to hop on / hop off. Only on weekends and during spring, bus frequency will increases to every 10-15 minutes.
Siaoyukeng is a sulfur pit located near the Yangmingshan-Chinshan Highway. You can listen to the bursting sound of gas and smell the odor of sulfur. It is quite a scenic spot for wedding and bridal photography but you have to bear with the foul odour of sulfur. 
Yang Ming Shan National Park 陽明山國家公園
Getting Here: From exit M1 of Taipei Main Station, take bus 260 to Yang Ming Shan main bus station. From there, get a unlimited bus ride for leisure bus 108 (NT 60) to go around Yang Ming Shan area. 
From YMS, we boarded bus 230 that brought us to Xin Bei Tou MRT sation. Beitou is famous for its hot springs with many hotels and traditional baths around. Once can always visit the Hell Valley and Museum of Hot Spring too. Since I’ve been here a few years back, we hailed a cab (NT 200) and head to a Japanese style Hot Spring Villa straight. 
Feeling adventurous, we took the public bath package (NT 200 per person, same price for private bath). The public bath is a wiser choice because you get some really nice scenery overlooking the mountain while the private bath room is just a roofed confined space for two. Oh and did I tell you that we need to strip naked too? I saw naked slabs of flesh of all sizes and shapes – protruding, flat, bony but there is no time to be shy at the pool because they are probably scrutinizing on my ‘shape’ too. It reminds me of our experience in a “Jimjilbang” in Korea too.
A small price to pay for an experience as such. If you intend to go for hot spring around Beitou area, I would recommend Spring Resort or AP Resort. This Japanese Style Villa is just too far from the MRT station.
BeiTou (Hot Spring) 北投 Getting Here: From Yang Ming Shan, take bus 230 to Xin Beitou MRT Station. 
Walk out feeling like a million bucks, we head to Danshui, a sea-side town in Taipei County. So, what is there to eat at Danshui? 
1. Mister Donut
My eyes were gleaming when I saw Mister Donut, an Amerian franchise that operates mainly in Japan, Phillipines and other Asian country. I am sure Mister Donut will be a hit if it’s available in Malaysia, just look at the varieties (>50 flavors) and the cute logos! 
Soft Cream with Maple Syrup 
Hokkaido Curry with Corns 
Glazed Sugar 
Coffee + Chocolate 
Danshui Old Street. Located along the Danshui River, it is a great place to take a pleasant stroll along the paved walkways. There are a lot of traditional food stalls and souvenir shops around too. 
2. 阿香鳥蛋 /Ah Xiang’s Barbecued Quail Eggs, NT20 
Delicious! 
3. NT10 foot long ice cream that sucks! 
4. Grilled Squid, NT60 
In jumbo size! We are having a hard time finishing it. 
Very attractive store front 
Red Bean Flavor, NT35 each. This is the BEST dorayaki that I’ve ever eaten in my life! It was eggy, light and fluffy with a slight whiff of honey. The filling of red bean is not overly sweet too! Oh how I miss the dorayaki right now! 
Sakura Flavor. 
6. Ah Ma’s Sour Plum Drink 阿媽的酸梅湯 
It was an acquired taste because I love it while KampungBoy hates it. 
7. Original A-Ge Shop 正宗阿給老店 
With only 5 items in the menu (NT30 each), the restaurant is doing brisk business. The four storey shop lot was literally full and we were seated at one cramped corner. The fish balls were nothing to shout about; KL’s version was way better. 
A-Ge, a Danshui specialty is actually tong fun encased in tofu skin. It was quite delicious too!
Danshui Old Street 淡水老街 Getting Here: Turn left as you exit the MRT and then turn right along the river to get the DanShui Old Street.
wow, you guys really went all out on the street food eh?!!
interesting dorayaki, got you singing praises, sure ho chiak ….
why is the ice cream sucks? lol! Thought it was awesome, NO? OH the giant squid looks amazing! yummy grill!
You two are great in hunting good food!
waaaaaaa, i wan the mister donut, the dorayaki, the sour plum soup…….
i wan all great food. besides, how great if there is mister donut and dorayaki here in msia
wow, you guys really covered many places (and eating places!). food looks scrumptious!
Wow… the dorayaki looks good.. wish I could go there and taste the nice food there as well..
can’t wait to see your full updates!! i will be going Taiwan this Sept.
can let me know the name of the hotspring in beitou there? how do we get there?
hi i’ve included the link to the hotspring. i wont recommend it bcoz its quite far from the mrt station. maybe you could look for spring villa? i’ve included the link as well 🙂
Hi there.. like ur blog v much. very informative and nice photos of both of you have taken.
Btw, u are saying that the Japanese Spring Villa(Tht uve been to) are far from the MRT st? Correct me. And u would recommend to go for Spring Resort/AP Resort? Coz the Jap spring villa seems to be v interesting for me.
Also, your visits to Yang Ming Shan doesnt sound excited. Really that bored? Im actually planning to go for Taroko Gorge National Park(in Hualien). Would you think that is better than Yang Ming Shan?
hi polly, thanks for reading our blog. yeah we took a cab there and kinda regretted coz spring villa is better. i’ve been to spring villa last time and that place is really nice. i would recommend spring villa 🙂
maybe bcoz its summer, so theres ntg to c in yms. but its good to go during spring, can c cherry blossom. taroko gorge is a MUST GO, if this is ur first visit to taiwan. cant reli compare to yms, coz yms is in taipei while taroko is further a way
Opps..Confused…The one that was far is Jap spring Villa or Spring Resort?
Spring Villa = Jap Spring Villa?? And how far it was from the MRT st? How much was the cab fees for the journey? Too many queries.Cant find much details in other webs.
Initially, i really wanted to go Taroko but as ill be going with my mum, i guess she wont be interested walking around the gorges.
What was there that amazed you much? Also, still thinking if to go Hualien and since the earthquake just struck the city.
haha jap spring villa is the far one. no point going la. i would suggest spring resort, near to the mrt. u can visit their website.
i din go to taroko this time bcoz i went there during my first trip. i reckon that ur mum would love it wo, good place for sightseeing. dun reli have to walk if u take a cab up
ooo…kay kay! Will find my way there.
Taroko will need at least a day or two there. It could be hectic for the oldies to travel around. =P Well, thanks anyway for ur golden points.
Hi guys,
I was surfing for info abt taiwan and came across your site. U guys took sum lovely pics..excellent work of art ! I have a question, if i m travelling alone n i dont speak mandarin would it be difficult to get around and is it safe to travel alone there? I ve travel alone to few country, sum r ok sum i found it difficult to get ard.
since u guys love travelling, i suggest u guys join me n others in virtualtourists.com , share travel experience n meet new friends.
Cheers.
luv,
summerblues.
hi summerblues, nice to hear from you. It is safe to travel alone in taiwan, the people there are so nice and friendly. The language barrier might poised some problems (ie, to commute around in trains (not mrt) & buses, ordering food etc). Things are not so bad in taipei, most major streets/malls have signboards in english, but in other states it’ll be problem. hope it did not defer u from visiting taiwan, it’s a lovely island!
Thanks ! i be in taiwan very soon..lol..
I found your website while searching for travel info on Taiwan. You have a very informative and entertaining website. Great Job.
Quick question: Do I need a visa to travel to Taiwan (from Malaysia)? or a Malaysian passport will do.
hi david, thanks 🙂 u dun need a visa 🙂
Hi there, would like to know that you travel time from Yangmingshan > Beitou > Danshui.
Wat time you depart from Taipei to Yangminshan?
You arrived at Danshui around what time?
Is there anything to see in Yangmingshan now?
Actually I wanted to travel to Yangmingshan > Beitou > Danshui.
But i can only travel from Taipei to Yangmingshan at 1.30pm
need to meet up my frenz at Danshui at 6.00pm.
If let say 1hour hotspring in beitou.
Is it possible for me to travel 3 places? I need to meet my fren at Dansui at 6.00pm
Kindly tolong tolong.. =(
hi pino, ur so cute. a bit rush wo. coz it takes about 45 min from taipei main station to yang ming shan. n the shuttle bus only arrive every 20 min, very annoying. will suggest u to take a cab then the cabbie driver can bring u around. or u can go for hot spring after dan shui. most hot spring villa opens till late.
Actually, Yangmingshan, worth to go or not leh?
got anythings to see or not since now is winter oh.
seeing your picture is like quite boring 1.
If not worth to go, i better pay a visit to beitou then straight to danshui loh hor?
just to enjoy the weather. haha
Hi, I came across your blog by accident. I’m currently planning a trip with my friends to Taipei, and I was interested in Yangmingshan!
May I know which month was it when you were there? Cuz you said it’s boring in summer. But we’re going around late spring, so I wonder if it’ll be boring as well..
Also, is it wise to go to yangmingshan without any guide/tours etc? You guys didn’t have any trouble knowing where to go and stuff ?
erisa, late spring it was ok, can c cherry blossom. but since spring is the peak period, its better to hire a cab to go up there, coz the shuttle bus is really slow and it couldnt cope with the crowd. i think cab is better than bus, u can go anywhere u want 🙂
how much will the cab charged?
im not sure but they run on meter, wont b too exp
heya, back from taipei. i think taking the public transportation(bus) is very convenient there. Most of it charging TWD15 per trip.
hey im very interested on the japanese sytle hot spring villa because i wanted to try the public bath package… can u tell me more on it as to how to get there and all?? super interested 😀 but never been to taiwan before so going F&E on end of apr11….
kindly reply to my enquiry to my email alright?
thanks in advance!
hi liying, the one that we go to is not easily accessible. you can try those that we recommended within thsi post – the spring villa, its within minutes walk from mrt. have replied ur email dear
hi i could assess to the hot spring you recommended… do u have a chinese name or a website that i can goggle ? super interested in a hot spring experience.
hi jace. its not recommended by us, the place is out of reach and u need to take a cab. maybe u can try spring resort?
Hi,
I am planning a trip to Yang Ming Shan and then to Bei Tou area with children (7 and 8 years old). A few questions:
1) Journey from Taipei Staion to Yang Ming Shan – is it about 45mins?
2) Shuttle bus around Yang Ming Shan – low frequency? How long is the whole journey to tour around the place? If we take a cab, roughly what will be the cost?
3) How long is the bus journey from YMS to Bei Tou by taking bus 230? How much does it cost?
4) Spring resort is near to Bei Tou MRT?
Many thanks.
It would be great if you could initiate the name of the hot spring shown in the photo (beitou). We will be leaving on march and if you could feed us the info of where the private hot spring and cost is. Thank you in advance.
Hi Adnon, as I have mentioned in my post I don’t really recommend this hot spring villa which we went too. It was too far in and some cab drivers may not know where is it. I will recommend you to go to Spring Villa =), its walking distance from the beitou mrt
Hey, thanks for the info. By the way, I had google Spring Villa Beitou and nothing seems to be in the list. Will it be very costly for a private room as my wife hesitate for the public pool. Thank you in advance for your direction.
Hi Adnon & Kampungboycitygal,
If Kampungboycitygal remembers me, I’m Polly who posted in your blog earlier (way back in 2009). I actually went to Taiwan in 2010 & last year. During both the trips, I experienced 2 different hotspring. 1 is at Shuido hotel (private room) which cost me about ntd1500 per room for 2 hours. This hotel located end of the road if u walk from the xin Beitou mrt passing by the hotspring museum. It’s only a one way road. I guess u won’t be missing it. There are more private hot spring you can choose along the road..
Another experience was at Millennium hot spring. Millennium is a public pool which cost me only ntd40 per person. Its located next to the hotspring museum. I must say, both are truly different experience and I enjoyed the public pool much more. =) but mind you to have a swimming attire for this public pool. As it’s not like the one Kampungboycitygal been. But I’m interested though. Another different experience perhaps.
Well, I hope this info useful for you to make your choice. Enjoy your trip Adnon!
I must say it’s truly different experience of both public and private. Mind you, that you gotta wear swimming attire in this public pool. For me, I would enjoy the public pool much more.
Hi Polly, your input is much appreciated. there are just so many hot springs villa in xin beitou area, it is better to go for those with good reviews, just like what you did 🙂
hi Adnon, this is the link http://www.springresort.com.tw/. they are quite reputable with good reviews
Hi,
I’m planning one of the days in Taipei, to explore Beitou hot spring, Danshui old street and Fisherman Wharf & Lover Bridge. Do you think is enough for a day? Also may I know what is the best time of the day to go and any admission cost for the hot spring? FYI group of 4 going at end June.
Thanks, Jayne
Thank you for the guide, we wanted to visit yang Ming han after beitou but beitou was simply too relaxing to get away from, enjoyed the pictures on your blog very much thank you for sharing.
haha thats very nice!
hi i would like to know visiting taipei in November, will still be ok if i follow your itinerary? Will there be any of your suggested places not encouraged to go? I wanna shop at Wu Fen Pu, Danshui, Jiufen kind of these area.
sure dear, danshui and jiufen is more for food while wufenpu is for clothing shopping. maybe u can skip the hotspring place we went, its quite far and yangmingshan is boring unless its spring season.
i see, that’s why i hate traveling during winter season as some places are closed, not allowed to enter etc; like when i traveled to uk, some famous castles only can be visited during summer season. anyway, thanks dear. like reading your food n travel posts 😀
where do you recom to stay one night in New Beitou? Not too expensive, minsu will do.