My wife and I are going to be traveling to Taipei for a couple of days next year. We have the opportunity to use points at the Hyatt Place New Taipei. It's a newer hotel, gets good reviews, close to Metro and closer to the airport. My wife thinks it may to far outside of downtown. We know nothing about Taipei, any opinion my fellow Fodorites?
Thanks

New Taipei or Xinbei is the name of the city that surrounds Taipei. You're better off staying within the city of Taipei, as otherwise you will be dealing with a long ride on the subway or traffic to and from the hotel.

I think your wife is right!

Whilst the sights of Taipei are quiet spread out, we found by staying close to Taipei Main Station, all were fairly easily accessible by subway or bus. You would likely add a lot of travel time by staying out there. Hotels are not expensive in Taipei so I would save the points for somewhere else.

tripplanner001 - thanks for your input
Catch23 - Thanks for your response,.damn I hate it when my wife is right! LOL


General question - Does anyone have any input on tours to take in Taipei or someone you would recommend?

Thanks

Not sure I can be of much help as we were only there for just over a week, spending around 4nights in Taipei itself where we just used the subway and buses to get around to the sights we wanted to see which included:

• Chiang Kai Shek memorial hall complex
• Raohe street food market
• National Palce Museum
• Maokong tea gardens and cable car
• Taipei Zoo
• Taipei 101
• Baoan/Confuciuous temples

It was very easy to get around without a guide or tour.

After Taipei, we got the train to Hualien and rented a car at the station for a few days and visited Taroko Gorge and took a drive down the east cost which was pretty special. Do check the current situation as I think the recent earthquake hit the east coast pretty hard.

When do you plan on visiting? The island has some weird weather patterns which vary dramatically around the island we were there in July when it was excruciatingly hot. There was a huge amount we wished we had the time to see and I was thinking of stopping off there when we next visit the family in Australia but it seems that the weather may not play ball for us the we will likely go!

If you want coastal scenery, then Yeliu is a good option. But there's plenty to keep you busy in Taipei itself, including what catch23 suggested.

catch23 - We plan on being in Taipei from May 29th through June 2nd. I know it's going to be hot, but that will set us up for our next stop Indonesia!

tripplanner001 - I've seen a number of day tours that add in Yeliu so I think that will be on our agenda.