Taiwan

Weather

Taiwan’s climate is subtropical. Though often damp, winters can be pleasant enough, especially in the south. Up north, it tends to get chilly and damp, and many Taipei residents find themselves pining for some sunshine come mid-February. Typhoon season hits in late summer to mid-autumn, and tends to strike the east coast particularly hard. Summers are hot and humid: walking out of an air-conditioned mall in August feels like being wrapped in a steaming towel. Perfect Taiwan weather? In our opinion, autumn and spring are best. Summer’s fun, but prepare to sweat, and as for winter, down south it’s still nice most of the time, but up north, well, Taipei has plenty of indoor malls!

Taiwan is also prone to earthquakes, sitting as it does on the colliding Eurasian and Philippine plates. Before you curse the forces of geology, consider that these grinding plates are also responsible for the beautiful mountains and amazing hot springs that make a trip to Taiwan truly worthwhile. Most of these quakes are small earth tremors. Some are far more devastating, particularly the one that occurred on 21 September 1999, which measured 7.3 on the Richter scale and killed thousands. A more recent quake off the southern coast in late 2006 caused only a few casualties, but severed several underground cables, disrupting telephone and internet service across Asia.

When to go

People often remark that Taiwan has no seasons, but in reality you must take the time of year into account when travelling. In general, autumn (September to November) is best, as conditions tend to be warm and dry, air pollution is at a minimum, and prices lower. Visiting in spring (March to May) is a crapshoot: it can be clear and dry, or wet and grey, or even blighted by a sandstorm from China. Sometimes you get all three conditions in one day.

Summer (June to August) is a great time to visit the east coast, especially for outdoor activities, but be aware of typhoons, which can hit the island from June to October. Summer is not a good time for travel to the outer islands as they are crowded with tourists and flights and hotels are difficult to secure. Try October to November when rates have dropped but the weather is still great. The cities are always hot and sticky in summer.

Beach lovers can swim comfortably anywhere from May to October. But if you want to swim in winter, head south, not southeast.

Avoid travelling during the Chinese New Year holiday as the entire country pretty much shuts down. Some good holidays not to avoid, however, include Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, and the Matsu Pilgrimage.

In general, July and August, Saturday night, and Chinese New Year are considered high season and accommodation prices are often double the off-season rates. Outside touristy areas, however, there is little change in price from month to month (only perhaps weekday and weekend).