One Full Day in Taipei

Hi,

From The Airport ,take the KuoKuang bus up to the Taipei Main Station (NTD125-)

These Hotels - 3* are all located within walking distance to the station. They are also near the Airport Bus Terminus when you want to return to the Airport.

http://crazyazn.webs.com/Bus%20to%20airport.jpg

See you Hotel http://www.taipeionestarhotel.com.tw

Go City Inn: http://www.gocityinn.com

Keymans Hotel: http://www.keymans.com.tw/
Contact all hotels directly-they have good discounts off their list prices.

Moving around the city, you can get a one Day Pass (NTD150 ) from the MRT Info counter To visit all Major tourist sites easily. all signs there -Bilingual making it easy for you to get around.
People here extremely friendly and will assist you willingly when asked.

Thanks nuttyazn. I appreciate the info on transportation. Which of the three hotels do you recommend most?

http://wikitravel.org/en/Taipei has some tourist suggestions for what to see.

Taipei 101 might be of interest. Even if you don't go to the top, the bottom floor has a nice Asian food court and various shops and restaurants are in the bottom 3 or 4 floors.

Longshan Temple can be a great place to see active temple worship, should you be interested in that sort of thing. I thought it was fascinating.

The National Palace Museum contains the best stuff from the Forbidden City. It was moved to Taiwan as the Nationalists fled after losing the civil war in 1949.

The link I provided will give you other ideas. Metro and bus travel in Taipei is easy as there are many English signs on buses and the metro and the stations.

Can't help with the hotel.
Things to do depends on your interests.
The Palace Museum is Taipei's top tourist sight and has some of China's finest art.
Taipei 101 is probably the 2nd most famous sight in Taipei, but is only worthwhile if you like being able to say you've been to the top of the world's 2nd tallest building. Better views can be had from the hills around Taipei.
If you're into monuments, the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is pretty impressive.
If you just want to wander around some atmospheric neighborhoods, the area north of Longshan Temple MRT station is worthwhile. There are several temples and areas of restored colonial buildings. Also, Dihua St., west of the Zhongshan and Shuanglian MRT stations, also has many old buildings and great atmosphere.
The most beautiful temple is Bao'an Temple, near Yuanshan MRT station. If you go the Confucius Temple across the street is also worth a look.
There's many great hikes around Taipei. The hills southeast of 101 are easy to climb and offer views far superior to those in the tower itself. If the sky is very clear (not likely), you can try going to Yangmingshan and climbing Mt Cising via Siaoyoukeng, Cising East Peak and Menghuan Lake- probably my favorite climb in Taipei thus far. The Maokong area also has plenty of nice hiking trails and tea houses.

I ended up getting 3000 New Taiwan dollars. If I just want a half-decent (mid-range) hotel, transportation to and from the airport and a bite to eat -- will I be in okay shape financially?

Hi,
With your budget try to book soon online or call Their rooms are full most days. Nice quaint Hotel Rooms @ NTD1680/,NTD1,780
In the reservation dropbox it is the top A n B and the one below that. It is all in chinese. This is also in the lane opp the Taipei Main Station.
http://www.miyi.com.tw/index.php
Bus fare to n fro NTD300/- Food set at the 101 Food court or Dantes Coffee(Branches all over the place )even the Miyi Hotel Coffee House about NTD150 per meal -should include a coffee. There is a lot of food around this Hotel .

Thanks. I have an early flight the next day, so I will need to take a taxi. Approximately how much is a ride from the city to the airport?

Ok, I booked a standard room at Keymans. I could always put the room on my credit card if I run through the 3000. The hotel also sent me directions in Chinese. Thanks for the advice.