u/Alo1702

Hello everyone,

Good afternoon from the Netherlands! On the back of a trip to China in July, I will travel to Taiwan for five days from 2 August until 7 August. I want to make the most of my time but I am a bit puzzled to what a good itinerary would be. For context: I'm eager to explore and don't mind to tire myself a bit if it allows me to see the highlights. I am not very interested in modern museums, but I do love historical locations. For now, my ideas are as follows:

2 August - late arrival in Taiwan (22:00). Basically, head to the hotel and see if a night market is still open for some food.
3 August - dedicated to Taipei (e.g. Taipei 101, Elephant Mountain, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Dalongdong Bao’an Temple
4 August - Half a day trip to Shifen and Jiufen, the rest of the day in Taipei

Here's the part where I am starting to doubt:
Kaohsiung seems like a very interesting place to me. I'd love seeing the Lotus Pond and its Dragon and Tiger pagodas, Sangfong temple, and maybe either Cijin Island or Fo Guang Shang Buddha Museum. I might take a night bus from Taipei early on the 5th to Kaohsiung or an early high speed train so I'd arrive early and have a full day there. I am considering staying a night at Kaohsiung and return on the 6th to Taipei.

On the 6th I'd see some final highlights in Kaohsiung during the morning and return to Taipei during the early afternoon to enjoy the final evening there and perhaps tick off a few final highlights (and a night market, of course).

On the 7th, I've got an early flight (6:30 AM) to Fukuoka, Japan.

Do you consider this feasible - especially the Kaohsiung addition? Is Kaohsiung the place I definitely need to see, or would you recommend another place, such as Tainan or the Sun Moon Lake? My main doubts are because my time to spend in Taiwan is limited and I'd like to make the most of it. I'd consider this visit to Taiwan a "get-to-know" trip, a quick visit to some highlights, to consider coming back someday with more time. If it is way too much, I will remove Kaohsiung.

Thank you for any considerations you are willing to share with me! I am looking forward to visiting in August!

July 2026 Itinerary / Travel Advice request: China - HK - Macau

Hi everyone, this year my girlfriend and I (32 and 31) will have the opportunity to get to know China. Truly, a unique experience and we can't wait for the day. 🙂 We are aware of the hot weather in July, but unfortunately I am bound to school holidays so this our only option. Nevertheless, last year we went to Japan, and we really enjoyed it regardless of the heat. We're still young and full of energy so we don't mind if the schedule is a bit packed and requires us to move around a bit. We mainly want to leave having seen a lot. I can find lots of suggestions online, but I'd love some first-hand experience from someone who actually did (parts) of this trip idea.

Anyway, since she's from a country which requires a visa, I think we have to set our itinerary and hotels in stone before we leave. Could anyone reflect on our itinerary, please? Nothing is fixed yet (aside of the arrival and departure locations), but it is a rough sketch. How feasible is this and how easy would it be to travel around? Which areas would you stay in? Would you change some parts - prolong or shorten some stops? Basically, anything is most welcome. Thank you! ❤️🇨🇳

15/7: Early arrival (5 AM) in Shanghai. The Bund, Yu Yuan Garden, Nanjing Road (main highlights).

16/7: Full day in Zhujiajiao

17/7: Day in Shanghai, possibly tick of a few highlights and then head towards Beijing. We'll take a night train so we'd arrive early in Beijing.

18/7 - 21/7: Beijing. Places of interest: Forbidden City, Tian'anmen Square, Jingshan Park, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Hutongs. One day there'll be a trip to Mutianyu.

22/7 - 24/7: dedicated to the Zhangjiajie area. Includes the National Forest Park, Tianmen Mountain and the glass bridge.

25/7 - 26/7: Furong and Fenghuang

27/7 - 29/7: dedicated to the Longji Rice Terraces and Yangshuo/Xingping area

30/7 - 02/8: Hong Kong (including the Lantau Island), with one day trip to Macau.

I am considering that we would perhaps need one more day to get to know Hong Kong a bit better. We are also interested in Macau, just to get to know the cultural mixture of its Chinese and Portuguese heritage. Yangshuo seems to be one of the best places to be as well. Perhaps we should extend one day here.

In order to do this, maybe we should fly out late on the 21st from Beijing or take a night train so we'd arrive early on the 22nd in Zhangjiajie. And have two full days there to see the main spots. What are your thoughts?

Is it easy to get from one place to another? I see there are lots of connections so it should be possible, but without being able to speak Chinese, I'm afraid we'd get lost very easily at some points. For comparison, we had no issues travelling around Tokyo, even with its extended metro system.

I am also a bit concerned where to find hotels in each place so both the points of interest and public transport are accessible. Is it easy to take taxis in China? I'm from the Netherlands, taxis here tend to be extremely expensive and are not generally used to get around.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions you are willing to give us!

Hi everyone, this year my girlfriend and I (32 and 31) will have the opportunity to get to know China. Truly, a unique experience and we can't wait for the day. 🙂 We are aware of the hot weather in July, but unfortunately I am bound to school holidays so this our only option. Nevertheless, last year we went to Japan, and we really enjoyed it regardless of the heat. We're still young and full of energy so we don't mind if the schedule is a bit packed and requires us to move around a bit. We mainly want to leave having seen a lot.

Anyway, since she's from a country which requires a visa, I think we have to set our itinerary and hotels in stone before we leave. Could anyone reflect on our itinerary, please? Nothing is fixed yet (aside of the arrival and departure locations), but it is a rough sketch. How feasible is this and how easy would it be to travel around? Which areas would you stay in? Would you change some parts - prolong or shorten some stops? Basically, anything is most welcome. Thank you! ❤️🇨🇳

15/7: Early arrival (5 AM) in Shanghai. The Bund, Yu Yuan Garden, Nanjing Road (main highlights).

16/7: Full day in Zhujiajiao

17/7: Day in Shanghai, possibly tick of a few highlights and then head towards Beijing. We'll take a night train so we'd arrive early in Beijing.

18/7 - 21/7: Beijing. Places of interest: Forbidden City, Tian'anmen Square, Jingshan Park, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Hutongs. One day there'll be a trip to Mutianyu.

22/7 - 24/7: dedicated to the Zhangjiajie area. Includes the National Forest Park, Tianmen Mountain and the glass bridge.

25/7 - 26/7: Furong and Fenghuang

27/7 - 29/7: dedicated to the Longji Rice Terraces and Yangshuo/Xingping area

30/7 - 02/8: Hong Kong (including the Lantau Island), with one day trip to Macau.

I am considering that we would perhaps need one more day to get to know Hong Kong a bit better. We are also interested in Macau, just to get to know the cultural mixture of its Chinese and Portuguese heritage. Yangshuo seems to be one of the best places to be as well. Perhaps we should extend one day here.

In order to do this, maybe we should fly out late on the 21st from Beijing or take a night train so we'd arrive early on the 22nd in Zhangjiajie. And have two full days there to see the main spots. What are your thoughts?

Is it easy to get from one place to another? I see there are lots of connections so it should be possible, but without being able to speak Chinese, I'm afraid we'd get lost very easily at some points. For comparison, we had no issues travelling around Tokyo, even with its extended metro system.

I am also a bit concerned where to find hotels in each place so both the points of interest and public transport are accessible. Is it easy to take taxis in China? I'm from the Netherlands, taxis here tend to be extremely expensive and are not generally used to get around.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions you are willing to give us!