Getting Around Taiwan: EasyCard, the Taipei MRT & High-Speed Rail

Taiwan is one of the easiest places in Asia to travel independently. The systems are modern, clean, and largely signed in English, and one small card unlocks most of them. Before the details, two things smooth the whole trip: a travel eSIM so maps and translation work from the moment you land, and — if you want the high-speed rail or a smooth airport arrival sorted in English in advance — a quick look at KKday or Klook, both of which sell rail tickets, passes, and transfers to visitors.

The one card to get: EasyCard

The single best purchase on arrival is an EasyCard (you may also see the iPass, which works similarly). It is a contactless stored-value card that covers the Taipei MRT, city buses, the YouBike share bikes, and countless convenience-store purchases, and it works in other cities too. Tap on, tap off, top up at any metro station or convenience store. It removes almost all of the small friction of a trip — no tickets, no exact change — and it is the thing I would sort before anything else.

Within Taipei: the MRT, buses and bikes

The Taipei MRT metro is the backbone: fast, spotless, frequent, and easy to read, with English signage and announcements. For most visitors it reaches everywhere you’ll want to go. City buses fill the gaps and are simple with an EasyCard, though route displays lean more on Chinese. For short hops, the YouBike public bikes are cheap and pleasant along the riverside paths. Taxis are plentiful and metered; ride-hailing also operates in the cities. It is a genuinely walkable, tappable city once you have the card.

Airport to city

From Taoyuan International Airport, the Airport MRT runs directly to Taipei Main Station in around 40 minutes, with airport buses and taxis as alternatives. Arriving late, jet-lagged, or with luggage, a pre-booked private airport pickup takes the guesswork out of a first night. Songshan Airport, closer to central Taipei, is on the MRT directly.

Between cities: the High-Speed Rail

The star of intercity travel is the Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR), which runs down the populous west coast from Taipei toward Zuoying (Kaohsiung). It is fast and comfortable — Taipei to the south in roughly an hour and a half to two hours — and turns the island’s main cities into easy day trips or short hops. You can buy at the station, but visitors often prefer to book HSR tickets or a pass through KKday for English-language convenience and occasional foreigner discounts. Fares and any pass deals change, so confirm current options close to your dates.

The slower, scenic trains

Alongside the high-speed line, the conventional TRA (Taiwan Railways) network loops the whole island, including the beautiful east coast that the HSR doesn’t reach. These trains are slower but scenic and cheap, and they are the way to reach places like Hualien and the Taroko Gorge region, or to ride the branch line up to the old town of Jiufen and Pingxi. For the east and the mountains, this is your network.

A simple way to think about it

For a first trip, the mental model is easy: EasyCard for everything local, the High-Speed Rail for fast west-coast hops, the regular trains for the scenic east. Get connected with an eSIM, tap your way around town, and book the longer rail journeys ahead if you like certainty. Taiwan makes the logistics so painless that they almost disappear — which is exactly what you want, leaving your attention for the food, the temples, and the hills.

For the sights those journeys connect, see our Taipei places-to-visit guide and the first-timer’s guide to Taipei.

Frequently asked questions

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