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Essential information to help you get connected seamlessly
This virtual SIM only includes data. It does not allow you to make cell phone calls or send SMS messages. You can still use WhatsApp or Skype to call your contacts.
Make sure your phone is both unlocked and compatible with eSIM technology.
Scan the QR code from your smartphone settings and add the data plan. You can either print it and scan it, or open it on another device to scan it. But don't activate it until you land at your destination.
An online arrival card even if you're visa-free, one card for the whole island, and no snacking on the MRT
Taiwan is one of the easiest places to travel once you know two rules. First, even if your country is visa-free, you still have to file an online arrival card before you land, or you will not clear immigration. Second, a single stored-value card covers the trains, buses and even the convenience store, but you cannot so much as sip water on the Taipei metro without risking a fine. This guide covers the arrival card, the transport card, the money, that metro rule, and why data is worth sorting before you go.
Taroko Gorge, a marble canyon
Taroko Gorge, in Taroko National Park on Taiwan's east coast, is a deep marble canyon threaded with trails, tunnels and a road cut into sheer rock, and it is one of the island's signature landscapes. Sections of the park close from time to time for safety after earthquakes and rockfall, so the official national park site is the place to check which trails and roads are open before you plan a day there.5
Our take: check the park's trail-status page before committing a day to Taroko, and have a fallback ready in case a route is shut. When one is, pivot to the east-coast scenery or a night market in a nearby town; Taiwan's night markets, Shilin and Raohe among them, are a reward on their own.
One EasyCard covers trains, buses and shops
The EasyCard is a stored-value contactless card you tap on the MRT, city buses, many trains and YouBike shares, and it also pays at convenience stores, so it doubles as a small-purchase wallet. It gives a discount over cash on metro rides, and you buy and top it up at any station or convenience store, so a single card handles most of a trip.3
Our take: buy an EasyCard at the airport on arrival and load a few hundred NT dollars. Between the metro, the buses and the convenience stores, you will barely touch cash, and the card removes the single-ticket step at every gate.
The currency is the New Taiwan dollar
Prices are in New Taiwan dollars (NT$), and the sales tax is a low 5%, included in displayed prices. Cards and the EasyCard are widely accepted, especially in the cities, but night markets and small stalls run on cash, so keep some notes for the food that never sees a card reader.
The online arrival card is required, even visa-free
Since 1 October 2025, all foreign visitors must complete the Taiwan Arrival Card online, within seven days before arrival, on the National Immigration Agency's official site. It applies even to visa-exempt nationalities, it is free, and you cannot clear immigration without it, so it is a task for before you fly. The officer retrieves it automatically when they scan your passport, so you do not need to show the confirmation.1
Many nationalities are visa-free for 90 days
Citizens of a long list of countries, including the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, Japan and EU nations, can enter Taiwan visa-free for up to 90 days for tourism. That waives the visa, but not the online arrival card, which every visitor still files. Check the official consular list for your passport before you travel.2
No eating or drinking on the Taipei metro
Eating, drinking and chewing gum are banned inside the paid zone of the Taipei metro, past the gates, and the ban covers water, even bottled. It is written into the Rapid Transit Act and enforced, with fines running from NT$1,500 to NT$7,500, so finish your drink before you tap in rather than risk a ticket.4
110 and 119 are the emergency numbers
In an emergency, 110 reaches the police and 119 the fire and ambulance services, free from any phone, and 112 also connects from a mobile. Taiwan is a low-crime, easy place to travel, but these are the numbers to have, and help in tourist areas is generally quick.
Taiwan is not covered by any regional free-roaming arrangement, so a home plan roams here at a charge whatever your country, and a local eSIM keeps data at a predictable and generally low price on what is a fast, dense network. Coverage is excellent across the cities, the west-coast corridor and the metro, including underground, and thins mainly in the high mountains and the east-coast interior, where a downloaded map earns its place. You will want data from the planning stage: the arrival card is online and required before you land, and once you are in, maps, translation and the high-speed-rail and event bookings all run through your phone, while the EasyCard handles the taps offline. Because so much of the trip is app-based, a connection that works from arrival keeps it smooth. Set up your data before you fly, so filing the arrival card and finding your first ride are not the things you are scrambling to do on landing.
Yes. Since 1 October 2025, every foreign visitor must complete the Taiwan Arrival Card online, within seven days before arrival, on the National Immigration Agency's official site, and it applies even if your country is visa-exempt. It is free, you cannot clear immigration without it, and the officer retrieves it when they scan your passport. Use the official site, not a paid lookalike.1
Use an EasyCard, a stored-value contactless card that covers the MRT, city buses, many trains and bike shares, and also pays at convenience stores. It gives a discount over cash on the metro, and you buy and top it up at any station or convenience store. One card handles most of a trip, so load it up on arrival.3
No. Eating, drinking and chewing gum are banned in the paid zone of the Taipei metro, past the gates, and the ban includes water, even bottled. It is written into the Rapid Transit Act and enforced, with fines from NT$1,500 to NT$7,500, so finish anything before you tap in.4
Usually not. Taiwan is outside every regional free-roaming arrangement, so roaming on a home plan is billed whatever country you come from. A local eSIM keeps data at a predictable price on a fast network, which matters because the arrival card, maps and bookings all run through your phone.
Every price, date and rule above is taken from the operator, museum, city or ministry that sets it, and was checked against that source on September 5, 2026. Lines marked "Our take" are our own recommendation, not a sourced fact. Fares, fees and opening hours change — confirm anything your trip depends on before you book.