Highlights & Hidden Gems With Locals: Best Of Taipei Private Tour

Garen was an AMAZING guide, filled with so much knowledge and passion. I saw and learned so much about this beautiful city!

We started at 9.30 am with Garen Chan and she was on time. She showed us the Chiang Kai Shek memorial and explained the history of Taiwan. We learned so much and appreciated the tumultuous history of Taiwan. She also took pictures with us in strategic positions in the National Theater and Chiang Kai Shek Memorial. She also took us to the museum and we learned the life story of the leader and his family. Later on, she took us to Long Shan Temple and we visited the old market. It was walking for three hours but we took breaks in between. We thoroughly enjoyed our tour and would recommend Garen to anyone interested in getting a glimpse of Taiwan and its history. I would give Garen 5 stars!

What an informative and fascinating tour we had with Garen. She even organised our transport from the cruise terminal to our meeting point. We then enjoyed visiting significant sites and quirky local places. We learnt so much about Taiwan's past and present.

Eva was a great guide. We have learned a lot about a history of Taiwan, ways to worship various Gods and finished with a unique experience in a small tea shop. A perfect way to spend an afternoon in Taipei!

We really enjoyed the hidden gems and highlights of Taipei tour with Garen. She is very easy to talk to and shares a lot about history and current events to help you understand the history of Taipei. She was very generous with her time and was able to easily adapt so we did not repeat locations/snacks from our other tours. We asked her for a lunch recommendation at the end of the tour which was excellent. She explained the ordering system of the restaurant (find a table, select your items on a paper receipt, go up front to order, buy drinks from the vending machine), which was very helpful. I would definitely recommend booking a tour with Garen.

Really great experience. Very nice and enjoyable tour with many interesting highlights from Taipei. Garen is a fantastic guide and very recommendable!

Eva was absolutely fantastic! We did the Hidden Gems tour of Taipei with her, and it ended up being one of the highlights of our trip. She took my partner and me to places we never would have discovered on our own, and there’s no way we could have experienced so much in the limited time we had in Taipei. One of the surprises was the tea tasting. I honestly didn’t think it was something I would be that interested in, but I’m so glad we did it — it was such a unique and memorable experience. Eva was warm, knowledgeable, engaging, and made the entire day feel personal rather than like a typical tour. She really gave us a chance to experience a side of Taipei we otherwise would have missed. She also gave us recommendations for other places to see and places to eat while we are here on our short stay in Taipei. I highly recommend this tour, and if you have the opportunity to do it with Eva, even better. I truly couldn’t recommend her more!

This was the best tour we took on our 3 week trip to Asia. Pauline, our tour guide, was amazing. She was knowledgeable, spoke great English and she told really good stories. She brought Taiwan history to life. We walked down small alleyways, ate food, drank bubble tea and really enjoyed ourselves. Take this tour!

Garen was incredible. I changed the time for our tour multiple times and even the day due to travel hiccups and illness. She was so flexible and responsive. Once we finally did meet though, we were so impressed that she knew mandarin, Cantonese, and English. She was energetic and full of information. Patient with both my elderly mother and young tired kids. She was incredible and her own history with Taiwan is interesting as well. Please book her. She took pictures of our family, gave us great tips about the city, and is such an amazing person. Ask for Garen and book this tour.

Garen was an incredible guide. She was knowledgeable and passionate and communicated well. She gave us flexibility on our trip to spend more times with the things we were interested in. I highly recommend taking a tour with Garen. She’s amazing!

Garen was an amazing tour guide. I highly recommend this tour for anyone wanting a thorough overview of Taiwan’s history and culture.

3 stops. Each stop was loaded with cultural significance. Jessica, my guide was able to share lots of historical and cultural facts from her well prepared summary.

Our experience with Garen Chan in Taipei was exceptional! From the moment we started our tour, she shared a wonderful blend of history, culture, and local insight that made every stop meaningful. We explored Taipei’s historic sites and learned fascinating stories that brought the city’s past to life. The food tour was equally impressive. Our guide introduced us to authentic local flavors and hidden gems that we would never have discovered on our own. Every recommendation was thoughtful, and the experience allowed us to truly appreciate Taipei’s vibrant food culture. What made the tour special was Garen's knowledge, professionalism, and genuine passion for sharing the beauty of Taipei. The pace was perfect, the explanations were engaging, and we felt welcomed throughout the entire day. This was a memorable experience and one of the highlights of our visit to Taiwan. We highly recommend this tour to anyone wanting to experience the history, culture, and amazing cuisine of Taipei!

Very good guide. Informative. A little disappointed that it was only 3 hours.

There is good variety. The guide has good Englush skills. Going to the tea shop was very interesting and educational.

A wonderful experience. Garen was warm, friendly, able to tailor her considerable knowledge to our conversations, and my areas of interest. Highly informative and enjoyable. There were definitely hidden gems that I would not have experienced on my own. Highly recommended.

Exceptional experience with our guide Garen. Super knowledgeable and spent time to explain the details before you see it and that makes for ahaa moments. Very highly recommended for anyone planning a visit to Taipei.

Really wonderful look at the history and culture of Taiwan. The personal insights our guide shared during tours of the Chiang Kai Shek memorial and of the temple afterwards were the highlight. My wife said it was her favorite part of our trip and I’d have to agree it was a huge highlight!

Our guide Eva had deep knowledge of Taipei and was a fountain of knowledge as we walked around the city. I especially like the short trip taking the Metro subway, where Eva showed us how to work the Metro token machines and some of the procedures of the Metro, which we used frequently during our visit. Eva was welcoming and it was clear her love of what she does and the city and country is apparent. The last 30-45 minutes of the tour was disappointing as there was a lot of walking and not a lot of explanation; I think everyone was tired. All-in-all a good value and I would recommend.

Pauline provides a great balance of Taipei history, culture and food in her guided tour. The additional local knowledge is a real bonus. It is well worthwhile.

Garrin was absolutely fabulous! I highly recommend this tour as the very first thing you do when you arrive in Taipei. You’ll learn so much about the city’s history, culture, and all the little tips and tricks that make exploring so much easier. It really sets the tone for the rest of your trip and helps you make the most of your time. Such a great experience!

We had a few hours on a layover in Taipei and this was the perfect way to see a mix of new and old Taipei! Our guide, Eva, was wonderful! She was very knowledgeable and friendly and catered to our requests. She also was very helpful ensuring we knew where to meet her.

Walked around with Garen. You will be lucky to get her. Learned a lot in such a short time.

We had the most wonderful day with Garen. She was wonderful and made the trip to Taiwan. Congratulations to have her as a guide.

Tour was great and Pauline was the best. We would highly recommend it. You won't regret it and you will enjoy it.

We had an awesome day! We learned so much! It was the perfect length, and had a great time.

A must. Our lovely guide, Garen, was a fountain of knowledge, but also deeply committed to the inclusion of the good and bad of Taiwan’s history and speaking the truth from her heart. The emblem of freedom stands talk in Taiwan’s culture and monuments today. We went down alleys for ancient delicacies: Black Pepper Beef Buns and Ragwort tea. We visited a temple and learned about the co-existing religions of Buddhism and Taoism, and so much more. Wonderful walk thru zen park, too.

Eve is a great guide. Was nice to go on the subway and experience a little piece of Taipei from a local perspective.

This was an excellent tour, especially for first-time visitors! Jessica is an attentive and informative tour guide and we very much enjoyed our tour with her. We would recommend her 100%. Note to TripAdvisor: please ensure that the tour itinerary is up to date to avoid any confusion. As we were told, it is impossible to cover all the stops mentioned in such a short time.

Our guide met us on time and took us on a great tour of Taipei She spoke great English and was very knowledgable of the country’s history and people.

I took the Highlights and Hidden Gems tour with Eva. She is an amazing tour guide and lovely person. I put myself in her hands to show me around for half a day on my first day in Taipei. She did a great job. She took me to a wonderful tea tasting in addition to showing me some of the important sights in Taipei. We took the metro and I told her I wanted to learn how to take it myself so she showed me how to use and fund my card. When our tour was over she recommended good local places for me to get lunch. She took very good care of me and made sure I knew how to get back to my hotel. She gave me all kinds of helpful tips for my stay in Taiwan. I really enjoyed my time with her and would not hesitate to book another tour with her.

We had an incredible half-day tour with Tai-Yun exploring the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, 228 Memorial Park, and the surrounding historic sites. Her passion for Taiwan was infectious, and she brought every story to life with energy and impressive knowledge, patiently answering our million questions along the way. We were especially touched by how attentive she was to our family’s needs; she was thoughtful with my older parents, ensuring they had plenty of time to rest, and she never rushed us while we were taking photos. Her English is flawless, but more importantly, her warm personality made it feel like we were exploring the city with a close friend. The recommendations for other sites to see and places to eat were especially appreciated. We couldn't have asked for a better introduction to Taipei!

Where do I even begin?! Garen was an amazing tour guide. Her passion and love of her country really blew us away. She is an amazing storyteller and her knowledge of the past, present and future of Taiwan really left us wanting for more. Because of Garen I welcome a return trip to Taiwan to explore even more as 3 days wasn’t enough. It’s people like Garen that inspire travel, curiosity and exploring cultures outside of your own. Thank you Garen for sharing your love of Taiwan with us and we hope to see you again. Also, hope your and your family are safe and well after the recent earthquakes. Diona + Rob from Los Angeles, Dec 2025

We had very good experience with our tour guide, Mr Jeff Lin. Very attentive, patient and willing BTO go extra mile to delight customers. Our third time engaging his service when in Taiwan. Jeff can be contacted via WhatsApp at +886 936 129 892. Thank you Jeff!

My tour was absolutely perfect. It struck a beautiful balance of history, politics, culture, and tradition—delivered with just the right level of depth and a welcome dose of good humor. Chia-chien was not only incredibly knowledgeable but also wonderfully flexible, even adjusting our timing to accommodate my own travel missteps. I can’t recommend this tour or guide highly enough. Thank you for such a brilliant introduction to Taipei!

I had an amazing experience on an insightful tour of Taipei with Garen as my guide! She was incredibly friendly and warm, making everything feel comfortable right from the start. Her cheerful personality brought so much positive energy and her deep knowledge of the city made every stop interesting and engaging. You can tell she’s truly knowledgeable and passionate about sharing the culture and history of Taipei. I highly recommend joining a tour with Garen — it was one of the highlights of my trip!

Daphne was wonderful. Very organized and informative . Saw a lot of sights for locals and tourists alike.

My guide, Daphne, was truly amazing. She gave me great insights to the culture and not just showing me places. Really wished I had more time in this beautiful country.

Garen was a terrific guide…established a great repore with us, understood our needs, was very informative with feeling about the tour. Thank you Garen

Jessica was excellent, helpful, and suited our tour to our needs . We saw highlights of Taipei city in the 3.5 hours with her and had great coffee

Garen was an outstanding tour guide for our limited time in Taipei. Her passion about history and culture made our tour fun and educational. It was only my husband and I so we appreciated her attention to detail. She took us through markets, where she clearly had a relationship with the vendors. She purchased samples for us and explained the significance of the items. She provided many unique pieces of information about the temples that we visited. It wasn’t the typical “tourist” tour; she provided us with much more in-depth information about aspects of Taiwan’s history and people. After the tour was over, she helped us buy food at a local restaurant and explained what each item was. We certainly didn’t expect that, but was grateful.. I HIGHLY recommend this tour with Garen

Garen did a fantastic job leading us around many of the highlights of downtown Taipei. She was very enthusiastic about sharing her culture and we learned a lot and enjoyed the tour! Highly recommend.

I booked this tour at the last minute and it was a very good idea. Garen was an attentive and meticulous guide. Her level of English is very high. A lot of work goes into introducing the visitor to all the historical and cultural aspects of a city. What interested me most was the recent history of Taiwan and the complicated relationship with China. She gave me good suggestions on where to go to eat and what to taste. I regret not having decided to stay longer here in Taiwan. I find Taipei to be a vibrant city and deserving of more than just an air stopover.

Outstanding walking tour of great interest to my wife and I. Cultural and religious significance and importance to the Taiwanese people was appreciated.

What a fun, informative experience! Eva was fantastic. She spoke excellent English, and was very good about explaining all the sights we saw - the history, the religious aspect, and the details. I highly recommend taking this tour and asking for Eva.

Really enjoyed my tour today with Garen. I appreciated her taking some nice photos of me as a solo traveler. I’m only in Taipei for two days and wanted to learn a few things while seeing the sights. I enjoyed her passion and her historical analysis all the way to the modern relations.

Garen was kind as she waited for me as I was running late from the airport. I wanted to learn about Taiwan as it was my first visit. She was fun, passionate, enthusiastic, and efficient walking and talking to me on this tour. I learned more about part of my heritage as well as the political and memorable moments of what protection for the people meant. My favorite part of the tour was seeing the artifacts museum and going to Longshan temple! Bonus was that I learned how to commute within the city. What an amazing entry into Taiwan, thank you so much for your patience!

Highly informative. Garen provided a brief but very thorough lesson on the history of Taiwan, its unique culture and the tenacity exhibited by its people who take pride in the wonderful country they have today. Enjoy a special treat of weaving through the narrow streets of old Taipei and watch in wonder how the locals go about their daily lives. Thank you Garen for a most interesting and satisfying experience.

Our tour guide was Garen, and she was amazing! Very friendly and knowledgeable, she also helped us take many photos to remember the experience. As neither of us is a proficient Chinese reader, she was particularly helpful at the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, and even gave us some information not on the museum placards. After, it was very cool to learn about local traditions and customs at Longshan Temple, which was beautiful and well worth the small trek over. Finally, we ended the tour with a meal at a local braised pork rice place that was absolutely delicious. If you're interested in history and culture, definitely take this tour! Also, after we'd parted ways, Garen shared a bunch more tips on where to try great food, so we couldn't have asked for better.