Taipei Fun Pass: Is it Worth the Money?

In recent years, travel passes have become a big thing around the world, and Taipei is no exception. Besides choosing where to stay in Taipei, travelers to Taiwan now have to decide whether they should get the Taipei Fun Pass while planning their trip. There are actually a few pass choices, with the most popular being the Taipei Unlimited Fun Pass. Is the Taipei Unlimited Fun Pass Worth the money? We’ll soon find out.

There is actually quite a lot to know about these passes, and since I often mention them in my Taiwan travel articles, I’ve decided to write this detailed guide to clarify a number of issues you will face while creating your Taipei itinerary and help you answer the question, “Should I get a Taipei Fun Pass?”

Would I ever buy this pass? Probably not. The reasons are: the passes are kind of complicated (especially figuring out what is and isn’t included), they only save you money if you use them a lot, and personally, I just prefer the flexibility of traveling without a pass and deciding as I go, rather than feeling like I have to use the pass a lot to get my money’s worth.

Some travelers have reported they felt these passes are a waste of money. Yet, the passed remains very popular, and some travelers swear by them.

Quick Links

– Save NTD 100 on your fun pass by signing up for Klook with my referral link first.

– Order a Taipei Unlimited Fun Pass and see exactly what is included on it.

– Use this Taipei Fun Pass Calculator to find out if the pass is worth the money for you.

– Order a Taipei Transport Fun Pass on Klook.

– Order an EasyCard on Klook and see my guide to using EasyCard in Taipei.

What is a Taipei Fun Pass?

The Taipei Fun Pass is a handy little card that gives short term visitors to Taipei a whole lot of convenience, including unlimited MRT and bus rides in Taipei City, New Taipei City, and Keelung (with one exception; see below), entrance to numerous major (and minor) attractions, and free rides on five tourist shuttle buses which travel to dozens of attractions outside of Taipei City.

There is a whole government website dedicated to explaining the Taipei Fun Pass (you might have to switch the setting to English when you land on the page). The page can be a little confusing and overwhelming though, like most government and tourism department websites in Taiwan, so my main goal here is to make all the information about Taipei fun passes 100% clear!

Important Notes– “One day” on all of the following passes is not defined as 24 hours. One day means no matter when you scan the card for the first time (for example entering the MRT or an attraction), the card will be valid for the rest of that day. So whether you scan it at 9 a.m. or 9 p.m., it will only be good until the end of that day.

Make sure to get full use out of your pass by starting it in the morning of your first full day! So if you arrive at the airport late in the day, you might want to wait until the next to to activate your pass.

For the multi-day pass options, they must be consecutive days.

Many things in Taiwan are closed on Mondays, so I don’t recommend including Monday in one of your days that you use the pass.

Taipei Fun Pass vs. EasyCard

A Taipei Fun Pass is totally different than an EasyCard. Fun passes are for short term visitors who plan to use public transportation a lot and see many attractions in a short period of time. You pay a set price for the card, and you get an unlimited number of rides on buses and MRTs in Taipei, New Taipei City, and Keelung, as well as five tourist shuttle buses outside of the city (see the shuttle bus route details below).

EasyCards are IC cards, just like EZ-Link in Singapore, Octopus Card in Hong Kong, and the numerous IC cards in Japan and South Korea. Everyone in Taiwan uses them because they are convenient, and you get a small discount when transferring onto different types of public transport. They work on all public transportation in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taichung (where you even get free bus rides under 10 km when you use them), and Kaohsiung.

They also work on regular train rides that don’t require a seat reservation, but they don’t work on the High Speed Rail or long distance buses. You load as much money as you want onto them and then use them to pay for bus rides, MRT, taxis, non-reserved trains, a few ferries, and even items at convenience stores.

You can order an EasyCard online for pickup when you arrive in Taiwan, or buy one in any MRT station. You need to pay TWD 100 for your EasyCard – this used to be a deposit that you could get back later, but not anymore. When you order it online, you can choose for it to come empty or pre-loaded with TWD200 or 400. They call this a “deposit” on the Klook page, but its actually just money pre-loaded onto the card so you don’t have to do it in the MRT station (or at 7-Eleven) after you pick it up.

Find the answers to even more FAQs about EasyCards in my Taiwan EasyCard guide.

In short, if you decide NOT to get a Taipei Fun Pass, you pretty much MUST get an EasyCard for your time in Taiwan, unless you hate convenience 🙂

Related Article –Sun Moon Lake Pass: Is it Worth the Money?

What are the different types of Taipei Fun Passes?

We wouldn’t want this to be too simple, right? So there are actually three kinds of Taipei Fun Passes. There is even a fourth one on the Fun Pass website called the “Classic Taipei Fun Pass”, but I don’t even see this pass available on Klook, so I’m not going to describe it below.

1. Taipei Unlimited Fun Pass

The Taipei Unlimited Fun Pass is the most popular type of Taipei Fun Pass, and it includes everything that I have described above. When you order it online, you will have the option of 1-day ($1500), 2-day ($1900) or 3-day ($2200). These prices may change with time.

The prices of the passes have actually gone up a little since I first published this article), but sometimes Klook offers great promos – like 50% off your second pass or free gift bags and coupons – so just watch out for that. Also, the passes now have a new feature: you get to choose 1 of the following 4 activities: Yoshan Tea – Century-old Taiwanese Bubble Tea DIY, Pingxi Sky Lantern, Tea bag DIY in Maokong, or The Grand Hotel Taipei Western Secret Slide.

You will also have the choice of picking it up at Taoyuan International Airport or at Taipei Main Station. For attractions, you will need to show the pass when arriving to get a physical ticket.

What’s included on the Taipei Unlimited Fun Pass?

Here is the link to see exactly what is included on the Taipei Unlimited Fun Pass. You can scroll past all the attractions to see the full routes of the five tourist buses at the bottom. And of course, all your bus and MRT rides in Taipei, New Taipei City, and Keelung are included. The only exception is that buses with four digits are not included. These tend to be longer distance buses, for example bus 1815 from Taipei to Jinshan.

The three big attractions included on the pass are the Taipei 101 Observation Deck (worth TWD 600 – see my Taipei 101 guide), National Palace Museum, and Maokong Gondola.

Others popular ones include Yehliu Geopark, Juming Museum, Tamsui Historical Museum, ferry ride to Fisherman’s Wharf, Jinguashi Gold Museum, Taipei Zoo, and Miramar Ferris Wheel.

The remaining less popular/valuable ones include Chiang Kai-Shek Shiline Residence, Taipei Children’s Amusement Park, Miniatures Museum of Taiwan, Heping Island Park, Sky Lantern Police Station in Jingtong, and National Museum of Marine Science & Technology in Keelung.

You can also use the pass to get discounts at over 150 shops in Taipei.

Last but not least, a new feature of the pass is that you get to choose 1 of the following 4 special activities: Yoshan Tea – Century-old Taiwanese Bubble Tea DIY, Pingxi Sky Lantern, Tea bag DIY in Maokong, or The Grand Hotel Taipei Western Secret Slide.

The Five Tourist Shuttle Buses 

The following five tourist shuttle buses are free for holders of the Taipei Unlimited Fun Pass and Taipei Transport Pass. Riding them gives you access to some of the best day trips from Taipei.

Without a pass, you can still ride these buses and just swipe with an EasyCard. The rides cost TWD 15 per “section”, but there is no information online showing the different sections of each route. The longest ride on any of the shuttle buses is six sections or NTD 90 (one-way). Here are the five routes (click the links to see all the stops and maps):

1. Beitou to Zhuzihu route: The best way to explore Yangmingshan, starting at Beitou Hot Spring.

2. Gold Fulong route: From Ruifang to Jiufen and Jinguashi, Longdong, Bitou, and Fulong Beach (note: this is different than the private shuttle bus tours to Jiufen that I introduce in my article on how to get to Jiufen and Shifen Waterfall)

3. Crown Northern Coast route: From Tamsui MRT to Qianshuiwan and Baishawan beaches and Yehliu Geopark

4. Muzha Pingxi Line: From Muzha MRT to Shenkeng Stinky Tofu Street, Pingxi, and Shifen Waterfall (last two are also on the Pingxi Railway Line)

5. Coastal Keelung Shuttle Bus: From Waimushan Coastal Park and Keelung to Heping Island and Shen’ao Rail Bike

One weird thing you might notice is that the two North Coast shuttle buses (the Crown Northern Coast route coming from the west and the Coastal Keelung route coming from the east) don’t connect in the middle like they used to.

The North Coast one ends at Yehliu, while the Keelung one starts two kilometers to the east at Waimushan. This means you can’t cross the North Coast from Tamsui to Keelung only by using shuttle buses. You’d have to walk about an hour or take a local bus to cross the gap. Don’t ask me why…

2. Taipei Transport Fun Pass

The Taipei Transport Fun Pass is exactly the same as the Unlimited Fun Pass, but with only the transportation included, and none of the attraction tickets. This means you get unlimited rides on the Taipei MRT Taipei, Taipei and New Taipei City buses, as well as the five tourist shuttle buses. The Maokong Gondola can be included for an additional fee.

The pass costs $180 for one day, $310 for two days, and $350 for one day plus the Maokong Gondola (these prices may change after the time of writing). There seems to be no option for 2 days + Maokong Gondola. And even though the above pass image says “5 day” on it, only the 1-day and 2-day passes seem to be available here on Klook.

What’s included on the Taipei Transport Fun Pass?

All the transportation options from the Taipei Unlimited Fun Pass are included, but no attraction tickets are included. Essentially you get unlimited MRT and bus rides in Taipei and New Taipei City, the five tourist shuttle buses. Maokong Gondola is an optional extra that you pay more for.

Like the Taipei Unlimited Fun Pass, you can also use the Taipei Transport Pass to get discounts at over 150 stores in Taipei.

3. Taipei Explore Pass

The least popular Taipei Fun Pass is the Taipei Explore Pass, which comes with the option of 2-day ($650), 3-day ($850), or 4-day ($1050). Personally, I think this pass is an unnecessary option and just makes everything more confusing.

What makes this pass especially inferior is that it doesn’t include any transportation. Instead, it works like an EasyCard, so you have to load more money onto it in order to use on the MRT, buses, and shuttle buses.

What’s included on the Taipei Explore Pass?

The pass includes 20 attractions (more than the Unlimited Fun Pass), but guess what? You don’t get the two most popular ones. No Taipei 101 Observatory and no National Palace Museum. What?

Instead, you gain six more attractions, which are all museums (some popular, and some pretty obscure or difficult to reach): Taipei Astronomical Museum, National Taiwan Science Education Center, Taipei Fine Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei, Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology in Bali, and The Lin Family Mansion and Garden in Banqiao.

Just like the above two passes, you can also use the Taipei Explore Fun Pass to get discounts at numerous stores.

See my guides to Ximending, Dadaocheng, Taipei’s best temples, Taipei’s top night markets, and where to stay in Taipei.

Which Taipei Fun Pass Should I Get?

The Taipei Unlimited Fun Pass is the clear winner here. However, if you don’t visit enough of the attractions or take enough rides, it may not be worth it for you. See more on that in the following section.

The Taipei Transport Fun Pass is best for people that want the unlimited bus, MRT, and shuttle bus rides, but don’t plan to visit so many attractions, especially Taipei 101 Observatory (the most expensive attraction on the list).

You already know my feelings about the Taipei Explore Pass. Clearly this pass is designed for attraction and museum lovers, though. If you plan to visit tons of museums in your short time in Taipei, then I guess this pass is for you. Except it doesn’t include the most famous museum in Taipei, which I feel is ridiculous. For that, you can order your National Palace Museum ticket online.

Is the Taipei Fun Pass Worth It?

So now we come to the million-dollar question: Is the Taipei Fun Pass a good deal? To decide whether a Taipei Fun Pass is worth it for you, you are going to need to do a little math (use this online Fun Pass Calculator!), and some guessing too. Why?

Well, you don’t know exactly which sights you are going to visit, adding up the price of every single MRT is going to be troublesome, and tourist shuttle buses rides can range from NT$15 to 90, depending on how far your go, with no clear information available online about how these fares are determined.

1. Is the Taipei Unlimited Fun Pass Worth It?

“Should I get a Taipei Unlimited Fun Pass?” you ask. Well, this is what you need to do to determine the answer for you.

1. Go to this page and add up the price of every attraction that you plan to visit on your trip. Taipei 101 Observatory is the most expensive one, so this makes a big difference. If you did all 16 attractions, by my calculation, this would come to around TWD 3000, but of course you probably won’t visit all of them.

2. Guess about how many times you might take the MRT during your stay, and multiply it by 30 NTD (average cost of an MRT ride – but longer ones can go up to 65). Add another 15 NTD for each short bus ride.

3. Guess about how many times you might take the tourist shuttle bus on your trip. Add 50 NT (average cost) for each ride. Remember that these tourist shuttle buses go to a large number of places outside of Taipei, including Jiufen, Jinguashi, Yangmingshan, Pingxi, Shifen, Yehliu, Baishawan beach, Fulong Beach, Shen-Ao Rail Bike, and more!

4. Add these three numbers together to get your total. Is it more money than the pass you want to get? (1-day for $1500, 2-day for $1900, or 3-day for $2200). If so, then a Taipei Unlimited Fun Pass is a good idea!

2. Is the Taipei Transport Fun Pass Worth It?

If you’re wondering, “Should I get a Taipei Transport Fun Pass?” the answer can be found by the same process as above, minus the attractions.

If you are only traveling around Taipei City, you’d have to take quite a few short MRT rides in one day for it to be worth it the $180 fee. MRT rides range from TWD 20-65.

I think the real value of this card is if you are planning to do a day trip from Taipei and take advantage of the tourist shuttle buses. These shuttle buses can cost anywhere from NTD15 to 90, depending on how far you go. If you plan a day trip from Taipei with multiple stops on one or more shuttle buses, this pass could become a great deal that saves you a lot of money.

Adding a second day only costs another $130, so it’s an even better deal, even if you only stay in Taipei City for your second day.

3. Is the Taipei Exploring Fun Pass Worth It?

In my option, the Taipei Exploring Fun Pass is not a good deal. It doesn’t include any MRT rides or other transportation. And the second big strike against it is that it doesn’t even include Taipei 101 Observatory or National Palace Museum.

If you somehow managed to visit all 20 attractions covered by this list, this pass would have a value of $2350. So that seems not bad, considering the pass only costs $650 for two days, $850 for three days, or $1050 for four days.

However, it would be virtually impossible to visit all of these museums and attractions, even in four days. They are all located in different directions from Taipei, and some of them are totally obscure places that you would probably never go to anyway.

Moreover, for some of the attractions, you’d probably want to spend several hours, or even half a day there. This makes it less likely that you’d see many other places on the list in that day.

This explains why only around 200 people have bought a Taipei Explore Pass on Klook (when it was available on Klook), and many of them leave reviews saying they were confused about how it works, not realizing they had to load money on it for taking the MRT and buses. Meanwhile, 20,000+ people have bought a Taipei Unlimited Fun Pass and 10,000+ a Taipei Transport Pass.

The only kind of traveler I can imagine would make good use of this pass would be someone who loves to rush around and see a ton of attractions, especially museums.

Should I get a Taipei Fun Pass for Kids?

If you are traveling to Taipei with kids, you might be wondering “Do children need a Taipei Unlimited Fun Pass?” The answer is that it depends on the age of your kids. In Taipei, kids under six years old (or under 115cm) are free on most things, including the MRT, Taipei 101, and many other attractions. Therefore, the answer is NO, young kids don’t need a Taipei Fun Pass.

However, for kids age 6+, the answer becomes more complicated. Students receive a discount for the MRT and at most attractions, but often it’s pretty tiny. For example, students pay $540 at Taipei Observatory instead of the usual $600. That’s pretty much the same discount that is given to adults if they book their Taipei 101 ticket online.

Therefore, you are going to have to see even more things to make your Taipei Unlimited Fun Pass worth it for older kids, but it might still be, and does save you the trouble of paying for individual attractions for your older kids everywhere you go. You’ll just have to do a little extra research to look up all those student prices and make the comparison.

Also see my guide to planning a trip around Taiwan with kids.

Taipei Fun Pass: The Final Verdict

Based on lots of research and consideration, I think that the Taipei Unlimited Fun Pass and Taipei Transport Fun Pass are a great deal and can save you a lot of money and hassle, even though they include some obscure and unnecessary attractions.

If you are planning to go to the Taipei 101 Observatory, that already covers half the price of the 1-day Taipei Unlimited Pass.

Still, I recommend adding up the attractions you plan to visit and rides you plan to take in order to decide whether these passes will really be worth it for you. Even if it’s a close call, I would say it’s worth it to get the Taipei Fun Pass simply because it makes traveling around and entering attractions more convenient.

If you decide not to get the pass, then I would strongly recommend just getting an EasyCard for all your transportation needs, and paying for the attractions as you go.

You can also find individual attraction deals for most of the major sights included on the pass, many of which come with little discounts, including the following:

– Taipei 101 Observatory online ticket
– National Palace Museum online ticket
– Yehliu Geopark online ticket
– Miramar Ferris Wheel online ticket
– Double Decker Bus deal
– Jinguashi Gold Museum ticket with lunch
– Juming discounted entrance ticket

It’s up to you to decide whether its worth the trouble buying all these individual passes though!

Good luck, and I hope this article has helped you to decide whether the Taipei Fun Pass is worth the money for you!