Taiwan small group vacation
Highlights
Taipei | National Palace Museum | Sweet Potato Mama - social enterprise | Dihua Street entrepreneur zone | Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall | Hualien | Taroko National Park | Qingshui Cliff | Danong Dafu Forest Park | Yilan | King Car Distillery | Jiufen | Turtle Island | Sun Moon Lake | Puli | Chung Tai Chan Monastery | Hugosum tea farm | Lukang | Longshan Temple | Wanggong | Taichung
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about this vacation or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.
Toll free 1-866-821-6866 Calling from outside the US? rosy@responsibletravel.com
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Small group adventure vacation
This is a 'small group adventure' - on this particular group trip you'll be with a maximum of 31 like minded travelers and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are traveling alone or with friends it's good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travelers of all ages who enjoy meeting people from other parts of the world as well as seeing new places!Responsible tourism
As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we screen every trip so you can travel knowing your vacation will help support conservation and local people.
Taiwan’s capital, Taipei, boasts one of the most efficient recycling systems in the world, and our leaders will explain how it works during our travelers’ initial welcome meeting. They will then understand best practise when it comes to waste disposal throughout the trip. In a lot of the accommodation we stay in there are kettles available to use if passengers want to fill up their bottles with tea, coffee or water for the day. This dissuades them from buying bottled water in an attempt to decrease plastic waste.
Our leaders will also encourage travelers to purchase their own chopsticks to avoid using instant ones. Instant chopsticks are very common in lots of Taiwanese eateries and the plastic consumption and waste they create is substantial. As part of learning and adapting to Taiwanese food culture, it’s a great idea to carry a pair with you. Plus, they make a great souvenir to take back home!
The Impacts of this Trip
On this trip, travelers will take part in the fun yet purposeful activity of selling sweet potatoes to locals on the street. The initiative is called the Sweet Potato Mama Project and helps single mothers live independently by allowing them to become vendors of these traditional Taiwanese root vegetables.
This project is supported by the Genesis Social Welfare Foundation (GSWF), which has long been helping women to earn an independent living. We will help the mamas to sell their produce, get to know them and learn about their lives as they teach us how to roast sweet potatoes.
There are plenty more hands-on experiences included on this tour such as a visit to a local farm, a noodle making class and tea picking. In Taiwan’s smaller towns and cities, they face issues of labour loss because young people prefer to move to the bigger cities for a taste of modern life and better job opportunities.
Tourism definitely alleviates this issue somewhat and our group’s visit helps to support the local economy, retain their workforce and preserve the local traditions and culture too.
Taiwan’s capital, Taipei, boasts one of the most efficient recycling systems in the world, and our leaders will explain how it works during our travelers’ initial welcome meeting. They will then understand best practise when it comes to waste disposal throughout the trip. In a lot of the accommodation we stay in there are kettles available to use if passengers want to fill up their bottles with tea, coffee or water for the day. This dissuades them from buying bottled water in an attempt to decrease plastic waste.
Our leaders will also encourage travelers to purchase their own chopsticks to avoid using instant ones. Instant chopsticks are very common in lots of Taiwanese eateries and the plastic consumption and waste they create is substantial. As part of learning and adapting to Taiwanese food culture, it’s a great idea to carry a pair with you. Plus, they make a great souvenir to take back home!
The Impacts of this Trip
On this trip, travelers will take part in the fun yet purposeful activity of selling sweet potatoes to locals on the street. The initiative is called the Sweet Potato Mama Project and helps single mothers live independently by allowing them to become vendors of these traditional Taiwanese root vegetables.
This project is supported by the Genesis Social Welfare Foundation (GSWF), which has long been helping women to earn an independent living. We will help the mamas to sell their produce, get to know them and learn about their lives as they teach us how to roast sweet potatoes.
There are plenty more hands-on experiences included on this tour such as a visit to a local farm, a noodle making class and tea picking. In Taiwan’s smaller towns and cities, they face issues of labour loss because young people prefer to move to the bigger cities for a taste of modern life and better job opportunities.
Tourism definitely alleviates this issue somewhat and our group’s visit helps to support the local economy, retain their workforce and preserve the local traditions and culture too.
1 Reviews of Taiwan small group vacation
Reviewed on 29 May 2019 by Eric Stead
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Kayaking on Sun Moon lake and the walk in Taroko gorgebe
2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Be prepared for a western level of infrastructure. Definitely a first world
culture. Not a cheap place to visit.
3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Benefited local people.
4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Not as good as expected. Fell short of the description of trip. Only one and a half hours walk in Taroko gorge and no chance of free time to do other trails. Didn't do hot springs at Yilan. Would have been better to see Yehliu Geopark rather than yet another market at Jiufen ( no views cos of mist ).
No chance to see the mangroves at Wanggong. We didn't actually pick oysters there and it was a waste of time. We needed a guided tour of the old quarter of Lukang in order to appreciate it. The noodles trip did not materialise either. All in all the trip wasn't quite as described. The guide, Irene, was excellent though.
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