Taichung tours: from the free walking tour to private group departures

Take the free old-town walking tour. It runs about two hours and covers the classic stretch — Taichung Station, Miyahara, the Fourth Credit Union and the Green River — it is tip-based, and it departs even for one guest. If you still have the evening free, add the Feng Chia night market food tour and you have a full day.

Two to three. A typical day is the old-town walking tour in the morning (2 hours), the AI treasure hunt or a cooking class in the afternoon (2–3 hours), and the night market food tour after dark (2 hours). Everything is within reach of Taichung Station, the MRT and city buses, so no car is needed — leave an hour in between for food and travel.

It comes down to whether a venue, materials or equipment are involved. The free old-town and night market tours are the guide's time only — tip-based, under ten people, on fixed departure slots. The paid programmes carry other costs: a cooking class pays the kitchen and the ingredients, the cycling tour needs bikes, the treasure hunt needs the app and its checkpoints maintained, and private groups include insurance and custom planning. Depth is not the difference — the same guides design all of it.

One to two days ahead for the free tours, about a week for the themed ones, and two weeks for private groups. Same-day requests are still processed, but we cannot promise a guide will be free — the form accepts your booking either way and we email you if it cannot go ahead.

Take the cooking class: entirely indoors, about three hours, taught by migrant families from Southeast and South Asia who cook one dish from home with you. Walking tours still run in light rain — bring an umbrella — and in heavy rain or a weather warning we email you on the morning to reschedule.

Up to 200 people, quoted by group size and route. The MRT Green Line walk has a published rate: from NT$6,000 for ten people, then NT$450 per extra person, with a local food tasting included. The old-town group tour is quoted to your brief — Mandarin or English, your meeting point and time — and we can supply photos and certificates of participation. Send the group enquiry form and we come back with a full quote.

Yes, in English. Every guided tour is offered in Mandarin and English — just pick your language when you book. Japanese is available for private groups only; we cannot staff a Japanese-speaking guide on the public departures. There is no Korean-guided tour. If you would rather explore on your own, the AI treasure hunt is built in Mandarin, English, Japanese and Korean: buy a serial and start whenever you like, with no departure time to fit around.

With children, choose the AI treasure hunt or the cooking class: the hunt lets you set your own pace and stop whenever you want, and the class is seated and indoors. With older relatives, choose the one-hour Litoudian mini walk on flat ground. The old-town walking tour is two hours and almost entirely on your feet; children aged six and up usually keep up fine.