Taipei in November: The Best Month to Visit?

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Taipei in November is, on the numbers, the best month of the year to visit – and unusually for a “best month” claim, the data actually backs it up. In Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration 1991–2020 climate normals, November is the driest month of the year at the Taipei station – roughly 90 mm of rain, against about 237 mm in September and 163 mm in October. The daily mean temperature is 21.9 °C, the typhoon season has effectively closed, the silver grass on Yangmingshan is at peak bloom, and hotel rates sit in the year’s cheaper half. This 2026 guide covers Taipei in November – why it earns the title, what the northeast monsoon really does to the city, what is in season, what it costs, and the two months that beat it on specific things.

One honest caveat up front. November is not a month of blue skies. It is a month of low rainfall totals spread across a lot of grey, drizzly days, because the northeast monsoon has arrived. If your mental image of “best month” is unbroken sunshine, adjust it: November’s advantage is that it is comfortable, reliable and cheap, not that it is bright.

Taipei November Weather

Daily mean: 21.9 °C in the 1991–2020 normals.

Mean daily high: 24.8 °C. Mean daily low: 19.7 °C.

Record extremes for the month: 34.3 °C high, 1.1 °C low. Both are outliers – plan for the means.

Rainfall: around 90 mm for the month, the lowest monthly total of the year.

Rain days: roughly 12–15 days with measurable rain, depending on which dataset you read. Most of it is light.

Humidity: 70–80%. Noticeably less oppressive than summer.

Typhoons: rare. The overwhelming majority of Taiwan’s typhoons arrive between July and October.

What 22 °C Actually Feels Like Here

Taipei sits in a humid basin, so 22 °C reads warmer in sun and cooler in wind than the same number in a dry climate. In practice November is a long-sleeve-shirt month during the day and a light-jacket month after dark. The spread between day and night is only about 5 °C, which is why you can pack a single layering system and use it all week. It is the one month where you can hike at midday and sit outside at a night market at 10pm without changing clothes.

The Northeast Monsoon – Less Scary Than It Sounds

From roughly October to March, the northeast monsoon pushes moist air onto Taiwan’s northeast coast. The mountains between Taipei and the sea sit broadly across that flow, so the moisture piles up and rains out on the windward side. That is why Keelung, Yilan and the northeast coast can be genuinely grim from November onwards while central Taipei stays merely overcast.

The practical translation for a traveller: the monsoon costs Taipei drizzle, not washouts. A typical November rain event is a couple of hours of light rain, not a day lost. Where it matters is on the coast and in the hills. If your itinerary includes the northeast – Jiufen, Shifen, Yehliu, Keelung – keep those days flexible and swap them for a city day when the forecast turns. Yangmingshan sits high and exposed and can be 5–7 °C colder and much wetter than the city on the same afternoon.

Why November Is The Best Month

The case rests on nine factors landing at once:

Mild temperatures: 21–25 °C is the comfortable range for walking, hiking and outdoor eating.

Lowest rainfall of the year: around 90 mm, less than any other month in the CWA normals.

Lower humidity: 70–80% instead of summer’s 80%-plus.

No typhoons in practice: the season has closed, so you are not rebuilding your itinerary at 6am.

No public holidays: Taiwan has no national holiday in November, so domestic travel stays flat and attractions stay walkable.

Reasonable hotel prices: shoulder-season rates, well below the Lunar New Year and cherry-blossom peaks.

Clear post-frontal visibility: the best long views of the year from Elephant Mountain.

Silver grass at peak: the single most photogenic seasonal event in the Taipei hills.

Hot spring season opens: cool enough to want a soak, cheap enough to be pre-peak.

The Honest Case Against November

A guide that only lists positives is not useful. Four real drawbacks:

Grey skies. Low rainfall does not mean low cloud cover. Expect overcast days and plan indoor alternatives.

The northeast coast suffers. Day trips toward Keelung and Yilan are the most weather-exposed part of a November itinerary.

Maple season has not peaked. If red leaves are the reason you are coming, you want December, not November.

Silver Grass Season on Yangmingshan

Silver grass (芒草, miscanthus) begins flowering in September, intensifies in October, and hits its peak in November, when whole hillsides turn a feathery silver-white. Taipei City’s own tourism department calls November the peak, and it is the reason locals treat the month as hiking season. Because of Yangmingshan’s volcanic soil, the grass around Qingtiangang and Xiaoyoukeng carries a reddish tint you will not see elsewhere on the island.

Qingtiangang (擎天崗) – The Easy One

A broad grassland plateau with a circular trail that takes about 45 minutes at a stroll. Almost flat, mostly stone-paved, doable in trainers, and the single best silver grass photograph in Taipei for the least effort. Water buffalo graze here; keep your distance and do not feed them.

Datunshan and Mt. Qixing (七星山) – The Serious One

Mt. Qixing is Taipei’s highest peak at 1,120 m. The standard route climbs about 4.8 km from Xiaoyoukeng in roughly 2.5 hours and descends to Lengshuikeng, with buses at both ends. The stretch of trail between the 0.3 km and 0.6 km markers near Lengshuikeng is the classic silver grass viewpoint, per Taipei City’s own tourism quarterly. Datunshan gives similar grass with fewer people. Both are exposed – carry a windproof layer and about a litre of water.

Getting There

Route: MRT Red Line to Jiantan Station, then the Yangmingshan bus from the bus bays outside. Inside the park, the 108 shuttle loops the main trailheads and visitor centres. Check current routes and timings at the visitor centre before committing to a one-way hike.

Cost: park entry is free. Budget under NT$200 in bus fares for a full day.

Timing: weekdays. Weekend traffic to Yangmingshan National Park in silver grass season is genuinely bad, and the 108 shuttle queues build fast after 10am.

Photo: edwin.11, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Autumn Colour Near Taipei: An Honest Timetable

Taiwan does have a maple season, and travellers regularly arrive in November expecting it. The truthful answer is that November is early. Colour is patchy at the start of the month and improving by the end; peak is generally December.

Manyueyuan (滿月圓), Sanxia: the closest real foliage to Taipei, in New Taipei City, often described as the island’s best low-altitude autumn colour. Leaves turn from late November through mid-December. Reachable by train or bus to Banqiao, then a bus to Sanxia and a local connection – allow a full day.

Aowanda (奧萬大), Nantou: Taiwan’s largest natural maple forest, 1,100–2,600 m up. Season runs November to February with peak usually in the second half of December. This is not a Taipei day trip – it is an overnight, most easily reached via a seasonal bus from Taichung HSR station.

Hot Spring Season Starts in November

Taipei is one of the few capital cities with volcanic hot springs on a metro line, and November is when soaking stops feeling absurd and starts feeling essential. Air temperatures in the low 20s are the sweet spot: warm enough to walk between baths in a light jacket, cool enough that a 40 °C pool is a pleasure rather than an ordeal.

Beitou: MRT Red Line to Beitou, then the short branch line to Xinbeitou. The valley has everything from a NT$60-ish public open-air pool with timed bathing sessions to private rooms and full spa hotels. Note that the public open-air pool went through an extended renovation closure, so confirm it is operating before you build an evening around it. Our Beitou hot springs guide covers the public-versus-private decision in detail.

Yangmingshan: sulphur springs at higher altitude, best combined with a silver grass hike. Lengshuikeng has free public footbaths at the end of the Qixing descent.

Wulai: colourless, odourless carbonate springs about an hour south of the city, plus a waterfall and Atayal cultural sites.

November Festivals and Events

ITF Taiwan International Travel Fair: 6–9 November 2026 at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Hall 1, per the organiser’s official listing. Taiwan’s biggest travel show, and the best place in the country to pick up discounted domestic hotel and hot spring vouchers if you are travelling onward.

Golden Horse Awards: the 2026 ceremony is scheduled for 22 November in Taipei, the climax of the Golden Horse Film Festival – the most prestigious awards in Chinese-language cinema. Festival screenings run in the weeks before and are open to the public; the ceremony itself is not.

Yangmingshan silver grass season: guided walks and seasonal activities usually cluster in the first half of the month. Dates move; check with the park visitor centre.

Art and design exhibitions: Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, Huashan 1914 and the Eslite Spectrum venues run rotating shows all month, and the Taiwan Design Expo lands in November in some years.

Christmas lights: the Xinyi district malls and New Taipei’s Christmasland typically switch on in the second half of November, so late-November visitors get the decorations without December prices.

Not in November: the Taipei Marathon, despite what half the internet says, is a December race – the 2026 edition is scheduled for 20 December. If you want to run in Taipei, book the December trip. Our Taipei festivals calendar tracks what actually falls where.

No public holidays: Taiwan has none in November, which is a large part of why the city stays uncrowded.

Overall November is festival-light next to spring or summer, which is a large part of why it stays so easy to travel in.

Best Things to Do in Taipei in November

1. Silver Grass at Yangmingshan

Peak season, free entry, and the best hiking weather of the year. Qingtiangang for the easy version, Mt. Qixing for the real one.

2. Hot Springs at Beitou

Cool weather, pre-peak pricing, thirty minutes from Taipei Main Station. Sweetme, Spring City and Villa 32 span budget to luxury.

3. A Full Yangmingshan Hiking Day

Multiple linked trails, cool temperatures for the Qixing main peak, and silver grass photography from start to finish.

4. City Walking Routes

November is the month to walk Taipei rather than ride it. Xinyi and Taipei 101, Da’an’s cafe grid, Yongkang Street, Dihua Street and Songshan are all comfortable on foot.

5. Day Trips Without Weather Anxiety

Jiufen, Shifen, Yehliu, Wulai and Tamsui all work. A day trip to Jiufen is the classic pairing with Shifen; just keep it flexible, since it sits on the wetter side of the hills.

6. Maokong Tea Houses

Gondola up, tea house lunch with city views, walk between plantations. Cool weather makes hot tea make sense again, and midweek queues are short.

7. Night Markets in Cool Evenings

The single biggest quality-of-life upgrade over summer. No sweating in a crowd, no melting drinks, and shorter queues at the famous stalls.

8. Outdoor Dining and Rooftops

Terraces and rooftop bars are usable all month, which is not true in July or January.

9. Sunset Photography from Elephant Mountain

Twenty minutes of stairs for the definitive Taipei 101 shot. Go the day after rain for the clearest air, and arrive an hour before sunset for a spot on the rocks.

10. Sun Moon Lake or Alishan as a Two-Day Add-On

Excellent November weather for mountain destinations, and the high-speed rail makes both realistic from Taipei. Cherry blossom season is still months away – that is February and March.

November Activity Picks by Category

Best Outdoor Activity

Yangmingshan silver grass hiking. Free, atmospheric, and only genuinely good for about six weeks a year.

Best Photography Activity

Elephant Mountain at sunset. Clear post-frontal visibility, Taipei 101 well lit, blue hour arriving conveniently early.

Best Indoor Activity

The National Palace Museum. Two to three hours minimum, and the obvious pivot when a front rolls through.

Best Cultural Activity

A Golden Horse Film Festival screening, or a rotating show at Songshan Cultural and Creative Park.

Best Food Activity

A night market dinner in cool air. Mango shaved ice is out of season by November – pivot to hot pot, beef noodle soup or a herbal ribs soup instead.

Best Romantic Activity

A private Beitou hot spring room followed by a Yongkang Street tea house.

Best Group Activity

KTV, with the walk between venues actually pleasant for once.

Best Family Activity

Da’an Forest Park in the morning, Taipei Zoo and the Maokong Gondola in the afternoon. A full family day at comfortable temperatures.

What to Wear in November

Base layer: long-sleeve shirt or light merino.

Mid layer: sweater or light fleece.

Outer layer: light windbreaker, ideally water-resistant, for evenings and for Yangmingshan.

Bottoms: jeans or trousers. Shorts only if you run warm, and only mid-afternoon.

Footwear: comfortable walking shoes with real grip. Taipei’s tiled pavements and stone trails are slick when wet.

Accessories: compact umbrella, optional light scarf. No heavy winter coat.

Day-to-night variation is only about 5 °C, so one layering system covers the whole trip. The bigger swing is altitude: add a proper windproof layer for any Yangmingshan day.

Hotel Strategy and What November Costs

November sits in the cheaper half of the Taipei year. It is not the absolute floor – that is usually the dead weeks after Lunar New Year – but it is the best combination of price and weather.

Most November weeks: typically 20–30% below the summer peaks, with real availability.

ITF weekend, 6–9 November: Nangang and eastern Taipei tighten up as the travel fair fills exhibition hotels. Book earlier or stay west.

Golden Horse week, around 22 November: a smaller bump, mostly in Xinyi.

Late November: a pre-Christmas premium starts building in Xinyi as the light displays switch on.

Lead time: two to four weeks is enough for most of the month. For the ITF and Golden Horse dates, make it six.

A reasonable per-person budget for a week, excluding international flights, is NT$22,000–42,000 depending on hotel tier, with mid-range travellers landing near the middle. Street-food meals run NT$100–250, MRT rides NT$20–65, and most of November’s signature activities – silver grass, Elephant Mountain, temples, riverside paths – are free.

November vs October vs December

vs October

October is warmer, with a mean around 24.6 °C, and still carries real typhoon risk in its first half. Its rainfall normal is roughly 163 mm against November’s 90 mm. October also owns Taipei Pride on the last Saturday, the biggest in Asia, and National Day on 10 October. Choose October if you want warmth and a headline event – our full October guide covers the Pride-week planning. Choose November if you want dependable weather and lower prices.

vs December

December drops to an 18.2 °C mean with about 97 mm of rain. It brings Christmas lights, the countdown at Taipei 101, the Taipei Marathon on 20 December 2026 and peak maple colour – but also colder, damper days and rates climbing through the month. Our December guide weighs that trade-off. Choose December for atmosphere and red leaves; November for comfort.

vs March and April

Spring brings cherry blossoms and calla lilies but also more rain and the start of the plum-rain build-up. November’s advantage is drier, more predictable weather; spring’s is flowers and longer daylight.

One-Week November Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival. Hotel check-in, EasyCard purchase, an easy evening walk in Da’an and a first night market.

Day 2: Yangmingshan. Early bus up, Mt. Qixing or Qingtiangang for silver grass, then down to Beitou for an evening soak.

Day 3: City core. Taipei 101 in the morning while visibility is best, Liberty Square, Longshan Temple, Ximending after dark.

Day 4: Northeast day trip. Jiufen and Shifen. Keep this day flexible and swap it if the forecast turns – the northeast is the wettest part of your week.

Day 5: Wulai. Waterfall, Atayal cultural sites and a second, quieter hot spring.

Day 6: Museums and cafes. National Palace Museum in the morning, Da’an cafes and Eslite in the afternoon.

Day 7: Maokong and departure. Gondola up, tea house lunch, sunset from Elephant Mountain if the timing works.

What to Avoid in November

Heavy summer clothing. Shorts and sandals only work for a few warm afternoons.

Outdoor swimming and beaches. Most pools are closed and the northern beaches are cold and windy.

Cherry blossom expectations. That season is February and March.

Peak maple expectations. Early December at the earliest for the good stuff.

Rigid day-trip bookings. Non-refundable coastal tours booked weeks ahead are the classic November mistake.

Assuming the mountains match the city. Yangmingshan runs far colder, wetter and windier than the basin below.

Last-minute late-November hotels in Xinyi. The pre-Christmas build-up is real.

Practical November Tips

Check the Yangmingshan webcams and forecast the morning of a hike rather than the night before.

Carry the compact umbrella every day. You will use it for two hours, not eight.

Book hotels two to four weeks ahead; six for the ITF and Golden Horse dates.

Related Taipei guides

Frequently Asked Questions

How is the weather in Taipei in November?

Comfortable and dry by Taipei standards. The 1991–2020 normals give a 21.9 °C daily mean, a 24.8 °C average high and a 19.7 °C average low, with around 90 mm of rain across roughly 12–15 mostly light rain days. Typhoon season is over. Skies are often overcast, but washouts are uncommon.

Is November the best time to visit Taipei?

For most travellers, yes. It has the lowest rainfall total of any month, comfortable temperatures, no typhoons, no public holidays, shoulder-season hotel rates and peak silver grass season. The only reasons to choose another month are a specific event or peak autumn foliage.

How much rain does Taipei get in November?

About 90 mm in the Central Weather Administration’s 1991–2020 normals – the lowest monthly figure of the year, and roughly a third of what falls in September. It is spread thinly, so you get many drizzly days rather than a few torrential ones. Carry an umbrella daily and you will barely notice it.

What should I wear in Taipei in November?

Layers: a long-sleeve shirt, a sweater or light fleece, and a water-resistant windbreaker for evenings. Jeans or trousers, walking shoes with grip, and a compact umbrella. No heavy winter coat is needed in the city, but add a proper windproof layer for Yangmingshan, which runs several degrees colder.

Are there typhoons in November in Taipei?

Very rarely. Taiwan’s typhoons overwhelmingly arrive between July and October, and by November the season has effectively ended. It is the first month of the autumn window where you can book outdoor activities without building a typhoon contingency into the plan.

When is silver grass season at Yangmingshan?

The bloom starts in September, intensifies through October and peaks in November, which is why locals treat this as the month for the Yangmingshan hills. Qingtiangang is the easiest place to see it, Mt. Qixing the most dramatic. It fades through December.

Can you see autumn leaves near Taipei in November?

Only partly. Taiwan’s maple season runs roughly November to February but peaks in December. Manyueyuan in Sanxia begins turning in late November; Aowanda in Nantou usually peaks in the second half of December. For guaranteed colour, plan for December rather than November.

Is the Taipei Marathon in November?

No – this is a common mix-up. The Taipei Marathon is held in December, with the 2026 edition scheduled for 20 December. November’s big scheduled events are the ITF Taiwan International Travel Fair on 6–9 November and the Golden Horse Awards on 22 November.

How crowded is Taipei in November?

One of the least crowded months of the year. Domestic tourism is off-peak, there are no holiday weekends, and international arrivals sit below the summer and Lunar New Year peaks. Reservations are still smart for popular restaurants, but far less essential than in other months.

What is the best thing to do in Taipei in November?

Yangmingshan silver grass hiking followed by a Beitou hot spring soak. It is the signature November day: peak seasonal scenery, the best hiking weather of the year, and a hot spring that finally makes sense in the cooler air. Budget a full day and travel on a weekday.

How much does a week in Taipei in November cost?

Expect roughly NT$22,000–42,000 per person for seven days excluding international flights, depending on hotel tier. Street-food meals run NT$100–250, MRT rides NT$20–65, and headline November activities such as silver grass hiking, Elephant Mountain and the temples cost nothing.

Do I need to book Taipei hotels in advance for November?

Two to four weeks is enough for most of the month. Push it to six weeks if your dates overlap the ITF travel fair on 6–9 November, the Golden Horse Awards around 22 November, or the final week of the month when Xinyi’s Christmas displays start drawing crowds.

The Bottom Line

Taipei in November earns its reputation the boring way: on the numbers. It is the driest month of the year in the official climate normals, it sits at a comfortable 21.9 °C daily mean, it has no typhoons and no public holidays, hotel rates are in the cheaper half of the year, and it delivers the single best seasonal sight in the Taipei hills in peak silver grass. The trade-off is grey skies and a maple season that has not quite arrived. If you want warmth and a headline event, take October. If you want red leaves and Christmas lights, take December. For everyone else – pack layers, keep one day of your itinerary flexible for the coast, book two to four weeks out, and take November.