Cheaper hotel rates and delicious street food made Taipei the most affordable city in Asia to visit in the second half of this year, a travel trend analysis conducted by Leisure and Travel magazine and the Web site Kayak.com showed.
Taipei and nine other Asian cities were selected as affordable travel destinations based on “average round-trip economy airfare” and “the average rate of a one-night stay in a standard double hotel room,” they said.
The results of their analysis, published on Wednesday last week, showed that the average cost of a round-trip flight and one night at a hotel in Taipei was US$1,141.
Photo: Ge You-hao, Taipei Times
“You can find highly rated hotels for under US$100 per night; many recent travelers to Taipei on Reddit report that they were able to find nice, but simple hotel rooms for US$45 a night, along with plenty of amazing street food like xiao long bao (Chinese steamed dumplings), bubble tea and mango shaved ice,” they said.
The city’s many night markets are a great place to find cheap eats and souvenirs, they added.
“If Taiwan’s beef noodle soup and pineapple cake are calling your name, now is the time to book,” they said.
Taipei was followed by Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta, with a round-trip flight and one-night stay costing US$1,452 and US$1,478 respectively, the analysis showed.
The other affordable travel destinations in Asia were New Delhi, Bangkok, Manila, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi and Osaka.
Kayak.com consumer travel trends expert Kayla Inserra DeLoache advised travelers to plan their trips during the “shoulder season” from October to November, when they can save up to 12 percent on flights compared with the peak travel season from May to July.
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