Eastern Asia · Capital Taipei
Each opens that government's own advisory for Taiwan — the authoritative version, updated far faster than this page.
6 of 7 pillars estimated from neighbouring countries — global datasets don't cover Taiwan separately.
Taiwan is one of the safest places in the world to travel. Violent crime is very rare, lost property is routinely returned, and solo travel at night is unremarkable. There is essentially no tourist scam economy.
The risk here is geological and meteorological: Taiwan sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire and in the main typhoon track. The 2024 Hualien earthquake closed Taroko Gorge, the country's most visited natural attraction, for an extended period.
Risk is rarely spread evenly across a country. The base colour is the code the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs gives Taiwan as a whole; shaded regions are those the UK Foreign Office names in an advisory against travel.
This map reads milder than the world map's colour, and both are right. The world map shades Taiwan by its Atlas Risk Score — 22, Low — which blends government advice with crime, health, roads and natural hazards. This map shows the advice alone, and the strongest level anywhere in Taiwan is no specific warning.
Shading marks whole regions named in an advisory, but a warning is often narrower — a border strip, one road, or a single city. Read the wording, and check the official advisory linked below.
Each pillar is scored 0–100 against every other country. Longer bar = more risk.
Biggest factor here: natural hazards. Earthquakes, floods, cyclones, drought and tsunami exposure.
The things worth knowing before you land.
Average daytime high and nightly low for Taipei, over 2010-2019. Bars are rainfall; the colour band is how hot the days get.
Mildest and driest around October to April.
Patterns reported repeatedly by travellers and local police. None of this is about individual businesses — it's about set-ups you can learn to spot in seconds.
Taipei taxis are metered and honest. In rural areas and at popular sites, drivers may quote a flat fare well above the metered rate, especially where there is no alternative transport.
How to avoid it: Ask for the meter. In cities use the Taiwan Taxi app or Uber; in rural areas agree the fare in advance and check it against what your accommodation says is normal.
Sources Taiwan Tourism Administration
Taiwan's high mountains require permits, applied for in advance and limited in number. Operators sometimes sell trips without them, leaving hikers turned back at a checkpoint or fined.
How to avoid it: Check the permit exists in your name before paying. The national park application system is public and free to check.
Specific places that come up again and again — either in government advisories or in traveller reports. Everywhere else in Taiwan is not automatically fine, but these are the areas worth a plan.
Earthquake damage and ongoing landslide risk closed large parts of the park after 2024. Rockfall is a live danger on reopened roads.
Landslides regularly cut the cross-island highways, sometimes stranding travellers for days.
July to October. Transport shuts down and swimming becomes lethal well before the storm arrives.
Taiwan records thousands of earthquakes a year and occasionally a damaging one — the April 2024 Hualien quake reached magnitude 7.4, killed people and triggered landslides that closed the Taroko Gorge road network. Check whether specific national park routes have reopened before planning around them.
Typhoon season runs roughly July to October. A direct hit shuts down transport, closes offices and schools by official announcement, and makes mountain areas dangerous for days afterwards because of landslides. Build slack into an itinerary in those months.
Scooters dominate Taiwanese traffic and renting one requires a licence the rental shop may not check but the police will. An International Driving Permit with the motorcycle category is needed; riding without it voids insurance entirely.
The cross-island highways are spectacular and narrow, with rockfall, fog and heavy truck traffic. Landslides close them without notice, particularly after rain.
Vaccinations, malaria and outbreaks. This atlas does not give medical advice — it is personal, it changes, and it is the one thing worth getting from a doctor. Both national services publish current advice for Taiwan:
Check the official advisory before you book. This page reflects data as of August 2026. Advisories change without warning, and only your own government's advice affects your travel insurance.