Beitou hot springs on your own
6 min read · Updated
Beitou is Taipei’s hot spring district, at the northern end of the MRT Red line. You can be soaking in sulfur water less than an hour after leaving the city center. Going alone is easy at a public bath. Private rooms are trickier: many need at least two people, so we checked which ones take one.
Getting there
Take the Red line to Beitou station, then change to the short branch line for one stop to Xinbeitou station. Most baths and sights are a walk up from Xinbeitou through Beitou Park. The hillside hotels are uphill, and some run free shuttles from Beitou and Xinbeitou stations.
Public bath or private room?
- Public baths (大眾湯). Men and women bathe separately, and you go in nude. This is the simplest and cheapest way to soak alone, and you pay per person. Prices run from NT$150 at an old bathhouse to about NT$1,600–2,600 at hotel baths with several pools.
- Private rooms (湯屋). A room with your own tub, usually rented by the hour. Many hotels only rent them to two or more people, so always ask before you pay.
- Mixed outdoor pools. Men and women together, so swimsuits are required. Some hotels have them as a separate ticket.
Where we checked
- Takinoyu public bath: Beitou’s oldest working bathhouse, with stone pools of acidic green-sulfur water. NT$150, cash only, no booking. It runs in three sessions a day and is closed on Wednesdays.
- The Gaia Hotel public bath: Milky white-sulfur water, indoor and outdoor pools, a sauna and up to four hours. Phones are banned and numbers are capped, so book ahead.
- Villa 32 public bath: A quiet luxury option with both white- and green-sulfur pools. Robes and toiletries are included, and until 6 April 2027 it’s cheaper after 20:00.
- Spring City Resort indoor private room: A room to yourself with white-sulfur water, open 24 hours. Rooms are handed out at the counter, so you may wait.
The city-run open-air bath in Beitou Park (Millennium Hot Spring) has been closed for renovation. Many older guides still list it, so check the official page below before you plan around it.
How a public bath works
- Pay at the counter and take your locker key. Small bathhouses often take cash only.
- Undress completely in the changing room. In separate men's and women's baths, swimsuits and underwear stay out of the water.
- Wash first at the showers, and rinse off all the soap before you get in.
- Tie up long hair and keep your small towel out of the water. Put it on your head or on the edge of the pool.
- Soak in short rounds. Get out to cool down between soaks, and drink water.
- Rinse off and dress. Give your locker key back on the way out.
Bath etiquette
- No phones or cameras in the bath area. Some hotel baths ban devices in the changing rooms too, so leave yours in the locker.
- Keep your voice low. People come to relax, and sound carries in a bathhouse.
- Don’t swim, splash or dive.
- Check the minimum age. Some baths don’t admit young children, and a few only take teenagers and adults.
Staying safe
- The water is hot. Some pools are around 45°C. Start with 10–15 minutes at a time, and get out if you feel dizzy.
- Skip the bath after drinking alcohol, right after a big meal, or when you’re very hungry or tired.
- Ask a doctor first if you have heart problems or high blood pressure, or if you’re pregnant. Stay out of the water with open cuts.
- Green-sulfur water is strongly acidic. Keep it away from your eyes, and take off silver jewelry, which the sulfur can tarnish.
- Thermal Valley is for looking only. The lake is close to boiling. Feel the water at the hand-soaking basin by the entrance instead.
What to bring
- A small towel and toiletries. Old bathhouses don’t include them, though you can often buy them at the counter. Some hotel baths include them.
- Cash, in NT$100 notes, for bathhouses and food stalls.
- A hair tie, a water bottle and a change of clothes.
- A swimsuit and swim cap only if you plan to use a mixed outdoor pool.
A half day in Beitou
- Xinbeitou Historic Station. Start at the old wooden station right outside the MRT. It's free.
- Up through Beitou Park. Look into the wooden library, then the Plum Garden and the Ketagalan Culture Center. All of them are free.
- Thermal Valley. Walk on to the steaming lake. It closes at 17:00, so go before your soak.
- Soak. Head down to Takinoyu for an old-style public bath, or up to one of the hotels.
- Eat. Have egg fried rice at Feng Qing Yang in Xinbeitou, or chicken paitan ramen at Hazakura by Beitou station. In the morning, the braised pork rice and oyster stalls in Beitou's market are worth the trip.
See everything on the map: all places in Beitou.
Check the latest
Prices, hours and bath rules change, and some bathhouses adjust their hours to the spring water supply. Before you go, check:
- Takinoyu (official site): monthly schedule and bath rules
- The Gaia Hotel (official site): public bath prices and booking
- Villa 32 (official site): public bath prices and maintenance days
- Spring City Resort (official site): private rooms and shuttle bus
- Taipei Parks and Street Lights Office (official site): whether the Beitou Park open-air bath has reopened
Useful phrases
Quick answers
Can I go to a hot spring alone in Beitou?
Yes. Public baths are the easiest way to soak alone. Many private rooms need at least two people, but the indoor private rooms at Spring City Resort take one person.
Do I wear a swimsuit in a Beitou public bath?
Not in the separate men's and women's baths, where you go in nude. Swimsuits are only for mixed outdoor pools.
How much does a hot spring cost in Beitou?
From NT$150 at the old Takinoyu bathhouse to about NT$1,600–2,600 at hotel public baths. Private rooms are usually charged by the hour.
How do I get to Beitou from Taipei?
Take the MRT Red line to Beitou station, then the short branch line one stop to Xinbeitou station.