Visa-free Taiwan Program Extended Until July 2019

Last October 2017, Taiwan ROC’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced a 9-month visa-free trial program to citizens of the Philippines, Thailand & Brunei. As per the Minister office’s report, this trial program resulted in a 27.65% increase in tourist arrival in Taiwan. 🇹🇼

Beautiful Jiufen – located somewhere north of Taipei 😍

8 months & a few days after [earlier today], Taiwan’s MOFA officially announced that this visa-free treatment to nationalities of the above mentioned countries has been extended for another year from 1 August 2018 to 31 July 2019. Tourists can stay in Taiwan up to 14 days.

Just like the current visa-free program, Filipino nationals need to wish to enter Taiwan need to satisfy the following conditions:

An ordinary / regular passport with validity of at least 6 months from date of entry

Return ticket to the Philippines or an onward ticket to a next destination (plus visa if required)

Proof of accommodation (hotel or hostel booking) / tour arrangements / financial statement

No criminal record in Taiwan

This is definitely good news to everyone! Filipinos only need their valid passports when entering Taiwan for the next 12 months. No need to apply for a visa or a travel certification. Let’s hope that this program becomes permanent soon.

Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall – one place you should not miss in Taipei! 😍

Are you planning to go to Taiwan soon? Well you should! I’ve been to Taipei in May 2015 & June 2017. Check out the details of my Taipei trips in those 2 separate blog posts. Book your tickets now! Taiwan is a beautiful & surprisingly affordable country. It’s also one of the best places to eat street food. 🇹🇼

PS. Photos taken using my HTC Re & HTC U11.

2018 Plans: What’s In Store For The Readers

2018 is here. Another year has begun. It’s the perfect time to start again & to make new plans for the future.

In 2017, I had the intention to regularly share contents & thoughts on this platform. The first half of the year went well. I posted 3 to 5 blogs per month. Site traffic was consistent & reader interactions were at peak. Everything slowed down towards the second half. Work, personal trips & engagements took majority of my time. I was left with little to no time in updating this blog.

Now that it’s already 2018, I plan to post 3 to 4 blogs per month until the end of the year. Yes, until the end of the year. Here are some of the things you will see on this site for the rest of the year

Promo Fare Alerts

My ultimate goal is for everyone to fly as cheaply as possible. The first step in achieving this goal is to book or secure cheap airfare tickets. Airlines regularly offer promotional fares to domestic & international destinations. I’ve updated you guys with current & upcoming seat sales in the past year. This year, I plan to increase the promo fare alerts in my Facebook page. I hope to cover as many airline promotions as possible. Make sure to like The Wknd Travel Facebook Page to stay updated.

Trip Summaries & Itineraries

I’ve shared summaries & itineraries of my past trips to Japan, Bali, Coron, Port Barton & a whole lot more. Fear not, I still have a backlog of contents to share from my recent trips to Komodo, Indonesia, Kawaguciko & Takayama in Japan. I also have upcoming trips to Sapporo, Japan (next month), Hong Kong (in March), Palawan (again in June – undecided where to go) & some new places (which I can’t disclose as of yet) in August & November. I’m going to places which I haven’t been to in the past. That also means new experiences to share to everyone.

More Travel Tips ~ More Fun

Backpackers & travelers rely on each other’s tips. I’ve given you my secrets on preparing for trips like how to score super cheap airline tickets (with part 2), how to apply for a Japan tourist visa & how to book your trip accommodations. I’ve also helped some of you answer some of their pre-trip questions.

For someone who has been taking short (& sometimes long) trips for 5 years now, I’ve experienced a lot & I’ve noticed some patterns when it comes to planning my trips. Expect for more tips in the coming weeks & months.

Throwback Thursday Treats Continue

I’ve been doing trips for years before I started this blog. I don’t want to put my previous trips to waste that’s why I thought of having the Throwback Thursday Treat feature. For the past months, I brought you to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Siem Reap, Cambodia, Taipei, Taiwan, Bangkok, Thailand & a few more. I still have a long list of past trips to share (I hope I can still remember all the details) so make sure to watch out for those.

Travel News & Random Travel Thoughts

In 2017, we’ve read some good news for all Filipino travelers. Philippine passport validity has been extended to 10 years, Taiwan started a visa-free trial scheme last November (until July 31, 2018 only) & December 8 has recently been declared as a special non-working holiday. I plan to continue sharing good news to everyone this year. Let us hope for more.

Sometimes, It comes to a point where you think of random things about travelling. I’ve shared some of these insights in the past year – how do I manage to travel a lot while working full time & the ups & downs of staying in hostels. I hope to encounter these random thoughts in the coming weeks. I will try my best to share them here.


Thank you everyone for the support & website visits last year. Again, happy new year! Let us all hope for a content-filled 2018. 🎆

Do you have any suggestions on what to feature in this website or do you have anything to ask? Feel free to comment below. You can also send an email to contact@thewkndtravel.com. Drop me a message on Facebook, drop a comment on Instagram or send me a tweet on Twitter.

December 8 – New Special Non-Working Holiday

As published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte yesterday signed Republic Act Number 10966 declaring December 8 of every year a special non-working holiday in the Philippines to commemorate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the Principal Patroness of the Philippines.

A screenshot of the signed Republic Act No 10966.

Being predominantly Catholic, majority of the Philippine population celebrate this holy day of obligation by attending & hearing mass in churches. Catholic schools also have December 8 as a no-school day in commemoration of this important feast.

For travelers & workers, the first December 8 long weekend will be on December 8, 2020. December 8, 2018 falls on a Saturday while December 8, 2019 falls on a Sunday. Nonetheless, this is still a good news for everyone.

Happy long weekend guys! 😊 Hope everyone’s enjoying the holidays. 🎆