[2027 Lunar New Year] 7 Days Off! New Year's Eve Date, the Take-2-Get-11 Leave Plan & a Complete Guide to Renting a Car for Spring Festival Trips

2027 Lunar New Year Dates at a Glance (Little New Year's Eve to Day 5)

2027 is a Ding-Wei year — the Year of the Goat. According to the official 2027 (ROC year 116) government calendar approved by the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration (DGPA), Executive Yuan, the Lunar New Year break is Feb 4 (Thu) to Feb 10 (Wed), 7 days.

Take 2, Get 11: The Lunar New Year Leave Plan

The holiday ends on Feb 10 (Wed), followed by just two workdays — Feb 11 (Thu) and Feb 12 (Fri) — before the weekend. Take those two days off and your break grows from 7 days to 11 days: 2 days of annual leave for 4 extra days off, the best-value leave of 2027.

■ Blue = already a day off　■ Red = days you need to take leave　(Feb 4 through Feb 14: 11 days in total)

How to Use 11 Days

• Family first, travel second: many locals spend Feb 4 – Feb 8 at their family home for the New Year, then set off after Feb 9 as the crowds thin out — roads and sights are far more pleasant than on Days 1 and 2.
• Round the island: 11 days is the only break of the year that lets you circle Taiwan without rushing — about 2–3 hours of driving a day, with the rest of the time left for sightseeing.
• In-depth east coast: the East Rift Valley plus the coastal highway takes just about 5–6 days, without changing hotels every night.

Lunar New Year Car Rental: Why You Should Book 2–3 Months Ahead

Lunar New Year brings the most concentrated rental demand of the whole year, for a simple reason: trips home, New Year outings and holidays all happen at once, while the number of cars stays the same. In practice, this is the pattern you'll see:

4 Practical Tips for Booking a Lunar New Year Car

• Go one size up: New Year trips mean more luggage and gifts, and you may end up giving grandparents or kids a lift. For 5 adults, go straight for a 7-seater.
• Pick up half a day earlier: the morning of the first holiday day (Feb 4) is peak pickup time. If your plans allow, picking up on the evening of Feb 3 lets you skip the queue and hit the road first thing the next morning.
• Leave room at return: freeway backups on the last day of the holiday are normal, so add 1–2 hours of buffer to your return time.
• Check opening hours over the holiday: branch hours may differ from normal days during Lunar New Year, so confirm your pickup and return times when you book.

• Taipei Main Station branch — the northern starting point for trips home and New Year outings: Book a 2027 Lunar New Year car | See all Taipei locations
• Taichung Railway Station branch — New Year trips in central Taiwan, Sun Moon Lake and Cingjing routes: Book a 2027 Lunar New Year car | See all Taichung locations
• HSR Kaohsiung (Zuoying) Station — take the HSR south, then drive; the smoothest way to explore southern Taiwan: Book a 2027 Lunar New Year car | See all Kaohsiung locations
• Tainan HSR Station — New Year trips around Tainan and the Chianan Plain: Book a 2027 Lunar New Year car
• Hualien branch — for east coast trips; we suggest taking the train to Hualien and picking up your car there: Book a 2027 Lunar New Year car

2027 Spring Festival Road-Trip Routes (by Number of Days)

2–3 Days: One County in Depth

For those who can only spare a few days after the family gathering. Keep one-way drives under 2 hours so you're never rushing.

• North: Taipei → North Coast (Jinshan, Yehliu, Shimen) → Yangmingshan, where the early cherry blossoms start opening in early February.
• Central: Taichung → Sun Moon Lake (about 1.5 hours) → Puli, with the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village and Chung Tai Chan Monastery along the way.
• South: Kaohsiung → historic sites and temple visits in Tainan → Fo Guang Shan; easy roads and plenty of parking.

4–5 Days: Cross-Region Trips

• Mid- and high-altitude blossoms: pick up in Taichung → Wuling Farm and Fushoushan Farm (February is the early part of cherry blossom season) → Cingjing and Hehuanshan for the sea of clouds.
• East Rift Valley: pick up in Hualien → Taroko and Qixingtan → south through the valley to Chishang and Mr. Brown Avenue → Taitung.
• Hengchun Peninsula: pick up at HSR Kaohsiung (Zuoying) → Kenting and the Guanshan sunset → County Road 199 and Manzhou; February in the south is dry and pleasant.

7–11 Days: Round the Island

The 7-day holiday — or 11 days with 2 days of leave — is the only chance all year to properly circle the island.

7-day clockwise plan: Taipei → Yilan → Hualien (2 nights) → Taitung → South Link Highway to Pingtung → Kaohsiung and Tainan → Taichung → back to Taipei. About 2–3 hours of driving a day, with all the remaining time for sightseeing.

Using the extra 4 days of an 11-day break: add them to the east (one more day each for the Rift Valley and the coast) and the south (one more night in Kenting) — these are the stretches least suited to rushing.

Recommended vehicle: a 7-seater or a mid-to-large SUV. A long trip plus holiday luggage and gifts means you'll definitely use the space.

7 Practical Tips for Driving Over Lunar New Year

1. Avoid the first morning of the holiday on the way out: Feb 4 (Thu) morning is the peak for people heading home. Leaving the evening before, or setting off before 6 a.m. that day, can easily save you two hours or more.
2. Avoid the last afternoon on the way back: afternoons into evenings on Feb 10 (Wed) or Feb 14 (Sun) are peak return times; driving in the morning or later at night is much smoother.
3. Check HOV and ramp controls first: over Lunar New Year, freeways often have high-occupancy-vehicle restrictions and ramp closures, so always check the latest announcements before you set off.
4. Parking near temples and hot spots is scarce: around the big temples on Days 1–3 it's almost impossible to park, so park further away and walk, or visit early in the morning.
5. Big temperature swings in the mountains: in February, Hehuanshan and Taipingshan can be close to freezing in the early morning, so watch for road-icing alerts and dress warmly.
6. Gas stations and rest stops are crowded: on long drives, fill up with your fuel card early while you're still in town, rather than waiting until the gauge is on its last bar.
7. Keep your schedule loose: every leg takes longer than usual over Lunar New Year, so 2–3 sights a day is plenty — pack in more and you'll be rushing the whole way.

How Lunar New Year Rental Costs Work

Before estimating your Lunar New Year self-drive budget, get to know how the pricing works so you don't get it wrong. GoodCars charges in three parts:

1. Rent

Calculated by vehicle type and number of rental days. Lunar New Year is peak season, so prices differ from normal days; the actual amount is the online quote at the time you search. The longer the rental, the lower the average daily cost usually is — so long trips like a round-the-island drive are relatively good value.

2. Mileage fee

The formula is (odometer at return − odometer at pickup) × the published per-km rate for that model. There's no cap on how far you drive — you pay for the distance you cover. Based on the August 2026 published rates, most 5-seat models cost about NT$3.1 per km, while 7/9-seaters and vans have higher rates; please check the current rate for each model on the official mileage fee page.

For a rough idea: a round-the-island trip over Lunar New Year covers about 1,000–1,200 km. In a 5-seater, the mileage fee comes to somewhere in the NT$3,000-plus range — a useful starting figure for your budget.

3. Dedicated Fuel Card (You Don't Pay for Fuel)

4. Add-ons

Choose whether to add the GO Worry-Free Protection Plan and other extras (such as a child car seat or an additional driver). Lunar New Year trips often involve mountain roads and long distances, so it's best to confirm the GO Worry-Free Protection Plan when you book.

Also, for a one-way trip (for example, picking up in Taipei and returning in Hualien), you can use the one-way rental service to save the drive back. Vehicle repositioning is at its tightest over Lunar New Year, so book this kind of trip even earlier.

2027 Lunar New Year FAQ