Where and How to Purchase Taiwan Prepaid Sim Card

Here's what we did to purchase our pre-paid SIM card for unlimited data, and NT$550 worth of calls / SMS:

1. Upon arrival and passing through customs, turn left and head all the way to the end of the arrival hall. Turn left again and you see a row of 3 telco shops selling pre-paid cards on the right of the wide passageway. For reference, this is the side of the airport closest to pillar 1 if you were outside the airport along the arrival pickup driveway.

2. The shops are Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile (台湾大哥大), and one other small player. We bought the 10 day pass (Package B) from Taiwan Mobile for NT$800, which includes 10 24-hour blocks of unlimited 3G data usage and NT$550 worth of airtime.

3. SIM cards are available in both standard sizes and micro-SIMs for the iOS devices.

4. Other packages are also available, e.g. Taiwan Mobile Package A for 5 days. Chunghwa offers 3 and 7 day packages (3 days for NT$300; 7 days for NT$450).

5. You can top up airtime and data days at convenience stores like 7-11 but we haven't had to try that yet. Perhaps someone could document their process and experience here?

6. You MUST have at least 2 official picture IDs (e.g. Passport and Driver's Licence) to purchase a pre-paid SIM. The shop will make a photocopy of your IDs.

7. The counter staff offered to swop out my current SIM for the pre-paid SIM, and the whole purchase process took less than 5 mins (if you knew what you wanted).

8. However lines can be long, and be prepared to wait if the folks ahead of you have lots of questions. We waited about 20 mins for our turn at Taiwan Mobile, even though the Chunghwa counter had no queue, 'cos we wanted the 10 day pass.