Will be going for my honeymoon on 6th Jan 2009. This is what hubby and me planned so far:
6/1 tue: Arrive Taipei @ around 6pm. Ximending shopping and dinner after check in hotel. our hotel along chongqing south road.
7/1 wed: HSR to Chiayi to Alishan Homestay
8/1 thurs: catch forest train to jhusan watch sunrise, do abit of trekking if possible, check out of homestay, back to Taipei.
9/1 fri: Taipei to Hualien (Taroko Gorge) then back to Taipei.
10/1 Sat: Ximending, Taipei 101, wufenpu, Raohe nite market
11/1 Sun: Yehliu, Keelung Harbour, miaokuo nite market
12/1 Mon: Jinguashi, Jiufen,
13/01 Tue: Do last minute shopping in taipei before heading to Jinshan. Check in ba ian hotspring resort.
14/01 Wed: trekking around yangmingshan, check out of resort and head to airport by taxi
(in between free nites we%26#39;ll most probably hang out at nite markets)
Any advice on our itinerary would be good as this is our first time to taiwan. And a few questions,
1. After alishan would it be feasible to go to sun moon lake before heading back to taipei? Or any suggestions to other interesting places?
2. should I not waste time to travel all the way to taroko and go to Wulai instead? Is the wulai old town and aboriginal town worth visiting?
3. do i miss out a lot if I skip danshui? Felt that I would prefer keelung so sacrificed danshui.
4. is it rainy season now?
Thanks!
9D Taipei %26amp; Alishan Trip Planning. Pls Advice!Hi peridot 23,
Welcome to TAdvisor Taiwan forum. Glad to know you have choosen Taiwan as a destination for your honeymoon.
1) A cab ride from Alishan to Sun Moon Lake via highway no 21 (winding mountain road) is probably the fastest way to travel between these places. Travel time: About 2 hrs. Forumers who had traveled by cab posted fares around NT$3000~NT$4000 It鈥檚 a much shorter route than the route via Chiayi city.
The longer but economical route is to travel from Alishan back to Chiayi and board a railway train to Taichung Railway Station. Nantou and Renyou buses serve Taichung -- Sun Moon Lake route. Alternatively, board a railway train from Chiayi to Ershuei and transfer to railway trains on Ji-ji branch line to Shueili. Transfer to Fong Long (Green Transit) buses to Sun Moon Lake.
Formosan Aboriginal Cultural Village http://www.nine.com.tw is near Sun Moon Lake.
2) Taroko Gorge and Wulai offer entirely different scenery and experience. Visit both places if possible during this visit. You can visit Wulai on 10/1 (Sat) and enjoy a hot spring bath. Shops in XMD open around 1100 hrs.
3) Danshui is easily accessible by MRT. It鈥檚 just 36 mins鈥?ride on a MRT train from Taipei Main Station. You can cover Yehliu, Keelung Harbour, Jinguashi, Jiufen, Miaokou on the same day if you make an early start. Yehliu Geological Scenic Park opens at 0800 hrs. Gold Ecological Park in Jinguashih is closed on Mondays.
4) I leave this query for someone in Taiwan to answer.
Happy planning!
9D Taipei %26amp; Alishan Trip Planning. Pls Advice!Wow...that is a very full schedule. Do you have any time off scheduled after coming back from the honeymoon? =P
The biggest obstacle to your schedule is transportation outside of Taipei.
9/1 will be very rushed. It%26#39;s a 2 hr train ride to Hualian/Xincheng. Then you will need to hire a taxi.
If you have any interest in Chinese history at all, you need to visit the National Palace Museum. It has the world%26#39;s best collection of Chinese art and antiquities. Take the MRT Damshui line (Red) to Shilin Station and take the R30 bus or a taxi.
(http://www.npm.gov.tw/en/home.htm) There are free English tours daily at 10am and 3pm.
After visiting, you can go to Shilin Night Market to eat (one MRT stop over at Jiantan) or head further north to Danshui (or do both!).
1. It%26#39;s feasible, but you need to have transportation arranged. You can sleep on the way back to Taipei because you%26#39;ll be tired after getting up at the crack of dawn.
2. Taroko is one of Taiwan%26#39;s must-see. Wulai is a commercial hot spring area good for meeting with friends to drink tea.
3. I haven%26#39;t been to Keelung in a long time so I don%26#39;t know how that is. Danshui is closer and easier to get to and quite a nice place to visit at night.
4. There%26#39;s going to be rain off and on. Alishan will be cold (below 10C), so be prepared!
Thank you taiwanDIY and answerer for the advice!:D But I%26#39;ve still got more queries, sorry for the trouble.
taiwanDIY:
1. any reliable taxi drivers to recommend for sun moon lake? if we take the more economical route, how long would the whole journey approximately be?
2. I read on lonely planet that wulai is a commercialize hot spring like what answerer says, so was doubtful of whether to go, I guess if we do manage to wake up early enough we will try to go.I%26#39;ve just discovered taroko cannot be toured on foot? Everyone seems to be hiring taxis. Any recommendations for taxi drivers other than those I found on this forum would be appreciated! :)
3. thanks for reminder about jinguashi! I like taking in the sunset atmosphere of every different place I go thus separated the visits of jiufen and keelung. guess I will give up one of the sunsets then. :) was wondering if I could do yehliu, jinguashi, jiufen, keelung, miaokou to 13/01? How accessable are they from Jinshan?
answerer:
My hubby and I not so interested in chinese historic stuff, thanks for suggestion though! would keep in mind maybe as back ups for rainy days! :P
Would I need a down jacket in taipei? How about in alishan, do I need thermal wear? This is my first time on a wintery trip. :)
Thanks in advance! Sorry for the long post. :P
1) From Alishan %26gt; Chiayi %26gt; Ershuei %26gt; Shueili %26gt; Sun Moon Lake
It takes 2.5 hrs from Alishan downhill to Chiayi by bus, 38~57 minutes (depending on type of TRA train) from Chiayi to Ershuei, 41 minutes from Ershuei to Shueili by TRA train, 25 minutes from Shueili to Sun Moon Lake by Fong Long (Green Transit) bus. The above travel times exclude transfer / waiting times.
Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA): new.twtraffic.com.tw/TWRail_EN/index.aspx
TRA trains ticket prices: service.tra.gov.tw/tw/ticketprice/excel.aspx
The railway ticket fares can be found in the Chinese version of website, not the English version.
TRA station distances: 鈥ra.gov.tw/tw/CP/11366/mileages-1.aspx
Fong Rong (Green Transit) Bus: http://59.120.204.246/fl_web/system/index.php
Hire a cab to bring you to attractions around Sun Moon Lake. Always negotiate and agree on fare and duration before boarding cab. Alternatively, purchase the NT$80 day pass for unlimited rides on Nantou bus covering part of the 37 km round-lake route.
Nantou round-lake shuttle bus schedule:
www.sunmoonlake.gov.tw/EN/02001269.aspx
http://www.ntbus.com.tw/5-25.htm
2) This thread has related topic on touring Taroko Gorge: tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g297907-i10340-k24鈥?/a>
3) Ba-Ian Hot Spring Resort is in Jinshan Township. You can certainly do Yehliu %26gt; Keelung %26gt; Jinguashih %26gt; Jiufen %26gt; Miaokou on 13/01. Yehliu is about 9.5 km from Jinshan Town. You need to go to Keelung for transfer to a Keelung bus heading to Jinguashih as currently there is no direct bus from Yehliu to Jinguashih or Jiufen.
When you see the sunrise on Alishan, it will be around 0C. You don%26#39;t necessarily need a down jacket but definitely wear multiple layers, a windproof jacket and gloves. Coming from SG, you%26#39;ll probably find Taiwan a bit chilly so be prepared.
For your Taroko Gorge trip, it%26#39;s probably a better idea to join a tour trip. It%26#39;s a packaged visit, but saves you the hassle of buying train tickets, hiring a car, finding places to eat, etc.
From the Taiwan Tourism website:
taiwantourbus.com.tw:8080/jtbusphp5en/鈥?/a>
The tour operator
hunters-tour.com.tw/template/鈥?/a>
Taroko Gorge Car Hire - NT 2800 for 1 day
http://www.hualientour.com.tw/cab.html
If you negotiate with taxis at Hualien train station, it shouldn%26#39;t be over 2000nt for a day.
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