Taipei-Taichung-Chiayi/Alishan-Hualien/Taroko-Taipei

Hi all,

After browsing through the forum%26#39;s posts and wikitravel, my friend and I have come up with the above itinerary for a 7D/6N visit to Taiwan.

However, the more we read, the more we realised that the itinerary is not that ideal.

Reason being travelling between the cities will probably take 2-3 hours and we%26#39;re just afraid that we might end up spending 70% of the trip on buses/trains rather than enjoying Taiwan itself! I know that there is no such thing as perfect plan. Just hoping to make good use of the 7days in Taiwan, thus, would really appreciate advise on the itinerary that we have mapped out.

1st Day - Taipei (arrive at about 6pm)

-%26gt; Shilin market

2nd Day - Travel to Taichung early morning

-%26gt; Visit temples

-%26gt; walk around the city

-%26gt; lavender forest

-%26gt; gu guan hot spring

(Is there any aboriginal village here or is it situated at SML?)

3rd day - Travel to Chiayi

-%26gt; Take train up to ALishan and spend the night there

4th day - Travel to Hualien

-%26gt; Travel to Toroko Gorge

-%26gt; Going back to Taipei

5th, 6th and 7th day - In taipei and hang around the city

Would truly appreciate your comment and advise!

Thanks!! :)

Taipei-Taichung-Chiayi/Alishan-Hualien/Taroko-Taipei

2nd Day

Fengyuan Bus to Guguan Hot Spring: http://www.fybus.com.tw/data/1/007b.htm

The Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village is not in Guguan. It is about 10 to 15 mins bus ride from Sun Moon Lake.

3rd Day

I understand that Alishan rail is temporarily not in service at the moment. Take the Chiayi County bus uphill to Alishan.

railway.forest.gov.tw/news1-main.aspx鈥?/a>

5th, 6th and 7th Day

Consider Yehliu %26gt; Jinguashih %26gt; Jiufen %26gt; Keelung Miaokou %26gt; Wufenpu %26gt; Raohe St Night Market

Consider CKS Memorial Hall %26gt; Martyr鈥檚 Shrine %26gt; National Palace Museum %26gt; Fishermen鈥檚 Wharf (Lover鈥檚 Bridge) %26gt; Danshui

Consider Longshan Temple %26gt; Wulai %26gt; Bitan Lake %26gt; Taipei 101 %26gt; Tonghua St / Linjiang St Night Market

Taipei-Taichung-Chiayi/Alishan-Hualien/Taroko-Taipei

May I check how do you travel from Alishan (Chiayi) to Taroko Gorge (Hualien)? What is the shortest route?

Travelling through the Central Mountains from Alishan (Chiayi) to Hualien enroute Sun Moon Lake via winding mountain road (highway no. 21) by hired cab can be costly and uncomfortable to some people (motion sickness). The mountain scenery is nice though. Alishan to Sun Moon Lake takes about 2 hrs car ride (estimated fare NT$3000~NT$4000). Sun Moon Lake to Hualien takes about 4~4.5 hrs car ride, excluding sightseeing time in Cingjing Farm, Hehuan Shan and Taroko Gorge along the way (estimated fare NT$5000~NT$6000).

You may want to consider a longer but more comfortable route via Chiayi and Taipei. The bus ride from Alishan downhill to Chiayi takes about 2.5 hrs. The free shuttle bus ride from Chiayi downtown to Chiayi HSR Station takes about 30 ~ 35 mins. HSR train ride to Taipei Main Station takes about 1.5 hrs. TRA train ride on Tze Chiang (Taroko) or Tze Chiang from Taipei to Hualien takes about 2~3 hrs.

Plan your itinerary to include one or two nights%26#39; stay along the route and try not to cover the Alishan to Hualien route within a day. It can be very tiring.

Hi all,

Find that your advise are useful.

Need your advise for the following:

How to travel from Chiayi to Kaoshiung? Distance and cost?

Simply board a railway train from Chiayi to Kaohsiung, a distance of approx. 108 km. Fare: NT$160~NT$248 (depending on type of train)

Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) train schedule: new.twtraffic.com.tw/TWRail_EN/index.aspx

TRA train 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

Thanks for your advice.

Being a great help to me for a 1st timer to Taiwan.

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