what to do and how to do it?

Ok, here%26#39;s the thing, I%26#39;ve 5 full days in Taiwan and I want to make the most of it. I know it%26#39;s short but that%26#39;s all I%26#39;ve got and here%26#39;s what I would like to see and do from the most to the less appealing:

1) Taroko Gorge and possible follow some of the trails there (Tunnel of Nine Turns Trail, Baiyang Trail, Shakadang Trail) so I was thinking about spending two days there and rent a car as I didnt find any tour that will cover all those things;

2) Taipei 101 and The National Palace Museum along with whatever I can see in Taipei;

3) take the Alishan Forest Railway;

4) see the scenic route I read about somewhere (probably here) located in the Kenting area;

5) possibly a brief detour to see Sun Moon Lake, half a day should be enough;

6) the Love River in Kaohsiung;

Also:

I cant read nor speak the language;

I would like to use the THSR as a main mean of transportation;

I%26#39;m a bit reluctant to rent car since I read that is difficult to cope with Taiwanese traffic.

So, at just 4 days from my departure I don%26#39;t have a clue about where I should spend my nights (in order to do as much as possible of the above) and how am I going to do those things. :)

Well, any suggestion of any kind is more than welcome. :)

Thanks,

Alex, the disorganized traveler

what to do and how to do it?

Impossible to do all 6, just concentrate on 1 and 2 during this trip.

Stay in Taipei close to the train station (or XMD area), and use the MRT to explore Taipei and the TRA to get to Hualien. Forget about the HSR as it only serves Taiwan%26#39;s western half.

Spend the first 2 days exploring Taipei; Dan-Shui, Beitou, Taipei 101, National Palace Museum, Shi-Lin night market, Long-Shan temple, CKS and SYS memorial. Leave for Hualien first thing in the morning on the third day, and spend days 3 and 4 exploring Taroko and everything else Hualien has to offer. On day 5, you can either return to Taipei for some last minute shopping, or visit Keelung, Jiufen, or Jiao-Si.

what to do and how to do it?

So you are basically saying to forget anything that%26#39;s on the Southern part of the island?

I can handle big cities but not for long, so I dont think I want to stay 3 days in Taipei, maybe I%26#39;ll try to squeeze in point 3 or 5 instead. Do you see that as manageable?

For Taroko my idea was to ask the company who provides the guided tours to go with them (by plane), do the tour, find a place to sleep in as close as possible to the park (any ideas?) and just use my return ticket on the following day after having completed a couple of the trails I mentioned. In this case, it is advisable to rent a car?

Thanks for your answer anyway... out of curiousity, how much time would you dedicate to see Taiwan, 2 weeks?

Ciao,

Alex

If you plan to squeeze in an additional destination, my suggestion is to do 6 because it takes only 1.5 hours to reach Kaohsiung by HSR. If you leave in the morning, you can spend the entire day before taking the late night HSR back to Taipei.

I don%26#39;t advise doing 3 and 4 because to truly appreciate both places, you really need to spend the night. Sunrise in Alishan and Kenting main street at night are what draws the visitors to both places, to do a quick day trip without spending the night is to miss half the fun.

I also advise against doing 5 because it takes a good 3.5 to 4 hours just to get to SML. For roundtrip you are looking at 8 hours. Even if you leave at 8 a.m., it will be noon by the time you arrived. Leaving you with only a few hours to enjoy the scenary before the sun goes down.

To completely explore Taiwan you need at least 3 weeks.

3 days in Taipei.

1 day in Keelung, Jiu-Fen.

2 days Hualien.

1 day Taitung.

1 day Green Island.

1 day Orchid island.

2 days Kenting and Ping-Tung.

2 days Kaohsiung.

1 days Tainan.

2 days Chia-Yi and Alishan.

2 days Peng-Hu.

2 days Kin-Men.

1 day Tai-Chung.

1 day SML.

And if you really want to explore each place in depth, and tour the smaller towns and villages as well, one can easily spend a month here.

Hi Alex,

Check out this thread for 5 days 4 nights itinerary as an idea for your trip - tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293913-i9546-k152鈥?/a>

As what Pcheng said, it is not worth trying to cover areas in the southern part of taiwan with such limited time. U do not give sufficient to enjoy each places. Typically for 5 days 4 nights, traveller will cover Taipei, Northeast of Taipei (Miao Kow NM, Yehliu, Jiufen etc) and Hualien.

U can make full use of MTR in Taipei, it brings u to most if not all the tourist places. Therefore it is very convenient.

So, call me stubborn... but should I want to add Alishan anyway, where would you stop for the night?

My idea was to stay at the Alishan House (going there straight from the airport) assuming that is located at the end of the railway, and then come back the day after with the first transportation down, hoping this will give me some time once I reach Taipei.

For what concerns Taroko, which is a good place to stop close enough to the Tunnel of Nine Turns, Baiyang Trail and Shakadang Trail?

If I can%26#39;t be close to those places, do you think renting a car for a day or two (once in Hualien) is a good idea?

Of course since I can%26#39;t read most of the website with timetables and so on I%26#39;m not sure this is going to be manageable, but anyhow this is what I think I want to do basing on your opinion and my stubborness:

Day 1) landing in Taoyuan, THSR to Chiayi, Alishan Forest Railway, spend the night at any place at the end of the Railway;

Day 2) trip back to Taipei;

Day 3) Taipei;

Day 4) from Taipei to Taroko Gorge either with a guided tour or possibly renting to wander around, spending the night somewhere near Taroko N.P.;

Day 5) Taroko N.P. and maybe some scenic areas on the coast, then back to Taipei;

Day 6) Taipei until afternoon, then fly out.

Tough but manageable if I can travel light or drop my bag at the Taipei hotel I think it can be done...

Ciao,

Alex

Alishan forest railroad only runs 1 to 2 trains per day. Depending on your arrival time, you may not be able to make it to Chia-Yi in time to catch the last train. Should you miss the train, take the bus instead, and take the forest train for your return trip back to Chia-Yi.

Don%26#39;t bother renting a car in Hualien, just book a taxi for the day. Save yourself the hassle of having to deal with finding parking spaces, crazy fellow drivers, and incomprehensible traffic signs.