11 Days in Taiwan

[amachi]

I am going to Taiwan this coming mid-October, and haven't really decided on where to visit, where to stay and which routes to take in Taiwan. We are going in a group of 10, 6 girls and 4 guys. We would like to visit places with nice scenery in Taiwan county and will do lots of shopping for the last 2-3 days in Taipei.

I have come out with a list of places of interest that we might wanna visit. This list is gonna be trimmed down btw. There is no way we can visit all in 11 days, even if we can, we plan not to. We don't want to rush too much

So, below is the list:
City To visit:
1. Taipei
- National Museum
- Taipei Zoo
- Shi Meng Ting
- Taipei 101
- Department Store
- Hot SPring (Yang Ming Sheng)
- Night Club
- Mou Kong
- DanShou & Fisherman Rock
- Jacky Wu's Restaurant
- Tau young (see small city)

2. KaoShiong
- Fu Guan Shan
- Ai he
- Harbour City
- Cheng Ching hu
- mong shi tai

3. Kenting (beach)
4. Green Island
5. Hoa Lien
6. Alishan

Is there any more places that you might want to recommend? I will decide on which places to go first and later decide on the timing, places to stay as well as routes to take. If any bros here can give suggestions will be much appreciated

 

[1megapixel]

Shi Da Night Market & Shi Lin Night Market! MUST GO!!!!
i jus came back last week xD i suggest u guys stay at ximending area when stayin in taipei, and a photography shop districts opposite ximending area.. digital, film, SLR or RF all have! :thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[amachi]

Shi Da Night Market & Shi Lin Night Market! MUST GO!!!!
i jus came back last week xD i suggest u guys stay at ximending area when stayin in taipei, and a photography shop districts opposite ximending area.. digital, film, SLR or RF all have! :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Thanks for the suggestion

I think I am all set for Taipei area, it's the suburb area that kinda confused me. Still not sure which places to go, which routes to take :sweat:

Any area that is considered MUST-GO in taiwan?

 

[Shen siung]

I never been Taiwan.
But from travel photos, most people likes to visit

1. Tai Lu Ge (太鲁&#38401 National park?
2. Jiu fen (九&#20221 / Shi Fen (十&#20221

 

[oceantoofar]

I just came back from taiwan a few mths back.... some of the nice places good for photography are as follows:

1. Taipei - Jiu Fen is rather scenic, it is on a hill top and u can have a panoramic view of the sea and their old houses. The food stalls there are interesting and there are some good food there . You can also go to Danshui Ma Tou .... pretty scenic view of the harbour and great for sunset shots!

2. Hualien - Taroko Gorge, great for landscape photograhy, and best to take with you your ND110 and tripod. Great for long exposure shots.

3. Nantou - Qing Jing (The scenery there is best! Altho a bit difficult to go, but Qing Jing in the middle of a moutain and is simply beautiful. It has a nickname Taiwan's Swiss... the architecture of the minsu there are very European, some look like castles... and a day trip to the top of the mountain at 5am to catch a very beautiful sunrise... the whole place is very cool and mountain sceneries are gorgeous... can also see sea of clouds.... and at night, the whole sky is filled with stars!

4. Alishan - can give this a miss at the moment as their scenic mountain train is not in service after the typhoon and alot of their structures are ruined by the typhoon and are in the midst of rebuilding.. so the road there is quite dangerous... we had a driver to send us up to Alishan and the mountain roads are mostly under renovation and the rocks look like their might fall from the slopes ... haha so not that safe in my opinion.

 

[amachi]

We've come out with below itinerary for our trip to Taiwan

What do you think of the itineraries? Anything I should add, edit? Anything I miss? Can recommend hotels/transports?

Day 0 - 16th October 2010
Singapore - KL
- Assemble @ the airport for departure on Saturday.
- Flight to KL is @ 14:05 hrs
- Take a rest or roaming around for 1 night. Stay @ Tune hotel and flight to Taiwan on the next day

Day 1 - 17th October 2010 (KL - Taiwan/Taipei - Kaoshiong)
KL - Taiwan
- Take flight @ 9:50 hrs @ LCC terminal
- Arriving @ 14:50 hrs : Terminal 2 Taoyuan International Airport
- 14:50 hrs - 17:00 hrs : Bus to train station ~ 30 mins
Train to Kaohshiong ~ 1 hr
bus/taxi to hotel ~ 30 mins
- 17:00 hrs onwards:
Ai He
Mong Shi Tai (Dream Mall)


Day 2 - 18th October 2010 (Kaohsiong)
- 07:00 hrs : Wake up early morning to go to Fo Guan Shan
- 12:00 hrs : Lunch vegetarian
- 13:00 hrs onwards:
Night Market.
Dessert

Day 3 - 19th October (Kaohsiong - Kenting)
- After breakfast checkout from Kaohsiog@ around: 12:00 hrs:
Take bus no. 88 ~ 2.5 hrs around 350 NT
HSR (High Speed Rail) ~ 90 mins
- 13:00 - 14:00 hrs : Arrive at Kenting - Hotel (Villa)
- 14:00 hrs onwards : Go to beach, pub, night market etc.

Day 4 - 20th October (Kenting - Green Island)
- Breakfast @ Kenting, photo taking session
- Checkout hotel around 12:00 AM
- Prepare to go to Green Island
- Train to Thai Tung ~ 2hrs
- Ferry to Green Island ~ 2 hrs
- 17:00 hrs : Arrive @ Green Island
- 18:00 hrs : Check in hotel
- 18:00 hrs onwards free and easy

Day 5 - 21st October (Green Island to HuaLien)
- 04:00 hrs : Wake up to see sunrise and go to hotspring (optional)
- After lunch, take bus tour island
- Free and easy
- 22:00 hrs : take ferry to Thai Tung ~ 2 hrs
HSR/train to Hualien ~ 5 hrs

Day 6 - 22nd October (HuaLien)
- Early morning arrival from ThaiTung & HuaLien Night (Hotel)
- After check in hotel, go to see following attraction:
Taroko National Park
Ocean Park
Whale & Dolphin watching
Cave of Eight Immortal

Day 7 - 23rd October (HuaLien)
- HuaLien to TaiCung
- Check in hotel
- then go to Nan Thou (Sun Moon Lake)
- After sight seing go back to TaiCung for rest
- Free and easy for night

Day 8 to Day 10 - 24th October to 26th October (HuaLien - Taipei)
- Train to Taipei
- Check in to hotel
- Highlight:
Taipei 101
National Museum
Theme Park
Shi Meng Ting
Yang Ming Sheng
MOS, clubbing etc

Day 11 - 27th October (Taiwan - KL)
- Take flight @ 15:40 hrs to KL (LCC) terminal
- Arriving @ 20:50 hrs

Day 12 28th October (KL - SIN)
- Take flight @ 06:25 hrs from KL to SIN
- Arriving @ 07:15 hrs

 

[tanwji87]

you are taking train or HSR to kaohsiung? if train from taoyuan to kaohsiung i think need at least 3hrs leh.. HSR to Zuoying station should be bout 1hr+.. pls correct me if i'm wrong..

and i dont tink there is HSR from Zuoying onwards to Kenting.. Zuoying is the last station.. perhaps u hv to take bus..

near taipei 101 there is Jay Chou's Mr. J Italian restaurant at the Taipei Medical University, u may wanna go if u are interested.. juz few bus stops away or bout 20mins walk..

some MUST-GO places i would recommend is
- YehLiu (野&#26611... nice place to take photos.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yehliu
- JiuFen (九&#20998
- and the several night markets (Shilin NM, RaoHe NM, LiuHe NM etc)

 

[timwongek]

Hi there!

Think your itinary maybe a little packed. It took me 3 days 2 nights to see some of the views in Kenting (self driven but still couldn't manage to see everything worth seeing) and another 3 days 2 nights in Hualien (Taroko Gorge offers 5 different scenic tracks. You will probably be able to rush through 3 tracks in 1 day if you are a fast walker. The county offers a beautiful coastal route and hill route which will take another day to complete. take a local day tour for both).

Taipei will probably take about the same if this is the first time you are there. Yang Ming Shan will take you one day if you really trek and visit some of the more scenic sites. Other places worth seeing are Jiu Fen (1 day) + Miao Kou Night Market (Keelung), Dan Shui/fisherman's Wharf + Night Market, Wu Fen Pu Commercial Area where you can find factory outlets selling tons of cheap locally produced clothing (just round the corner to RaoHe Night Market).

Sun Moon Lake is a very big lake with a lot of sights to see. I took another 2 nights there which was insufficient (included the Aborigine Park). You may also want to take a day to visit the Aborigine Cultural Park just a cable car ride away.

There's only bus or taxi to Kenting from Zuoying. Go for the taxi if you can manage to make up groups of 4. If not, the driver will try to wait for more travellers to join you to make his trip worth his while. Can't remember the exact fare but it was inexpensive.

 

[amachi]

you are taking train or HSR to kaohsiung? if train from taoyuan to kaohsiung i think need at least 3hrs leh.. HSR to Zuoying station should be bout 1hr+.. pls correct me if i'm wrong..

and i dont tink there is HSR from Zuoying onwards to Kenting.. Zuoying is the last station.. perhaps u hv to take bus..

near taipei 101 there is Jay Chou's Mr. J Italian restaurant at the Taipei Medical University, u may wanna go if u are interested.. juz few bus stops away or bout 20mins walk..

some MUST-GO places i would recommend is
- YehLiu (野&#26611... nice place to take photos.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yehliu
- JiuFen (九&#20998
- and the several night markets (Shilin NM, RaoHe NM, LiuHe NM etc)

HSR from Taoyuan to Kaohsiung takes about 3 hours? Wow.. I don't know that. Need to check again

I read somewhere that there is a newly opened HSR station at Kenting. I guess we'll be taking HSR to Kenting then. Faster anyway huehehe..

Noted about YehLiu. Jiufen is already part of our itinerary actually. It's around Taiper isn't it?

 

[amachi]

Hi there!

Think your itinary maybe a little packed. It took me 3 days 2 nights to see some of the views in Kenting (self driven but still couldn't manage to see everything worth seeing) and another 3 days 2 nights in Hualien (Taroko Gorge offers 5 different scenic tracks. You will probably be able to rush through 3 tracks in 1 day if you are a fast walker. The county offers a beautiful coastal route and hill route which will take another day to complete. take a local day tour for both).

Taipei will probably take about the same if this is the first time you are there. Yang Ming Shan will take you one day if you really trek and visit some of the more scenic sites. Other places worth seeing are Jiu Fen (1 day) + Miao Kou Night Market (Keelung), Dan Shui/fisherman's Wharf + Night Market, Wu Fen Pu Commercial Area where you can find factory outlets selling tons of cheap locally produced clothing (just round the corner to RaoHe Night Market).

Sun Moon Lake is a very big lake with a lot of sights to see. I took another 2 nights there which was insufficient (included the Aborigine Park). You may also want to take a day to visit the Aborigine Cultural Park just a cable car ride away.

There's only bus or taxi to Kenting from Zuoying. Go for the taxi if you can manage to make up groups of 4. If not, the driver will try to wait for more travellers to join you to make his trip worth his while. Can't remember the exact fare but it was inexpensive.

Hm, do you think we should spend more time in Kenting? If we have to spend more time in Kenting, meaning our time at Green Island should be cut off or we don't go at all. Has anyone been to Green Island before? Worth visiting? It's a bit troublesome to reach there actually haha..

Noted about local day tour at Hualien. With limited time, I guess we won't be exploring the whole area. Which are of Hualien is considered MUST-GO one?

Hm, Taipei area I think we should be fine. It's the county areas which are very hard to plan.

 

[timwongek]

Hualien is a must visit place in Taiwan. Taroko Gorge sure should go. Once in the hills, think you will have no choice but to spend the day there. Will have to come out before sun down as there are no street lights and the route is steep and winding. Dangerous for the bus drivers. You can charter a mini-van with guide for this trip. Check with your hotel or min-su. The day trip to the coastal and hill route will also definitely take 1 day.

My advise will be to choose either Green Island or Kenting. Kenting will be great if you can drive (Remember to apply for an international driving license from Automobile Association of Singapore). Save the other destination for the next trip. I have not been to Green Island nor Penghu yet. Will probably go on my next trip.

 

[amachi]

Noted

BTW, may I know is there a direct route to get to Taichung from Hualien?

 

[timwongek]

Understand that there is a road through the central mountain range. My friends took a chartered 8 hrs tour to get from Hualien to Ching Jing via that road. Of course they stopped at various points on the route to take in the beautiful scenary. Be prepared to pay up to S$200 per person for this trip and the long journey (may have been that expensive for us then as it was snowing in the mountain when we were there in winter).

The cheaper and faster option will be to take a 3 hr train ride from Hualien back to Taipei and bullet train to Tai Chung. Can't be more than 4hrs if you are lucky. http://www.thsrc.com.tw/en/ Refer to the website for information. Btw, you can get your Min-su or hotel to help you book train tickets 1 day in advance so that your schedule will work better. Only citizens can book HSR or train tickets online.

 

[Tyrov]

If you want to meet some of the local photogs in Kaohsiung and find about good places to shoot go to Camera Coffee. It's a tiny little coffee shop in downtown KHH. David, the owner, is very friendly.

Camera Coffee
Address
高市新興區民權街33號 TEL: (07)222-1313 FAX: (07)226-6776 統一編號:08937065

Also the Kaohsiung Flickr group usually has a monthly get together. Another great source for photo ops.

My Taiwan Collection.

Taiwan HSR

For KHH to Kenting you can rent a taxi fairly cheap. Go to the KHH train station downtown to get one.

 

[calkel20]

HSR from Taoyuan to Kaohsiung takes about 3 hours? Wow.. I don't know that. Need to check again

I read somewhere that there is a newly opened HSR station at Kenting. I guess we'll be taking HSR to Kenting then. Faster anyway huehehe..

Noted about YehLiu. Jiufen is already part of our itinerary actually. It's around Taiper isn't it?

台铁,which is the Taiwan Railway takes quite a long time(according to my mobile application:At least 4 hr):sweatsm: from Taoyuan to Kaoshiung. The HSR aka High Speed Rail or 高铁, from Taoyuan to Zuoying should takes you around 1.5hr.
That's the end of the High Speed Rail track, haven't heard of anyone going further down that track to Kenting国家公园.
If you read enough from here, i am sure there are many which advise you to catch the transport from Zuoying to Kenting at the HSR station.

It is pretty easy to get to Jiufen and Jinguashi from Rueifang(瑞芳） railway station. Check the railway timetable to get your group to Rueifang. Then you can ask the tourism office at the railway station or follow where the crowd heads off to. In fact Rueifang is the crossroad that allows you to go to the above mentioned or hop to another track to board the train to shihfen(十&#20998 and Pingxi. This is the place famed the mass release of sky lanterns during the 元宵节 and the waterfalls, not forgetting the railway track runs through the town itself. Only bustling with life during the weekends. Weekdays, i presumed it's just too quiet.

Hope such information helps. Hualien can be really enjoyable, provided that the big group can afford for some serious photography. :bsmilie:

 

[amachi]

Phew.. Thanks guys for all responses. It's pretty hectic to plan for taiwan trip haha.. In the end, we come up with less-packed itinerary. The high level itinerary is something like this:

Day 1 - 2 (Kao shiong) 17th, 18th
Day 3 - 5 (Kenting) 19th, 20th, 21st
Day 6 - 7 (Hualien) 22nd, 23rd
Day 8 - 11 (taipei) 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th

Few questions:
1. Day 8 - 11, if we have time, we will go for a round-trip to Sun Moon Lake. Worth it? Or better stay a night there?
2. From Kenting to Hualien, I believe the route is as below? Can someone help me confirm this? It's quite a long journey, should we travel during the day or during the night?
- Kenting > Fangliao Railway Station (by Kenting Express buses, Kaohsiung buses 855, 856, Chungnan Buses, Kuo Kuang buses –- about 1.25 hrs)
- Fangliao Railway Station > Taitung Railway Station (by TRA train -- about 1.5 hrs)
- Taitung Railway Station > Hualien Railway Station (by TRA train -- about 2 to 3.5 hrs)

I guess if I break down my questions, it'll be easier to answer haha.

 

[Tyrov]

I don't know if you qualify.

Taiwan Rail Pass
If you intend to spend some time (let’s say a week or two) traveling to different parts of Taiwan, buying a Taiwan Rail Pass (TR Pass) is a great option. This model, offering a single ticket that allows you to take different types of train to all destinations as often as you like over a specified period, has been very successful, especially popular with young travelers in many countries around the globe. The TR Pass is issued by the Taiwan Railway Administration (台灣鐵路管理&#23616 in cooperation with the National Youth Commission (青年輔導委員&#26371 as part of the commission’s efforts to promote youth travel in Taiwan.

Only holders of a foreign passport and an international student card are eligible for purchasing the pass, and you need to show both documents, along with the pass when boarding a train. You can purchase the pass at all major railway stations in Taiwan.

The TR Pass allows you to use different types of train, but only those of the slower variety that stop at most of the smaller stations along the way. These slower services include the Fusing (復&#33288, Dianche (電&#36554, and Pukuai (普&#24555 trains but not the faster Juguang (莒&#20809 and Zihciang (自&#24375 trains, and also not the trains of the brand-new Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR).

There are three types of tickets available: TR PASS 10 (valid for 10 days – from the day of first use – and costing NT$1,098), TR PASS 20 (valid for 20 days and costing NT$1,647), and TR PASS 30 (valid for 30 days and costing NT$2,196).
For more info on the TR PASS, visit www.youthtravel.tw/youthtravel/ (click on “English” and then on “TR PASS&#8221.


More current? info
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2010/07/07/263602/TRA-to.htm

 

[amachi]

I don't know if you qualify.

Taiwan Rail Pass
If you intend to spend some time (let’s say a week or two) traveling to different parts of Taiwan, buying a Taiwan Rail Pass (TR Pass) is a great option. This model, offering a single ticket that allows you to take different types of train to all destinations as often as you like over a specified period, has been very successful, especially popular with young travelers in many countries around the globe. The TR Pass is issued by the Taiwan Railway Administration (台灣鐵路管理&#23616 in cooperation with the National Youth Commission (青年輔導委員&#26371 as part of the commission’s efforts to promote youth travel in Taiwan.

Only holders of a foreign passport and an international student card are eligible for purchasing the pass, and you need to show both documents, along with the pass when boarding a train. You can purchase the pass at all major railway stations in Taiwan.

The TR Pass allows you to use different types of train, but only those of the slower variety that stop at most of the smaller stations along the way. These slower services include the Fusing (復&#33288, Dianche (電&#36554, and Pukuai (普&#24555 trains but not the faster Juguang (莒&#20809 and Zihciang (自&#24375 trains, and also not the trains of the brand-new Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR).

There are three types of tickets available: TR PASS 10 (valid for 10 days – from the day of first use – and costing NT$1,098), TR PASS 20 (valid for 20 days and costing NT$1,647), and TR PASS 30 (valid for 30 days and costing NT$2,196).
For more info on the TR PASS, visit www.youthtravel.tw/youthtravel/ (click on “English” and then on “TR PASS”).


More current? info
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2010/07/07/263602/TRA-to.htm

It's only for students eh? Seems like we are not qualified for this though, too bad.

 

[amachi]

Anyone can help with my questions?

Few questions:
1. Day 8 - 11, if we have time, we will go for a round-trip to Sun Moon Lake. Worth it? Or better stay a night there?
2. From Kenting to Hualien, I believe the route is as below? Can someone help me confirm this? It's quite a long journey, should we travel during the day or during the night?
- Kenting > Fangliao Railway Station (by Kenting Express buses, Kaohsiung buses 855, 856, Chungnan Buses, Kuo Kuang buses –- about 1.25 hrs)
- Fangliao Railway Station > Taitung Railway Station (by TRA train -- about 1.5 hrs)
- Taitung Railway Station > Hualien Railway Station (by TRA train -- about 2 to 3.5 hrs)
3. Is it worth staying 2 nights in Kaoshiong? Otherwise, we might want to scrap one night and spend that extra night somewhere else.
4. Can anyone recommend hotels for each of those areas? We are travelling in a group of 10. For Taipei, we might get East Dragon or TS Hotel, but have no idea yet for other areas.
5. Any recommended driver/private van to take in Kenting and Hualien area?

 

[Tyrov]

I like Kaohsiung. But I am biased as I lived there lol. Personally I wouldn't do 3 nights in Kenting as it is a day trip from Kaohsiung. You can also go to Xiao Liuqiu 小琉球. It's a small island near KHH. Taiwan's only coral island I guess and a good place for snorkeling. I would do Kenting before KHH and then train it from KHH to Hualien. Again my opinion.