Alishan House→Four Points By Sheraton Linkou

To take the High Speed Rail (HSR) from Alishan House to Four Points By Sheraton Linkou, HSR is quick but pricey and has difficult taxi access. From the earliest departure at 06:21 to the latest at 22:32, there are up to 59 high-speed rail from Chiayi to Taipei each day. Assuming you depart from Alishan House (Alishan Township, Chiayi County) and head to the nearest Chiayi HSR station, a taxi ride would cost about NT$2,600 and take approximately 142 minutes. After arriving at the HSR station, the time to walk in, purchase tickets, and wait on the platform is about 15 minutes. Then, take a 67-101-minute (89 min on average) HSR ride from Chiayi Station to Taipei HSR Station. The ticket price is NT$1,080 per person, followed by a 15-minute walk to exit the station, wait for a ride at the taxi stand, and after a trip of about 36 minutes with a fare of NT$500, you will arrive at your destination at Four Points By Sheraton Linkou (Linkou District, New Taipei City). The entire journey, including transfers, takes a total of 4 hours and 57 minutes. Assuming 4 people traveling together, the average cost per person for the HSR and transfers is NT$1,860. However, in Chiayi County, there are only just over 300 licensed taxis. The taxi density is 0.4% of that in the Taipei/New Taipei metro area. In other words, hailing a taxi on the spot is 200 times more difficult than in a major city like Taipei, and since Alishan House is not located in a downtown area, it may be impossible to find a taxi at all. Even if you are lucky enough to hail a cab, a minority of taxi drivers in Chiayi County may not use the meter, and might overcharge or take detours, especially with passengers who appear to be from out of town. In contrast, if you use Tripool for a door-to-door private car service, the average cost per person is about NT$1,700, and the journey takes 5 hours and 9 minutes. For long-distance travel, the HSR is indeed faster than a car by 12 minutes, but it comes with an extra transportation cost of about NT$640. Therefore, for those who are not in a major hurry, booking with Tripool is the more cost-effective option. If you are traveling in a group of three or less, you can also consider Tripool's carpooling service to save up to an additional 50% on transportation costs.

If you are considering renting a car, unfortunately, there are likely no rental companies in the vicinity of Alishan House. If you do not want to spend extra time traveling to a nearby city to rent a car, nor spend a large sum of money on a taxi to Four Points By Sheraton Linkou, then a direct Tripool private car is your best option.

If you choose to take a taxi directly, in the Chiayi County area, you can use apps to hail a cab from 55688 Taiwan Taxi. Based on the meter, the estimated fare is between NT$6,235 and 9,400, but you could save up to NT$2,600 by booking with Tripool instead. But if you cannot book in advance or prefer to hail a cab on the spot, be aware that in the whole Chiayi County, there are only about 330 licensed taxis. The taxi density is just 0.4% of that in the Taipei/New Taipei metro area, meaning it is 200 times more difficult to hail a cab on the spot compared to Taipei or New Taipei. Furthermore, some taxi drivers in Chiayi County flat-out refuse to use the meter. Nearly 47% of them will try to negotiate the fare on the spot—often asking far above the standard rate. If you’re not familiar with local pricing, you are an easy target. To avoid getting ripped off, it is strongly advised to book online in advance. Considering all factors, Tripool is your best choice for traveling from Alishan House to Four Points By Sheraton Linkou in terms of both price and service quality.

Among these options, Uber is the only one with broad and reliable coverage in Taiwan, available in major cities such as Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung. Grab does not operate in Taiwan. Didi previously entered the market but has since exited. Bolt has just launched in Taiwan and is currently limited to Taipei. Lyft is not available in Taiwan. If you are choosing among these five, Uber is by far the most practical and widely used option in Taiwan. However, for longer intercity transfers, airport rides, or day trips, tripool is often a better choice—offering transparent pricing, professional drivers, and coverage across Taiwan.

According to the law in Taiwan, all passengers have to fasten seat belts, no matter what ages they are. For a baby below 4-year-old or a young child who cannot comfortably be on the seat with a seat belt, it is necessary to use a car seat or a safety booster. There is a check box for renting a baby car seat or a child safety booster on the check-out page. Each rental fee is NT$300. If you need multiple car seats/boosters or you need an infant car seat, please check with our online customer service first. Tripool encourages parents to bring their car seats and boosters, and, of course, it is free of charge.

Fewer travelers book hotels through traditional travel agents, and most go through OTAs (online travel agents). It is easy to filter areas, prices, types of rooms, special needs on OTAs' websites. Still, customers can also get a 20~40% discount compared to hotels' official websites. The most popular OTAs in Taiwan are Booking.com, Agoda.com, Hotels.com, Expedia.com, and Trip.com. In general, travelers can make reservations on websites or apps. Once finishing the online payment, everything is set, and there is not necessary to double-check the reservation by phone. However, some hotels may oversell their rooms on multiple platforms. To avoid being rejected by hotels once you arrive, choose high-rated hotels with more reviews online or make a phone call to hotels to confirm again. For B&Bs (also called minsus), locals prefer to book rooms through B&Bs' websites or contact the hosts directly. Sometimes, the price is better than OTAs. The downside is that their websites don't accept foreign credit cards or guests have to do wire transfers. If you want to save all these troubles and find decent B&Bs, Airbnb and AsiaYo (a local brand) are the best alternatives.

Whether going from Alishan House to Four Points By Sheraton Linkou or to anywhere in Taiwan, tripool can be your driver for long-distance traveling. You can reserve a ride online for all kinds of purposes, such as a private day trip, attending a wedding, checking out from a hospital, going hiking/camping, moving, a business trip, picking up your pet, or airport transfer. As long as your reservation is made one day before by 6 pm, tripool guarantees a car for you tomorrow. If you need a receipt for a business trip, you can provide your company's title and tax ID on the checkout page. We will send the receipt which is accepted by the government via email within a week.

In common, a 9-seater van can accommodate eight passengers with six 30" luggage. Suppose there are fewer passengers in the car. In that case, our driver can fold down the rear seats. There will be more space for oversized objects, such as surfboards, golf clubs, instruments, foldable bikes, desktop computers, etc. As long as these objects won't block the driver's sight and do no damage to the car body, passengers can put as many luggage and items as they like. But extra charge may be needed. You can find the details in the FAQ section. We suggest measuring the size, telling how many items to our online service first, and making the order afterward.