Changhua→Fo Guang Shan

To take the High Speed Rail (HSR) from Changhua to Fo Guang Shan, HSR is comfortable and quick but pricey and has difficult taxi access. From the earliest departure at 06:25 to the latest at 23:07, there are up to 89 high-speed rail from Taichung to Zuoying each day. Assuming you depart from Changhua City, Changhua County and head to the nearest Taichung HSR station, a taxi ride would cost about NT$300 and take approximately 25 minutes. After arriving at the HSR station, the time to walk in, purchase tickets, and wait on the platform is about 20 minutes. Then, take a 45-68-minute (57 min on average) HSR ride from Taichung Station to Zuoying HSR Station. The ticket price is NT$790 per person, followed by a 10-minute walk to exit the station, wait for a ride at the taxi stand, and after a trip of about 31 minutes with a fare of NT$400, you will arrive at your destination at Fo Guang Shan (Dashu District, Kaohsiung City). The entire journey, including transfers, takes a total of 2 hours and 22 minutes. Assuming 4 people traveling together, the average cost per person for the HSR and transfers is NT$970. However, in Changhua County, there are only just over 1,600 licensed taxis. The taxi density is 3.7% of that in the Taipei/New Taipei metro area. In other words, hailing a taxi on the spot is 30 times more difficult than in a major city like Taipei. Even if you are lucky enough to hail a cab, a minority of taxi drivers in Changhua 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$870, and the journey takes 2 hours and 40 minutes. For long-distance travel, the HSR is indeed faster than a car by 18 minutes, but it comes with an extra transportation cost of about NT$400. 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 have a Taiwanese driver's license, are confident in your driving skills, and you do not need to rest in the car (since you will be the one driving), and most importantly, if you plan to make a same-day round trip, then iRent, which allows you to pick up and drop off a car on the street in the Changhua County area, is likely your cheapest option. After registering on the iRent app, you can rent a small car for NT$115-205 per hour with an additional charge of NT$3.2 per kilometer. The estimated cost from Changhua (Changhua City) to Fo Guang Shan is between NT$2550 and NT$3200 (the price difference depends on weekday/weekend rates, car model, and how soon you make the return trip after reaching your destination). Although the estimate already includes potential eTag tolls and a roadside parking fee of NT$40 per hour, you are responsible for any additional car insurance and potential traffic fines. Furthermore, iRent by Hotai only offers basic models like the Toyota Yaris, Prius C, and Vios—functional, yes, but far from the comfort you'd expect for anything beyond a grocery run. If your group has more than four people, larger 7-seater or 9-seater vehicles are not available. Moreover, the most common complaint about self-service car-sharing services is the vehicle's condition; you might open the door to find trash left by the previous user or unrepaired dents. Every rental feels like opening a blind box—sometimes fine, sometimes frustrating. Additionally, you might occasionally face issues like the previous user not returning the car on time for your reservation, or being unable to find a parking spot when you need to return it. This poses a significant risk for those in a hurry or traveling with other passengers. Finally, while picking up and dropping off the car on the street seems convenient, it is restricted to specific operational zones. The available parking spots may still be some distance away from your actual departure or arrival point, making it very inconvenient in rainy weather or when carrying luggage.

If you choose to take a taxi directly, in the Changhua County area, you can use apps to hail a cab from 55688 Taiwan Taxi, Uber, and Yoxi, and if you cannot hail a cab on the street, you can also consider calling taxi fleets, such as 彰化市Taxi計程車, 彰化市933計程車, 三民汽車行 to try to book a ride. Based on the meter, the estimated fare is between NT$3,750 and 4,500, but you could save up to NT$1,000 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 Changhua County, there are only about 1,640 licensed taxis. The taxi density is just 3.7% of that in the Taipei/New Taipei metro area, meaning it is 30 times more difficult to hail a cab on the spot compared to Taipei or New Taipei. Furthermore, some taxi drivers in Changhua County flat-out refuse to use the meter. Nearly 25% 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 Changhua to Fo Guang Shan in terms of both price and service quality.

For regular long-distance travelers, they find Tripool's price may be too low to be good. On the contrary, Tripool has a high standard for selecting drivers and vehicles. Besides dropping drivers who are low rated, we also send mystery shoppers regularly to test drivers' service. Tripool's drivers are not allowed to smoke in the cars, and they have to wear masks all the time during the pandemic. We don't compromise our service for a low cost. Tripool can provide excellent service with 70~80% of the market price because of AI algorithms. We use these to dispatch vehicles to increase efficiency. Tripool can use fewer drivers to serve more travelers, especially in high seasons like Chinese New Year, Christmas, and summer vacation. Fewer drivers mean better quality control. The price on tripool's website and app are dynamic. Generally, the earlier a ride is booked, the lower price it is. Most of all, all booking are 100% refundable as long as the cancelation request is made one day before noon, no matter what the reason is. If you are preparing to go from Changhua to Fo Guang Shan, it's better to reserve it now to secure the best price.

Tripool will send a receipt through the third-party system one week after the ride. If passengers need to claim reimbursement for travel expenses, there is a blank to fill with the company's title and tax ID. It's legal, and there is no extra 5% for the receipt. Once the receipt is received via email, it can be printed out for reimbursement or saved as a PDF.

Customers are always looking for a lower price with better service. There are Taiwan Taxi, Metro Taxi, Line Taxi, and Uber for short-range service in the Taiwan taxi market. There are CallCarBar, JoinMe, Car Plus, Easy Rent for long-range private car services. And for charter day tour services, there are KKDAY and Klook. Tripool focuses on long-distance point-to-point transportation and hourly ride service. No matter where you're from or where you'll go (of course, including Changhua to Fo Guang Shan), we guarantee there will be a vehicle available to take you there. Tripool uses AI algorithms to dispatch hundreds of cars around the island to increase efficiency and lower the price by 20~30%. Travelers can easily find that tripool is the best choice for private car service.

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.

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.