Hotel Initial→Chinshan Hotel

To take the High Speed Rail (HSR) from Hotel Initial to Chinshan Hotel, HSR is expensive, slow, and has difficult taxi access. From the earliest departure at 05:50 to the latest at 22:55, there are up to 60 high-speed rail from Zuoying to Chiayi each day. Assuming you depart from Hotel Initial (Wandan Township, Pingtung County) and head to the nearest Zuoying HSR station, a taxi ride would cost about NT$800 and take approximately 40 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 30-35-minute (31 min on average) HSR ride from Zuoying Station to Chiayi HSR Station. The ticket price is NT$410 per person, followed by a 5-minute walk to exit the station, wait for a ride at the taxi stand, and after a trip of about 142 minutes with a fare of NT$2,600, you will arrive at your destination at Chinshan Hotel (Alishan Township, Chiayi County). The entire journey, including transfers, takes a total of 3 hours and 58 minutes. Assuming 4 people traveling together, the average cost per person for the HSR and transfers is NT$1,260. However, in Pingtung County, there are only just over 400 licensed taxis. The taxi density is 0.3% of that in the Taipei/New Taipei metro area. In other words, hailing a taxi on the spot is 300 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 Pingtung 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$1,220, and the journey takes 3 hours and 34 minutes. Choosing the HSR over a private charter will not only cost each person at least an extra NT$40 in fares but also waste an additional 24 minutes on transfers and waiting. Book with Tripool now! 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 Hotel Initial. 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 Chinshan Hotel, then a direct Tripool private car is your best option.

If you choose to take a taxi directly, in the Pingtung County area, you can use apps to hail a cab from 55688 Taiwan Taxi and Yoxi. Based on the meter, the estimated fare is between NT$3,810 and 4,600. However, in the whole Pingtung County, there are only about 370 licensed taxis. The taxi density is just 0.3% of that in the Taipei/New Taipei metro area, meaning it is 300 times more difficult to hail a cab on the spot compared to Taipei or New Taipei. If you plan to make a return trip on the same or next day, be aware that taxis in Alishan Township, Chiayi County are also not easy to find. It is recommended to plan ahead. Furthermore, some taxi drivers in Pingtung County flat-out refuse to use the meter. Nearly 29% 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. Although a metered taxi from central Hotel Initial to central Chinshan Hotel might be cheaper, if your group has five people or more, taking two taxis will be more expensive; booking a 9-seater van with Tripool could save you up to NT$1,300. Considering all factors, Tripool is your best choice for traveling from Hotel Initial to Chinshan Hotel in terms of both price and service quality.

Tripool provides private day tours and charter services all around the island, including Chinshan Hotel and Hotel Initial. Tourists are welcome to choose from point-to-point transportation service to 2~12 hours private trip service. The price is 100% transparent without any hidden fee. What you see on the website/app is the actual price. There is no need to email us or even make a phone call to verify. The full-day service price may not be lower than other providers. But if you only need a few hours or just a one-way transfer service, we can guarantee that our price is the most competitive in the market and tripool is the best choice. We offer 5-seater sedans, SUVs, and 9-seater vans. If your group is more than 9, we can arrange a bigger bus for you.

Tripool only offers private car service, and there is no ride-sharing or carpooling service for now. Except for our driver, there will be no other stranger in the vehicle with you. During the pandemic, our drivers put extra effort into clearing and disinfection.

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.

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 Hotel Initial to Chinshan Hotel, it's better to reserve it now to secure the best price.

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.