Hsinchu City→Howard Lake Resort Shihmen Dam

It is not recommended to take the High Speed Rail (HSR) from central Hsinchu City to Howard Lake Resort Shihmen Dam. HSR is expensive, slow, and involves transfer hassles. Although there can be up to 63 trains from Hsinchu to Taoyuan a day, running from the first at 06:36 to the last at 23:27, once service ends for the night until early morning, alternative transportation is still required. Assuming you depart from East District, Hsinchu City and head to the nearest Hsinchu HSR station, a taxi ride would cost about NT$400 and take approximately 30 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 10-12-minute (11 min on average) HSR ride from Hsinchu Station to Taoyuan HSR Station. The ticket price is NT$130 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 40 minutes with a fare of NT$700, you will arrive at your destination at Howard Lake Resort Shihmen Dam (Longtan District, Taoyuan City). The entire journey, including transfers, takes a total of 1 hour and 37 minutes. Assuming one person traveling alone, the total transportation cost is NT$1,230. In contrast, if you use Tripool for a door-to-door private car service, it will only cost NT$1,010, and the journey takes 43 minutes. Choosing the HSR over a private charter will not only cost at least an extra NT$220 in fares but also waste an additional 54 minutes on transfers and waiting. Book with Tripool now!

If you have a Taiwanese driver's license, are confident in your driving skills, and you need absolute flexibility in your schedule, 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 Hsinchu City 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 Hsinchu City (East District) to Howard Lake Resort Shihmen Dam is between NT$750 and NT$1200 (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 Hsinchu City area, you can use apps to hail a cab from 55688 Taiwan Taxi, Uber, Line Go, Yoxi, etc., and if you cannot hail a cab on the street, you can also consider calling taxi fleets, such as 順達計程車, 紅帥衛星車隊, 皇家789計程車 to try to book a ride. Based on the meter, the estimated fare is between NT$1,020 and 1,200, which is not significantly different from Tripool. By comparison, Tripool offers a fixed, transparent fare that will not change due to traffic or detours. Considering all factors, Tripool is your best choice for traveling from Hsinchu City to Howard Lake Resort Shihmen Dam 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 Hsinchu City to Howard Lake Resort Shihmen Dam, it's better to reserve it now to secure the best price.

There are many gypsy cabs or illegal taxis in Line and Facebook groups. Their fares are cheap but with many risks. If the cabs are pulled over by polices, passengers cannot continue the trip. If there is an accident, none of the insurance companies will settle a claim. Worst of all, illegal drivers may conduct crimes without any trace. Don't put your life at risk for just saving a few bucks. On the other hand, tripool contracts with legal drivers without any criminal record. All vehicles provide up to $5 million in insurance. The easiest way to distinguish a legal vehicle is the car plate number. Unless the initial character of the car plate number is either T or R, the car is 100% illegal for taxi service.

Tripool provides private day tours and charter services all around the island, including Howard Lake Resort Shihmen Dam and Hsinchu City. 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.

If you are looking for a private car or a taxi from Hsinchu City to Howard Lake Resort Shihmen Dam, input the pick-up and drop-off locations (or addresses) on our website. You will get an actual quote in just three seconds. Follow the yellow buttons, fill up your travel information, and choose the payment methods. Once you get the order ID, you will get an SMS and a confirmation email, and your order is all set. We will provide the driver's contact and the car information one day before the ride at 8 PM. We will fulfill your reservation 100%, guaranteeing that our driver will show up. It's recommended to finish the booking one day before noon. Tripool still accepts orders by 6 PM if you have an urgent request, and the latest order can come in by four hours in advance.

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.