Hualien→The tree house 樹屋旅店

To take the High Speed Rail (HSR) from Hualien to The tree house 樹屋旅店, HSR is quick but pricey and has difficult taxi access. From the earliest departure at 06:15 to the latest at 22:05, there are up to 87 high-speed rail from Nangang to Zuoying each day. Assuming you depart from Hualien City, Hualien County and head to the nearest Nangang HSR station, a taxi ride would cost about NT$5,200 and take approximately 225 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 105-145-minute (125 min on average) HSR ride from Nangang Station to Zuoying HSR Station. The ticket price is NT$1,530 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 24 minutes with a fare of NT$300, you will arrive at your destination at The tree house 樹屋旅店 (Qianjin District, Kaohsiung City). The entire journey, including transfers, takes a total of 6 hours and 43 minutes. Assuming 2 people traveling together, the average cost per person for the HSR and transfers is NT$4,280. However, in Hualien County, there are only just over 1,000 licensed taxis. The taxi density is 0.5% 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. Even if you are lucky enough to hail a cab, a minority of taxi drivers in Hualien 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$4,190, and the journey takes 7 hours and 50 minutes. For long-distance travel, the HSR is indeed faster than a car by 67 minutes, but it comes with an extra transportation cost of about NT$180. Therefore, for those who are not in a major hurry, you may consider a cheaper and door-to-door private transfer option, like Tripool. If you are traveling alone, you can also consider Tripool's carpooling service to save up to an additional 50% on transportation costs.

If you have a driver's license, do not mind driving yourself, and you do not need to use the travel time to rest in the car, there are about 20 rental car companies, such as 向上租賃, 花蓮兆豐租車, 全興小客車租賃, available in the Hualien City, Hualien County area. Typically, car rentals are billed by the day. A small sedan like a Toyota Corolla or Ford Fiesta costs around NT$1500 per day, while a 9-seater van like a Hyundai Staria or Volkswagen Caravelle starts at NT$4500 per day. Extra costs such as fuel (approx. NT$3/km), eTag tolls (approx. NT$1/km), roadside parking (approx. NT$40/hour), insurance, and potential fines are not included. Most rental agreements specify a daily mileage limit of 200-400 km, with surcharges ranging from NT$100 to NT$2,000 for exceeding it. Since the vast majority of rental companies do not offer one-way rentals, assuming you make a same-day round trip between Hualien (Hualien City) and The tree house 樹屋旅店, the estimated cost for a sedan is NT$4500 or NT$7500 for a 9-seater van. This is, of course, cheaper than taking a taxi. However, if The tree house 樹屋旅店 has extensive indoor facilities or the attractions you want to visit are nearby, renting a car for the entire day seems wasteful. Moreover, the rental location may be some distance from your home/office/starting point, and you must adhere to their business hours for pickup and return. The rental process itself is tedious, often taking an extra 30 minutes for contracts and vehicle inspection. You may even need to refuel the car yourself before returning. If you encounter a dishonest operator, you risk being hit with various unjustified charges upon return.

If you choose to take a taxi directly, in the Hualien County area, you can use apps to hail a cab from 55688 Taiwan Taxi, and if you cannot hail a cab on the street, you can also consider calling taxi fleets, such as 統一無線計程車, 國聲計程車, 米琦計程車 to try to book a ride. Based on the meter, the estimated fare is between NT$7,425 and 11,100, but you could save up to NT$2,700 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 Hualien County, there are only about 1,010 licensed taxis. The taxi density is just 0.5% 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 Hualien County flat-out refuse to use the meter. Nearly 32% 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 Hualien to The tree house 樹屋旅店 in terms of both price and service quality.

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 Hualien to The tree house 樹屋旅店), 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.

Once the booking process is completed and getting an order ID, the reservation is confirmed. Tripool promises a private car will pick passengers up on time. All the essential information, such as the driver's name, mobile number, car model, and car plate number, will be sent via SMS and email. If the driver is not at the pick-up location, passengers can contact the driver via mobile phone. The driver may be away due to a lack of parking space and waiting nearby. Suppose there is some serious emergency or traffic jam to delay the trip. In that case, tripool will rearrange a driver to reduce passengers' waiting time.

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.

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.

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.