New Taipei→Hualien Hotel Bayview

It is not recommended to take the High Speed Rail (HSR) from central New Taipei to Hualien Hotel Bayview. HSR is expensive and slow. Although there can be up to 92 trains from Banqiao to Nangang a day, running from the first at 07:02 to the last at 23:42, once service ends for the night until early morning, alternative transportation is still required. Assuming you depart from Banqiao District, New Taipei City, you may walk or take a bus—if available—to Banqiao HSR station. Including walking to the platform, buying a ticket, and waiting for the train, it takes at least 20 minutes. Then, take a 17-21-minute (19 min on average) HSR ride from Banqiao Station to Nangang HSR Station. The ticket price is NT$70 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 207 minutes with a fare of NT$5,000, you will arrive at your destination at Hualien Hotel Bayview (Xincheng Township, Hualien County). The entire journey, including transfers, takes a total of 4 hours and 16 minutes. Assuming 5 people traveling together (and have to split into two taxis), the average cost per person for the HSR and transfers is NT$2,070. In contrast, if you use Tripool for a door-to-door private car service, the average cost per person is about NT$1,360, and the journey takes 3 hours and 50 minutes. Choosing the HSR over a private charter will not only cost each person at least an extra NT$710 in fares but also waste an additional 26 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 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 45 rental car companies, such as 豪運小客車租賃, 安昱汽車租賃, 大鴻汽車, available in the Banqiao District, New Taipei City 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 New Taipei (Banqiao District) and Hualien Hotel Bayview, the estimated cost for a sedan is NT$3000 or NT$6000 for a 9-seater van. This is, of course, cheaper than taking a taxi. However, if Hualien Hotel Bayview 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 New Taipei 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 慶安車隊, 亞太衛星車隊, 慶安計程車 to try to book a ride. Based on the meter, the estimated fare is between NT$4,365 and 5,200. However, when considering the return trip, in Hualien County there are only about 1,010 licensed taxis. This is about 5% of the number of taxis in New Taipei City, and its density is just 0.5% of the Taipei/New Taipei metro area, making it 190 times more difficult to hail a cab there. Although a metered taxi from central New Taipei to central Hualien Hotel Bayview 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$2,000. Considering all factors, Tripool is your best choice for traveling from New Taipei to Hualien Hotel Bayview 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.

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 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.

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.