Taichung Station Railway Cultural Park→Taroko Gorge

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.

To take the High Speed Rail (HSR) from Taichung Station Railway Cultural Park to Taroko Gorge, HSR is quick but pricey. From the earliest departure at 06:05 to the latest at 23:03, there are up to 103 high-speed rail from Taichung to Nangang each day. Assuming you depart from Taichung Station Railway Cultural Park (Central District, Taichung City) 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 54-81-minute (68 min on average) HSR ride from Taichung Station to Nangang HSR Station. The ticket price is NT$750 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 199 minutes with a fare of NT$4,700, you will arrive at your destination at Taroko Gorge (Xiulin Township, Hualien County). The entire journey, including transfers, takes a total of 5 hours and 22 minutes. Assuming 4 people traveling together, the average cost per person for the HSR and transfers is NT$2,000. That said, a minority of taxi drivers in Taichung City 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$1,950, and the journey takes 5 hours and 27 minutes. For long-distance travel, the HSR is indeed faster than a car by 5 minutes, but it comes with an extra transportation cost of about NT$200. 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 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 only a few rental car companies, such as 固得小客車租賃, 恆利長青事業, 聖昌租賃國際, available in the Taichung Station Railway Cultural Park - Central District, Taichung 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 Taichung Station Railway Cultural Park and Taroko Gorge, the estimated cost for a sedan is NT$4200 or NT$7200 for a 9-seater van. This is, of course, cheaper than taking a taxi. If you plan to sightsee along the way to Taroko Gorge, renting a car for the day is certainly convenient and affordable, but it means the driver will not get to relax or fully enjoy the trip. Moreover, the rental location may be some distance from Taichung Station Railway Cultural Park, 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 Taichung 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 near Taichung Station Railway Cultural Park, such as 干城衛星車隊, 金鼎順計程車, 國泰交通 to try to book a ride. Based on the meter, the estimated fare is between NT$7,700 and 9,200, but you could save up to NT$1,400 by booking with Tripool instead. However, when considering the return trip, in Hualien County there are only about 1,010 licensed taxis. This is about 10% of the number of taxis in Taichung 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. Furthermore, some taxi drivers in Taichung City flat-out refuse to use the meter. Nearly 27% 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 Taichung Station Railway Cultural Park to Taroko Gorge in terms of both price and service quality.

Tripool provides private day tours and charter services all around the island, including Taroko Gorge and Taichung Station Railway Cultural Park. 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.

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.