Tainan→貝爾莊園: hire a driver is the fastest, and car rental is the cheapest

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.

It is not recommended to take the High Speed Rail (HSR) from central Tainan to 貝爾莊園. HSR is expensive, slow, and has difficult taxi access. Although there can be up to 74 trains from Tainan to Zuoying a day, running from the first at 07:16 to the last at 23:48, once service ends for the night until early morning, alternative transportation is still required. Assuming you depart from East District, Tainan City and head to the nearest Tainan 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 15 minutes. Then, take a 11-13-minute (12 min on average) HSR ride from Tainan Station to Zuoying HSR Station. The ticket price is NT$140 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 265 minutes with a fare of NT$6,700, you will arrive at your destination at 貝爾莊園 (Luye Township, Taitung County). The entire journey, including transfers, takes a total of 5 hours and 26 minutes. Assuming one person traveling alone, the total transportation cost is NT$7,140. However, in Tainan City, there are only just over 4,100 licensed taxis. The taxi density is 4.6% of that in the Taipei/New Taipei metro area. In other words, hailing a taxi on the spot is 20 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 Tainan 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, it will only cost NT$6,750, and the journey takes 5 hours and 12 minutes. Choosing the HSR over a private charter will not only cost at least an extra NT$390 in fares but also waste an additional 14 minutes on transfers and waiting. Book with Tripool now!

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 10 rental car companies, such as 伍政小客車租賃, 福輪通運, 松興小客車租賃, available in the East District, Tainan 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 Tainan (East District) and 貝爾莊園, the estimated cost for a sedan is NT$3700 or NT$6700 for a 9-seater van. This is, of course, cheaper than taking a taxi. However, if 貝爾莊園 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 Tainan 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 台南包車府城國際, 鳳凰城無線, 台一大車隊 to try to book a ride. Based on the meter, the estimated fare is between NT$4,995 and 6,000. However, in the whole Tainan City, there are only about 4,140 licensed taxis. The taxi density is just 4.6% of that in the Taipei/New Taipei metro area, meaning it is 20 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 are even harder to find in 貝爾莊園 (in the Taitung County area), as Taitung County has only about 351 taxis. It is recommended to plan ahead. Furthermore, some taxi drivers in Tainan City flat-out refuse to use the meter. Nearly 17% 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 Tainan to central 貝爾莊園 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 Tainan to 貝爾莊園 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 Tainan to 貝爾莊園, it's better to reserve it now to secure the best price.

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.

The quote on the website and the app already include the car rental fee, driver's fare, cost of gasoline, toll fee, insurance, and tips. Passengers don't have to pay for the driver's meals and accommodation fees. There is no other hidden fee. What passengers see on the website is the actual price.

Tripool provides 5-seater sedans, SUVs, and 9-seater vans for private car service. Toyota, Ford, Volkswagen are the most used brands, and there are also a few Lexus, Tesla, and Mercedes-Benz. All vehicles are legal, in good condition, non-smoking, and with up to $5 million insurance. If you have special requests or passengers are more than 8, tripool can arrange a VW Crafter, a 20-seater minibus, or a 40-seater tour bus. Please fill up the request form on our homepage, and we will provide a quote.