Taipei→Artch Inn: chartered cars are the fastest

It is not recommended to take the High Speed Rail (HSR) from central Taipei to Artch Inn. HSR is expensive, slow, and involves transfer hassles. Although there can be up to 103 trains from Taipei to Nangang a day, running from the first at 07:12 to the last at 23:52, once service ends for the night until early morning, alternative transportation is still required. Assuming you depart from Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, you may walk or take a bus—if available—to Taipei HSR station. Including walking to the platform, buying a ticket, and waiting for the train, it takes at least 25 minutes. Then, take a 7-9-minute (8 min on average) HSR ride from Taipei Station to Nangang HSR Station. The ticket price is NT$40 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 68 minutes with a fare of NT$1,800, you will arrive at your destination at Artch Inn (Luodong Township, Yilan County). The entire journey, including transfers, takes a total of 1 hour and 51 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$760. In contrast, if you use Tripool for a door-to-door private car service, the average cost per person is about NT$660, and the journey takes 1 hour and 20 minutes. Choosing the HSR over a private charter will not only cost each person at least an extra NT$100 in fares but also waste an additional 31 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 Taiwanese driver's license, are confident in your driving skills, and you do not need to rest in the car (since you will be the one driving), 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 Taipei 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 Taipei (Zhongzheng District) to Artch Inn is between NT$1150 and NT$1650 (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 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 德泰交通, 歐亞交通, 新風交通 to try to book a ride. Based on the meter, the estimated fare is between NT$1,740 and 2,100. However, when considering the return trip, in Yilan County there are only about 750 licensed taxis. This is about 2% of the number of taxis in Taipei City, and its density is just 0.9% of the Taipei/New Taipei metro area, making it 120 times more difficult to hail a cab there. Although a metered taxi from central Taipei to central Artch Inn might be cheaper, if your group has five people or more, taking two taxis will be more expensive, while choosing Tripool's private car service would be 5-25% cheaper. Considering all factors, Tripool is your best choice for traveling from Taipei to Artch Inn 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 Taipei to Artch Inn, 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.

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.

Every order can only reserve one car, and it is easier for passengers to make any change or cancelation. Please make two separate bookings on the website or the app if passengers need a round trip. There is no particular promotion about a round trip for now, but it's welcome to use any coupon for each ride.

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.