Taitung→Alishan Dafeng Hotel

To take the High Speed Rail (HSR) from Taitung to Alishan Dafeng Hotel, HSR is quick but pricey and has difficult taxi access. From the earliest departure at 05:50 to the latest at 22:55, there are up to 60 high-speed rail from Zuoying to Chiayi each day. Assuming you depart from Taitung City, Taitung County and head to the nearest Zuoying HSR station, a taxi ride would cost about NT$5,900 and take approximately 235 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 30-35-minute (31 min on average) HSR ride from Zuoying Station to Chiayi HSR Station. The ticket price is NT$410 per person, followed by a 5-minute walk to exit the station, wait for a ride at the taxi stand, and after a trip of about 142 minutes with a fare of NT$2,600, you will arrive at your destination at Alishan Dafeng Hotel (Alishan Township, Chiayi County). The entire journey, including transfers, takes a total of 7 hours and 12 minutes. Assuming one person traveling alone, the total transportation cost is NT$8,910. However, in Taitung County, there are only just over 400 licensed taxis. The taxi density is 0.2% of that in the Taipei/New Taipei metro area. In other words, hailing a taxi on the spot is 400 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 Taitung 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, it will only cost NT$3,730, and the journey takes 7 hours and 44 minutes. For long-distance travel, the HSR is indeed faster than a car by 32 minutes, but it comes with an extra transportation cost of about NT$5,180. Therefore, for those who are not in a major hurry, booking with Tripool is the more cost-effective option.

Although you can choose to rent a car to drive from Taitung to Alishan Dafeng Hotel, the cost can be significant. Rental companies typically charge by the day. A small sedan like a Toyota Yaris or Nissan Kicks starts at NT$1500 per day, while a 9-seater van like a Ford Tourneo or Volkswagen Transporter costs around 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 fines are not included. If your daily mileage exceeds 200-400 km, there will be an additional surcharge of NT$100-2,000. Since the vast majority of rental companies do not offer one-way rentals, you either need to make a same-day round trip between Taitung and Alishan Dafeng Hotel or rent the car for multiple days. In this case, the estimated cost starts at NT$4800 for a sedan and NT$7800 for a 9-seater van. Booking a one-way private transfer with the Tripool app is the most affordable and convenient option for traveling to the Alishan Dafeng Hotel.

If you choose to take a taxi directly, in the Taitung 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 台東縣大台東計程車, 台東機場計程車, 一桐計程車 to try to book a ride. Based on the meter, the estimated fare is between NT$8,165 and 12,200, but you could save up to NT$8,500 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 Taitung County, there are only about 350 licensed taxis. The taxi density is just 0.2% of that in the Taipei/New Taipei metro area, meaning it is 400 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 in Alishan Township, Chiayi County are also not easy to find. It is recommended to plan ahead. Furthermore, some taxi drivers in Taitung County flat-out refuse to use the meter. Nearly 47% 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 Taitung to Alishan Dafeng Hotel in terms of both price and service quality.

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.

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 Taitung to Alishan Dafeng Hotel), 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.

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.