The Lalu→TRA Keelung Station

To take the High Speed Rail (HSR) from The Lalu to TRA Keelung Station, HSR is quick but pricey and has difficult taxi access. 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 The Lalu (Yuchi Township, Nantou County) and head to the nearest Taichung HSR station, a taxi ride would cost about NT$2,500 and take approximately 70 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 29 minutes with a fare of NT$600, you will arrive at your destination at TRA Keelung Station (Renai District, Keelung City). The entire journey, including transfers, takes a total of 3 hours and 17 minutes. Assuming 3 people traveling together, the average cost per person for the HSR and transfers is NT$1,780. However, in Nantou County, there are only just over 300 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 500 times more difficult than in a major city like Taipei, and since The Lalu is not located in a downtown area, it may be impossible to find a taxi at all. Even if you are lucky enough to hail a cab, a minority of taxi drivers in Nantou 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, the average cost per person is about NT$1,620, and the journey takes 3 hours and 34 minutes. For long-distance travel, the HSR is indeed faster than a car by 17 minutes, but it comes with an extra transportation cost of about NT$480. Therefore, for those who are not in a major hurry, booking with Tripool is the more cost-effective option. If you are traveling with just one other person, 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 is only one rental car company, such as 日月潭小客車租賃, available in the The Lalu - Yuchi Township, Nantou County 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 The Lalu and TRA Keelung Station, 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. But if you are going to TRA Keelung Station to take public transport elsewhere, renting a car for the whole day and paying for parking at the station is not cheap. Moreover, the rental location may be some distance from The Lalu, 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 your group has more than four people or has large luggage, renting a 9-seater van will be too expensive. It would be better to book a chauffeured service to avoid the hassle of unfamiliar roads or driving a large vehicle. A Tripool ride from The Lalu to TRA Keelung Station costs only NT$6,479 for a van!

If you choose to take a taxi directly, in the Nantou County area, you can use apps to hail a cab from 55688 Taiwan Taxi and Yoxi, and if you cannot hail a cab on the street, you can also consider calling the only neighborhood taxi company in Yuchi Township, Nantou County, 日月星光計程車 to try to book a ride. Based on the meter, the estimated fare is between NT$6,325 and 9,500, but you could save up to NT$4,600 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 Nantou County, there are only about 340 licensed taxis. The taxi density is just 0.2% of that in the Taipei/New Taipei metro area, meaning it is 500 times more difficult to hail a cab on the spot compared to Taipei or New Taipei. Furthermore, some taxi drivers in Nantou County flat-out refuse to use the meter. Nearly 58% 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 The Lalu to TRA Keelung Station in terms of both price and service quality.

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.

Tripool provides private day tours and charter services all around the island, including TRA Keelung Station and The Lalu. 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.

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.

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 The Lalu to TRA Keelung Station, it's better to reserve it now to secure the best price.

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.