TRA Chiayi Station→Xitou Nature Education Area

To take the High Speed Rail (HSR) from TRA Chiayi Station to Xitou Nature Education Area, HSR is expensive and slow. However, from the first train at 06:21 to the last train at 23:27, there are only up to 28 HSR trains from Chiayi to Changhua a day. If your schedule is tight or you might miss the last train, you should consider booking a private transfer. Assuming you depart from TRA Chiayi Station (West District, Chiayi City) and head to the nearest Chiayi HSR station, a taxi ride would cost about NT$400 and take approximately 23 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 21-24-minute (21 min on average) HSR ride from Chiayi Station to Changhua HSR Station. The ticket price is NT$250 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 55 minutes with a fare of NT$1,300, you will arrive at your destination at Xitou Nature Education Area (Lugu Township, Nantou County). The entire journey, including transfers, takes a total of 1 hour and 59 minutes. Assuming 3 people traveling together, the average cost per person for the HSR and transfers is NT$820. In contrast, if you use Tripool for a door-to-door private car service, the average cost per person is about NT$760, and the journey takes 1 hour and 41 minutes. Choosing the HSR over a private charter will not only cost each person at least an extra NT$60 in fares but also waste an additional 18 minutes on transfers and waiting. Book with Tripool now! 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 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 Chiayi 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 TRA Chiayi Station to Xitou Nature Education Area is between NT$1450 and NT$2000 (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 Chiayi City 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 near TRA Chiayi Station, such as 大嘉義高鐵車隊, 台灣嘉義大車隊, 嘉義萬全無線計程車 to try to book a ride. Based on the meter, the estimated fare is between NT$1,835 and 2,200. However, when considering the return trip, in Nantou County there are only about 340 licensed taxis. This is about 65% of the number of taxis in Chiayi City, and its density is just 0.2% of the Taipei/New Taipei metro area, making it 490 times more difficult to hail a cab there. Although a metered taxi from central TRA Chiayi Station to central Xitou Nature Education Area 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$700. Considering all factors, Tripool is your best choice for traveling from TRA Chiayi Station to Xitou Nature Education Area in terms of both price and service quality.

Tripool provides private day tours and charter services all around the island, including Xitou Nature Education Area and TRA Chiayi Station. 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.

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 offers a point-to-point private car service in Taiwan. As long as the destination connects to a road or can be searched on Google Maps, we assure you that a car can send you there. Try inputting your home/office address or a hotel's name in the search bar, and our driver will pick you up punctually and travel to a hotel or an airport with ease.

In common, a 9-seater van can accommodate eight passengers with six 30" luggage. Suppose there are fewer passengers in the car. In that case, our driver can fold down the rear seats. There will be more space for oversized objects, such as surfboards, golf clubs, instruments, foldable bikes, desktop computers, etc. As long as these objects won't block the driver's sight and do no damage to the car body, passengers can put as many luggage and items as they like. But extra charge may be needed. You can find the details in the FAQ section. We suggest measuring the size, telling how many items to our online service first, and making the order afterward.

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.