Yilan→alfar Hotel: chartered cars are the fastest

To take the High Speed Rail (HSR) from Yilan to alfar Hotel, HSR is expensive, slow, involves transfer hassles, and has difficult taxi access. From the earliest departure at 06:15 to the latest at 22:50, there are up to 72 high-speed rail from Nangang to Taoyuan each day. Assuming you depart from Jiaoxi Township, Yilan County and head to the nearest Nangang HSR station, a taxi ride would cost about NT$900 and take approximately 50 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 28-34-minute (32 min on average) HSR ride from Nangang Station to Taoyuan HSR Station. The ticket price is NT$200 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 20 minutes with a fare of NT$400, you will arrive at your destination at alfar Hotel (Dayuan District, Taoyuan City). The entire journey, including transfers, takes a total of 2 hours and 7 minutes. Assuming 2 people traveling together, the average cost per person for the HSR and transfers is NT$850. However, in Yilan County, there are only just over 700 licensed taxis. The taxi density is 0.9% of that in the Taipei/New Taipei metro area. In other words, hailing a taxi on the spot is 100 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 Yilan 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$830, and the journey takes 1 hour and 23 minutes. Choosing the HSR over a private charter will not only cost each person at least an extra NT$20 in fares but also waste an additional 44 minutes on transfers and waiting. Book with Tripool now! If you are traveling alone, 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 Yilan County 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 Yilan (Jiaoxi Township) to alfar Hotel is between NT$1300 and NT$1850 (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 Yilan County 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 三全計程車, 礁溪計程車, 昌鏋計程車 to try to book a ride. Based on the meter, the estimated fare is between NT$1,870 and 2,200, but you could save up to NT$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 Yilan County, there are only about 750 licensed taxis. The taxi density is just 0.9% of that in the Taipei/New Taipei metro area, meaning it is 100 times more difficult to hail a cab on the spot compared to Taipei or New Taipei. Furthermore, some taxi drivers in Yilan 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 Yilan to alfar Hotel in terms of both price and service quality.

Tripool provides private day tours and charter services all around the island, including alfar Hotel and Yilan. 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.

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.

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.

As long as you can choose the date, time, and finish the booking on our website or the app, tripool guarantees our driver will show up. However, tripool is not a ride-hailing yellow cab company. All the reservations have to be pre-booked. If you want to go to alfar Hotel from Yilan, the soonest is finishing the booking four hours in advance.