1 week in Taiwan
 

Hey all,
I will be in Taiwan for 7 days, arriving on sunday evening the 23.12 and departing on monday morning the 31.12 .
I'd like to travel from Taipei to Kaohsiung.

My plan looks like this:
1. Taipei - Arriving on 23.12 and leaveing on tuesday afternoon (25.12)
2. Taichung (maybe visiting the sun moon lake)- staying for two nights, leaving on 27.12
3. Tainan / Kaohsiung (so far prefering to stay in Kaohsiung longer) - arriving on 27.12 and going back to Taipei on saturday evening 29.12 (or sunday morning)
4. On monday morning (31.12) I fly to Hong Kong

What do you think about my plan? I know that I don't have so much time for all these cities... but I even don't like to stay too long at one place.

I will travel on the HSR. Is it necessary to purchase the tickets from home, or can I buy the tickets right befor the journey?
Is there any chance to fly from Kaohsiung to Taipei ? I searched but wasn't able to find anything.

Thanks for any help or opinions :rolleyes:

Flights between Taipei and Kaohsiung have all been terminated, I believe, after the success of the HSR. HSR is much more convenient. You can buy the ticket ahead of time, the day before, or just when you are ready to ride. I have never had problems buying tickets for a train that departs within 30 minutes. Though this might be an issue during major holidays, but I believe should be OK for your days.

I am leaving in a couple of weeks to spend a week in Taiwan. I will be in Taipei for a couple of days and then head out with a guide for a few days up to Keelung (I think) and then Hualien and Taroko. Then back to Taipei with a day trip down to Tainan before I fly out to HK.

Thanks a lot for your answer ^
In this case I will take the HSR :)

Thanks for your input, I will take a look at these places :)

Taroko Gorge in Hualien is definitely worthwhile to see if the weather is fine. I live in Taipei and have visited all those cities. Taipei can entertain you for more than 2 days, especially if you like outdoor activities, but Taichung can be seen in one day (unless you see Sun Moon Lake!). Or if you're taking the HSR, you could probably do Taichung in one day and make it to Kaohsiung by nighttime. But then again, if it's raining a lot during that time, it might be best to escape to the south (Tainan or Kaohsiung) where the weather is warmer :)

Thanks for the information about Hualien and Taichung, sounds like a good idea to be in Kaohsiung at nighttime (so I could stay one day more in Taipei) :)

I read that there is a 7-stops 'round the island' ticket that you can buy.

Thanks for the information

It seems to be no longer available, despite where you may read it:
See, for example, http://www.go2taiwan.net/rail_tour.php
But more importantly, see:
http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowTopic-...et-Taiwan.html

Oops sorry for the outdated information. I have been doing a bit more research on the TR Pass, and this is the site if you can read traditional chinese: http://www.railway.gov.tw/tw/cp.aspx?sn=7452#02 (the English version exists but it's not loading for me)

I don't believe this is valid on HSR and I have not done enough reading to see the time differences between local/HSR for the journeys you are taking. You might wish to book separate HSR tickets.

Basically there are 2 sections to this: Student & General

Student
- 10 day pass at NT$1,098 (3 & 5 days for local students)
- To qualify, you must be under 30 and have a Youth Travel Card*. Bring passport + this card to purchase this pass
- It is stated that you need to purchase 7 days before activation, but apparently people have been able to start using it.

General
- NT $1,800 for 3 days, NT $2,500 for 5 days
- The ticket can be used for 3/5 consecutive days within the first 30 same month
:::: i.e. start ticket on 30 November, you lose the remaining 4 days even if you have the 5 day ticket
:::: i.e. in months like July with 31 days, if you start a 3 day pass on 29th July, it will only be valid for 29/30 July. NOT valid on 31/Jul (strangest rule ever)
- Discount for groups of 4 - must travel together or invalid; buy individual tickets otherwise.

* This card gives plenty of discounts on sights and restaurants (including Din Tai Fung if I'm not wrong). And it's free. You get the card upon application. http://tour.youthtravel.tw/travel2009/1140.php

@Ryvyan
I will check the prices to see which opinion will work better for me, maybe it is cheaper to just by a day pass...
And thanks a lot for the input with the Youth travel Card, I will try to get one :)

Just curious, what sorts of activities were you interested in? The reason I ask is that if you are interested in more cultural/historical activities, I recommend that you spend more time in Tainan than Kaohsiung. If you are looking more for big city/nightlife, then Kaohsiung is the better option in the south.

If you can share with me what kinds of things your hoping to do, maybe I can offer some better suggestions.

Hi,
I like cities :)
So I thought, I will spend two days in Kaohsiung and make a daytrip to Tainan.

Okay, then Kaohsiung is the right place for you in the south. It's a big city. :)

If you like the beach, you can always check out Pingtung in the south.