Hi everyone,
Pretty new here, so not too sure if this is the right place to ask.
In about 3 weeks myself and my girlfriend will be coming to Taiwan to visit her parents and have a look around, as I have never been to Taiwan before and she has not been back for about 5 years neither of us know the best way to get from Taipei to Taichung and then on to Wuci (Taichung Harbour).
What do you guys recommend ?
Thanks,
Andrew
Do you mean Wu Chih (pronounced ri)? There’s a train from Taipei main station straight there. If you’re coming from the airport, either a taxi or a bus should do.
And welcome to Forumosa!
Even if you are a kiwi
HG
Nah, he means Wuqi (梧棲鎮). There’s probably a bullock-cart service between there and Taichung City, I reckon.
Ah yes, near Sandman’s beloved Shalu! I should recall that place, as I once had a bad accident there.
I guess the OP means coming from the airport, in which case, depending on budget, a taxi all the way - I iamgine around a grand - or bus to Taichung then a taxi. Definitely helpful to get the address in Chinese, and if the GF can still speak Chinese, that would be extremely helpful.
That Taichung bus stop is about the only place in Taiwan, aside from trainstops on the east coast, where taxi drivers have insisted on ridiculous fares.
HG
Call the visitor centre at the Taichung train station. 04 2221 2126 or the general 24 tourism hotline: 0800 011 765
There is a Taichung Harbor stop on the TRA coast line trains. I’m not sure if express trains stop there or not but you could get out at Dajia or Qingshui (spelling might be off) and change to a local train. Or even take a taxi from Dajia or Qingshui - they’re pretty close by.
Come out of the airport and get on a bus that says “Taidong” on the front of it. Enjoy the laid back atmosphere and the sun and warmth, and don’t give Wuqi another thought.
He knows both places well, I hasten to add.
HG
Fucking Shalu and Wuqi = = I lived there cuz I was going to school at Tunghai. Shalu drove me out of Taichung ^^
Anyway, there is no train from Taichung to Wuqi (Taichung is on the mountain line while Wuqi is on the sea line).
You could, if you wanted to be cheap, just take a bus from the train station to Wuqi. I’m not sure which company it is though…you could always ask at the Taichung Visitor info center at the train station.
By the way, if you wanted to be speedy from tpe to taichung, you can take the high speed rail; however, that stops in Wuri Township, not Taichung city. There is a train station adjacent to the HSR station, and you can take that to Taichung city.
If you wanted to be faster (I think), take a train back south to Changhua and then transfer over to the sea line and then go back north to Wuqi.
Whoa, thanks for all the info!
It looks like we will take the Taidong bus from Taoyuan Airport in Taipei. This is how my partner has got to her parents in the past and it will mean transferring luggage a whole lot less!
Whats so bad about Shalu ?
That’s what you SHOULD do. However, you won’t get to Wuqi that way, as Taidong is on the other side of the island at the bottom, where it’s nice.
Wuqi is near Taichung, which is in the middle on the opposite side of the island, where its nasty – but not quite as utterly destitute of charm as Shalu and Wuqi.
I would recommend taking the shuttle bus from Taoyuan Airport to the Taoyuan High Speed Rail station. From there, take a bullet train to the Taizhong (Taichung) station. From there, you can get a taxi directly to Wuci, or go to a bus or train station. But the taxi would only cost about ??700NTD?? and save you a lot of time. Don’t get on a bus to Taidong! That’s the other side of the island.
Or just take the U-bus (I know lame, but cheap) to Chunggang/Zhonggang Transfer Station (中港轉運站) or Chaoma潮馬 and then take a taxi to the train station.
It’s easy, straight forward, and you don’t run the risk of falling asleep and waking up in Zuoying. I’ve done that, twice. It’s not an awesome feeling waking up, realizing that the platform is different and being dazed and confused for a few minutes before you realized you missed your stop.
airport to Taichung: bus right at the airport is cheap or a taxi will cost you $3000NT
Taichung to Wuci: along the main road in Taichung (taichunggang rd.) there are several buses that will take you to within a few minutes of Wuci for 80NT. A taxi would cost you $800NT
Form is emerging from chaos: Shuttle bus to High Speed Rail. Drink coffee, don’t fall asleep! Taxi from Taizhong station to Taizhonggang Rd bus stop (250NT); 80NT bus to Wuqi. Or just take a taxi all the way.
Why on Earth would you go from shuttle to high speed train to taxi to bus after a cross-planet flight? Just take a taxi from the airport, which I’m guessing will be around 1500-2000NT. That will be much quicker and and probably just as cheap for two people.
Did Dr McCoy get that blasted transporter fixed? That would do the trick very easily.
I think Tom Hill finally succumbed to despair in Shalu, didn’t he?
And does Made In Ewe Zealand realise that he is being brought back to Taiwan for the wedding? It will be presented as a quaint folk ritual, but it’s a trap.
haha I dont think she is trying to trick me into a wedding trap… but i have been wrong before.
I think she is too westernized now, having lived in New Zealand for over 10 years and not been back to Taiwan for quite some time. I can even use chop sticks better than her.
I like how Mr. Sandman make haha to newbie. Bus to Taidong… jeez.
I vote shuttle to Taoyuan HSR and bullet south. From Wurih, taxi to the doorstep. The gf will not believe she is in Taiwan when she steps into the HSR station.
The shuttle from TPE is “modified” for mucho luggage.
[quote=“maunaloa”]I like how Mr. Sandman make haha to newbie. Bus to Taidong… jeez.
I vote shuttle to Taoyuan HSR and bullet south. From Wurih, taxi to the doorstep. The gf will not believe she is in Taiwan when she steps into the HSR station.
[/quote]
Be fair. I DID set him straight after I’d had my fun.
And the gf might not believe she’s in Taiwan when she steps into the HSR station, true. She’ll be very quickly disbursed of that opinion when she steps out of the taxi though. In fact, she’ll probably wonder if she hasn’t stepped out of the taxi and into a set from Mad Max.