Hi, all.
I need to drive someone to the airport, picking up from Hualien City. Google Maps says it’s take 5.5 hours, but does that sound right to you? I intend to take the coastal road to Yilan, then the tunnel to the Number 3, then down the 3 to the 2.
Also, how long from XinDian to Hualien do you reckon?
I’ll be driving on a Monday, leaving Hualien around noon.
Many thanks for any feedback.
Do they really need to be driven? It would be much faster to take the train from Hualian to Taipei or Taoyuan, then take a cab or bus to the airport. Also less risky, given the potential for delays on the newly repaired road and the vagaries of traffic. Bags could be a pain, but might be manageable if you were along to escort/assist?
Hey, thanks for the tip. I’m thinking that might be better for everyone, since the train will be more comfortable for them, and I’ll save about seven hours of driving if I just pick them up from the train station and drive them to the airport from there.
Hmmm . . . definitely a consideration. Thanks again.
[quote=“Stray Dog”]Hi, all.
I need to drive someone to the airport, picking up from Hualien City. Google Maps says it’s take 5.5 hours, but does that sound right to you? I intend to take the coastal road to Yilan, then the tunnel to the Number 3, then down the 3 to the 2.
Also, how long from XinDian to Hualien do you reckon?
I’ll be driving on a Monday, leaving Hualien around noon.
Many thanks for any feedback.[/quote]
Last time I drove that route it was pre-landslides, also midweek, also south>north.
It took around 6 or so hours, as far as I recall, but that was only as far as Xindian. I would say you’d need to factor in maybe 8 hours with the state of the road at the moment. Its passable, but very very far from being repaired.
I didn’t drive it after they repaired the road but I would say you will need about 2 to 3 hours from Xindian to Hualien, add another 40 min from Xindian to the airport, all if traffic is comparable good, so 3,5 to 4 hours is very likely for Hualien to Taoyuan.
You will spend at least 6 hours, maybe even 7 to 8 hours in the car if you really want to do the whole Xindian-Hualien-Taoyuan thing on one day. Oh, and another 45min back to Xindian.
Mingshah , I don’t want to ever drive with you. 
But seriously, 2-3 hours just doesn’t seem possible. My experience is more like sandman’s, about 4.5 -5 hours from Xindian/Muzha and I’ve driven this route many times. Just to Nanao usually is almost 2 hours from here. This is assuming you make good headway through the tunnel to Su-ao.
Stray they will be much more comfortable on the train. Get them tickets on the Taroko Express. New comfie trains that do the route in 2 hours. Of course why don’t they just catch a train all the way to Taoyuan and then a cab to the airport?
They have four dogs that are going with, plus bag and crates. Not many taxis big enough for the crates, nor any that would let the dogs free in the car so the crates can be folded down.
I’ll also need to help them with the paperwork and stuff at the airport. I figure picking them up from Taipei Main Station may be the best option all-round.
I certainly can’t afford so many hours of driving.
Cheers, all!
Muchaman: I drive usually when there isnt too much traffic, so Xindian to the end of Freeway 5 is about 70km, if you can keep your speed up at around 90km/h you can make it to Su-Ao in about 1 hour, been there, done that… without speeding ticket… 
If you get a clear run up the Suhua (and that’s not a given), then it’s 2.5 from Hualien to the start of that Xueshan tunnel. Then it takes me another 2.5/3 from there to Taichung. So I reckon you’re looking at 4.5 hours to the airport if you drive fastish + get a good run.
Ah. 4 dogs. Add on another hour then for careful dog driving.
Like the other posters, I don’t fancy it much 
.
I’m curious if you guys include actually getting to your car from your house, taking at least one short break along the way, and then getting to your final destination, finding parking, and so on. Real driving as I see it as opposed to ideal times.
I am not taking breaks usually, just clean straight runs, used to that from back home. It takes me 2 min to get to the car, 10 min to be on freeway. Of course it depends where you want to go, if its on the other side of town, and the town is like Taipei to cross through it makes a difference.
I am used to long stretch driving and also to use the car a lot from back home while here I am not much using it now.
However, I did rides like heading off in Hualien (at Meilun Highschool) at 6 p.m., driving all way down to Taidong, stopping for dinner, than heading all way over to Kaohsiung, well Fengshan where we had to stay overnight. We needed a while in Taidong, wasn’t familiar and we wanted some nice food, also catched quite some rain on the east coast between Taidong and before you head up over the mountains. I think we had at least 2 hours in Taidong and arrived at 2 a.m. in Fengshan… 
We had to do this because the events we had to be were planed that way from the Taiwanese involved, had to be next day 8 a.m. at the place but still be in Hualien till 6 p.m. the day before… 
I normally find the car in the garage . But no breaks en route, and leave at 5.30 a.m. so that…
we avoid traffic on the #3 around Taipei
the kid sleeps for half the journey
And the in-laws house is just 20 mins off the 1# in Taichung. But sure, it’s a 5-5.5 hour drive if all goes well. It takes the same time to drive Hualien-Taichung over Hehuan, but that’s far more tiring.
[quote=“mingshah”]I didn’t drive it after they repaired the road but I would say you will need about 2 to 3 hours from Xindian to Hualian, add another 40 min from Xindian to the airport, all if traffic is comparable good, so 3,5 to 4 hours is very likely for Hualian to Taoyuan.
[/quote]
This is about right. If there is no traffic in the tunnel you can basically get from Taipei to Suao in no time. The Suao - Hualien part is what it is, so give yourself four hours during off-peak traffic hours and you’ll be good to go.