Travel logistics KHH to Yilan weekend

Travel Taiwan Travel
1

there is this deadzone in Taiwan that is very difficult to get to from KHH and I just haven’t been there. Mostly I’m talking about the Yilan/Hualien/Hehuanshan triangle. One Taroko trip in 5 years and that’s it. It’s just damn hard to get there.

I am able to take a couple extra days off in 2 weeks and want to do a 4 day trip w/o burning a day for travel. It doesn’t look like there is an overnight train but possibly an overnight bus.

11/21 (7:30pm earliest departure) - 11/25 trip

Here is what I have found:
Friday - HSR to Taipei and Saturday Train/Bus to Yilan (mid/late morning arrival) - probably my favorite option although transport will probably be 4000ish NT alone
Friday - HSR to Taipei and train/bus to Yilan (11:00+ arrival)
Friday - late night bus to Yilan - I don’t even know the options are but it’s cheaper than the HSR and train/bus - It’s probably not worth it to save 2000ish since I would be wrecked before arriving.

Are there flights that make more sense? Am I missing any other obvious choices?

2

what about train from Kaohsiung -> Taidong -> Hualian, then take a bus to Hehuanshan and then to Yilan? Is there a benefit to get to Taipei first?

3

This sounds like a really long trip. The benefit of going to Taipei is that it takes 1.5 hrs on HSR and 1.5hrs on the train/bus with only one connection. It is a little expensive though.

4

Rent a car? Probably around $1,000-$2,000/day.

5

Rent a car? Probably around $1,000-$2,000/day.[/quote]

Last time I checked cars were about 2000-2500/day. That makes it 8-10K for the trip and 3-4K in gas. If I had a few others to split the costs it’s good option but that isn’t the plan right now. Plus it’s a long drive from KHH to Yilan.

6

Rent a car? Probably around $1,000-$2,000/day.[/quote]Last time I checked cars were about 2000-2500/day.[/quote]
Just FYI this one is $1,680/day: rentalcar.com.tw/TC/Car/List?ID=tcl&sort=1 and any other local shop you find will generally be cheaper than them. $1,000 is the lowest I paid (in Taipei) although I admit I last rented a few years ago because then I got my own car.

It’s a nice drive though (along Hwy 11). The journey is better than the destination. Can even be split into two days. (The other way you can take the freeway and then it’s not really long.)

You mentioned flying and high-speed rail in your post, so I assumed you were not on a budget. I think if you have both a time constraint and a budget constraint, it’s going to be difficult… but I hope it works out for you somehow. Good luck with the trip!

7

Earliest HSR train from Kaohsiung to Taipei
Then I believe the Taroko Express (tilting train) stops in Yilan (Toucheng or Luodong… not certain).

8

Thought the tilting train stops in Taichung? And goes from there up to Taipei then onwards to Ilan and Hualian, etc.

So you can take the HSR up to Taichung and then board this train? Better buy the tickets in advance though.

9

[quote=“tommy525”]Thought the tilting train stops in Taichung? And goes from there up to Taipei then onwards to Yilan and Hualian, etc.

So you can take the HSR up to Taichung and then board this train? Better buy the tickets in advance though.[/quote]

Taroko 280 Mountain Line Douliu→Hualien 07:05 11:50 04h 45m Accessible Car. Taroko. $ 968

Douliu to Hualien in under five hours and under NT$1,000, not too bad. Quicker with HSR and Taroko/Puyuma from Taipei, but also more expensive.

10

Are there any HSR from Ktown that can connect with that early a train in Taichung?

11

First HSR train leaves Kaohsiung Zuoying at 6:30 and arrives at Taichung Wuri at 7:25. The Taroko train leaves Taichung Station at 7:54, so you have half an hour to get from the HSR station to the TRA station, which according to Google map is 19 min. by car/taxi. Not sure about shuttle buses. The HSR website is not really helpful. Can’t even find a bus that goes to the TRA station.

That’s probably the only way, catching the Taroko train at Douliu (7:05) from Kaohsiung is not possible, cause the first train arrives at Douliu at 7:35.

12

First HSR train leaves Kaohsiung Zuoying at 6:30 and arrives at Taichung Wuri at 7:25. The Taroko train leaves Taichung Station at 7:54, so you have half an hour to get from the HSR station to the TRA station, which according to Google map is 19 min. by car/taxi. Not sure about shuttle buses. The HSR website is not really helpful. Can’t even find a bus that goes to the TRA station.

That’s probably the only way, catching the Taroko train at Douliu (7:05) from Kaohsiung is not possible, cause the first train arrives at Douliu at 7:35.[/quote]

This is not a bad option but that is cutting it a little too close because the next train doesn’t leave until 3:30 if I miss the connection.

Looks like I can do the HSR to TPE and train/bus to Yilan there and catch a 5ish pm train from Yilan to KHH on the way back for around 3000NT. I can handle that in the budget. A car by myself is not really possible in my budget. That’s pushing 6K+ for the rental and 3-4K for fuel. Plus it’s nice to nap instead of having to concentrate on driving the whole way.

13

Domestic flights are a rare breed now in Taiwan but there used to be flights from KHH to HUA (ktown to hualian) . Are there any now? It may be worth it. Seems way too tight a connection to catch that taroko train. Maybe a night spent in Taichung? Lots of inexpensive hotels there. How about the trains from Ktown to Hualian via Taitung? Look into that angle yet?

edit: there appears to be a flight on Mandarin from KHH to Hualian at 1230pm. Maybe that will work?

[kia.gov.tw/english/e_content ... adArrDep=1](http://www.kia.gov.tw/english/e_content/instant.asp?line=2&selDay=1&radArrDep=1)

圖片:MandarinAirlines
AE7931 E-190AR Hualien
12:30 13:20

And back to Kaohsiung at 2pm:

hulairport.gov.tw/e_content/ … ule02.aspx

Those Embraer 190s are very popular here with JetBlue in the USA. Mandarin is the only one with them in Taiwan. My buds been on one and said they are pretty nice. 2 / 2 seating.

Mandarin has has a few over-runs with them though, but everyone was ok. So they may not have the hang of landing those suckers just yet :s

avherald.com/h?article=47ab2c17 Taichung

avherald.com/h?article=45476b47 Makung

14

I had read that the flights were cheap but that’s still cheaper than I expected. 4-5K round trip. It would take a lot of travel wear and tear out of the weekend.

15

How much are the plane tickets one way now from KHH to Hualian?

I remember flying Taipei Sungshan to Hualian and back for less then 500nt each way ! And people then were complaining that “just a few years ago” it was only half that !

I guess flying is your best bet. If you wanted to hang out longer in Hualian and not take the 2pm flight back, you could take the train to Taipei then HSR back to KHH, but i bet that won’t be much cheaper and the train rides at the quickest will still take 2 and a half hours to Taipei and another one and a half to Ktown, for a total of bout 4 hours. So the plane is the best time management solution.

Laze your way over to the Ktown airport via KRT by 1130 or even 1200 for the 1230 flight. Enjoy ur time in Hualian and laze over to the airport in Hualian (short taxi ride from town) and fly the 40 mins back and KRT it back to downtown Ktown.

Hualian is a lazy airport with only a few flights per day so there is not going to be much congestion there.

16

I ended up taking the HSR to Taipei and TRA to Yilan. 3700ish NT roundtrip. Puyuma trains are really nice (return trip). Booking a train for Saturday is a nightmare like expected (I found one but almost missed the connection) but there are always buses and standing room train (not Puyuma trains) tickets sold the day of.

The problem with flying is that it goes to Hualien and it’s still pretty far (3 more hours to Yilan). They also only have midday flights so half (or more) of two days would be wasted. Plane tickets are quite reasonable at around 4000NT for a round trip.

I ended up hiking to 5 waterfalls including Yuemeikang, going to Taipingshan, camping in a beautiful spot (Yulan) and exploring just about every place on my list.

theworldisnotthatbig.com/2014/11 … -in-yilan/

theworldisnotthatbig.com/2014/12 … -campsite/

taiwanswaterfalls.com/waterfall- … %E5%B8%83/

taiwanswaterfalls.com/waterfall- … %E5%B8%83/

I haven’t finished all of my blogging and I have one more guide to write but all of the pictures are on flickr and here is a sample of the weekend.

Songluo Trail, Yilan, Taiwan by abacus07, on Flickr
Songluo Trail could be confused with Songluo Lake but this is a short hiking trail near Songluo village. Songluo Lake is in this area also but you access it from Yulan a few kms north of Songluo. I have not been there yet.

Taipingshan, Taiwan by abacus07, on Flickr

Yulan Camp, Yilan, Taiwan by abacus07, on Flickr

Yuemeikang Waterfall Trail, Taiwan by abacus07, on Flickr

Yuemeikang Waterfall Trail by abacus07, on Flickr

Jiuliao Waterfall, Yilan, Taiwan by abacus07, on Flickr

17

Awesome pics !! Yes flying to Hualian makes no sense if you are heading for Yilan.

Only if you were heading for the Taroko Gorge area would it make sense.