Day 1a – Taiwan Railway Online booking and journey to Hualien

Taiwan Railway Online booking can be a great help to secure your train tickets earlier. Train options are seamless and affordable in Taiwan.

Before we proceed further, do drop by our 4D3N Hualien Taitung itinerary and summary at this link.
Summary of our journey:
-6D5N trip
-Fly to Taoyuan, train to Hualien. Rest one day then cycle
-4d3n cycle Hualien to Taitung, slow and easy
-Each day cover 50 to 80km (20 to 30kmh)
-Taitung train to Kaohsiung then fly home

 

It was logical for us to book our train to Hualien. Fortunately, friends warned us that Hualien tickets always sold out.

You need to book your ideal tickets online, 2 weeks beforehand.

This blog post will share how you can purchase your train tickets online. We are only sharing the Taipei-Hualien track 🙂

1. Visit 台铁 Taiwan Railways https://www.railway.gov.tw

Figure 1

Railway Taiwan website
Railway Taiwan website

The first question:
– 1a) Are you taking the train direct from 桃園 Taoyuan to 花蓮 Hualien?
– 1b) or Taoyuan to 台北 Taipei (main) then Hualien?

Google search seems to flavour 1b)
Maybe Taipei station has more train (and bus combo) options?

2. From Figure 1, shortlist your time slots first. Indicate your Schedule date and time, Departure and Arrival station.

All train services would be listed. Identify your preferred slots.

Take into consideration:

-2a) MRT from Taoyuan International Airport to Taipei Main (purple line)  is 90 minutes. Frequency every 15 minutes, and ticket NTD 450 (SGD 20).
(Do cater extra time for luggage and customs too)

-2b) You need to collect your Hualien train tickets 30 minutes beforehand

*Make use of Google Map “Schedule Explorer” to find out train frequency

-2c) Train timing =Departure time. This means train will ARRIVE at station maybe 5 minutes beforehand. Do not be LATE as trains are seldom late :p

-2d) Kids under 150cm 50% discount

-2e) Image below. You can actually roll your bikes into selected cabins

3. Hualien train tickets are available for online booking 2 weeks beforehand. Refer Figure 1 again, but click on bottom-left “Booking Service” to book your tickets.

Once fields updated, click on “Inquiry“.

3a)At this point, we only need the passport for one person ( I need not key in the passport details for the boys).

Taiwan Railway Online booking
Taiwan Railway Online booking

3b)Choose your tickets and quantity, and proceed to book.
Example, adult and child tickets are NTD 440 (SGD 20) and NTD 220 respectively (for the fastest train).

3c)Take note we cannot choose our seats. But you should ensure seats are in same Car (ie cabin).

3d)Payment by credit card. Train tickets are only collected once you reach Taiwan.

4. You can also book through Taiwan railway mobile app. This app will send notification if train is late.

5. The fastest way from Taoyuan to Hualien is actually taking bus/train combo. Your bus will drop you at 羅東 Luodong or 宜蘭 Yilan, where you connect via a train.

*Detail tips here -> https://www.islandlifetaiwan.com/hualien-visitors-guide-taipei-to-hualien

**However Google Map indicate this combo is only available after 0930(?)

5a)Take note Mountainous road might be challenging for kids (vomit)

We hope above Taiwan Railway Online booking tips would be useful for your next trip.

No1 tip. We still recommend booking your Hualien train tickets 2 weeks in advance 🙂

 

Day 1 – Fly in from Singapore to Taoyuan

Train tickets settled, we can safely fly to Taiwan to start our journey.
But first, burgers and family at Jewel Changi Airport.

Shake Shack Burgers (rated 4/5) are good and delightful but maybe overrated. Business (at Jewel Changi) was good even around 10pm!

We reach Taiwan 0550, and quickly grab our MRT to Taipei Main station.

Collected Hualien train tickets before McDonald breakfast (fast food again!).Hualien Train Tickets

Hualien Train Tickets

Taipei main station
Taipei main station

Since we were early, visited 臺北府城北門 North Gate.

Be punctual and arrive early.
Taipei main station is huge! After checkin, try to find the toilets haha.
(there are toilets on the trains)

Confirm your train platform and just wait for train, stand at the designated “Car”.

Time 0920, Train 278.

Time to catchup on our beauty rest. It will be a 2 hours ride.

宜兰 Yilan is always beautiful. All the paddy ponds reflections, and of course hot springs.

Do take note different trains will stop at different stations. Express trains will have lesser stations, thus faster. 

Endless mountain ranges.

Reached Hualien before lunch.

Lunch and snacks before we checkin to our hotel.

出外人 – 平價牛排 & 日式小火鍋 (rated 3.75/5)
Decent hotplates and meals at affordable price.

花蓮99黃金奶油酥條-後站門市 (rated 4/5)
Kids love this milk snack. Quite addictive.

tourism office Hualien
tourism office Hualien

If you have tourists questions or need maps, drop by 花蓮縣旅遊服務中心.

We would love to cover more of Taiwan on trains 🙂
It feels so nostalgic and romantic.

Train travel allow me to relax and catchup on my books or movies.
The long period on the train is where I really relax, and worry less about the kids :0

Our hotel for the night, 東之戀民宿 (Booking.com).

homestay Hualien
homestay Hualien

Stay tune for more adventures and photos.
Do follow our IG Story too #sengkangbabiesTaiwan #SengkangBabies花東

You may reference our Taiwan cycling posts at this tag SengkangBabies花東 : *Google Sheet itinerary (GPS inclusive)

*4D3N Cycling itinerary and summary
-Day 1a-Hualien-Taiwan Railway Online booking
-Day 1b-Hualien-Taiwan Giant bicycle rental and Hualien attractions
-Day 2-Cycling Hualien to Ruisui
-Day 3-Cycling Ruisui to Yuli, route 193 is SO beautiful!
-Day 4-Antong to Donghe (Attractions along Highway 11)
-Day 4/5 – Surfing at Dulan
-Day 5 – Taitung top attractions, Kaohsiung, Home

ps.. Do follow our Cycling adventures on Instagram hashtag #Cycling

Video: Cycling Hualian to Ruisui

Video: Cycling Ruisui to Yuli (so pretty!)

Cycling Highway 30,11 Yuli to Taitung