Hi! My name is Ting Ting. I’m an Australian, I live in Kaohsiung and my mission is to share Taiwan with the world one place at a time one delicious meal at a time. If you’re new to my channel welcome, lovely to have you along and if you’d like to be part of the fun just hit the subscribe button and hit the bell so that you know when I upload a new video.
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I hope this Taiwan Alishan travel guide video and notes below helps you. If you have a question please leave a comment below.
- 8:30 AM ARRIVE CHIAYI STATION
That’s the TRA station - not the high speed rail. If arriving by high speed rail allow up to 30 minutes to catch a taxi to the TRA station.
For a guide to trains and buying train tickets in Taiwan see this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDpdUGs7HNM)
- 9:00 AM TRAIN FROM CHIAYI STATION TO FENQIHU STATION (runs at 9:00 on weekdays, 9:30 and 10:00 on weekends, trip time 2.5 hours)
You can’t go all the way to Alishan station now as the track was damaged in a typhoon and they’re not going to fix it).
You can buy tickets in advance here: https://afrch.forest.gov.tw/. The website is only in Chinese so use google chrome on your computer to translate the page. Pay by credit card then pick the ticket up at ANY major train station when you arrive in Taiwan (show your passport at the ticket window).
Guide to the train numbers here: http://taiwan-itinerary.blogspot.com/2016/10/alisan-railway-tickets.html.
- LUNCH AT FENQIHU
Fenqihu was the popular stop for loggers at lunchtime so it’s a really cute little old town. The bento shop shown in the video is next to the 7-Eleven. When you arrive at Fenqihu, go all the way down the stairs, walk straight down the street and you’ll see it. Fenqihu isn’t big so you can wander around for the rest of the time. Unfortunately unless you stay in Fenqihu overnight, there’s not enough time to go hiking or see the lake (which is what the town is named after).
- BUS FROM FENQIHU TO ALISHAN TRANSPORT STATION
Use google maps for directions on where to catch the bus from (up on the highway). Set your destination as “Alishan station” and select directions for public transport. Schedules say the bus leaves at 2:40 but we arrived at the highway just before 2:30 and the driver said it was already past time to leave. So get there a little early! This is apparently the last bus, although you can catch another bus to Shizao, then change for a bus to Alishan (that seemed too annoying so we didn’t do it).
- DINNER AT ALISHAN
I haven’t seen one good food review on Alishan (it’s not what you’re there for anyway!) - so we just got beers and instant noodles from the 7 Eleven and enjoyed them at the hotel.
- STAY AT ALISHAN HOUSE
Look around for deals online, or stay at another hotel near the Alishan station (https://goo.gl/maps/Mn2yTnAAoWn). There are quite a few. Don’t expect a cheap hotel to have good facilities, this is a very popular tourist destination. Book early especially in peak season!
- SUNRISE TRAIN
Tickets for the sunrise train (around 350nt round trip) are sold the afternoon before at the Alishan train station. If staying at Alishan house you can buy them straight from the hotel reception, or if staying somewhere else, go to Alishan train station to buy these.
- HIKING
There are trails around the train station area. Pick up a map from the station or your hotel. The train on top of the mountain can also take you to some of the attractions if you’re tired of walking.
- BUS BACK TO CHIAYI
Get a timetable from the 7-11 at the transport station (or your hotel will have one). Use your easycard/ipass card to pay for the bus fare BUT you need to “save your bus spot” at the 7 Eleven first. I tried doing this 30 minutes before catching the bus but there were no spots left so we had to wait 1.5 hours until the next bus. So do this as early as you can. The last bus leaving from Alishan transport station to go down the mountain is around 5:00 pm.
There are taxi drivers around the transport station trying to get you to go down the mountain with them. I don’t recommend this option.
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