Getting Rental Bikes from Giant
Giant has an awesome touring bike rental program available, but we found it challenging to find information in English. For 1500 NTD (approximately $50 USD), you can get a three-day bike rental and accompanying gear. Each extra day costs 200 NTD ($6 USD). The rental comes with:
- Rear rack and a set of two waterproof panniers
- Tail and head lights
- A simple cable lock
- Hex key set
- Spare pump
The store will sell you spare tubes, and we traveled with our own helmets and tire patch kits from home. We were charged the 3-day rental upfront and paid for the extra days at the end of the trip. Taiwan in Cycles has more detailed information and photos.
The rental location in Hualien is conveniently located next to the train station. We didn't have luck contacting them by email, but phone is great (see below for information). Most of the staff we encountered spoke some amount of English, but if you have access to someone who speaks Mandarin, I'd recommend enlisting their help just to be on the safe side. Giant recommends making a reservation at least two weeks in advance.
Most sites we looked at before our trip suggested purchasing tickets two weeks out -- however, you can't do this online, as the TRA booking system allows you to do so only three days in advance. We were fine buying train tickets less than one week out (upon arrival in Taipei), traveling on a weekday in early November.
35 Guoxing 1st St (國聯里國興一街35號)
+886 3 886 3833 6761
Traveling from Taipei to Hualien
Taiwan's train system is fast, timely, affordable, convenient, and comfortable! You can buy tickets from the machine's at the station -- their English language menus are reasonably straightforward to navigate -- and you can also grab train tickets from any 7-11. (7-11s in Asia do everything!)
The Taroko Express is your fastest train option (approximately 2 hours), but you can also choose from the Chu-Kuang Express, Puyuma Line, or Tze-Chiang Limited Express (trips up to 3 hours in length instead). Tickets are 440 NTD (~$15 USD). If you're lucky, you might even get the Hello Kitty train!
The Taroko Express is your fastest train option (approximately 2 hours), but you can also choose from the Chu-Kuang Express, Puyuma Line, or Tze-Chiang Limited Express (trips up to 3 hours in length instead). Tickets are 440 NTD (~$15 USD). If you're lucky, you might even get the Hello Kitty train!
Most sites we looked at before our trip suggested purchasing tickets two weeks out -- however, you can't do this online, as the TRA booking system allows you to do so only three days in advance. We were fine buying train tickets less than one week out (upon arrival in Taipei), traveling on a weekday in early November.
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All aboard! - Hello Kitty and seagulls
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