Getting There By Air:Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) Tel: (03) 398 3728
or 398 2194 (English speaking visitor information number)
Website:
www.cksairport.gov.tw Located 40km (25 miles) south of the city center, this airport (previously Chiang Kai-Shek Airport) is very efficient and well served by international and regional airlines including the national carrier
Eva Air (tel: (02) 2501 9599; website:
www.evaair.com).
Airport facilities: T2 is newer, with
more services: a bank, post office, medical, nursery, duty free, hotel reservations, car hire, shops, beauty salon, massage and basic restaurants. Business facilities include executive lounges, limousine services, payphones, mobile-phone rentals, Internet and meeting rooms. T2 has a business center and convention hall.
Transport to the city: Hotels will arrange airport transfers by limousine or minibus. There is no direct rail connection, but taxis or an inexpensive private airbus take passengers into the city center in just under an hour.
Getting There By Water:The ports of Taichung, Hualien and Suao are only visited by cargo ships. Weekly international passenger ferries run between the Taiwanese Keelung and Kaohsiung ports and Naha, the capital of the southern Japanese-island of Okinawa. The overnight ferry, which takes from 16 to 20 hours to reach Keelung, departs from Okinawa on Thursday or Friday.
Arimura Sangyo Company (tel: + 81 (098) 860 1980 in Japan
or (07) 330 9811 in Kaohsiung).
Star Cruises’ ‘Gemini’ also plies this route (tel: + 81 (03) 6403 5188 in Japan
or (02) 2731 0808 in Taiwan; website:
www.starcruises.com.tw). There are also sea links between Kaosiung and Macau.
Getting There By Road:As Taiwan is an island, you can’t drive to Taipei from any other country. Two freeways run north to south. There are two major freeways into Taipei: Freeway No. 1 or the Chung-Shan freeway and Freeway No. 3 or the north-south freeway, known locally as the second freeway. Both go more or less north/south. From Freeway No. 1, take the Chung-Ching South Road and pass Chien-Kuo South Road to Chung-Hsio East Road to get into the city. From Freeway No. 3, take the Mu-Chia Road, pass Hsin-Hai Road and Fu-Hsing South Road to Chung-Hsio East Road. Taiwan has a higher car ownership per head than any country in the world, so the freeways are often congested.
Getting There By Rail:Electrified train services run along the west coast and diesel trains along the east coast. Services are frequent, although often slow, and less expensive than flying. The main city station is Taipei railway station (tel: 081 231 919 (toll free)
or (02) 2311 0121, 2371 3558; website:
www.railway.gov.tw) where services run from 0600-0000. Taiwan High Speed Rail are in the process of constructing a high speed rail link, which will run north-south from Taipei to Kaoshiung, the line is expected to open at the end of October 2006 (website:
www.thsrc.com.tw).
Getting Around:
Public TransportThose using public transport have two options in the capital, the
bus or the
metro. The
MRT Mass Rapid Transit System (tel: (02) 218 12345; website:
www.trtc.com.tw) has six lines covering the major areas of the city. Trains are frequent and run between 0600 and 2400. The system is efficient, cheap and not too crowded, and there are signs in English. Buses are plentiful and services frequent, reliable and comfortable, although they should be avoided during rush hour (0730-0930 and 1700-1900). Public buses are run by the
Taiwan Bus Company (tel: 0800 088 626), while the largest private bus company is
Tonglien Bus Company (tel: 0800 241 560).
TaxisTaxis are the most convenient way to get around: they are also cheap and plentiful. They can be hailed on the street, picked up outside hotels, or a dispatch taxi may be called via an English-speaking radio calling system from almost any destination. Taxis are all metered. Writing destination addresses in Chinese is essential as many drivers do not speak English. To order a taxi, call the toll free taxi hotline (tel: 0800 055 850, press 2 for English) or
Taiwan Taxi (tel: (02) 2192 6688; website:
www.taiwantaxi.com.tw).
Car HireTaipei’s street numbering system is very confusing and traffic is congested, making driving in the capital difficult. As a result, hiring a car and driver is preferable to driving yourself. It is only worth hiring a car to drive out of Taipei, although traffic congestion means that it takes a long time to get out. Most people prefer to fly, as internal flights are cheap and the domestic terminal is situated at Sungshan, in the heart of the city. An International Driving License is required to hire a car, which needs to be taken, along with passport and a passport-sized photograph, to the nearest Vehicle Registration Department to apply for a ‘Driver’s License Visa’. All vehicles need Compulsory Automobile Liability Insurance. Drink driving attracts heavy penalties. Driving is on the left, and speed limits range from 50kph (31mph) to 80-110kph (50-68mph) on freeways.
Major providers at the airport and in the city include
Asia Rent-A-Car Service (tel: (02) 2500 6633; website:
www.asiarent.com.tw),
Central Auto Service (tel: (02) 2828 0033; website:
www.rentalcar.com.tw),
Easy Rent (tel: 0800 024 550; website:
www.easyrent.com.tw), and
VIP Car Rental Co (tel: (02) 2713 1111; website:
www.vipcar.com.tw).
Bicycle HireBecause of the heavy pollution, riding a bicycle in Taipei is not recommended.
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The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
Word Travels is a comprehensive travel guide covering hundreds of cities and holiday resorts in more than 125 countries.
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