1

I would plan on an overnight in Taroko and taking a side hike. then again I like hiking.

There is not much to see in Taichung. It's a great place to hang out, recover from jet lag or take side trips from, but aside from the natural history museum (good, but not world class), there's not much to do there.

I've been told the cross island (taichung-alishan-taroko) trip takes longer than I think so I guess you may wish to double-check your plans there.

Personally I found Sun Moon Lake not that interesting. The boat tour and the visit to the temple on the other side of the lake were okay, but the town itself was a waste of time.

Edited by: LongIslandBob

2

Taichung has a great earthquake museum but alternately, you can stay at Changhua which has more interesting sights around. I don't know if Alishan - Cingjing - Hua Lien is possible. I thought some of the mountain roads are still closed?

3

Agree with the others that Taichung doesn't offer much in the way of sightseeing. However, it does have a lot of shopping, eating and nightlife options. Changhua is only 15 minutes from Taichung by train so it could easily be visited as a day trip.

4

Hi,
With a hire car you could certainly get from Alishan to Taroko via Ching Ching Farm in two days (you can pass through Sun Moon Lake on the way, beacause it's on the route), although it wouldn't leave you you so much time to explore one of the most beautiful areas of Taiwan accessible by road (by which I DON'T mean Ching Ching, which is OK, but very touristy, but Mount Hohuan a bit further up the road and the eastern half of the Central Cross-island Highway on the way down to Taroko, plus ( agreeing with Long Island Bob) you'd probably need a bit more time for Taroko Gorge, as there's plenty to see there, including a number of short but beautiful walks. You could knock a day off Taipei and head back there on Day 7 (get an early train and you can be in the capital before lunch).

Hope you have a great time!

5

By "driver", do you mean a taxi? The fares involved in hiring a cab to take you between Taichung and Hualien would be extremely high. It would be cheaper to rent a car in Taichung and drive yourself. However, you need to consider two things: 1.) how comfortable you would be driving on winding, narrow mountain roads; and 2.) and how much the drop-off charges would be if you were to rent a car in Taichung and leave it in Hualien. It would be cheaper to return the car to the place where you rented it, but that wouldn't work with your itinerary.

Cingjing Farm isn't all that special. The scenery can be very nice when the weather is clear, but for the most part it's probably of more interest to Taiwanese urban dwellers looking to get out of the city than for visitors from abroad.

Day 8 is probably too ambitious, especially by public transportation. I would choose either Yehliu or Jiufen, but not both on the same day. You could take a train to Keelung, then a bus out to Yehliu, returning to Keelung and the night market before getting a train back to Taipei. Or you could spend the day exploring Jiufen and Jinguashi, which can be reached by bus from Ruifang.

A couple of suggestions:
1.) You might like to return to Taipei from Alishan. There are buses from Alishan to Chiayi's high-speed rail station. This would give you an extra day that you could then use to make an overnight trip using public transport around Taiwan's northeast coast, going from Tamsui to Yehliu to Keelung and Jiufen, if you like;
2.) Taroko Gorge can be visited as a day trip from Taipei, provided you get an early start and are traveling in a group. Take an express from Taipei to Hualien, and then hire a taxi to take you to and around Taroko. The fare should be around NT2500 for the day. You could be back in Taipei that evening after dinner in Hualien.