Hualien / toroko gorge

Hi All, I was hoping to get info on inexpensive(like $50-70 a night) places to stay in Hualien city. I am planning on staying there for a few days and touring the Toroko Gorge. Also, What is the best way to tour the Gorge. I will be by myself , so do I rent a car or stay in a Hotel at the gorge or do I take a tour bus daily? Please any help would be great.
Thanks, Jbrudda

I wold recommend staying in Hualian and touring Taroko from there, since accommodation and especially food is far better in Hualian, and it is still reasonably convenient.
There are 4 ways to tour Taroko:
Cheapest is by buses that run from Hualian to Tianxiang several times a day. You can get a schedule from the Hualian tourist info center. However, there aren't many buses, so you will only be able to see 2, maybe 3 sights/ trails a day.
Easiest and most expensive way is by taxi. This should cost 1500-2000 NT/ day.
You can also rent your own scooter/ car, though you may not be comfortable driving through Taroko yourself.
Finally, there is a bike rental shop near the mouth of the gorge. This could be fun way of seeing the gorge, but it can be taxing and slow.

Stay in Hualien...for $50-$70 US a night you have LOTS of options. Check a guidebook or stop at the tourism office when you get there. Try to stay downtown, not near the train station. It's walkable but a boring area - the very tiny amount of nightlife is all downtown.

You could take the bus each day, or sign up for a tour, but it would be hard to see things as you like. For about $2000NT ($60US) you could charter a taxi but would need either a really good phrasebook or some basic ability in Chinese, or a good map to show the driver what you want to do. Maps are available at the park headquarters at the entrance.

Thanks all......

I agree with the other two people. I've gone to Taroko Gorge twice. The first time I stayed in Tienhsiang (spelling?) in the gorge at the church hostel really near the Grand Formosa (don't recall the name). We ended up eating all of our meals at the luxury hotel, the Grand Formosa which was spendy but excellent. You're food options in the gorge will be basically limited to the Grand Formosa or a few greasy cafeteria stands which may or may not be open when you're hungry. My friend stayed at the youth hostel and said that the food was terrible, but that was a couple of years ago.
The 2nd time I went I stayed in Hualien. I took a one day tour of Taroko Gorge through my hotel (the huatung hotel) which was a taiwan tour bus tour. My only complaint was that they took us to an overpriced marble shop and to a so called "dried fish museum." Still, I got to see plenty of the gorge and my relatives were glad that they didn't have to walk too much (were older with foot problems). If you have only one day to see Taroko my advice would be to sign up for a tour with a nicer hotel in Hualien because I found the buses in Tienhsiang to be unreliable. If you have the money and want to splurge or happen to get a special, the Grand Formosa is quite lovely if you are dying to stay in the gorge.

That's why if you stay at the other end of the gorge, you should bring a bag of food if you don't want to get spendy & eat at the fancy hotel.

My wife and I rented a car in Hualien. The price was reasonable, and not only were we able to explore the gorge at our leisure, we also used it to visit other places around Hualien that are very difficult to reach by public transportation.

That sounds wonderful.

I hate driving (as does my fiance) and having spent most of my adult life in big cities, I am not a very good driver to boot (same for fiance). So renting a car was just not going to happen.

We chartered a taxi for $2000NT/day and that was basically just as good.

Can anybody recommend hotels in Hualien? Is the youth hostel(Ivy International) any good? I need a good hostel with a twin room and preferably a kitchen.

Does anybody know the distance between Hualien and Taipei international airport by car?

I wouldn't recommend renting a car unless you're used to driving on mountainous windy roads. I wouldn't dare drive a scooter through Taroko Gorge......it's a cliffhanger windy road that you'd be sharing with tour buses. Also, if you plan on staying in the gorge in Tienhsiang, I would wear bright colors and carry a flashlight in case it gets dark or foggy. I stayed in Tienhsiang and had to walk on roads that had no shoulder with cars driving by in order to access certain trails. That's another reason why I'd recommend you stay in Hualien and have someone else arrange your transportation.