Rail Tour of Taiwan Traveller Reviews

We are back after a terrific three weeks in Taiwan. Eastravel arranged a rail, bus and car tour around the island, picking up most of the highlights of this fascinating country. We really enjoyed the trip and the itinerary set up for us by Eastravel worked really well - except for a very late season and unexpected typhoon which meant we missed out seeing the east coast of the island and a few days in Yilan. But instead we had some extra days in Kaohsiung, which we really liked as a city, and Taipei - which is so vast in size that it was no problem filling our extra time there! All the hotels that were selected were very good, just right for us and well located. All the travel arrangements worked very well (although we have suggested some minor improvements for possible future travellers). The train and bus services in Taiwan are very efficient and keep to very good time.

Eastravel arrange the holiday for us. They were excellent. We had a good dialogue about our interests and hopes for the trip and, interactively with us, they put together the itinerary. They provided full descriptive details for the itinerary and arranged the train and bus reservations. Eastravel and their Taiwan based partners Edison Tours were very helpful and efficient in rearranging our itinerary after the typhoon. This was done very quickly and, through their good knowledge and contacts, was done without any extra cost.

We spent 16 days touring Taiwan by train and car. 3 days were spent in Taipei and the local area with a couple of tours arranged by the tour operator. We then took a combination of trains and car and driver to travel round the outside of Taiwan, including 3 internal stops for national parks visits.

Eastravel worked with us to tailor make our holiday and were very responsive (within hours), even at the weekend and also listened to our requirements to change certain items when the initial suggestions needed a bit of tweaking. They provided an overview of the hotels that they suggested before we booked to make sure we were happy with them. They kept us informed on the status of all the bookings, even apologising when their team had to be evacuated due to a cyclone and so weren't as responsive as they had been previously. All of the hotels, train tickets and other logistics worked without a hitch and they kept in touch while we were on holiday to ensure we knew the pick up points for shuttle buses. Eastravel also checked in with us once we got back to ensure everything had gone well. The holiday couldn't have gone any better.

For our honeymoon we spent 4 nights at The Hari in Wan Chai, Hong Kong, followed by 10 days travelling round Taiwan (2 at the Palais de Chine in Taipei, 2 at The Lalu at Sun Moon Lake, 2 at Alishan Hotel in Alishan and 2 at The Grand Hi-Lai at Kaohsiung), and finally 8 nights in Thailand at a private residence. During our time in Taiwan we had private tours and drivers to take us to various sights and to help us get between various locations (including Taroko Gorge, which was magnificent). This meant we were able to see so much of the country in the time we had there. We had the most magical time, all our hotels were stunning and in great locations for sightseeing or relaxing (The Lalu at Sun Moon Lake was a particular highlight) and the scenery was breath-taking (Sun Moon Lake and everything at Alishan were particularly spectacular). All the staff were so kind to us, especially as it was such a special trip for us. All the organisation that went into this trip was impeccable, we would not have been able to do this without Dorothy's expertise and guidance. It truly made it a trip of a lifetime for us and we loved every second!

Dorothy, as always, could not have been more helpful at every stage of bringing this trip together. From the early stages when we weren't 100% sure of how we might be able to make it work, to actually helping us with last minute questions about logistics whilst we were away, she was always there to help us. We are so grateful to her for helping us create such a perfect honeymoon for us (and for arranging champagne, balloons and sweet treats for us on our arrival in Hong Kong!)

Rail journey from Taipei down the West side to Kaohsiung and then back to Taipei via Taitung up the east side The east side provides superb views of the mountains and coast from the train First stop was the Grand Hi Lai hotel in Kaohsiung which is a superb 5* hotel Highlight of the trip was staying at the Silks Place Hotel in the mountains Approximately one hour by Hotel coach from Hualien station but worth the effort as the views are superb

Superb service and everything organised down to the last detail

Thank you for arranging our fascinating holiday in Taiwan. Your itinerary was perfect and it gave us the opportunity to explore this beautiful island. All your arrangements – flights, hotels, trains, shuttle buses, tours, etc – worked like clockwork and enabled us to relax and enjoy our trip without worries. Your suggestions and ideas were much appreciated and enabled us to make the most of our trip. The scenery across the island was spectacular –- from the coastal regions to the high mountains in the clouds -- and we have so many wonderful memories: the bustling city of Taipei and Walter who took us on the morning tour; travelling the Pingxi Railway Line and hopping on and off the train at stations to explore the mining towns and watch the launch of the sky lanterns; the peace and beauty of Sun Moon Lake; the twisting road to Alishan through the tea plantations and into the mountains through the clouds; the early morning ride on the 4.50 am Alishan Forest Train to watch the sunrise at Chu-Shan (6.23 am) and, after breakfast, we spent the rest of the day hiking along different forest trails. In Kaosiung, we took the ferry to Cihou and explored the fishermen’s quarter; the next day we visited a fish market, walked around Central Park and then saw “The Dome of Light” glass ceiling installation at Formosa Boulevard MRT station. Kenting was delightful: a member of the hotel staff gave us a guided tour of the marine coastal park and we walked the trail around Frog Rock. The following day we walked for 5+ hours in the National Park and were fortunate to spot two families of wild macaques. The railway ride on the Tze Chiang Line was wonderful and, although it was a very windy and damp day, we enjoyed the views from the train. The onsen in our room in Chihpen. The twisting road along the Taroko Gorge to Silks Place was memorable for the views in spite of the rain, but we were fortunate it was fine for our tour to Changchun Temple, our walk along the Swallow Grotto Trail and at Cimu Bridge. Afterwards we climbed up to the beautiful Buddhist temple and pagoda on the hillside overlooking the Gorge. Our tour with Frank from Taipei along the northern coast to Keelung and Yehliu Geo Park, where the rain ceased as we walked among the amazing sandstone formations. So many incredible sights: the temples, the markets, the scenery, the flora and fauna. A memorable holiday. Your choice of hotels was excellent: from the amazing Lalu overlooking Sun Moon Lake to Caesar Park with its friendly and charming staff. Silks Place in Taroko with its beautiful garden – and aboriginal music in the evening. Royal Chihpen with our own onsen. Alishan House, where the staff wore Halloween costumes. Quote Hotel, a convenient city hotel. And the Grand Hi-Lai with wonderful views over the port from our room on the 19th floor. All the hotels were so different and this added greatly to the enjoyment of our holiday. We loved the Taiwanese food and that it changed with our location around the island. We found the Taiwanese very friendly and we met so many lovely people. Thank you again for your extremely thorough and comprehensive arrangements for our remarkable holiday. Xie, xie.

Dorothy, Cathy and Angela arranged a wonderful Tour by Rail around Taiwan, with an itinerary tailor-made for us. Their attention to detail was second to none and all their arrangements - flights, hotels, trains, shuttle buses, tours, etc – worked like clockwork and enabled us to relax and enjoy a fantastic and carefree holiday.