Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Crockpot2001]

Going to Taiwan for Chew-Sock. Not interested in Taipai as we just want to get away, do a lot of hiking, and then 2 days of diving in the South. We want to take the train clockwise around Taiwan.

Has anyone any experience with buying tickets at the train station instead of in advance? Lonely planet recommended doing this in advance but the rail website is pretty lame and anything could happen to change our schedule.

Thanks

[nukeday]

might want to book in advance. i went to taiwan last chuseok, and it happened to coincide with the taiwanese version of chuseok (which only lasted one day). i'm not sure if it's the same this year, but something to consider. better safe than sorry, especially on a shorter trip..

[Reappropriated]

I had no problem getting tickets during the day on the high speed rail trains, so if you are traveling during non peak times you should be fine. It is also really easy to purchase tickets. I did it from the machines and also from a teller (which you have to do for that days tickets).

I also took a slow train from Hualien to Taipei, and it was full, so if I did not already have a ticket I would have been out of luck.

I guess what I am saying is that if there is any reason why the trains might be full (time of day you want to travel, holiday, etc.), you probably want to get them online. I ordered most of mine online and just brought the conformation number and passport number with me and printed them from the machine.

[runthegauntlet]

I just went to the train station before the train I wanted left and got tickets. No problems at all though coming back from Hualien I had to wait another hour for the next train as the current one was full.

But if you're worried, just book ahead. Could be a gamble waiting.

[kardisa]

There are no public holidays that week, so you shouldn't need to reserve tickets in advance. Even if it's a peak travel time (evenings/weekends), you won't have to wait long for the next available train.

edit: Taipei to Hualien is always a busy route on weekends, so if you want to be absolutely certain you'll get tickets for a certain time, buy them in advance. Still, even if you just show up at the station,you shouldn't have to wait more than 45-60min.

[Crockpot2001]

[Crockpot2001]

Holy freegin craptacular!!!

Tell me what you see is wrong with this confirmation I got for buying express tickets from Taipai to Hualien. To heck with it, I'll tell you. You must pick up the tickets 2 days in advance. Yeah, that will work just fine as my plane arrives 2 hours before. I called them and they said "Is that a problem?".

Booking successfully -- Thank You
Passport number: 40XXXXX6X Booking code: 9X9639
Train number: 1063 Train type: Tze Chiang
Departing time: 2010/09/21 14:12
Departure station: Shu-lin Arrival station: Hua-lien

Number of passengers: 02
Ticket-taking due date: 2010/09/18 01:00