Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Planning Your Bike Trip
The best time to cycle in Taiwan is from September to December for generally good
weather islandwide. Winter in the south and coastal west sees warm and dry conditions.
Riding after a typhoon (assuming there has been no road damage) is usually a good way
to ensure clear weather. Other than directly during a typhoon or sand storm, you can ride
all year.
Sleeping & Eating
An explosion of B&Bs islandwide means quality (and reasonably priced) accommoda-
tion is easy to find everywhere. B&Bs and hotels are used to cyclists and will find a
place to store your bike safely. There are also plenty of campgrounds on the east coast.
Cheap restaurants are everywhere in rural areas and only on the cross-island highways
would you ride more than a few hours without finding food or lodging.
Convenience stores are ubiquitous, again except on cross-island roads. They provide
drinks, decent food and washrooms. On popular cycling routes they usually have bicycle
pumps and repair kits.
On many popular cycling routes the local police station functions as a rest stop for
cyclists. Inside you are welcome to use the bicycle pump, repair kit, water and rest area.
Some stations even allow camping out back.
Bikes on Public Transport
You can take a bagged folding bike on practically any form of transport.
The government-run Kuo Kuang Bus Company (
Click here
)
, and most county bus
companies, will usually take a full-sized bagged bike as luggage (for half fare).
Train policy on full-sized bikes is confusing and inconsistent. For longer distances, it's
still best to ship the bike (remove anything that might break or fall off and bag the bike
or secure it with cardboard) to your destination train station one day before. You only
need to give your phone number, ID number, value of the bike and the destination in
Chinese. You cannot ship from Taipei Main Station - go to Wanhua or Songshan.
The baggage room is called
xínglǐ fáng
. Tell the attendant
Wǒ yào tuōyùn jiǎotàchē
('I
want to ship a bike').
You can take a non-bagged bike on designated slow local trains, and a bagged (full-
sized) bike on any local train. Some fast Tze-chiang trains have a 12th car with bike stor-
age so you can ride on the same train as your bike. Visit
www.railway.gov.tw
and look
for the bike symbol next to the schedule (note that the English website is not as compre-
hensive as the Chinese).
