We know the most popular way to get from Taoyuan Airport to Taichung is by the THSR because it’s faster – but do you know it’s probably just going to be 30mins to 1hour difference as compared to a bus? Plus, taking a THSR means you’ll have to take a transfer from Taoyuan Airport MRT to Taoyuan HSR BEFORE you can transfer to the HSR. Sounds like a lot of trouble to us, especially when we think about the luggage, so we are recommending the bus option! Here’s why.
1. It’s cheap.
Need we say more? The entire journey from Taoyuan International Airport to Taichung will cost you just NT$300, which is about SG$14 per pax. Taking the THSR will cost you about NT$700, inclusive of the transfer from the airport MRT to THSR station. Savings: NT$400 per pax.
2. Convenient drop off points from Taoyuan Airport.
Based on the 8 stops that the U Bus makes, you can drop off at any location at no extra charge. For instance, if you staying near Feng Jia Night Market, you may want to drop off at Stop #1 (Chao Ma station). We dropped off at Stop #6 and walked to our hotel because that’s how convenient the drop-off points are!
3. Comfortable and guaranteed seats.
Not only are you guaranteed to have seats, the seats are pretty comfortable too! It was a treat to have such spacious seats after our 4-hour flight on Jetstar 😀 Moreover, even though we took the bus in the afternoon, the bus was not crowded at all and we managed to catch some sleep on the journey to Taichung!
4. Journey is not THAT long from Taoyuan Airport.
Lady over the counter told us the journey could take 2.5 – 3 hour depending on the traffic but the stop arrived at Chao Ma station in just 2 hours! So, as compared to taking the THSR, we probably took half an hour more but the convenience., comfort and money savings really made it worth it.
Convinced? Here’s how to get to the bus terminal:
Once you exit the customs, simply follow the directions to the bus terminal (it’s less than a 5-min walk) and you’ll see many counters selling bus tickets to various parts of Taiwan. You can zoom in straight to Kuo Kuang / Ubus and see which has a timing that suits you better! We were lucky to catch the departing Ubus but if you are not so lucky, you may have to wait ~0.5 hour but you can easily spend the time getting some snacks or evening buying your SIM card 🙂
Look out for our upcoming entries on what to eat in Taichung! Or if you have not finalised your itinerary yet, we may be able to help with our recommended 1-day Taichung Itinerary!
