This is the first time I plan to travel independently, so I will record my personal journal here for your reference.
need
Take the kids out to play in the summer vacation. 7 years old can travel far away. Planning can have 9-10 days. The budget depends on it, it is best to travel freely and save money.
destination selection
Phuket is just in the rainy season, so there may not be many things to do. The scenic spots in northwest or Xinjiang are too far apart, most of the time is on the road, and the pure tour group is too expensive to afford. Finally settled on Taiwan.
Pre-research
After checking various group tours and collecting the attractions in Taiwan they went to, I personally think that the attractions can be roughly divided into three types: mountain tours, water play, and cultural tours. It feels better to play in water. And I feel that the people in Taiwan are more friendly, and free travel is not a big problem. Finally, it was determined that the general direction was the route to the east of Taiwan, because the east side faces the Pacific Ocean and the scenery is good.
Attractions and project selection
There are many interesting things in Taiwan, and they are not expensive. I originally wanted to play paragliding, but the child was not heavy enough, so I finally gave up. We have decided to visit 3 main places: Kenting, Hualien and Taipei. Required items include snorkeling, marine life museum, water motorized projects, and dolphin watching.
Preparation before travel
Inquire about the opening hours, prices and requirements of attractions in advance. You can ask the customer service on Zhu and Cheng to inquire clearly, so as to avoid problems such as the museum being closed on the day you go, and children not being able to participate.
Get Taiwan Pass, Endorsement and Entry Permit in advance. The pass is for you to go out from the mainland to Taiwan, and the Taiwan entry permit is for the Taiwan immigration department to let you in. It's two things, don't miss them. Passes need to be processed at the Exit-Entry Administration Bureau. In Shanghai, you can make an appointment online, and then go to take pictures and pay the money. It will take about 1-2 weeks to get it done. By the way, when applying for a passport, I also apply for an endorsement. It takes one endorsement to go to Taiwan once. Only with a pass can you apply for a Taiwan entry permit. The Taiwan entry permit must be handled by a qualified travel agency. You can find it on Cheng and Zhu. After scanning and uploading the required documents, it can be processed in about a week. These documents and endorsements are best done 3 months in advance.
Activate international roaming on mobile phones and rent local wifi equipment. I use roaming because it is very troublesome to get a local mobile phone card, and I don’t use it often, and the tariff is 6 cents/minute. Generally, you can use WeChat to contact tour guides, shopkeepers and drivers, and the phone is just a backup. And renting a WiFi device can surf the Internet during the trip, 10 yuan a day. But remember to bring a few more charging treasures to charge the wifi.
After planning the route and time, book a carpool in advance and buy a Taiwan Railway ticket, because the traffic in the east of Taiwan is not developed. From Kenting to Hualien, you can only carpool. The Taiwan Railway tickets from Hualien to Taipei are very tight. When I booked online, it was the same as the 12**6 a few years ago. When I released the ticket, I couldn’t open it. But it doesn't matter if you can't grab a good one, I'll talk about it later.
For some Taiwan dollars, about 4,000 Taiwan dollars is enough. You can make an appointment on the way, and then pick it up at the exchange point. When you arrive in Taiwan, you can use your savings card to withdraw money at the post office ATM. The exchange rate will be better, but remember to ask the bank whether cross-border withdrawals are enabled. Otherwise, it will be embarrassing if you can't get it out. Unlike mainland China, you can use *Credit and *Pal to pay everywhere. If you use a credit card, you are worried about the high handling fee.
Before departure, you can use Google Maps to find out the itinerary route and calculate the time. Because the 10-day itinerary is long, accommodation, transportation, and entertainment must be booked well, so it is recommended to calculate the time in advance, rehearse it on the map several times, and confirm that the entire itinerary is correct. Google Maps does not need to go over the wall, if you can’t use Bing Maps, you can use Baidu. When you arrive in Taiwan, you can use Google Maps. The weather during the typhoon season is unpredictable, and there is basically no plan B to choose when encountering a typhoon. So the outcome of the itinerary still depends on the sky.
useful links
Taiwan Railway Timetable Inquiry
http://www.go2tw.cn/index.php?app=car&mod=General&act=train_search&start_place=1715&end_place=1008&sdate=2018-06-28&stime=0&Class=2&change=%E6%9F%A5%E8%AF%A2&__hash__=1c3592d26caf9db391d32b8fa
Taipei MRT query, the MRT is the subway
http://tw.piliapp.com/mrt-taiwan/taipei/
Kaohsiung MRT Inquiry
http://www.krtco.com.tw/train_info/service-1.aspx
Taiwan's child ticket regulations
http://www.go2tw.cn/article/show/766.html
Taiwan Weather Network
http://tianqi.taiwandao.tw/
Precautions
Bring a flashlight when you go to the Marine Biology Museum overnight.
After getting off the plane at the airport and arriving at the MRT station, each person applies for an Easy Card, which can be used by MRT or bus.
Bring a raincoat to prevent the typhoon, the umbrella feels useless.
Start paying attention to the weather two weeks before your departure.
Wear sunscreen, it's very sunny.
All vouchers for booking hotels and projects are screenshots and stored in the mobile phone for easy viewing.
If you bring a computer, you need a 110V power adapter with a three-phase plug. It doesn't matter if the charger of the mobile phone is generally two-phase, it can be used universally.
Bring berberine, motion sickness medicine and other medicines, there is no berberine in Taiwan.
After buying air tickets, transportation, and accommodation, you must keep the contact information of the other party. If you take a day trip or carpool, the driver will usually contact you the afternoon before, but it always feels a bit late and unreliable.
After arriving in Taiwan, you can also apply for free wifi, log in here to register before departure
https://itaiwan.taiwan.net.tw/FitTravelRegister.aspx
After getting off the plane, follow the instructions and ask the staff to help you open it. But I have already bought a portable wifi for 10 yuan a day, so I didn't turn on this.
general route
This time I flew to Kaohsiung first, then went to the Haisheng Museum, Kenting, Hualien, Taipei, and finally flew back to Shanghai from Taipei. Basically, visit the east side of Taiwan from south to north. Originally, I wanted to start from Taipei and return to Kaohsiung at the end, but at that time I wanted to have a lot of things to do in Kenting, so I had to play well first, and finally take a leisure trip in Taipei, so that was the decision. Later, I felt that it was a good thing to go from south to north, because when I was in Hualien, the news reported that the road from Kenting to Kaohsiung was washed away by heavy rainfall, and the traffic was interrupted. At that time, if I chose the opposite direction, the itinerary would be disrupted. The 10-day itinerary is all arranged in advance, and the air tickets, hotels, transportation, and activities are not easy to change. If a typhoon comes, it will be in vain.
8.17 Friday
I booked a flight from Shanghai to Kaohsiung at 2:45 pm, about 2200 for 3 people. Two days ago, the news reported that the super typhoon arrived in Shanghai at noon, and a batch of flights were canceled yesterday, thinking that this trip might be a waste. Bite the bullet and go to the airport, but it didn't cancel, it was just half an hour late. Later, the plane arrived in Kaohsiung ten minutes earlier. There was an episode in the middle, when I met a middle-aged woman in line to get the boarding pass, she was warmly greeted, and then said that my luggage was overweight and I didn’t want to pay more, so could I help her with a suitcase. When receiving the boarding pass, the staff found that we did not know each other and warned us not to check in luggage for others. If there are drugs in it, it will be considered as your head. This is a long memory.
After disembarking in Kaohsiung, the weather was fine. After passing the security check, I went to get the mobile wifi device (bought in *bao in advance). Turn on the phone, connect the phone, and enter the password on the back to connect to the Internet. It can support several devices to surf the Internet at the same time. It can take 4 or 5 hours to charge once, so it is necessary to bring more charging treasures.
It was about 6 o'clock at this time, and the airport could go directly to the MRT station. Three people bought three EasyCards, which were pre-charged with 250 Taiwan dollars. Take the MRT Red Line to Kaohsiung Station, and cross the road to the hotel: **Cabin Hotel-Station*Hall. I booked 343 for 1 night, including breakfast, but no windows.
After checking in, we walked for about 20 minutes to the nearby Liuhe Night Market. There is a stall selling papaya milk at the entrance of the night market. Ma Ying-jeou recommended it. It is really delicious, very strong and genuine. But the night market felt unhygienic, because on the first day, I was afraid that the diarrhea would affect the rest of the schedule, so I went to eat beef noodles in a more formal store. The beef portion of Taiwanese beef noodles is very generous.
Eat well and sleep well on the first day, ready to start the official itinerary.
8.18 Saturday
Get up at 8 am and have breakfast at the hotel. The breakfast was not bad. When booking on the itinerary, it was stated that children would have to pay an additional NT$350, but it was actually confiscated. After eating and checking out, I went to the post office across the road to withdraw another 4,000 Taiwan dollars. There is an episode here. My ICBC card said that cross-border withdrawals were locked, and I was not allowed to withdraw. Later, I changed to China Merchants Bank. In the future, pay attention to ask the bank whether it can withdraw money across borders.
Then take the MRT to Formosa Boulevard Station, and wait for the driver to pick us up at 11 o'clock to go to the Haisheng Museum in Pingtung County. Carpooling is booked at *pig. From Kaohsiung to Haisheng Museum and Kenting, there is usually a carpool. It is very important to know the driver's wx and mobile phone number in advance, otherwise you will feel uneasy. After getting on the bus, it rained all the way on the road. When we arrived at the Marine Life Museum at about 1:00, the rain basically stopped. I booked a one-night trip on the official website of the Marine Life Museum before. Because the booking was late, I didn’t get a place in the subsea tunnel. I chose the itinerary of the crab encounter. I will visit the Coral Kingdom Pavilion, go to the beach to find crabs at night, and sleep in the deck cabin area . If you want to book the subsea tunnel, you need to book it at least half a year in advance. It's quite interesting to bring children to stay overnight in the Marine Life Pavilion. It doesn't matter if you can't grab the undersea tunnel, as long as you choose to sleep in the Coral Kingdom Pavilion, I will explain it later. Because it was just noon, we had a light meal at the restaurant outside the entrance before going in. The itinerary is to gather at 4 o'clock, and you can visit freely before 4 o'clock, so we first took a look at everything except the Coral Kingdom Pavilion. At 4 o'clock, the guide will take each group to visit their respective venues. After eating a simple meal in the restaurant around 6 o'clock, I took the bus to the beach to watch crabs. I felt that the dinner was so-so, because I ate lunch at my own expense before leaving the next day, and found that there was still a big gap with the dinner. The process of finding crabs on the beach at night was very interesting. There were hermit crabs all over the ground, and I also found a crab boss who ran very fast, mimicking a real stick insect. It was 10 o'clock after I went back to wash up.
8.19 Sunday
I got up at 7 o'clock in the morning and ran to the undersea tunnel. There was no one there, only two beluga whales swimming around, and they would swim over to say hello when they saw people. Because the deck cabin is not far from the subsea tunnel, it doesn't matter if you can't book the subsea tunnel. After breakfast in the morning, I went to the backyard to feed the fish. Left at noon. I originally planned to take the bus to Kenting Street at the entrance, but when I met a solicitor at the entrance, I asked about the price, 100 Taiwan dollars per person, children are free, faster than the bus, and it can be delivered to the entrance of the hotel. I thought it was quite cheap and went up. At the beginning, I was very worried about ripping off customers, but in the end I found out that I was very trustworthy. This is appreciated. When I arrived at the B&B Ma* Home in Kenting, I booked 2 nights on the * journey, 540 for 1 night, which was the most expensive trip. Because it was getting late, I borrowed an electric scooter from my boss and went to the nearby beach to play for a while before having dinner and watching TV for sleep. If you only go within 5 kilometers, the boss will lend you a motorcycle for free. If you rent for 1 day to go to a distant place, it will be 500 a day. Although it is said that two adults and one child are not allowed to ride in one car, the traffic police generally do not arrest them. Even if they are fined, it is cheaper than renting two cars. The next day we rented a car and went to Houbihu.
8.20 Monday
I booked a snorkeling activity in Nan* on *pig before. We rode a motorcycle to Houbi Lake early in the morning. It rained heavily on the way, and we arrived at our destination after hiding from the rain for a while. Snorkeling is very worthwhile. Later, the banana boat overturned and hit the shoulder, and the rest of the projects were not played. But the project is not expensive at all compared with the mainland. The average project is only about 30 yuan. Before, it cost 120 yuan to play a motorboat in Qidong, Jiangsu. Go to Huige for lunch at noon, when the weather has become brighter, and then ride a motorcycle for a ride. Riding a motorcycle by the sea was so cool, I wished I could stay in Kenting for two more days. But be careful to apply sunscreen and wear long sleeves. We rode to the white sand beach and played for an afternoon. When it was getting dark, we found that the rain clouds in the distance were heading towards Kenting Street, so we started the return journey, and we encountered rain on the road. And it was too dark, and I went the wrong way. Everyone was very tired from playing today, so we packed up meals and watched TV at the homestay.
8.21 Tuesday
After breakfast in the morning, the scheduled carpool driver came to pick us up at the door of the hotel, and we started our day trip to Hualien. I booked a one-day trip from Kenting to Hualien on the Rift Valley Line at *pig. I would first take a section of the Pacific Ocean Line, then take the Mountain Line, pass through Braun Avenue, the Tropic of Cancer Monument, Ruisui Ranch, and finally arrive at Hualien. The scenery of the Pacific Ocean is beautiful. The milk, steamed buns, and puddings at Ruisui Ranch are all delicious. Try to eat as much as possible. I wanted to buy more puddings to eat at home, but the clerk told me to keep them refrigerated, so I had to give up. The lunch at Chishang Station was so-so. The Tropic of Cancer monument is the place to check in. Braun Avenue is also very ordinary, just a large paddy field, and the itinerary also arranges a 1-hour tour time, because the avenue is relatively long, and most tourists will rent a four-wheeled electric car. The leader thought it was boring, complained a few words, and planned to walk away, but it started to rain lightly, so he had to pick the cheapest rickshaw to ride by himself, at least there was a shed. But it soon turned into pouring rain, and the raincoat and umbrella were useless. At this time, the little Tang Seng began to complain about the mode, complaining non-stop all the way. My wife and I felt very unhappy at first, but instead of listening to it. It's funny. Fortunately, the rain stopped soon, and the sun was still out, so I let Tang Seng kick by himself. He thought it was fun, so he didn't complain. We arrived at Guo*xing Hotel around 5 o'clock. We chose it because it was near the train station, and it was convenient to take a car behind. The hotel is a bit old, but 257 a night including breakfast is worth the price. By the way, the bed in Taiwan's double bed room is a bit small, and it is quite crowded to sleep 3 people, so it is better to book a twin bed room.
8.22 Wednesday
On the second day, the scheduled whale watching tour in *pig begins. Whale watching in Hualien is scheduled in *zhu, about two hours, the journey is very comfortable, the weather is particularly good in the morning. Go back to the hotel at noon to rest for a while, and participate in the river tracing in the afternoon. It rained a little in the middle, and it was a bit cold. The children liked the whole journey. It can be said that this trip has a lot of luck, and there is no situation where it rains and cannot participate in the activities.
8.23 Thursday
Today I booked a one-day tour of Taroko by carpool. I originally wanted to book a paraglider, but I had to change it because the child couldn't play. I checked the information on the Internet before and said that because the driver's license is not valid, motorcycles in Taiwan are not rented to mainland tourists, and the distance to Taroko is difficult for electric vehicles, so I chose carpooling. When I went around the hotel, there are many motorcycle rental companies. I asked a few of them and found that motorcycles can still be rented, as long as they have a mainland China C license. But the car is definitely not rentable, and the international translation of the driver's license exchanged for the rental car in *Alipay is also not acceptable. However, it is correct for a family of three to choose carpooling, and it is not so tiring. If it's two people, I think it's better to ride a motorcycle.
8.24 Friday
Checked out early this morning after breakfast, stored the luggage at the hotel, and then took the car to go boating on the Xiuguluan River at 7 o'clock. There is a small episode here. The driver didn’t contact me last night. I looked for customer service on WeChat, but I got the driver’s phone number very late. The driver didn’t have WeChat yet. In the morning, the driver explained that the driver's car was broken down, and he was notified to take today's shift at 12:00 last night. Xiuguluan River is a little far from Hualien City, so it is necessary to start early. It started to rain today, and I thought it was a good thing I hadn’t decided to visit Taroko today. It happened to be raining today but not too much, the water did not rise too much, but it was a little more exciting than usual. On the way, our boat collided with another boat and capsized. Fortunately, everyone was fine. Because I planned to take the Taiwan Railway to Taipei today, I originally wanted to buy a ticket for 6 o’clock, because this event would not come back until around 4 o’clock, but later I asked *pig to buy a ticket for 5 o’clock. I went to the train station last night to ask for a 6 o'clock ticket, so I changed it to a 6 o'clock ticket last night. When we arrived at the starting point, the tour guide said that it was raining today, and we would not rest in the rest area halfway, and it would end early. As a result, we returned to the hotel at 3 o'clock. I thought I still had so much time, so I went to the train station to check the tickets. Living next to the train station is the advantage. After asking, there is no direct ticket, but the staff patiently helped me choose the transfer method, and finally got on the train to Taipei smoothly in advance. In fact, you can buy Taiwan Railway tickets by yourself on the official website, as long as you have a UnionPay credit card. I found that purchasing agent on *pig is also a similar way, but it will be more than ten yuan more expensive. It doesn't matter if you can't buy it, some tickets are only released the day before or on the day, and you can buy them directly at the train station.
It takes about two hours to arrive at Taipei Main Station, and it will take you to Taipei 3* Hotel soon by MRT. This is 428 a night, not including breakfast. So for breakfast in the past two days, I bought McDonald's burgers + milk from convenience stores.
8.25 Saturday
Today I participated in the one-day tour of Yehliu + Shifen Old Street. I thought that the children were not interested in the Forbidden City and Memorial Hall, so I didn’t choose it. As for Yehliu, Shifen Old Street is relatively far away from the map, and the bus time is relatively long, so just report to the tour group. Gather at Taipei Main Station in the morning and set off to Yehliu Geopark. It feels okay. At noon, I went to the old street to eat. The old street is on the mountain. To be honest, the food didn't feel as delicious as it said on the Internet. In the afternoon after eating, we went to Pingxi to release sky lanterns. The place where the sky lanterns were released was a railway track, with shops on both sides, and occasionally a train would come. There is also a suspension bridge nearby, but unfortunately, due to time constraints, I didn't run over to see it. After that, we went to the pineapple cake factory to make pineapple cakes and tasted dim sum for free. The dim sum in the factory was really delicious. We also bought some, and they could deliver them to the airport before our departure tomorrow. The service was good. Originally, today's itinerary was over, but found that there was still some time, so I went to the Eslite Bookstore.
8.26 Sunday
Today I checked out, took the MRT directly to Taoyuan Airport, returned the wifi device, and left Taiwan.
Summarize
This trip to Taiwan felt that 10 days was not enough, and when I left, I still had the feeling of wanting to come back next time. In Taiwan, there is basically no worry about the phenomenon of ripping off customers, and the whole journey feels very comfortable. The overall cost is less than 2w for 3 people and 10 days.
