We wrote this guide on how to get to Sun Moon Lake from the Taichung Train Station after we stayed in Taichung for a few days. We previously wrote about Taichung night market which is worth checking out if you are staying in town. If you are catching the HSR train our guide will still help you with the bus leg of the journey.
We also have a handy guide if you need to know how to get from Taipei to Taichung although if you are trying to get from Taipei to Sun Moon Lake you will probably want to catch the high speed rail then transfer to a bus. The guide you are reading now will help you.
The easiest option seems to be to catch the bus. To catch the bus from Taichung to Sun Moon Lake make your way to the bus stop across the road from the main entrance from the Taichung Train Station. From the other side of the road if you are looking at the train station, the bus stop is on your right.
Other people may be waiting for the bus also. You may also encounter taxi drivers who offer a cheap rate to get to Sun Moon Lake. It probably won't end up that cheap, so just wait for the bus.
The buses run from 7:50 am in the morning all the way until 7:50 pm in the evening. Buses run between the two places every 10 to 60 minutes. Payment is via easycard or by cash. The full fare cost is just over NTD $200 per person. We are unsure of the exact amount sorry.
Jump on the bus, and the next stop will be the Taichung HSR Station. Those of you who have caught the fast train from Taipei will get on the bus at this this station.
There are special Sun Moon Lake Passes that can be purchased from the Taichung HSR Station. We weren't aware of these at the time, so we didn't get these ourselves. The information below is what we found once we reached Sun Moon Lake. You can also buy these when you reach Sun Moon Lake but if we had of known of the Transport Passes we would have bought them in Taichung.
Here are the prices of various Sun Moon Lake Passes that include transport from Taichung according to a flyer we picked up in 2012. The “full price” figures are from the flyer and we can't vouch for their accuracy.
Taichung – Sun Moon Lake (round trip ticket) – NTD $660 (Full Price – NTD $1084)
Taichung – Sun Moon Lake (round trip ticket) + Formosan Aboriginal Cultural Village Ticket – NTD $990 (Full Price – NTD $1614)
For more information about the above passes and others that you can purchase, please see this website. Andrew and I wish we had of found this website sooner!
The bus ride from Taichung to Sun Moon Lake was very comfortable. The seats were large, heaps of legroom, and a comedy television show played for the first hour. For the last thirty minutes or so, a travel show on Sun Moon Lake was shown. A very enjoyable ride indeed.
The bus drops you at a visitor's center that has plenty of nearby restaurants and hotels. Mei Jen House, where we stayed, was a very short stroll down the road.
When you are ready to catch the bus back from Sun Moon Lake to Taichung you just come back to this visitor center. From Taichung you can catch the train to wherever you need to go.
Looking For a Sun Moon Lake Hotel?
We stayed at a lovely place called Mei Jen House. It was slightly more expensive than our usual budget but Sun Moon Lake is a popular destination so prices are a little higher than elsewhere. It was clean, the manager was friendly and the place had a ton of personality.
Click to read our full review of Mei Jen House
Click to see what other people think
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29 thoughts on “How To Get From Taichung To Sun Moon Lake Easily”
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Thank you for the information above. Very usefull!!!
More than welcome 🙂
Love your post. Your post does tempt me to visit SML for my trip this year end! Thanks~~
Please do visit Sun Moon Lake… it is lovely!
Thank yoy very much for the useful information above. You have wrote about I what really . Now seems to me easier to visit SML from Taipéi. Thank you very very much!
…about what I really need……..By the way. the link” For more information about the above passes and others that you can purchase, please see this …..website……. is not working!”. Thank you
Very useful. But what is the website ? I don’t see it in this article.
this website 🙂
Sun Moon Lake is gorgeous in the morning. I was glad i have experienced it once 🙂
Hi, I would like to know that the bus pass by taichung railway station then to taichung hsr. will there still be seats available? or can we are able to reserve the seats?
I am not sure Janice. The staff at the train station will be able to help you with a smile 🙂
Could someone let me know is there any toilet facilities on the bus?
thanks for the info… Absolutely useful and informative
Hi Tanya thank you for the information! I would like to check if Sun Moon Lake can be done in a sort of a day tour? I’m planning to probably go in the morning and then be back in the hotel by night?
Dan could you confirm if you did the tour in one day ? I’m interested also with 1 day tour if it fitx in 12 hours.
Thanks
Carles
thanks for information Tanya ,i ll be in taiwan 2 weeks and mext wednesay sunmoon lake ..
Hi! May I know how long was your ride from taichung HSR to sun moon lake? Thanks!
Plan to go stay with my family(5pax)in Taipei for 6days. Can anybody give me some suggestion how do I go from Taichung to SunMoonLake (theme Park).Should i hire a van or take a bus or cab…tkys
Here is how you can get from Taichung to Sun Moon Lake https://www.magictravelblog.com/how-to-get-from-taichung-to-sun-moon-lake-easily/
Once there you can buy a bus ticket from the visitor center to get you to the theme park itself. You can read more about that at https://www.magictravelblog.com/sun-moon-lake-ropeway-taiwan/
felt super lost. googled. found this page. followed directions in every detail. rescued! everything worked out perfectly, you’re an angel ! :-))) we took the normal train, 2 hours Taipei – Taizhong, I enjoyed the ride very much. Then bus (walk from the train station main exit, turn left walk 3-5 minutes until can see the exact sign like shown above), then checked in at mei zhen house (called 5 hours earlier in the morning to make reservation). very happy, thank you !
Glad it was helpful 🙂
I love your blog! Thanks for the tip! My initial decision was to visit Fenggu Rd’s beautiful Yuanman church, but I may now change my plans. haha!
Hi Tanya!
Thank you for your sharing! May i ask you something?
If i plan to go to sun moon lake from Taichung, do you know what is the best time to go there (morning/afternoon/evening) ?
Basically, is there a lot of things to see there?
Also, can it be 1 day trip, so i could go back to Taichung at night?
Hope to hear from you soon!
Thank you 🙂
Hi Nathania, Sun Moon Lake could be done in one day but you would be missing out… there is so much more to see at dawn and dusk. Stay the night, you won’t regret it 🙂
Hi Tanya,
Just want to ask, approximately how many hours will it take from Taichung to SML? Also the SML pass seems expensive if they only offer roundtrip transfers from Taichung (you mention that the bus fare is around 200NT$) unless if they have additional perks on it. I am interested in visiting SML in a day trip coming from Taichung and thinking of doing the Formosan Aboriginal Cultural Village, would this fit in a day? I am planning to spend the night after the trip at Taichung.