Taiwan

Taiwan Driving Advice and Car Hire Info

Driving in Taiwan
Taiwan drives on the right. If you intend to drive in Taiwan, you will need an International Driver’s Permit (IDP). Also, official guidance states that you need to take your  IDP and a passport photograph to the nearest Vehicle Registration Dept and apply for a driver’s licence visa, which will then be secured in your IDP. I would suggest checking with your car rental company whether this is actually required and if so, whether they would be able to help arrange this before you travel.

Taiwan has a well maintained and efficient road system, including a toll road freeway system. Tolls are totted up automatically and you will pay when you return the rental car. Toll roads are –

Freeway 1: Also known as The Sun Yat-Sen Freeway, Taiwan’s major North-south freeway, beginning in Keelung and ending in Kaohsiung.

Freeway 3: Also known as Formosa Freeway, is Taiwan’s second North-South freeway in Taiwan. It begins in Keelung City and ends in Pingtung, running further inland than Route 1.

Freeway 5: Route 5 or the the Chiang Wei-shui Memorial Freeway begins in Taipei City and ends in Yilan on Taiwan’s Northeast coast.

Other roads are also generally well maintained though roads in the mountains can deteriorate after heavy rain which may cause land slides.Route 8 from Hualien to Taroko Gorge, which is a popular tourist route is often being repaired so may be subject to delays. Having visited the Taroko Gorge area, my advice would be to park at the edge of the park and walk in, to avoid queues caused by high volumes of buses negotiating the tight bends and tunnels.

Driving standards in Taiwan are usually better than in many countries in Asia,though city’s will be congested. You should also beware of scooters and motorcycles who may have poor lane discipline and execute erratic manouveres. Also, many scooters are now electric and therefore silent. Beware when crossing roads, especially at night as they tend to appear at speed and without any exhaust noise which can be dangerous to pedestrians.

Although I try and keep the information in the site updated as much as possible, in a rapidly moving world, situations can change daily. Therefore please use the site as an approximate guide, and in conjunction with other resources in order to form your view on driving conditions, roads, safety etc.

Taiwan Car Rental –
Avis have branches in a number of locations in Taiwan.

We currently have no local car rental partners in Taiwan. If you are a local car rental company who would like to feature on DriverAbroad.com please check details on our Partnering page or contact us on ADriverAbroad@Outlook.com.

 

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