The Full Chiayi-to-Alishan Bus Schedule and Passenger Guide

22 thoughts on “The Full Chiayi-to-Alishan Bus Schedule and Passenger Guide”

1. Wow that’s sooo helpfull! We are actually planning to go to Alishan tomorrow, jan, 26th!

   Thanks a lot!

   Alain et Olivier, Montréal

2. Thanks for this. Will I be able to cancel or reschedule after i’ve bought the ticket?

3. Yes, if you log in to the website, click your profile at the top right, and it should show your booking, with the option to cancel. If you want to reschedule, you may have to cancel first then rebook a new one.

4. I am planning to visit Taipei between 1 Apr and 6 Apr this year and to visit Alishan for the cherry blossom. Will it be crazy period to do it as I read in one of your post that this is a long week of holiday for the locals. Can cherry blossom be viewed anywhere else besides Alishan?
   Thanks in advance for your advice!

5. This is very helpfull. I was able to book our Chiayi-Alishan ticket. Problem is from Ali to Fenchihu, the 14:10 sched has no Fenchihu stop on it. I used google translate.

6. Yes, I noticed that too and recently added a note to the article about it. I don’t know why they didn’t include the stop as an option. But I suggest that you just buy a ticket from Alishan to Longmei (龍美), which is one of the options. Longmei is not far after Fenqihu, and even though your ticket says to Longmei, you can surely get off a few stops earlier and Fenqihu. Just make totally sure that you’re buying a ticket for (and boarding) one of the buses that indeed stops at Fenqihu.

7. Normally, cherry blossoms can be seen at Alishan from March to early April. However, this year, the cherry blossoms have started earlier all over Taiwan. They are already fully blooming now at Alishan. So, unfortunately, there is a good chance that all cherry blossoms in Taiwan, including Alishan, will be finished by April. You can double check if there’s any still blooming before you go by checking the most recent reviews on GoogleMaps.

8. Thanks for the great information! I am staying a night in Shizhuo because of your beautiful notes about it. Assuming I can get a ride to Fenqihu from my B&B from Shizhuo, I would love to take the bus from Fenqihu to Alishan. Can I reserve a ticket on either 7322D or 7329A, pay the whole fare from Chiayi to Alishan, but get on at Fenqihu instead?

9. Nick, The information that you provide on your site is invaluable and very much appreciated. My wife and I will be visiting Alishan on April 21 (a Sunday) of this year, and will follow your step by step guide on reserving the bus (Chiayi to Alishan). Having said that, I have a question relating to bus vs. Alishan train. If I am lucky and successfully reserve Alishan Express #1 (for April 21) and stop at Fenqihu. Can you speak to how busy is the bus that stops in Fenqihu (7329A or 7322D) on its way to Alishan during the weekend? My preference is to catch either of these buses rather than catch a local bus to Shizhuo and then transfer from Shizhuo to Alishan onto buses coming up the highway from Chiayi. With 3 trains coming to Fenqihu on the weekend, are there a lot of people that will want to continue on to Alishan? Will it be a challenge to get on the 7329A or 7322D at Fenqihu? Or do many people come on the train to Fenqihu or other stops and then return back to Chiayi by train?

   One more question, can you tell me what the difference is between the Jungshing Express and the Alishan express. I see that the Jungshing Express runs only on weekends and have also read that it is NOT reservable. I see in the Alishan Forest official website that the booking system seems to allow a reservation on the Jungshing Express. Is this your understanding and other than time of departure, do you have a preference for Jungshing Express vs. Alishan Express.

10. Hi there – I’m looking to book 2 bus trips:
    1. Chiayi HSR to Xiding (day 1)
    2. Xiding to Alishan the next day.

    Is there a risk, that even with a reserved seat, that the seats would be taken before we board on day 2, (Xiding to Alishan)?

    Thank you!

11. No, you can’t do that unfortunately. These buses are very high demand and there’s always a line for them. They won’t leave a seat empty for half the trip for your when there’s always more people hoping to get on. If you buy the seat from Chiayi but don’t show up in Chiayi, they will just let someone else take the seat. Their website (and my article above) also mentions that you can only reserve seats starting from Chiayi or Alishan.

12. Hi Nick,

    Regarding your response to Tina’s question – does that mean one would need to line up if getting on at smaller stops such as Fenqihu/Xiding/Shizhuo and hope they snag a spot on the bus? Are there alternatives you recommend? We’re travelling with a 3yr old too.

    Thanks!

13. The bus is always quite busy, especially on weekends, and especially in April (due to cherry blossoms season, even though cherry blossoms will be finished by then). I can’t say exactly what will happen because every day and situation is different. USUALLY, some people always get off the bus at Fenqihu (for buses heading to either Chiayi or Alishan). So this frees up some seats for new people to get on. Exactly how many people will get off each time? Well that is just a gamble. No one can know for sure. Maybe there’s a group of 15 people on the bus and they all get off. Maybe you’re unlucky and no one gets off. And some people do only visit Fenqihu then go back down, while others continue to Alishan. Who knows the exact percentage every day. Because of this uncertainty, relying on that bus is always a small risk. To improve your chances, you can line up at the bus stop earlier. I always tell people to aim for 30 minutes early, but that depends on you. If you don’t want to take the chance, then you can pre-arrange private transport from Fenqihu to Alishan by using the Tripool app/website.

    As for Jungshing Express vs. Alishan Express, good question (and by good, I mean hard, haha!). After doing a little research on Mandarin pages, my understanding is that the Jungshing trains are an older kind of train car that used to be used. So when they re-introduced them again for weekend service, it was a big deal for train lovers in Taiwan. Most of the info I’m seeing says they are more like bench seating so they can’t be booked in advance. However, one chat I found mentioned that it does have at least one car with normal seats, so my guess is that those are the ones which can be booked. Another possibility is that it has changed, and now it’s all reservable, but I can’t find any info confirming that. But if you see it as bookable on the site, then go ahead and book it. The time it takes the train to reach Fenqihu is the same as other train types. I will confirm it is bookable later today when the site opens (6 AM to midnight Taiwan time) and confirm.

14. As mentioned in this article and as asked by other commenters here, you can only book seats starting from Chiayi or Alishan. You can’t book a seat boarding from Xiding. So when boarding at Xiding, then yes, there’s a small chance the bus will be full and the driver won’t stop for you. The chance of this happening is higher on weekends, holidays, and cherry blossom season (March to April). When the bus comes, wave your arms to indicate you want it to stop for you. If you are concerned about this happening, then you can arrange a private transfer from Xiding to Alishan on Tripool.

15. Yes, the only option is to line up or wait at smaller bus stops and hope for a seat. The only alternative is arranging private transport, for example on the Tripool app/website.

16. Hi Nick,

    Thanks for your comprehensive guidance of transport to Alishan.

    I tried to book online FamiMart webside for Bus 7302 (wanted to take the Chiayi train to Fenqihu station at 655 (this is from daya bus station right). Will it stop at Chiayi TRA train station please?

    When reach 849am at Fenqihu, would like to take 7322 Bus from Fenqihu to Xiding at 958am then take Bus 7322C at 1123am or Bus 7329A at 1212pm to Alishan.

    We (4 of us) heading from Chiayi TRA station on 24 Apr to Alishan and returning 25 Apr to Taipei so it is a bit rush.

    With such itinerary, in your opinion, is it feasible please? If not, any other advice.

    Thanks in advance.

17. Yes, the 7302 bus will start at Daya stop at 6:55, Chiayi train station at 7:05, and Fenqihu at 8:49. Make sure you get on that bus, and not 7322C (7:10), which does not stop at Fenqihu. Your plan is a little tight but it works in terms of time. You will have about 1 hour at Fenqihu, but I suggest you go to line up for the bus at least 15 minutes early so you can get a spot. And at Xiding, I suggest you do Tea Mist Trail (not Eryanping trail) because Eryanping trail upper portion is closed for renovation right now until summer 2024 and can’t reach the top. Tea Mist Trail is still open and goes up to the same viewpoint. Probably you will need to take 12:12 bus if you want enough time to do that hike.

    Your plan does have a little backtracking, though. Because the bus will pass Xiding first, then Fenqihu, then Alishan. So why not first Chiayi to Xiding (like 7:10 bus), the Xiding to Fenqihu (10:53), and Fenqihu to Alishan (12:38)? This gives a little more time for the hike, similar time at Fenqihu, and no backtracking. Also, Fenqihu is famous for lunchboxes and snacks, so this way you can go to Fenqihu around snack time.

18. Thanks Nick for your suggestion. Initially i worried that there may not be any seats if i take xiding to Fenqihu at 10:53 since mainly pple whom take bus wants to go Fenqihu.

    Understand about the lunchboxes. I checked that the Ya Hu Tie Lu Bian Dang opens at 830am. The baked donut also opens early. Same as the Jie Zai Mao Ah Ma Cai Zai Guo. That’s why i thot of doing the backtrack.

    With the above explanation, do you think it is safe to take from xiding to fenqihu instead of doing the backtrack during weekday (wed 24 April)?

    In addition, do you know the free shuttle bus between Chiayi TRA and Chiayi HSR schedule and where to wait for them please? I will need to take the HSR back to Taipei the next day after coming down from Alishan.

    Thanks for your time and explanation in advance.

19. This is a brilliant guide Nick, thank you.

    On 25/04 we have booked the 9am Forest Railway to Fenqihu – arriving 11:21.
    It then looks like we’d take the 12:38 from Fenqihu to get to Alishan at 13:45.

    Assuming we should be waiting for the last bus back to Chiayi by 16:15 (~30m before departure), that only leaves 2.5h for Alishan itself.

    Do you think that’s enough time, or better to pay to stay in Alishan overnight?

20. Just writing to confirm that yes, it does now seem possible to reserve Jungshing express trains online.

21. That’s really tight for both Fenqihu and for Alishan. At Fenqihu that plan only gives an hour and a bit, just enough time to take a quick look at the old street and buy some lunch. Buses in the region tend to be packed, so it’s smart to wait in line for the Fenqihu to Alishan bus well before it comes. Buses are often full, so only the number of people who get off at Fenqihu can then get on and take their spots. So I usually advise people to wait in the line 15 to 30 minutes early for a better chance of getting a spot on the next bus. And then for Alishan, 2.5 hours is also dangerously tight. I usually advise a minimum of 3-4 hours. When you arrive there, you need 15 minutes to walk from bus station, pay entrance fee, and go to Alishan train station. Then wait for the next train (that could eat up another 15 to 30 minutes. Walk Sister Pond Trail to Shouzhen Temple and Shenmu station, ride the train from there back to Alishan station and walk back to Alishan Bus Station. If you move quickly and don’t get lost (the trails around Shenmu can be a little disorienting), you could achieve this all in 2.5 hours. Also note, if the time for the next train from Shenmu back to Alishan station isn’t good, you can also simply walk back in about 20 mins).

    But again there’s a bus issue here. Since these buses are often high demand, some seats on the bus will be booked, and people can also buy return tickets for that day from the 7-11 there. It could be sold out by the time you get there. So if you want to attempt this plan, and you need to get that specific bus, then I highly suggest booking in advance following my guide. As for the leg from Fenqihu to Alishan, that unfortunately can’t be booked in advance.

    Spending the night at Alishan would surely make all of this more relaxed, but it’s true hotels there are pricey.

22. Sorry for my slow reply. And I see about the early shop times at Fenqihu, so that makes sense also. I feel like either way you plan it, there is some concern about available seats on the bus. Like in your original way, you still have to hope for seats on the bus for Fenqihu to Xiding (probably fine because still early and going down direction) and Xiding to Alishan (at a busy time of the day, with probably no one getting off at Xiding). And in my proposed way, you have to worry about seats for Xiding to Fenqihu and Fenqihu to Alishan. So basically seats are a concern for all the buses 🙂 But most Alishan area bus drivers will still allow more people to get on the bus, even if it’s full, but you have to stand. So I think you just have to go with whichever way feels best for you. Also note sometimes the buses are a little off schedule, like they might even come up to 10 minutes too early. So you also need to be prepared to be flexible or change your plans a little if needed. Chiayi free schedule you can find on HSR website, click Travel Informations, Stations, Chiayi. Scroll down and change 7211 to 7212. Note that the bus starts from Southern Branch National Palace Museum (before the HSR station) so the times shown are from there. At the HSR station, bus is from west side. At train station, it’s at the back of the station (not front where people catch buses to Alishan or visit Chiayi city. Use GoogleMaps directions to see exact spots.