From Taipei, Hualien is a long day. From Yilan it's an easy one, and it's the day trip we'd suggest if you're staying in Luodong. The Yilan Line carries on south from Su'ao through the mountains to Hualien, and the fast trains that left Taipei an hour earlier get you there in about an hour from Yilan Station, less from Luodong. Hualien City, Qixingtan Beach and the edge of Taroko Gorge all fit into a day.
- Train TRA Yilan to Hualien Station (花蓮車站) about 65 minutes, Luodong about 57, Su'ao New about 54, on the fastest trains
- Fare NT$314 from Yilan, NT$288 from Luodong, NT$257 from Su'ao New on a fast train, one way
- Last fast train back 21:53 from Hualien, reaching Luodong at 22:49 and Yilan at 22:58 (weekday timetable, November 11, 2026)
- By car CAR The Suhua Highway (Highway 9) from Su'ao, open in normal weather
By train
Most fast trains on the Yilan Line are heading for Hualien or beyond: the EMU3000, the Puyuma (普悠瑪) and the Taroko (太魯閣), all Tze-Chiang class with reserved seats and no standing tickets. Local trains also run the whole way, cheaper but about twice as slow. Here are the times and adult one-way fares on a weekday in November 2026:
| To Hualien from | Fastest train | Tze-Chiang fare | Local train fare | Trains a day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yilan (宜蘭) | About 63 to 65 min | NT$314 | NT$202 (1 h 45 min or more) | About 40 |
| Luodong (羅東) | About 56 to 57 min | NT$288 | NT$185 | About 39 |
| Su'ao New (蘇澳新) | About 54 min | NT$257 | NT$166 | About 19 |
On that weekday the first fast train left Yilan at 07:15 (a Puyuma, in Hualien at 08:19), and fast trains ran through the morning, several an hour at times. Coming back, the last fast train left Hualien at 21:53. Fewer trains stop at Su'ao New than at Yilan and Luodong, so check the timetable if you start from there.
Book ahead: fast trains go on sale 28 days ahead on railway.gov.tw or the T-Express app, and Friday, Sunday and holiday trains fill up. Some trains are marked as priority trains for registered residents of Hualien and Taitung, which sell to them first. An EasyCard covers local trains only: on a Tze-Chiang train it works only for trips up to 50 km, and Yilan to Hualien is longer. → Trains in Yilan
For Taroko, get off one stop before Hualien at Xincheng Station (新城車站), the station for the park: about 56 minutes from Yilan on the fastest trains, NT$265, though fewer fast trains stop there. What is open inside the gorge changes after earthquakes and storms. Inside Yilan stops at the county line: for Taroko, the city and Qixingtan, Inside Hualien keeps the current trails, road windows and buses.
By car: the Suhua Highway
The Suhua Highway (蘇花公路, Highway 9) runs from Su'ao south along the cliffs to Hualien. The upgraded sections, known as 蘇花改, include Su'ao to Dong'ao and Nan'ao to Heping. It is open in normal weather and closes as a precaution in typhoons and heavy rain.
Last closure: for the typhoon of October 22 to 24, 2026, the Highway Bureau closed the Su'ao to Chongde stretch of Highways 9 and 9-Ding from 08:00 on October 23, and the upgraded Su'ao to Dong'ao and Nan'ao to Heping sections from 19:00 that evening. Everything reopened at 10:00 on October 24 after crews cleared fallen trees and rocks. The bureau warned it may close the road again after heavy rain. Check its real-time road site or the 幸福公路 app on the day.
Visitors need an International Driving Permit to drive. Don't drive the Suhua Highway in a typhoon warning, and don't stop on the shoulder or in tunnels for photos. Inside Hualien's notes on the Suhua Highway follow the road works and closures from the Hualien end. → Driving in Yilan
Without a car: on weekends and public holidays, Kamalan's 1918 bus runs from Banqiao and Nangang to Su'ao, then down the Suhua Highway to Xincheng and Hualien. → Buses from Taipei
The Qingshui Cliffs
The Qingshui Cliffs (清水斷崖), where the mountains drop straight into the Pacific, are on the Suhua Highway north of Xincheng, inside Taroko National Park. You see them from the road and its viewpoints, so this is a stop for drivers, not train passengers. The good news is that the best-known viewpoints, the Chongde rest area (崇德休憩區) and the Xiaoqingshui viewpoint, sit outside the closed stretch. That's the 5 km of old coast road (Highway 9-Ding, Heren to Daqingshui) that the Executive Yuan decommissioned in January 2026 after earthquake and landslide damage.
Rockfall zone: stay inside the rest areas and marked viewpoints. Trails and rest areas along the cliffs close after storms, so check Taroko National Park's roads and trails notices before you set out.
→ Su'ao, where the Suhua Highway starts · More day trips from Yilan
Sources: Taiwan Railway timetable and fare search (Yilan, Luodong and Su'ao New to Hualien and Xincheng and back, November 11, 2026); Liberty Times on the Suhua reopening, October 24, 2026; CNA on the Suhua closures, October 23, 2026; PTS on the decommissioned Highway 9-Ding section; Kamalan Bus (1918 route); Taroko National Park. Checked November 2026.