You don't need wheels for Jiaoxi, Yilan City or Luodong, but for the rest of the county they make a real difference. The Lanyang Plain is flat, the roads outside the towns are quiet, and the places the buses barely reach, such as Taipingshan, the hill farms of Sanxing and the coast north of Toucheng, are an easy drive. For the towns themselves, the train and tourist shuttles cover them.
The licence you need
Sort this out before you fly. A visitor holding a valid International Driving Permit (IDP) from a country with a reciprocal agreement may drive for up to 30 days after entering Taiwan. Staying longer, you need to get your IDP endorsed by a Motor Vehicles Office (監理所) to keep driving. For renting a car, the advice is the same: bring a valid international licence.
- Bring your home licence, your IDP and your passport, and expect to show all three. Shops may also ask to see when you entered Taiwan, so keep your entry stamp or arrival record handy.
- For a scooter, the motorcycle class is the part that catches people out. Your IDP has to be stamped for motorcycles (category A). A car-only IDP (category B) won't do, however long you've been driving.
- Scooters over 50cc count as heavy motorcycles. Almost every rental scooter in Yilan is 100cc to 155cc, which in Taiwan is a regular heavy motorcycle (普通重型機車). Your home licence needs a full motorcycle class to cover it. A moped-only licence covers only the light class (普通輕型機車), 50cc and under.
- From Japan: you don't use an IDP. Bring your Japanese licence with the official Chinese translation issued through JAF, plus your passport. It lets you drive for one year from your entry date. The translation marks which classes you can ride, and a 原付 (moped) licence only covers 50cc and under, so a 125cc scooter needs at least a 普通二輪 licence.
- Rules differ by country. Check the Highway Bureau's page for yours.
Good to know: legitimate rental shops ask to see your licence and IDP before they hand over the keys, and copy them. If a shop doesn't ask, don't rent from it. If your licence doesn't qualify, a taxi charter with a driver reaches the same places.
Where to rent a scooter
Rent at the station you arrive at. These three shops are by the stations in Yilan City and Luodong, and they're the ones we'd point a friend to. All of them check your licence. None publishes opening hours we could confirm, so message or call before you go, and book ahead for weekends and holidays.
Chang Cheng Rental, Yilan Station (長承租車)
Our pick if you arrive at Yilan Station: Chang Cheng Rental is across the road from the station's front exit, next to the petrol station, so you can be riding within minutes of getting off the train. It rents petrol scooters of up to 125cc, plus cars, and includes helmets in several styles. It doesn't hold your documents or take a deposit. Book by LINE or a message to its Facebook page.
- Address No. 221, Yixing Road Section 1, Yilan City (宜興路一段221號).
- Rents Scooters (up to 125cc, all over 50cc, so heavy-motorcycle class) and cars. No bicycles or electric scooters listed.
- Foreign renters An IDP from a reciprocal country with the motorcycle (A) box stamped, your passport and proof of entry.
- Where you can ride Within Yilan County. Its scooters aren't to be taken out of the county, up to Taipingshan, Wuling Farm or Lalashan, or along the Suhua Highway (Fenniaolin, Dong'ao, Nan'ao).
- Contact Facebook page, or 03-931-2038.
Pang Pang Rental, Luodong (胖胖租車)
In Luodong, Pang Pang Rental is a scooter-only shop a few minutes' walk from Luodong Station and the Luodong Transfer Station, handy for the night market and the road out to Sanxing. It's a busy, well-reviewed shop, so on a holiday weekend book rather than turn up.
- Address No. 31, Anping Road, Luodong (羅東鎮安平路31號).
- Rents Scooters. We couldn't find bicycles or electric scooters on its listing, so ask if you want one.
- Contact Facebook page, or 03-955-1881 (as listed on Google Maps in November 2026).
Jincheng Rental, Luodong (金城租車)
The other Luodong option, and the closest to the trains: Jincheng Rental has been renting since 1989 from a shopfront to the right of the station's front exit, about 30 steps away. It has the widest choice of the three, from a 50cc scooter up to 155cc models, plus an electric scooter and cars. For a fee it will take the vehicle back at Yilan Station or the Yilan Transfer Station, and it can send your luggage on to your guesthouse or hotel.
- Address No. 1, Zhanqian North Road, Luodong (站前北路1號).
- Rents Scooters (50cc to 155cc), an electric scooter, and cars. Its site lists day rates by model. It doesn't list bicycles, so call first if you want one. If you're renting the electric scooter, ask which licence class it needs.
- Contact 039565278.com.tw, LINE @ok039565278, or 03-956-5278.
Good to know: a scooter is the easy way to reach the farms of Sanxing and Dongshan, such as the scallion farm and the deer farms we list for families. Stay off the Suhua Highway and the mountain roads on a rental scooter, and don't ride after dark in heavy rain. → Yilan City · Luodong · Sanxing and Datong
Driving from Taipei: the Hsuehshan Tunnel
By car, Taipei to Yilan is National Freeway 5, through the Hsuehshan Tunnel (雪山隧道) under the Xueshan Range. It's a long tunnel with its own rules, and the police enforce them:
- Speed: maximum 90 km/h (80 km/h near the northbound exit), and a minimum of 70 km/h. Driving too slowly is fined NT$3,000 to NT$6,000.
- No lane changes once you're inside. If a lane is closed, the signal above it shows an X, so move over before you enter.
- Cars only: scooters and motorcycles can't use national freeways, so the tunnel is out for them. On two wheels, you take the old mountain road, Highway 9, or rent your scooter once you're in Yilan.
Driving back on a long weekend is the part that catches people out. The freeway backs up, and the Freeway Bureau often limits cars on the northbound ramps in Yilan to three or more people for parts of the day. On the October 2026 long weekend, for example, cars with fewer than three people couldn't join the freeway northbound at Su'ao, Luodong, Yilan or Toucheng from 13:00 to 18:00 on the last two days. Check the Freeway Bureau's notices before a holiday drive.
Bikes
Yilan's flat plain and riverside paths make cycling easy, especially around Luodong and the Dongshan River. There's no YouBike in Yilan yet: the county plans it for June 2027. For the best rides from the stations, where to rent a bike, and taking one on the train or bus, see cycling in Yilan.
South to Hualien: the Suhua Highway
CAR The Suhua Highway (Highway 9) runs from Su'ao south along the cliffs to Hualien. The upgraded road is open in normal weather, but it closes as a precaution in typhoons and heavy rain. Most recently, the Su'ao to Chongde stretch closed from 08:00 on October 23, 2026 for a typhoon, and CNA reported it was expected to reopen around noon the next day. Inside Hualien keeps current notes on the Suhua Highway from the Hualien end. Without a car, take the train south, or see Hualien as a day trip.
Typhoon days: don't drive the Suhua Highway or the mountain roads to Taipingshan during a typhoon warning. Roads close at short notice, and rockfall is a real risk.
→ All the ways to get around · Taxis and charters
Sources: Highway Bureau, driving in Taiwan with an IDP; Motor Vehicles Office, motorcycle classes by engine size; JAF, Chinese translation of a Japanese licence for Taiwan; Chang Cheng Rental, Facebook page and its rental FAQ; Pang Pang Rental and Chang Cheng Rental as listed on Google Maps in November 2026; Jincheng Rental, scooters; Taiwan Tourism Administration, car rental; PTS on Hsuehshan Tunnel speed limits; PTS on tunnel lane changes; TVBS on the October 2026 high-occupancy rules; Taiwan Tourism Administration, Dongshan River Water Park; Liberty Times on YouBike in Yilan; Kamalan Bus, FAQ; Taiwan Tourist Shuttle; CNA on the October 2026 Suhua closure. Checked November 2026.