The trip from Chiayi to Alishan can be done in several ways but perhaps the easiest and cheapest is to take the Alishan shuttle bus. It departs regularly from Chiayi TRA Train Station and Chiayi HSR Station.
Alishan National Forest is one of Taipei’s top natural wonders and is a must visit when in Taiwan – whilst getting a seat on the Alishan Forest Railway from Chiayi can be challenging (it often sells out within minutes), getting the Chiayi to Alishan bus / tourist shuttle is a lot easier.
We took the Alishan to Chiayi bus from outside Chiayi TRA Railway station (shuttle bus 7322) in early 2025 and it was a simple and scenic journey, with room for our luggage below the bus.
Alishan bus tickets can be bought in advance guaranteeing a reserved seat or you can just use your EasyCard – although this may not be so easy in peak season / holidays and weekends.
The following guide includes an up to date 2025 Alishan bus timetable with fares, our own experience of using the shuttle bus, plus a step-by-step guide to booking tickets on the FamiPort machine in FamilyMart with photos.
You might like – Our guide to using a Taiwan EasyCard and how to top it up >
Taiwan checklist
We love using agoda.com (use the code TAIWANDERERS for a discount), expedia.com and booking.com for researching and booking all our hotels.
For booking tours, transfers and buying SIM cards/eSIMs we recommend Klook, Get Your Guide, Viator or KK Day. You can also purchase eSIMs from Airalo.
For booking rental cars visit Discover Cars. For private drivers and taxis, check out our Transfer guide >
For more recommendations, check out our Taiwan travel booking resources page >
All set for Taiwan? Do one final check with our Taipei first timers guide and our packing list guide. Travelling with kids? Check out our Taipei For Kids eBook >
Chiayi to Alishan bus timetables 2025
We took the Chiayi to Alishan bus (and back several days later) in February 2025. We booked our tickets in advance (to ensure we had seats) using the FamilyMart FamiPort in-store ticket machines; more on this in a moment.
You can take a shuttle bus to Alishan from:
- Chiayi High Speed Railway station (route A) – Exit 2
- Chiayi TRA Railway Station (route B) – In front of the station
The TRA station is located in Chiayi city centre, whilst the HSR is located a 20 minute drive out of the city.
Chiayi TRA Station to Alishan bus timetable 2025
Shuttle bus number 7322C / 7322D (Route B)
The Chiayi to Alishan bus / tourist shuttle departs 10 times a day from the front of Chiayi Railway Station.
The earliest / first bus to Alishan from Chiayi Station departs at 6:05am outside Chiayi Station; the last Alishan bus from Chiayi departs at 2:10pm.
There are up to two buses an hour during peak periods. Note the buses that go via Fenqihu take a little bit longer.
The full 2025 Chiayi TRA station to Alishan Bus Timetable is as follows, with buses departing ten times a day between 6:05am and 2:10pm.
Buses that are marked with a ‘C’ on front are regular buses, and the buses marked ‘D’ indicate the bus makes a detour stop at Fenqihu.
| Bus 7322C / 7322D departs from Chiayi TRA station | Bus 7322C / 7322D estimated time of arrival at Alishan Bus Station |
|---|---|
| 06.05 | 08:40 |
| 07.10 | 09:40 |
| 08.10 | 10:40 |
| 08.40 | 11:10 |
| 09.10 | 11:40 |
| 09.40 (via Fenqihu) | 12:40 |
| 10.10 | 12:40 |
| 11.10 | 13:40 |
| 12.10 (via Fenqihu) | 15:10 |
| 14.10 | 16:40 |
Chiayi HSR station to Alishan bus timetable 2025
Shuttle bus number 7329 (Route A)
The full 2025 Chiayi HSR station to Alishan bus timetable is as follows, with buses departing Chiayi Railway Station four times a day between 9.30am and 1.10pm.
Buses marked with an ‘A’ on front indicate the bus makes a detour stop at Fenqihu.
| Bus 7329 / 7329A departs from Chiayi HSR station | Bus 7329 / 7329A estimated time of arrival at Alishan Bus Station |
|---|---|
| 09.30 | 12:00 |
| 10.10 | 12:40 |
| 11.00 (via Fenqihu) | 14:05 |
| 13.10 | 15:40 |
Alishan to Chiayi TRA station bus timetable 2025
Shuttle bus number 7322C / 7322D (Route B)
The full 2025 Alishan to Chiayi TRA station bus timetable is as follows, with buses departing ten times a day between 09.10am and 5.10pm.
Buses that are marked with a ‘C’ on front are regular buses, and the buses marked ‘D’ indicate the bus makes a detour stop at Fenqihu.
| Bus 7322C / 7322D departs from Alishan Bus station | Bus 7322C / 7322D estimated time of arrival at Chiayi TRA station |
|---|---|
| 09.10 (via Fenqihu) | 11:55 |
| 11:40 | 14:10 |
| 12:40 | 15:10 |
| 13:40 | 16:10 |
| 14:10 (via Fenqihu) | 17:10 |
| 14:40 | 17:10 |
| 15:10 | 17:40 |
| 15:40 | 18:10 |
| 16:10 | 18:40 |
| 17:10 | 19:40 |
Alishan to Chiayi HSR station bus timetable 2025
Shuttle number 7329 (Route A)
The full 2025 Alishan to Chiayi HSR station bus timetable is as follows, with buses departing four times a day between 10.10am and 4.40pm.
Buses marked with an ‘A’ on front indicate the bus makes a detour stop at Fenqihu.
| Bus 7329 / 7329A departs from Alishan Bus Station | Bus 7329 / 7329A estimated time of arrival at Chiayi HSR station |
|---|---|
| 10.10 (via Fenqihu) | 13:10 |
| 13.30 | 16:10 |
| 14.40 | 17:10 |
| 16.40 | 19:10 |
The full bus timetable including all the stops between Alishan and Chiayi HSR (such as Shizhuo) can be found here (the second page of the PDF is in English language) >
Alishan bus prices 2025
The bus prices are as follows:
- Chiayi TRA station to Alishan Bus Station – NT$240 one way
- Chiayi HSR station to Alishan Bus Station – NT$278 one way
Please note these are all one way fares and the same fare applies for the return journeys from Alishan.
We booked our tickets and printed them off via the Taiwan FamilyMart Famiport / FamiTicket machines so had to pay a small booking fee of NT$20 in addition to the bus fare.
Try this – Chiayi activities and Alishan trips with Klook >
How to buy Alishan bus tickets
Depending on when you are visiting Alishan, you might not need to book Alishan bus tickets in advance BUT you should if you want to guarantee yourself a reserved seat.
We recommend booking seats in advance during public holidays such as Lunar New Year, Alishan cherry blossom season and on the weekends.
We did the journey from Chiayi TRA station to Alishan most recently on a weekday morning in February 2025 and of all that got on the bus, only ourselves and another couple had booked tickets in advance – the rest used EasyCards to get on the bus (but it soon filled up).
People with reserved tickets are allowed to board the bus first, then it is a first come first served for the rest of the seats.
At Chiayi TRA station there seemed to be no queuing system at the bus stop, people with tickets just moved towards the driver when he stepped out of the bus and called for people to come forward.
At Alishan Bus Station there are two separate queueing lines for people with tickets and people without tickets.
Please note you can only book tickets for journeys that start or end in either Chiayi or Alishan.
This is because the driver of the bus can only control the reserved seating at the start and end point of the bus routes, they are unable to keep seats free for people who come onboard halfway.
We bought our Alishan bus tickets several days in advance using the FamiTickets / Famiport Machine inside the FamilyMart convenience store.
The machines don’t have an English language version but we just used our Google Translate phone app to work through the process and it was surprisingly easy.
You can also book tickets for Chiayi to Alishan online, but the website is in Mandarin only and fairly complicated to use.
We also liked how you could print your tickets (to show to the bus driver) and the booking fee was really small. We paid NT$240 for each bus ticket and a booking fee of just NT$20.
Incidentally, if you are looking to buy a bus ticket in Alishan, the 7-Eleven convenience store at Alishan bus station sells tickets meaning you can get a reserved seat (2025 update – the 7-Eleven store at the bus station is now closed).
Another alternative is to get a shared group transfer between Chiayi and Alishan from Klook >
You might like – our guide to Alishan 7-Eleven stores >
Booking Chiayi to Alishan bus tickets at FamilyMart – step by step
Pretty much all Taiwan FamilyMart stores have a green ticketing kiosk (often towards the rear of the store) – they are called FamiPort or FamiTickets (a bit like the iBon ticketing machines in 7-Eleven).
Note there is a Language setting button at the top but it doesn’t appear to translate some sub sections so you may want Google Translate or a similar app on your phone. Check out these SIM packages from Klook >
Step 1. Select the Blue Famiticket and transport buttons
On the welcome screen, you will see several boxes – select the blue Famiticket button and afterwards, selected the transport ticket box which has a train icon.
Step 2. Select the shuttle bus icon
This is the mini Taiwan tourist shuttle (yellow and white) bus usually in the bottom right hand corner.
You will need to use your Google Translate app from this point onwards.
You will then be presented with a screen showing 4 different identical yellow bus buttons. Select the first one on the left which translates as “Taiwan Travel Seat Allocation”.
Step 3. Choose your bus route
You will need to agree to some terms and conditions, then you will be taken to a screen to select the Alishan shuttle bus you need. There are 5 different buttons to select.
- Chiayi TRA to Alishan / Alishan to Chiayi TRA (Bus number 7322)
- Chiayi HSR to Alishan / Alishan to Chiayi HSR (Bus number 7239)
- Chiayi TRA to Alishan via Fenqihu / Alishan to Chiayi TRA via Fenqihu (Bus number 7322)
- Chiayi HSR to Alishan via Fenqihu / Alishan to Chiayi HSR via Fenqihu (Bus number 7239)
There is also an option to book the Chiayi to Fenqihu 7302 bus (which doesn’t go to Alishan).
Step 4. Choose the date of departure and time of departure
This is a drop down calendar – choose your departure date.
Afterwards, all of the available buses and times will appear on the next screen so choose your bus.
Please note that the screen will show both the outgoing and return journeys. When using Google Translate the Chiayi to Alishan will translate as ‘outbound’, and the Alishan to Chiayi will translate as ‘return’.
Step 5. Fare Selection
Pick your fare type – there are several different types / stops but for Chiayi TRA to Alishan, it is NT$240 (so select that) or for Chiayi HSR to Alishan, it should show as NT$278.
If you want to alight at other stops such as Shizuo, you can scroll down and select the fare option for that route.
Step 6. Seat Selection
The Famiport machine will then show you which seats are available to reserve on your chosen bus – Google translate will translate it as either “available for sale” and “not for sale”.
Already allocated seats are marked in dark grey.
When you select an available seat, the seat box will change to green colour.
If there aren’t any seats together and you are travelling as a group, you can go backwards and see what other buses are available
Step 7. Take your printed slip and pay at the counter
Finally, confirm your selection and then print your ticket slip – please note this isn’t your final ticket. To receive your tickets, take the receipt to the FamilyMart counter and give it to the cashier.
They will show you your purchase on-screen at the till and ask you to confirm it is correct – you might need Google Translate ready if you want to make sure it is correct.
Pay the cashier (cash only) and they will then print and hand you your Alishan bus tickets.
You may also want to buy your return ticket at the same time – but you need to do this as a separate one way transaction. Or you can buy your return ticket back to Alishan at the Alishan bus station 7-Eleven.
You might like – 15+ reasons why Taiwan 7-Elevens are the best in the world or our themed 7-Eleven Taipei guide
Chiayi to Alishan bus luggage space & onboard experience
We boarded the 7322 Alishan tourist shuttle outside Chiayi TRA station – the bus stand is easy to spot and has the full timetable on display.
As we’d bought our bus tickets in advance and had reserved seats, we were allowed to get on the bus first and more importantly, put our luggage in the underneath storage section first.
The under bus luggage storage area was quite small on our bus so if there are big crowds with huge bags, you aren’t guaranteed a space.
And on our trip back from Alishan, the bus was so packed, people had to carry their huge backpacks and suitcases with them as the compartment below was already full.
The bus journey is windy but wonderful and takes around 2 hours (sometimes a little longer if your bus is going via Fenqihu).
You might like – Guide to the tea trails in Shizhou >
Motion sickness
The bus journey was fine and quite comfy but please note it can be quite windy in parts – Caroline suffers from motion sickness so took some tablets a little before the journey started. All was OK and the journey felt like it went quickly as we were so engrossed in the scenery.
Other things to know about the Chiayi / Alishan bus
- There are no toilets on board the buses but they sometimes make toilet stops at Fenqihu or at the Hi-Life in Shizhuo; you might need to ask the driver for these stops.
- Always remember to use the buzzer if you are getting off at earlier stops otherwise the bus driver will likely just continue. Alishan is the last stop so the bus will terminate there.
- When getting off the bus, make sure the driver gives you a yellow ticket which proves you’ve arrived today on the bus – this will allow you a half price discount on the Alishan National Park entry ticket. In 2025, normal admission to Alishan National Forest costs NT$300 but is reduced to NT$150 with the yellow bus receipt. The ticket must be shown when entering Alishan National Forest Park every time and valid for your entire stay.
Found this article helpful?
You can follow Taiwanderers on:
Instagram
Facebook
TikTok
YouTube
Join our Taiwan Travel Tips (TTT) Facebook group >
