TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The high-speed passenger ship Natchan Rera resumed operation on Wednesday (Aug. 31) to ply the route between Tainan’s Anping Harbor and the outlying island county of Penghu three days a week, according to a press release from Tainan’s Tourism and Travel Bureau.
Penghu, an archipelago made up of 97 islands, is located in the middle of the Taiwan Strait.
The passenger ship first began to regularly operate the route in April 2021, but the services were forced to stop later due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Natchan Rera will sail every Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. The vessel will leave Anping Harbor at 9 a.m., and return from Magong Harbor at 4 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday. On Sundays, the ship will leave Anping Harbor at 1 p.m. and return from Magong Harbor at 4 p.m.
Passengers can bring their motorcycles with a range below 250 cc on the ship by paying a surcharge of NT$750 (US$24.75) per single trip. The vessel can travel up to 70 kilometers per hour, has an 800-passengers capacity, and the voyage takes about two hours.
The fare categories are divided into three categories — economy class, business class, and first class. The fare for an economy class round trip is NT$1,850 (NT$975 for a one-way trip), while the fares for a business class round trip and first class round trip are NT$2,850 and NT$3,850, respectively, according to the release.
If two tickets of the same class are booked at the same time from Aug. 31, the second ticket will be sold at half price.
Tainan Tourism and Travel Bureau Director-General Kuo Chen-hui (郭貞慧) said the bureau has been cooperating with ship operator Uni-Wagon Marina Co. to roll out favorable packages for tourists to spend one night at an accommodation facility in the city before embarking on the trip to Penghu.
(Tainan Tourism and Travel Bureau photos)
