Arrivals
A Taipei layover is worth leaving the airport for if you have about 6 hours and a passport that Taiwan lets in.
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) is in Taoyuan, west of Taipei, and the Airport MRT runs from both terminals to Taipei Main Station in the centre: 35 to 39 minutes by express. With an hour to get through immigration, the wait for a train and being back 90 minutes before your flight, about 4.5 hours of any layover go on getting in and out, which is why you need at least 6.
- Bags. Booked on one ticket, checked luggage is sent on to your next flight and you walk out with a cabin bag. Booked separately, you must clear immigration to collect it, even if you meant to stay airside; lockers in both terminals cost NT$40 to NT$80 for each 3 hours, paid in cash or with an EasyCard.
- Train fare. Tap a contactless Visa, Mastercard, JCB or UnionPay card, or a phone, at the gates of the Airport MRT and Taipei’s metro, and tap out with the same one. You don’t need to buy a ticket.
- Phone. Wi-Fi is free in the terminals. Set up a Taiwan eSIM before you land, so maps work once you’re on the train.
Paying for the train, and what to do with bags: getting into the city.
eSIM
Stay connected
Taoyuan's Wi-Fi is free, but it ends at the terminal door. A Taiwan eSIM set up before you fly keeps maps and the metro working in town.
Get an eSIM from Airalo (opens in a new tab)Get a Saily eSIM (opens in a new tab)
Border
Most travellers need no visa to leave, but you file a free arrival card online and your passport needs time left on it.
Not needed when you stay airside.
- US, British, EU, Canadian and Australian passports. No visa, for stays of up to 90 days. You need a confirmed onward flight, which your layover is, and a passport with at least six months left on the day you arrive; a US passport need only be valid for your stay. British passports qualify only with British Citizen status.
- Arrival card. Everyone entering Taiwan fills in the Taiwan Arrival Card online, free, within the 7 days before arrival. It takes a few minutes and asks for your flight details, so do it before you fly.
- India. Indian passports need a Travel Authorization Certificate: free, applied for online before you fly, and printed out to show at the border. You can get one only if you hold a visa or residence card, valid or expired within the last 10 years, from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand or a Schengen or EU country. Otherwise you need a Taiwan visa.
- Staying airside. If you stay in the transit area, past security, you never pass immigration and need no visa.
- Time. Taoyuan publishes no queue times, so plan on an hour between touching down and boarding the train. If immigration is slow, you lose time in Taipei, never your flight, because your leave-by time is set by your departure.
Who needs which document: visa and transit rules.
Into Taipei
Take the Airport MRT: a train leaves about every 7 or 8 minutes, and the express reaches Taipei Main Station in under 40 minutes.
Not needed when you stay airside.
| Ride | Into town | Fare |
|---|---|---|
| Airport MRT express to Taipei Main | 37 min from Terminal 1, 39 from Terminal 2 | NT$160 |
| Airport MRT commuter to Taipei Main | 51 min from Terminal 1, 53 from Terminal 2 | NT$160 |
| Taxi | About 40 to 60 min (this guide’s estimate) | Metered, plus highway tolls |
Express and commuter trains each run every 15 minutes, taking turns. The express is 14 minutes faster, so if one is due within about 12 minutes, wait for it.
The first express into Taipei leaves Terminal 2 at 5:55am and Terminal 1 at 5:58am. The last trains back leave Taipei Main at 11pm (express) and 11:38pm (commuter), every day. In practice they only matter for a flight after about 1:40am: for anything earlier, you have to leave town before them anyway.
Every way in, the metro and taxis: getting into the city.
What to do
The Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Longshan Temple are two metro stops from Taipei Main, Taipei 101 about 15 minutes away, and the Tourism Administration runs free guided tours from the airport.
Not needed when you stay airside.
The fastest plan for a short layover
- Clear immigration, follow the signs for the Airport MRT and take the first train to Taipei Main Station: express and commuter trains both go there.
- Walk through the station to the metro (allow about 10 minutes) and ride the red Tamsui-Xinyi line two stops to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, about 5 minutes.
- Walk about 10 minutes to the Memorial Hall, open 9am to 6pm. The guard changes on the hour from 9am to 5pm, and the park around it is open from 5am to midnight.
- Leave Taipei Main Station 2 hours 40 minutes before your flight. That covers the walk to the airport train, the wait, the ride and 90 minutes at the airport.
It needs about 6 hours, which gives you about 1.5 hours in town.
Would you rather have a guide? Taiwan’s Tourism Administration runs free half-day tours for connecting passengers with a visa-free passport or a Taiwan visa: a bus leaves the airport between 8:05am and 8:30am for Tamsui’s old street and temple, or between 1:35pm and 2pm for Dihua Street, the Memorial Hall and Ximending, and brings you back 4 hours later. Each tour has 18 seats, booked online 5 to 90 days ahead. Your flight must land before 7am and leave after 3pm for the morning tour, or land before 1pm and leave after 8:30pm for the afternoon one. For a landing at another time, GetYourGuide (opens in a new tab) and Viator (opens in a new tab) list private layover tours from the airport.
Watch the calendar
- Mondays. The National Palace Museum is closed, apart from a few special openings.
- 18 and 19 November 2026. The Memorial Hall is closed for maintenance; the park around it stays open.
- Lunar New Year. Holidays run from 4 to 10 February 2027, and the Memorial Hall is closed on 5 and 6 February. Over Lunar New Year 2026 the Airport MRT added early trains and kept its usual last trains, so check Taoyuan Metro’s website before you rely on the last one.
- 28 February. The Memorial Hall is closed for Peace Memorial Day.
- Rain. The changing of the guard doesn’t take place in rain, and the free tours can be cancelled in bad weather.
Our itineraries give timed plans from 6 to 24 hours, both free tours with how to join, an overnight plan and places to rest at the airport.
Transit tour
Taipei layover tours
Private tours that meet you at the airport and bring you back in time, for a landing that misses the free tours' fixed starts. Add about 2.5 hours to a tour's length for immigration and the return.
See tours on GetYourGuide (opens in a new tab)See tours on Viator (opens in a new tab)
Head back
Be back at Taoyuan airport 90 minutes before departure, with your onward boarding pass.
Not needed when you stay airside.
- Time. With an hour to get out, the train both ways and 90 minutes at the end, a 6-hour layover leaves about 1.5 hours in town, 8 hours about 3.5 and 12 hours about 7.5. Leave Taipei Main Station 2 hours 40 minutes before your flight.
- Why 90 minutes is enough. If you’re already checked in, you go through departure immigration and security and walk to your gate, where you need to be 40 minutes before departure. If you still need to check in or drop a bag, allow more: the airport suggests 2 to 3 hours for that.
- Your terminal. Ride back to the terminal on your booking. Some China Airlines, EVA Air and Starlux flights board at Terminal 3’s new north concourse, which has no train station of its own: you go through check-in and security at your airline’s usual terminal, so allow a little longer to reach the gate.
- Free tours. The bus brings you back at 12:30pm or 6pm, and your flight must leave after 3pm or 8:30pm: the organisers’ rule, stricter than this guide’s 90 minutes.
- Late at night. If you miss the 11:38pm train, only a taxi will get you back: metered, with highway tolls on top. Allow 40 to 60 minutes, this guide’s estimate.
Time in town at each layover length: how much time you’ll have.
Departures
Best for your layoverStaying in the airport needs no visa and no train fare, but the only hotel the airport lists is past immigration.
- Plaza Premium Lounge. In Terminal 2’s departures area, past security, open 5am to midnight, from NT$1,500 (seen November 2026). You can book a private resting suite with a bed and its own toilet. It’s closed from midnight to 5am, and you need your onward boarding pass to get in.
- Showers. Both terminals have shower rooms, several of them open 24 hours.
- Hotel by the airport. The Hyatt Regency Taoyuan International Airport is at Airport Hotel station (A14a), one stop beyond Terminal 2 on the Airport MRT; the ride from either terminal is free with a card or phone. You pass immigration to reach it, so you need permission to enter Taiwan.
Rooms, lounges, showers and left luggage: at the airport.
Lounge pass
A lounge past security
Plaza Premium's lounge in Terminal 2 is the place to rest without passing immigration, from 5am to midnight, with private suites to book. Check in for your next flight first.