Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on a Taipei Layover

Hours, prices and access verified by the Taipei Layover Tours team — last checked 2026-08-28

The tour starts here, in an arrivals hall, with a stranger holding a card with your name on it. This page is the forty minutes between your aircraft door and that moment, and what to do if you decide to stay inside instead.

Terminal 1, Terminal 2, and which one you land in

Both terminals at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport handle international arrivals and both have their own station on the Airport MRT. Which one you land in is decided by your airline, and it matters here for one reason: it decides which arrivals hall your driver-guide is standing in.

Two operators here ask for your terminal number at the time of booking, and one asks for both your arrival and your departure flight numbers. Give them, and the meet is arranged around the aircraft you are actually on rather than the one on the schedule. the airport’s own site carries the terminal maps.

From the aerobridge to the arrivals hall

Allow thirty to forty-five minutes, and more if several long-haul aircraft land in the same wave. The walk from a far pier is long, and the immigration hall is the variable nobody can predict for you.

Completing the Taiwan Arrival Card before you fly removes the form-filling from that queue entirely; nothing is shown at the desk, because the officer's passport scan pulls the record. The whole entry sequence is on Taipei Layover timing rules.

Where your driver-guide will be standing

Two operators here describe two different meetings, and the difference matters at six in the morning with a bag on your shoulder. It is where every taipei airport layover tours booking actually begins.

At the Tourist Service Center counter

One operator waits in front of the Tourist Service Center counter in the arrivals hall of Terminal 1 or Terminal 2, holding a card printed with the company name and the lead traveller's name. You walk out of customs and they are in front of you.

At the terminal exit, in uniform

Another waits at the terminal exit in a company uniform. From there you take a short shuttle bus to the car park before the drive begins, so allow five minutes more than you expect.

At Terminal 2, for the train

The one product with no car meets at Terminal 2 and rides the Airport MRT express in with you. The meeting point can be moved by agreement after booking.

What every meet has in common

Your name on a card, and a phone number exchanged in advance. Every listing here confirms the arrangement at the time of booking rather than on the day.

The Airport MRT station, and where it is

Terminal 1 is station A12 and Terminal 2 is A13, both directly below their terminals. The express reaches Taipei Main Station in 35 minutes and the commuter service in 49; the first departure towards the city leaves Terminal 1 at 05:58 and the last at 23:37.

Taoyuan Metro also sells a joint ticket — a round trip on the Airport MRT plus a 48-hour Taipei Metro pass for NT$520, or a 72-hour pass for NT$600 — which is the sensible buy if you are doing the day independently.

Bags, and which format carries them

If your checked bags are tagged through to your final destination, you carry nothing but your cabin bag and you never see the baggage hall. If they are tagged only to Taipei, you collect them, clear customs and re-check them for the onward flight, and that is an hour you have not budgeted. Confirm which it is at your first check-in desk.

Both terminals have baggage lockers and a staffed left-luggage counter, so hand luggage can be left behind if you would rather walk empty-handed. On a car tour it simply rides in the vehicle, which is one of the real differences between the two formats.

If you decide to stay inside

Under six hours, that is usually the right call, and it is a decision rather than a defeat. Taoyuan is open around the clock, both terminals have showers, rest areas and places to eat, and the walk between concourses is a long one you will be glad not to have hurried.

The threshold to watch is the one on short Taipei layovers: below six hours you are buying two hours in the city for the price of a whole day's adrenaline. Above seven, the balance flips completely.

Getting back in with time to spare

Aim to be at departures three hours before your onward flight. On a road transfer that means leaving your last stop three hours and fifty minutes before departure, and your driver-guide will hold you to it whether or not you want to leave.

Doing it independently, add margin to the train times rather than trusting them. The service window closes around eleven at night, and the last train from Taipei Main Station is earlier than the last train from the terminal.

Taoyuan at a glance

	Terminal 1	Terminal 2
Airport MRT station	A12, directly below	A13, directly below
Express to Taipei Main Station	35 minutes	36 minutes
First train towards the city	05:58	A minute later
Last train of the day	23:37	23:37
Where one operator meets you	Tourist Service Center counter, arrivals	Tourist Service Center counter, arrivals
Where another meets you	Terminal exit, in uniform	Terminal exit, in uniform
Open	24 hours	24 hours

Whichever terminal you land in, the meet happens landside, after immigration and customs. None of it needs doing before you have your passport back in your hand.

Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport

Name

Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE)

Address

No. 9, Hangzhan South Road, Dayuan District, Taoyuan City 33758, Taiwan

Hours

Open 24 hours, every day. Terminal 1 is Airport MRT station A12 and Terminal 2 is A13.

Taoyuan Airport: Layover Taipei City TourSix hours from a name sign in the Taoyuan arrival hall, with both your flight numbers on file before you land.From $199 per person · free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead

Check availability

Met at arrivals, returned to departures

Most of the departures here collect you inside the terminal and drop you back at it, which removes the two journeys you would otherwise be timing yourself.

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Questions about the terminal

Can I leave the airport during a layover in Taipei?

Yes, if your nationality can enter Taiwan visa-free. You clear immigration like any other arrival, spend your hours in the city and come back through departures. Most long-haul nationalities can do this, and every product here is built around exactly that shape of visit.

Do I have to collect my checked bags?

Not if they are checked through to your final destination, which is the usual arrangement on a single ticket. If your bags are tagged only to Taipei, you collect them, clear customs and re-check them for the onward flight, and that adds an hour you have not budgeted. Confirm which it is at your first check-in desk.

What do I do with my cabin bag on the tour?

On a car tour it rides in the vehicle between stops, which is one of the real differences a private car buys. Two of the listings here run on foot and by train instead, so anything you carry, you carry all day. Both terminals at Taoyuan have baggage lockers and a staffed left-luggage counter if you would rather travel empty-handed.

How long does immigration take at Taoyuan?

Allow 30 to 45 minutes from the aerobridge to the arrivals hall, more if several long-haul aircraft land together. Completing the Taiwan Arrival Card before you fly removes the form-filling from that queue. Your driver-guide waits in the arrivals hall, so the clock on the tour starts when you walk out rather than when you land.

Where exactly does the driver wait?

It depends on the operator, and the difference matters at six in the morning. One waits in front of the Tourist Service Center counter in the arrivals hall of Terminal 1 or Terminal 2, holding a card with the lead traveller's name. Another waits at the terminal exit in a company uniform, then walks you to a shuttle bus to the car park before the drive begins.

Next: the distances are on the Taipei Layover tours map, the clock on Taipei Layover timing rules, and every departure on Taipei Layover Tours.