TPE layover questions [merged thread]
Feb 20, 2019, 1:38 am
#46
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 12
TPE stopover, shower at airport
Will arrive in Taipei early in the morning at 5.20am and have an evening flight late at night so will be heading out of the airport to have a look at the city.
I am traveling business class so will have access to the lounge but was wondering when i land, i would like to go to the lounge, have a shower, have some breakfast and then catch a train to the city.
I was wondering would that be possible when arriving?
I am traveling business class so will have access to the lounge but was wondering when i land, i would like to go to the lounge, have a shower, have some breakfast and then catch a train to the city.
I was wondering would that be possible when arriving?
Feb 20, 2019, 2:15 am
#47
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Australia
Programs: QF, LM, AA,VA Silver, Qatar, Accor Gold, CC Gold, HH Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott B Plat
Posts: 535
Will arrive in Taipei early in the morning at 5.20am and have an evening flight late at night so will be heading out of the airport to have a look at the city.
I am traveling business class so will have access to the lounge but was wondering when i land, i would like to go to the lounge, have a shower, have some breakfast and then catch a train to the city.
I was wondering would that be possible when arriving?
I am traveling business class so will have access to the lounge but was wondering when i land, i would like to go to the lounge, have a shower, have some breakfast and then catch a train to the city.
I was wondering would that be possible when arriving?
Feb 20, 2019, 6:23 pm
#49
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Australia
Programs: QF, LM, AA,VA Silver, Qatar, Accor Gold, CC Gold, HH Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott B Plat
Posts: 535
Feb 25, 2019, 10:09 am
#51
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Tainan, Taiwan
Posts: 14,702
There appear to be shower rooms available in the arrivals area of T1, but in T2, they're only in the departures area.
https://www.taoyuan-airport.com/english/store3_1/1113
https://www.taoyuan-airport.com/english/store3_1/1113
Feb 25, 2019, 5:54 pm
#52
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: LAS ORD
Programs: AA Pro (mostly B6) OZ♦ (flying BR/UA), BA Silver Hyatt LT, Wynn Black, Cosmo Plat, Mlife Noir
Posts: 5,992
There appear to be shower rooms available in the arrivals area of T1, but in T2, they're only in the departures area.
https://www.taoyuan-airport.com/english/store3_1/1113
https://www.taoyuan-airport.com/english/store3_1/1113
May 11, 2019, 1:25 pm
#55
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Northern California
Programs: UA-Plat, UA-MM, Hertz PC, HH, APEC ABTC
Posts: 235
Short answer: Not really.
Longer answer: a trip into Taipei center is doable on an 8 hour layover. but assuming the '8 hours' is from landing to take-off, you would need to allow perhaps 90 minutes for immigration and security (both ways), and 2 hours for transit. That would leave you with about 3-4 hours in the city.
You don't mention the time of day that you will be there, assuming that it's daytime, then I think a little city excursion would be fun.
You also don't say if you have been to Taipei before. I may get flamed for saying this, but Taipei is not rich in culture or history. On the other food is incredible. I would pick an area with shops and restaurants to explore and taste on foot. Depending upon how far it is from Taipei Main Station, you might consider using a taxi to get there, in order to optimize your time. There is a branch of the famous Din Tai Fung soup dumpling restaurant about 15 minutes walk from Taipei Main Station (It's in the Mitsukoshi Nanxi store). And there is a Tim Ho Wan dumpling outlet close to Main Station as well.
For more history, and general people watching, you could also go to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.
In closing: I certainly don't recommend passing 8 hours in TPE airport. It's just not that interesting.
Longer answer: a trip into Taipei center is doable on an 8 hour layover. but assuming the '8 hours' is from landing to take-off, you would need to allow perhaps 90 minutes for immigration and security (both ways), and 2 hours for transit. That would leave you with about 3-4 hours in the city.
You don't mention the time of day that you will be there, assuming that it's daytime, then I think a little city excursion would be fun.
You also don't say if you have been to Taipei before. I may get flamed for saying this, but Taipei is not rich in culture or history. On the other food is incredible. I would pick an area with shops and restaurants to explore and taste on foot. Depending upon how far it is from Taipei Main Station, you might consider using a taxi to get there, in order to optimize your time. There is a branch of the famous Din Tai Fung soup dumpling restaurant about 15 minutes walk from Taipei Main Station (It's in the Mitsukoshi Nanxi store). And there is a Tim Ho Wan dumpling outlet close to Main Station as well.
For more history, and general people watching, you could also go to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.
In closing: I certainly don't recommend passing 8 hours in TPE airport. It's just not that interesting.
May 12, 2019, 9:43 am
#57
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: IAH
Programs: UA MM, AA almost MM
Posts: 1,164
Thanks for the replies. I have been to Taipei many times and didn't believe there was much near TPE. However, I am always willing to learn from the experts. I was there in April and don't want to run into the city just to do the same stuff. However, if I am missing good stuffs near the airport, I would make amend.
While waiting for the replies, I found out Taiwan Travel Bureau provides a morning and an afternoon 4 hour tour for passengers with long enough layover. The tours don't sound exciting but they will give me a different prospective to the city. For those who have sufficient layover time. Here is the link.
https://eng.taiwan.net.tw/tour/index.htm
While waiting for the replies, I found out Taiwan Travel Bureau provides a morning and an afternoon 4 hour tour for passengers with long enough layover. The tours don't sound exciting but they will give me a different prospective to the city. For those who have sufficient layover time. Here is the link.
https://eng.taiwan.net.tw/tour/index.htm
May 13, 2019, 8:52 pm
#59
Join Date: Feb 2006
Programs: UA, Starwood, Priority Club, Hertz, Starbucks Gold Card
Posts: 3,952
To characterize Taipei this way, one has to be 100% ignorant of the Austronesian aborigines, Portuguese, Dutch, Minnanese, Japanese, and Chinese from the rest of Mainland China who left their marks there. Many traditional Chinese arts, crafts, and cultural relics have also been continuously preserved in Taipei and Taiwan in general, including some of the best teas in the world, which are now extinct in China. Many of those elements of Taipei culture/history/scenery can be experienced within a half-day layover if you research ahead and perhaps plan to use a taxi or uber to reduce the travel times.
May 15, 2019, 8:03 am
#60
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: IAH
Programs: UA MM, AA almost MM
Posts: 1,164
I love Taipei. As one of my good friend put it, Taipei is the clean and polite version of a Chinese big city. The history is rich and diverse. It has the best museum for Chinese arts. The food scene is as wonderful as Singapore. There are wonderful parks to hike. I don't shop. However, for those who love to shop, it is a great place to shop. Taiwanese Scotch is world renown. It is one of the best Chinese cities to visit temples. The list just goes on. IMHO, it is the best Chinese city to spend a few days. Taiwan is a wonderful place to spend a couple of weeks. I go to Taipei any chance I get.