The Airport MRT is the way into Taipei on a layover. Express and commuter trains take turns, so one leaves about every 7 or 8 minutes, and the express reaches Taipei Main Station in 37 to 39 minutes for NT$160, paid by tapping a contactless card. The last train back leaves Taipei Main at 11:38pm.
What's the best way from Taoyuan airport into Taipei?
For most layovers, take the Airport MRT to Taipei Main Station. The express takes 37 minutes from Terminal 1 and 39 from Terminal 2, the commuter train 51 and 53, and both cost NT$160: tap a contactless bank card or phone at the gate. A train leaves about every 7 or 8 minutes. Allow about an hour from landing to the train, and be back at the airport 90 minutes before departure.
Getting through the border
Before any train, you pass Taiwan’s immigration. Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) publishes no queue times, so plan on about an hour from landing to the train. A slow queue shortens your time in town, not your leave-by time, which counts back from your flight. First check that you can leave, and file the free online arrival card before you fly (visa and transit rules).
- The desks. Taiwan’s arrival e-gates are for travellers who have registered in advance, so plan on the staffed desks for foreign passports.
- Bags. On one ticket, they usually go straight through to your next flight. On separate tickets you collect them first; leave them in a locker or at the left-luggage counters in both terminals (at the airport). The free tours don’t take large luggage on the bus.
- Finding the train. After immigration, follow the signs for the Airport MRT. Terminal 1 is station A12 and Terminal 2 is A13.
The options at a glance
| Airport MRT express | Airport MRT commuter | Taxi | |
|---|---|---|---|
| To | Taipei Main Station, via A8 and A3 | Taipei Main Station, every stop | Anywhere in Taipei |
| Time | 37 min from Terminal 1, 39 from Terminal 2 | 51 min from Terminal 1, 53 from Terminal 2 | About 40 to 60 min (this guide’s estimate) |
| Single fare | NT$160 | NT$160 | Metered, plus highway tolls |
| Pay with | Contactless card or phone, EasyCard or ticket | Contactless card or phone, EasyCard or ticket | At the taxi |
Airport MRT: the best option for most layovers
Taoyuan Metro’s airport line runs from Terminal 2 through Terminal 1 to Taipei Main Station (A1), the end of the line in the centre of Taipei. Two kinds of train share it, for the same fare.
- Express. Stops only at New Taipei Industrial Park (A3) and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (A8) on the way: 37 minutes from Terminal 1 to Taipei Main and 39 from Terminal 2. Coming back, 35 minutes to Terminal 1 and 39 to Terminal 2.
- Commuter. Stops at every station: 51 minutes from Terminal 1 and 53 from Terminal 2. Coming back, 49 minutes to Terminal 1 and 52 to Terminal 2.
- How often. Each runs every 15 minutes, and they take turns, so a train leaves about every 7 or 8 minutes. If the express is due within about 12 minutes, wait for it: it’s 14 minutes faster, so it still gets you there first.
- Fare. NT$160 one way between the airport and Taipei Main, on either train. Children under 6 ride free with a paying adult; staff may ask to see ID for a child over 115cm.
Paying. The easiest way is to tap a contactless Visa, Mastercard, JCB or UnionPay card, or a phone with one in its wallet, on the gate going in, and the same one coming out. It works on Taipei’s metro too, so the change at Taipei Main needs no new ticket. If you’d rather not use a card, machines in both terminals sell single tickets and EasyCards, Taiwan’s transit card, which costs NT$100 plus whatever you load. An EasyCard also pays for buses and the airport’s lockers.
A free return ticket. If you register for the Tourism Administration’s free self-guided tour (layovers of up to 24 hours, booked online up to 90 days ahead), you collect a round-trip Airport MRT voucher at a Tourist Service Centre in arrivals, between 7:30am and 10:30pm, and, while the campaign lasts, an NT$600 voucher for shops and restaurants in the airport. Pick route E or F, the two that ride the Airport MRT to Taipei Main and back: A and B stay at the airport and come with no MRT voucher. Our itineraries explain more.
First and last trains. They’re the same every day of the week:
| Every day | |
|---|---|
| First express into Taipei | 5:55am from Terminal 2, 5:58am from Terminal 1 |
| First commuter into Taipei | 6:04am from Terminal 2, 6:07am from Terminal 1 |
| Last express into Taipei | 10:55pm from Terminal 2, 10:58pm from Terminal 1 |
| Last commuter into Taipei | 11:35pm from Terminal 2, 11:37pm from Terminal 1 |
| Last express back from Taipei Main | 11pm, at Terminal 1 about 11:35pm and Terminal 2 about 11:39pm |
| Last commuter back from Taipei Main | 11:38pm, at Terminal 1 about 12:27am and Terminal 2 about 12:30am |
In practice the last trains only matter for a flight after about 1:40am: for anything earlier, you have to leave town before them to be back 90 minutes ahead. Over holidays Taoyuan Metro has added trains rather than cut them: at Lunar New Year 2026 it ran an extra 5am express from Taipei Main to the airport. It posts any changes on its website, so check there before you rely on the last train on a holiday.
The metro from Taipei Main
Taipei Main is a large station: allow about 10 minutes to walk between the Airport MRT platforms and the metro, this guide’s allowance. Two metro lines run from it, and the same contactless card or phone pays. The metro runs from about 6am to midnight.
- Red line (Tamsui-Xinyi), south two stops to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, about 5 minutes; on to Taipei 101/World Trade Center, seven stops, about 15 minutes. North five stops to Jiantan, for Shilin Night Market, about 10 minutes, and one more to Shilin, for the bus to the National Palace Museum.
- Blue line (Bannan), west one stop to Ximen, for Ximending, and two to Longshan Temple, about 5 minutes.
The ride times are this guide’s, at 2 to 3 minutes a stop, and are built into the itineraries.
Taxis, buses and pre-booked cars
- Taxis. Take one from the official taxi rank outside arrivals. They run 24 hours and are metered, with highway tolls added on top; the airport publishes no set fare or ride time. Allow 40 to 60 minutes to central Taipei, this guide’s estimate, and more at rush hour.
- Airport buses. Kuo-Kuang route 1819 runs to Taipei Bus Station, next to Taipei Main, in about 55 minutes. Check the times at the bus counter in arrivals: the train is quicker and easier to plan around, so this guide’s plans don’t use the bus.
- Pre-booked cars. Booked ahead, a driver waits in arrivals with your name. Settle the return pickup at the same time, so the ride back to Taoyuan is fixed.
Travelling light, alone or as a pair, take the Airport MRT: it runs to a timetable and costs a fraction of a car. A car earns its price for a family or group sharing it, with suitcases, or when your flight leaves after the last train.
Bags and in-town check-in
For a layover, leave bags at the airport: lockers in both terminals cost NT$40 to NT$80 for each 3 hours, paid in cash or with an EasyCard, and the left-luggage counters are open 24 hours (at the airport).
If you’re flying on with China Airlines, Mandarin Airlines, EVA Air, Uni Air, Cathay Pacific or Starlux, you can check in your bags for a same-day flight at Taipei Main Station instead, free, from 6am to 9:30pm, at least 3 hours before departure. It’s on the B1 level of the Airport MRT station (A1). That suits a long layover on separate tickets, when you’ve had to collect your bags: drop them on your way back and ride to the airport with only your hand luggage.
Moving between terminals
The free Skytrain between Terminals 1 and 2 outside security stopped on 1 July 2026, because of work on Terminal 3. Two free ways replace it:
- The Airport MRT between Terminal 1 (A12), Terminal 2 (A13) and Airport Hotel station (A14a) is free with a contactless card, phone or EasyCard: tap in and out as usual.
- The shuttle bus runs 24 hours, about every 15 minutes from 6am to 10:59pm and every 20 minutes at night. At Terminal 1 it stops under the canopy on Airport South Road, next to Meeting Point 4-5; at Terminal 2, at Bus Stop 10 on the southeast side of the first-floor arrivals hall.
Allow 10 to 15 minutes plus the wait, this guide’s estimate. Inside security, connecting passengers can still take the Skytrain between terminals. Terminal 3’s north concourse, open since 25 December 2025, is a set of boarding gates for some China Airlines, EVA Air and Starlux flights. It has no train station of its own: you check in at your airline’s usual terminal and go through to the gate from there.
Timing your return
Be back at the airport 90 minutes before departure, with your onward boarding pass. From Taipei Main Station, leave 2 hours 40 minutes before your flight: about 10 minutes to the airport platform, up to 15 for an express, 39 minutes to Terminal 2 and a few minutes into the terminal, then the 90 minutes.
| Layover | Time in Taipei | What fits |
|---|---|---|
| 6 hours | about 1.5 hours | The Memorial Hall |
| 6.5 hours | about 2 hours | Longshan Temple and Ximending, or Taipei 101 |
| 7 hours | about 2.5 hours | Taipei 101 at an easy pace |
| 8 hours | about 3.5 hours | The National Palace Museum (not Mondays) |
| 10 hours | about 5.5 hours | Two plans, such as Longshan Temple and Taipei 101 |
| 12 hours | about 7.5 hours | Most of a day |
The table assumes an hour to get out, about 55 minutes into Taipei Main with the wait for an express, and 70 back, timed to Terminal 2, the longer ride. Flying from Terminal 1 gives you a few minutes more.