Taipei Airport

LAX to Manila via Taoyuan. Fairly efficient airport only had 1 hr 20 mins to transfer from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1 but we still had time to look around the airport. Not a bad airport to transit not as good as Hong Kong or Incheon but it definitely beats LAX or Manila.

Used TPE Terminal 1 for arrival and departure as we were flying Cathay Pacific. Terminal 1 is currently undergoing a major renovation as the facilities are old and tired. Airport is easy to navigate but there is not a major amount to do once you've cleared immigration. Not the best airport in the world but also not the worst. Will be interesting to see how T1 improves after the renovations are finished.

Terrible airport. There is nowhere decent to eat (only about 3 fast food joints with terrible food and ridiculous prices) there are no ATMs - too bad if you have no cash no bars or restaurants except for the VIP lounges. What about the people without an invitation who are willing to pay for a decent meal and a drink? Pretty much all you can buy is a designer handbag - they are everywhere (not much else). I was stuck in this airport for 16 hours after 2 delays by China Airlines and there is nothing to do. The gate reeked of cigarette smoke. Terminal 1 is stuffy - feels like there is not much oxygen in there. The airport is an hour from the city. They offer a free half day tour but it looked boring. I booked into the transit hotel in Terminal 2 which was decent and worth doing if you are going to be waiting there for 3hours+. Despite this the airport staff were very helpful (China Airlines staff were not despite the fact that we were flying with them).

While airport is serviceable main problem is distance from the city. A dedicated bus from the main train station took more than an hour to reach the airport. Formalities on all levels are efficient and straightforward. Best feature of the airport is the help desk at arrivals where we were booked in a hotel of our choosing and pointed toward a bus.

The thing that needs to be improved is the small exit into the arrivals hall after baggage collection. There is only one double door exit for 8 or so immigration gates which leads to bottleneck during peak arrival times. Great selection of duty free on departure and two external smoking lounges. Arrival hall is spacious after quick immigration and baggage collection. Free wi-fi point and vending machines before you go to meet your transport. I went via Taipei as a transit point to LHR from SGN. in retrospect I should have just got a flight to BKK and saved myself 2 flights and 2 hotel stays.

It was very clean and aesthetic looking. Unfortunately I couldn't find my next flight! None of the electronic info kiosks weren't working. I wandered around trying to find a departure board and took us nearly 30 minutes and none of the people we asked knew anything. It was morning when we got there and we were hoping to find a coffee shop or something to grab something to wake us up. There was nothing in the common area. Despite the fact that it was after 8am none of the few places we did see were open. There was nothing until I went through another security check and found my gate finally! did I find some places to eat. By then it was too late for me to get anything. I found the whole thing very strange. Score: 3

I frequently fly into Taoyuan International airport from Australia via Hong Kong. I must say compare the two airports it is clear which is the better one. Terminal one is a disgrace very dated and looks run down and tired. Despite it's lack of modern fittings I find it easy to navigate. Terminal 2 is more up to date with modern design and aesthetics but still in my opinion T2 still lags behind airports like Singapore's Changi and numerous other newer one around the world.

I always travel using Terminal 2 since China Airlines flights to Australia depart and arrive at Terminal 2. Since flights to Australia depart at night security and immigration did not take long at all. Over the years the terminal has developed and expanded and there are now quite a few eateries (Starbucks Burger King Subway just to name a few) and shops. One noticeable improvement was free wifi as well as numerous free internet terminals throughout the airport.

Arrived in terminal 2 during the evening after a 9 hour flight. Very clean tidy and comfortable feeling as soon as I stepped off the plane. The terminal was quite big and peaceful (no crowds at the time) and the long walk to passport control was needed after a long flight. Huge passport control area good for processing large amounts of people. Process was quick signage was clear and baggage collection was quick. Extremely convenient bus system into Taipei city also quite affordable (roughly a third of the price of a taxi). Overall a well managed airport always a delight to visit.

Taoyuan is my stop ver on my way to Manila and coming back from MNL to SEA. The only thing is sometimes it's hard to find an outlet if your laptop is running out of battery. Also it can be crowded there. Other than that it's very tidy. I always have 7 hour stopover.