How to get to | Taiwan

This is part of a series of blog entries on how to get to countries and places. Here is a link to the index. I plan to eventually cover every country and some other places. If you have a request for a particular country or place please use the email me link at top right, or leave a comment.

Taiwan

Source: Wikimedia Commons

The easiest way to visit Taiwan is by air. Airlines flying to Taiwan (mostly Taipei Taoyuan airport) include:

• Star Alliance - Air China, ANA, Asiana, , Singapore, Thai, United
• Oneworld - Cathay Pacific, Dragonair, Japan
• Sky Team - China Southern, Delta, KLM, Korean
• Other selected - China Airlines (not to be confused with Air China), EVA, some Asian low cost carriers

TIP Some flights to mainland China (and domestic Taiwanese flights) use Taipei Songshan airport instead.

TIP There are lots of airlines flying between Tokyo and Taipei, including some fifth freedom flights (airlines not based in Taiwan or Japan) such as Northwest and United.

TIP Longhaul fares to and from USA and Canada are relatively cheap compared with other Asian hubs, especially in business class.

TIP Since earlier this year airlines have been allowed to schedule direct flights between China and Taiwan. Prior to this the only flights were very limited numbers of charter flights restricted to certain dates and passengers. However, at time of writing only 40 flights per day are allowed and demand is much higher than this. Until the restrictions are completely removed fares remain high and many will need to travel via Hong Kong, Macau or other hubs.