Cheap flights from Dublin to Taipei

Taipei runs on a subtropical calendar: summers are hot and humid, then from late autumn into spring the air cools, the days shorten and the city is easier to walk. That is where the prices point as well: November is the cheapest month in the fare data, and the quoted months run from September through May, so high summer is simply not listed. Around Lunar New Year, which shifts each year, seats into Taiwan tighten, and the Christmas holidays do the same on the outbound side. Compare dates a day or two either side of the weekend, and book a couple of months ahead where you can, so the connection you want is still on sale.

There is no low-cost operator on this route: Hainan Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, British Airways, Lufthansa and Finnair are all full-service, so meals and a checked bag are normally part of the fare rather than extras. Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways and Turkish Airlines complete the long-haul list; what separates them is the stopover — which hub you cross and how long you wait. Two names usually work the short first leg: BA CityFlyer, the regional arm of British Airways, and Nordic Regional Airlines, which flies feeder services for Finnair. Because every itinerary includes a change of plane, weigh the layover and the total travel time as carefully as the fare itself.

Get the entry side sorted before you fly: Taiwan sets its own visa and arrival rules, and they are separate from what your airline tells you at check-in. Long-haul flights land at Taiwan Taoyuan International, which serves Taipei from outside the city limits, a fair ride from the centre. The usual ways in are the airport express rail and the coach services, both running into the evening, which matters because connections from Europe often arrive after dark. Keep the address of your first night ready for the arrival form, and if you land late, check the last departures on the rail link before you rely on it.

Currency

TWD (NT$)

Power sockets

Type A, B · 110 V

Language

Wuqiu dialect, Kinmen dialect, Matsu dialect, Truku, Taiwanese Hakka, Sakizaya, Saisiyat, Puyuma, Seediq, Tsou, Kavalan, Saaroa, Atayal, Yami, Paiwan, Standard Taiwanese Mandarin, Kanakanavu, Bunun, Rukai, Taiwanese Hokkien, Amis, Taiwanese Sign Language

Emergency number

112, 110, 119

Driving side

right

Calling code

+886

Internet domain

.tw

Time zone

UTC+08 (Asia/Taipei)

Country facts: Wikidata

• Book the whole trip as one ticket, because a missed connection on separate bookings is yours to fix.
• Compare the layover on the long leg, not just the arrival time, before you settle for the lowest fare.
• Confirm that a checked bag is included on every leg, especially when BA CityFlyer or Nordic Regional Airlines fly the first hop.
• Check the visa and entry rules for Taiwan for your passport, since those are set by Taiwan rather than the airline.
• Compare November against the months either side in the calendar, as it is the cheapest month shown.
• Leave slack around Lunar New Year, which shifts each year, when flights into Taiwan fill up fast.