Taiwan to Australia Flights: Decision-Making Guide for Singapore Transit

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Is it worth flying from Taiwan to Australia via Singapore, trading time for a cheaper ticket? Here’s my conclusion:

• If you’re departing or arriving during a national holiday period, when vacation days are precious and direct flights don’t operate daily, a connecting flight can help you cover more holiday dates — making the layover worthwhile for maximizing your time off.
• If the connecting flight is noticeably cheaper than a direct flight by NT$8,000 or more, I’d consider going with the connection.

While I fundamentally believe travel is about experiences — and that those experiences don’t need to be expensive — time also has value. The decision is actually quite complex, so here are my recommendations based on careful consideration and personal experience.

Direct Flight Options from Taiwan to Australia

EVA Air

Perhaps because the Australian market hasn’t been a strong revenue generator, EVA Air has never treated Australia as a priority market. For years, EVA has only served one Australian destination — Brisbane — and the schedule is designed to optimize aircraft utilization rather than passenger-friendly timing:

• BR315 TPE0910-BNE2000
• BR316 BNE2215-TPE0505+1

Only three flights per week (Monday, Thursday, Saturday).

This kind of schedule — departing during the day, arriving at night despite an overnight flight, with only the return leg having an ideal time slot — is relatively inefficient compared to China Airlines. You could achieve a similar result through a connecting flight.

In short, when it comes to schedule design alone, EVA Air isn’t a great option compared to China Airlines.

If Scoot flew to Brisbane, EVA probably wouldn’t even be in the consideration set.

China Airlines

China Airlines operates three Australian destinations: Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane — with the Brisbane flight continuing onward to Auckland.

Taipei–Sydney (SYD) 

• CI51 TPE2330-SYD1045+1
• CI52 SYD2210-TPE0540+1

Taipei–Melbourne (MEL)

• CI57 TPE2330-MEL1040+1
• CI58 MEL2150-TPE0530+1

Taipei–Brisbane–Auckland (BNE-AKL)

• CI53 TPE2355-BNE1035+1, BNE1255-AKL1800
• CI54 AKL1930-BNE2105, BNE2250-TPE0540+1

All three of China Airlines’ Australian routes depart around 23:30 Taipei time, arriving in Australia the next morning between roughly 10:30 and 11:00. The aircraft stays on the ground in Australia for about 12 hours before departing back to Taipei late that night.

The Sydney route has the highest frequency, with near-daily service. Melbourne and Brisbane essentially operate on a complementary schedule — most likely alternating one day MEL, one day BNE.

Compared to EVA Air’s emphasis on aircraft utilization efficiency, China Airlines sacrifices some of that efficiency — but the trade-off clearly results in passenger-friendly timing: late-night departure, morning arrival.

A good time slot is the real advantage of a direct flight — otherwise, a connecting flight can achieve the same thing.

Simply put, if you value the benefits of flying direct, China Airlines is the clear choice over EVA Air.

Flying Scoot via Singapore

Scoot is the most significant low-cost carrier (LCC) operating medium- to long-haul routes across East and Southeast Asia. For connecting to Australia, it’s also one of the more viable options.

Scoot currently serves three Australian destinations:

1. Perth
2. Melbourne
3. Sydney

In principle, there’s at least one flight per day, and sometimes multiple flights on the same day. Since daily service is the baseline, let’s look at the schedules.

Perth (PER)

Perth is the closest Australian destination to Singapore, with a flight time of about 5 hours and 15 minutes.

• Outbound (TR16): SIN 15:40 → PER 20:40
• Return (TR17): PER 21:55 → SIN 03:25 (+1)

Melbourne (MEL)

Flight time is approximately 7 hours and 45 minutes.

• Outbound (TR18): SIN 11:30 → MEL 22:15
• Return (TR19): MEL 23:45 → SIN 05:10 (+1)

Sydney (SYD)

Flight time is approximately 8 hours.

• Outbound (TR12): SIN 10:25 → SYD 21:10
• Return (TR13): SYD 22:25 → SIN 03:55 (+1)

Of course, the usual caveats apply:

Scoot is a low-cost carrier, so all the typical LCC limitations — delays, service levels, meals, seat selection, in-flight boredom syndrome… — are all possibilities.

But Singapore is Scoot’s home base, so overall I’d say its operational reliability is reasonably high.

As for everything else, well, you can always pay extra to solve those issues.

Scoot’s Transit Characteristics

Scoot’s Australia-bound flights typically depart Singapore in the morning to midday, arriving in Australia in the evening. To connect with these flights, the key characteristic of a Scoot transit is that you’ll usually depart Taipei around midnight (approximately 00:00).

You’ll arrive in Singapore around 4:00 to 5:00 AM local time, followed by a fairly long layover of about 6 to 8 hours.

So, when connecting through Singapore to Australia via Scoot, here’s the typical pattern:

• You can head to the airport after work and catch the late-night flight
• You’ll spend about 6 to 8 hours in Singapore
• You’ll arrive in Australia that same evening

The Extra Costs of a Singapore Transit — and Why I Don’t Think They’re Necessarily Downsides

So the obvious drawbacks of transiting through Singapore on the way to Australia are roughly:

• An extra night of accommodation, costing about NT$3,000 to NT$4,000.
• Compared to a direct flight, you lose an afternoon-to-evening’s worth of activity time. I’d estimate the value of that time at about NT$3,000 to NT$4,000 as well.

But are these really downsides? Honestly, I don’t think so. In my experience, booking a hotel for the night you arrive is actually quite nice, because:

1. It means you have a full day to work with the next morning
2. You can get all the hectic arrival logistics out of the way on day one
3. Some car rental companies won’t let you rent on the day you arrive, due to jet lag concerns
4. Flying is tiring — a proper rest is always a good thing

During my own trip to Perth, I woke up the next morning to find a little lake right outside the hotel. That morning, I leisurely strolled to a nearby brunch spot, felt the autumn air, and it was a genuinely lovely experience.

The Advantages of Flying Direct

• You get a longer block of sleep on the plane, since you sleep through one continuous flight.
• With China Airlines’ schedule, you effectively save on accommodation costs for both the outbound and return trips.

I actually really love when a long-haul flight arrives the next morning — it genuinely saves a lot of time and helps enormously with adjusting to the time difference.

When we were leaving Melbourne on Scoot, China Airlines happened to be departing around the same time. China Airlines would be back in Taipei by 7 or 8 AM the next morning, while we didn’t arrive until nearly 5 PM. That alone shows the advantage of flying direct — and the extra time is great for things like unpacking and getting settled.

Things to Do During Your Singapore Layover: Three Options Depending on Your Time and Mood

After several Singapore layovers, I’ve tried a few different approaches. Here’s my takeaway:

If it’s your first time in Singapore and you’d like to get a taste of the city during your layover, entering the country is a viable option.

But only if it’s truly convenient and hassle-free.

If you’ve already visited Singapore a few times, there’s absolutely no need to enter the city just for the sake of “seeing one more place.” Your real destination — in this case, Australia — should remain the priority.

When transiting through Singapore, the goal is simply to get through the layover safely and comfortably, ensuring you make your next flight.

Option 1: Join the Official Transit Tour

The Singapore Tourism Board partners with Singapore Airlines to offer free city tours for transit passengers.

For details, check the Changi Airport Free Tour official page.

We’ve joined a few of these tours, and the guides do provide thorough explanations — the program is legit. But the hidden costs are significant.

My first transit tour experience was actually in Istanbul with Turkish Airlines, and that one left a strong impression on me.

These kinds of tours never let you see a city in full,

but they’re designed to leave you with the feeling that you haven’t seen enough — that the city deserves a proper visit — so that the next time you’re planning a trip, this destination is more likely to come to mind.

Singapore’s tour, in my opinion, doesn’t quite achieve this goal.

But that’s not the program’s fault — it’s the nature of Singapore as a city: it’s fundamentally a commercial metropolis.

As such, what the city sells is shopping and large-scale theme parks — achieving the kind of cultural beauty you’d experience in a few hours in Istanbul is difficult here.

And if you want to experience theme parks and shopping in just a few hours, you’re better off exploring on your own.

On the practical side, the extensive waiting — waiting for people, buses, queues — is a significant hidden time cost. The tour needs to gather passengers from various flights, and between assembling everyone, boarding and deboarding the bus, and queuing at attractions, a huge amount of time is consumed. Additionally, some stops (like the Chinatown Heritage Centre) require separate admission fees — so the “free” tour still has paid components.

The biggest advantage of this option is that it eliminates the hassle of planning transportation — there’s a preset route, bus transfers, and you won’t miss your flight. But the trade-off is that your entire layover gets locked into someone else’s schedule.

If you have plenty of time, it’s worth considering. If your time is precious, I wouldn’t really recommend it.

Option 2: Take the MRT into the City Yourself

Singapore’s MRT is excellent — no question about that. The only thing to keep in mind: it takes about an hour from the airport to the city center. That’s two hours round trip, and once you add immigration time, the window for actually exploring the city is smaller than you’d expect.

So don’t cut it too close.

I think this is actually a bit of a paradox.

For first-time visitors to Singapore, the risk is a bit too high — because your connecting flight won’t wait for you.

The time pressure of potentially missing your flight will eat away at the joy of having a few hours to explore the city.

It’s more of a mini-adventure within the journey.

Option 3: Airport Shopping and Jewel After Immigration

Of these three options, my personal favorite is browsing the airport shops and heading to Jewel after clearing immigration.

Singapore’s Changi Airport is probably one of the most transit-friendly airports in the world. Accommodation, rest areas, lounges, and immigration procedures are all straightforward. Plus, there’s an entire Jewel shopping complex connecting the terminals — complete with an indoor waterfall, restaurants, and gardens.

For a short layover, you don’t even need to leave the airport area to pass the time.

One important note: Jewel (Jewel Changi Airport) is surprisingly easy to get lost in — one side doesn’t have a third floor, while the other side does.

To get to Terminal 2, you need to go up to the third floor and cross via the sky bridge.

Resting at Changi Airport in the Middle of the Night

Scoot operates out of Terminal 1 in Singapore, and flights from Taipei typically arrive between 3:00 and 5:00 AM. The layover is neither long nor short, but overall, the overnight portion of the outbound trip tends to be more exhausting than the return.

Here’s why:

• Insufficient flight duration for sleep: The Taipei-to-Singapore leg is under 5 hours. After subtracting takeoff and landing prep, the actual sleep window is only about 3 to 4 hours.
• Core sleep disruption: Since this falls during your core sleep period, being forced awake creates a higher level of fatigue.

After arriving in Singapore, we usually find a place to lie flat and catch another 1–2 hours of sleep.

Some people might wonder: how can you just lie flat and sleep in an airport? Wouldn’t that bother other people?

I can only say — it’s a personal choice.

After years of travel, sleeping flat at airports is perfectly normal. Outside of East Asian airports, as long as there’s no curfew, you’ll find signs of overnight sleepers everywhere. One that left a strong impression was Oslo Airport — the warm tones of its wooden flooring made the whole experience feel surprisingly cozy.

The airport’s facilities and the general vibe of its passengers naturally influence how comfortable travelers feel about lying down to rest.

Hong Kong Airport, for instance, is not very accommodating — the seats are connected with armrests in between, making it impossible to lie flat.

Singapore’s Changi Airport is interesting: it’s actually quite lively in the middle of the night, yet it’s probably one of the most sleep-friendly airports in the world.

You can spot travelers sleeping in virtually every corner of the airport.

Since Scoot operates from Terminal 1, my preferred resting spot is near the lounges.

Next to the SATS Lounge in T1, there’s a large area of sofas where you can rest.

Walk a bit further, and there’s an open area in a circle where people also rest.

These two spots are where I’d recommend resting.

Some useful items to bring:

• Eye mask (the lights never go off at night. Light has a powerful sleep-suppressing effect, so an eye mask is absolutely essential.)
• Earplugs (if you’re noise-sensitive)
• Sleeping pad (we bring one because our trips are primarily camping-focused, so we always have one on hand)

The JCB Lounge

If you hold a Taiwanese JCB credit card (Platinum tier or above), you can access airport lounges at several designated airports.

For details, check JCB’s official promotion page.

The SATS Lounge in Changi’s Terminal 1 is an excellent perk. This lounge operates 24 hours, except for occasional deep-cleaning sessions, usually between 2:30 and 5:30 AM. The services are quite comprehensive, primarily covering rest, food, and showers.

I have nothing but gratitude for this lounge. We’ve visited it four times total. Just a few things to keep in mind:

• JCB card holders get 3 hours of lounge access, but the layover is often longer than that. My suggestion is to enter around the time you want a meal — usually breakfast. Go in around 5:30 AM and leave around 8:00 AM.
• If you want to take a shower, remember to ask the front desk first — they can provide fresh towels.
• This lounge gets very crowded, so sleeping inside is quite difficult. Personally, I’d rather grab a random chair outside to rest.
• The hot food is generally good. They have a noodle station where you can cook your own — just remember to blanch the ingredients in hot water before adding the broth.
• The food has a Southeast Asian flavor — nice touch!

But in a city as expensive as Singapore, having an excellent lounge that serves breakfast at no extra cost?

All I can say is: thank you, JCB. Seriously, thank you, JCB.

(Credit card perks really have changed over the years, though. I still remember the days of chasing the Hua Nan JCB combo deals — those glory days are long gone.)

Things I Enjoy Doing After Clearing Immigration

After getting some rest, if we still have extra time, we usually clear immigration and head to Jewel for some shopping.

JEWEL (Jewel Changi Airport)

Jewel is essentially a massive integrated shopping complex, and it’s actually a great place to browse. Here are a few of my impressions:

• The waterfall runs from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM. After it shuts off, the ground-floor garden area is closed off to visitors.
• Half the building has a 2F–4F layout, while the other half has a 3F. You need to be on the 3F side to reach the sky bridge connecting to Terminal 2.

Song Fa Bak Kut Teh at Jewel (B2 Food Court)

• This is a very popular spot that always has a queue. Grab a queue number first, then watch the screen and head over when your number is approaching.
• They open at 9:00 AM, but braised dishes aren’t available until after 11:00 AM.
• We usually order one large bak kut teh plus mee sua (vermicelli). The soup is refillable for free.

Compared to the peppery style, I personally prefer the herbal-style bak kut teh. But Song Fa makes what I consider the best peppery version — a solid option for getting quality bak kut teh near the airport without having to venture into the city.

Chagee at Terminal 2 Departure Level

• A standout bubble tea brand across Southeast Asia, particularly known for its milk tea offerings.
• This outlet is right next to the departure level of Terminal 2 (Singapore Airlines’ home base). Under normal circumstances, there’s barely any queue.

Final Thoughts

So after all this, would I regret choosing a Singapore transit to get to Australia?

Purely from a budget perspective, connecting flights are definitely cheaper. But as I get older, the value of time keeps increasing — and if a direct flight can buy back that time, it’s actually a great option too.

Which brings us back to the original question:

• Since direct flights don’t operate daily, a connecting flight can cover a wider range of dates
• Or if there’s a significant price difference that substantially lowers the cost of the trip

Transiting through Singapore to reach Australia remains a solid and viable option.

But even when transiting, remember — the destination is what matters. Just pass through Singapore in a comfortable and enjoyable way. If you’re planning a trip to Australia, you might also want to check out my guide to renting campervans in Australia and New Zealand, as well as my Gold Coast TreeTop Challenge experience.