Shanghai and visa free transit help and hotel advice for Shanghai + Phi Phi

[Bervios]

Hello,

I’ve booked 2 x upper reward flights LHR to Shanghai for travel in May onboard Virgin, and will use other airlines to travel to Thailand.

I’ve researched the Visa free transit rules and i want to check that my understanding is correct

Day 1 – Depart Heathrow
Day 2 – Arrive Shanghai – Use the visa free transit and spend the night in Shanghai
Day 3 – Depart Shanghai – I have 2 x Air asia tickets booked to Bangkok
Day 11 – Depart Phuket > Shanghai (Likely on Spring Airlines , will book at the end of this month) – Arrive Shanghai and spend a night at an Airport hotel
Day 12 – Depart Shanghai

From my research it seems i’ll need to avail of the Visa free transit twice , there will be 2 people travelling (1 x UK, 1 x Ukrainian – Both eligible nationalities for Visa free transit) – Will this work? anything i need to watch out for ? Also any good ideas for a Shanghai hotel? the Flight to BKK departs very early at 06:50am so will need somewhere practical for PVG.

I am trying Krabi this year and have booked a good deal at the Sofitel (8 nights with lots of extras for £800) – I will have 3 days free at the end of this stay and will try Phi Phi, any hotel tips for a relaxing stay but close enough for a night out ?

Thanks in advance

[strickers]

Sounds OK to me. There’s a really god thread on FlyerTalk under destinations with the Transit Without a Visa rules.

[kiley]

I think China is 72hrs transit visa. Applied on arrival and starts from midnight of the day u arrive.

have paper copies of your onward travel out of china at both points of entry.

Let us know how u get on as I’m planning something similar for a trip to Korea.

Oh, and defo use the Maglev Train from the airport. It dosnt go right into town, but a great experience.

[strickers]

Shanghai, amongst other places is 144 hours maximum, it worked very well a few weeks ago but was slow. Maglev was quite an experience, there is a well signposted taxi rank when you get to Longyang Road.

[masaccio]

Make sure you have AliPay set up. Cash is pretty worthless in China now.

[Bervios]

Thanks all. Some good tips

[dmm27]

Can recommend Captains Bar for drinks/small plates etc as you can see the Bund skyline from their rooftop