moondog

I'm generally not an advocate of the airport hotels, but if I were in your shoes, I'd probably make an exception. Basically, you probably won't get through customs until 930p, at which point you'll be within 200 meters of the hotels (and your luggage can stay on the cart for almost the entire walk). If you prepare snacks and entertainment, it won't be the end of the world. Plus, you'd be able to sleep until 630.

Disney is the closest place to the airport with "things to do". Might be worth checking out if you got there in time for dinner, but that's not in the cards with your schedule.

narvik

Me neither, but I've done HND-PEK-HND now, and stayed both nights in the Villa Fontaine Grand Haneda Airport, which was excellent. Took a bicycle ride in the airport vicinity after downloading the "Hello Cycling" app.
More interestingly, I forgot my US Cell Phone in the room on the way to China...called the hotel up a few days later; they had found it and promised to keep it for me until my return trip...sure enough, they handed to me on my return!

lsquare

Pre-COVID, I pretty much always take the Maglev to PVG. Flying into Shanghai, I don't always take Maglev as I'm not pressed for time.

gudugan

I stayed in the airport hotel at PVG (Da Zhong 大众). Really nothing bad to say except for the wifi is pretty slow. Location is great and the room is modern.
The price on Trip.com/Ctrip is cheaper than the official? website, lol. I wonder how these guys make money, don't they have to pay commission to OTAs?

moondog

1. nicely stated
2. if you had preloaded content on your phone, you could have streamed it to the TV
3. The (tiny) commissions they pay to Ctrip are offset by reduced internal costs

r2luo

I'll be arriving at Shanghai Pudong International Airport and plan on traveling to Hangzhou via high-speed train.
I'm considering taking a taxi to reach the train station but am also interested in exploring other potentially faster alternatives. Is there a subway that might provide a quicker or more efficient route to the train station? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

moondog

Line 2 does connect both airports, but it is the opposite of quick. If you don't want to pony up for a taxi, the bus is just as fast, but only operates every 20 minutes or so. The airport link train is designed for people like yourself; it won't open untill late next year, though.

strickers

Question for the collective knowledge-base:

I will be visiting Shanghai, second visit but in 2020 for obvious reasons we only stayed for a few hours before flying to Vietnam. I'm quite keen to use the Maglev at least once, it's a geek thing. We land at 0910 and are TWOV for 2 nights departing at 1525 for Saigon. My gut feeling is to use the Maglev on the return and arranging a taxi with the hotel, this will allow me to use the taxi rank at PVG which I hope will be properly regulated unlike some of the horror stories I hear about Longyang Road. For completeness we are staying at the Regent, does this sound the best way to do things? I have WeChat/WeChat Pay and AliPay set up already, I will have a spare phone using Airalo for data as a hotspot for my phone.

moondog

When I evaluated your proposed plan from an efficiency standpoint, my thinking was that taking a taxi from the hotel to Longyang Rd Stn and then, the Maglev from there to the airport was quite bad compared with taxi all the way. That having been said, I fully respect your desire to try out the Maglev.

YariGuy

PVG attracts a lot of unscrupulous taxi drivers (scammers). You will see that there will be a disproportionate number of non-major brand taxis at PVG (red and dark blue ones). They won't rob you blind, but oftentimes the meters are rigged to run 5-10% over the correct amount. As a one-time tourist you probably won't (and shouldn't) care but I'm a crusader and have refused to pay sometimes. (I know the exact distance from PVG to my home).

lsquare

I hate the feeling of being scammed even if it's a few RMBs.

travelinmanS

I've had this happen a few times since they re-opened earlier this year. I just let the guy take me to my apartment and then tell him I take this trip twice a month and it's never more than 180 RMB. They always accept my payment offer with a sheepish grin. When I notice the meter running hot mid journey I always figure it's better to get dropped off at home before pointing it out than arguing with the driver somewhere in the middle of Pudong. For a tourist I'd recommend only taking the light blue or white taxis from the taxi rank at PVG.

For the person going to the Regent Shanghai. If you have a small amount of luggage the fastest way will be the maglev with a transfer to subway line 2 and then exit at Dongcheng Road stop. From there it's a 5 minute walk to the hotel. If done right, the journey should be around 45mins and you'll avoid the whole taxi queue and save about 120 rmb in the process.

moondog

For those that don't need to check the Maglev off trainspotting lists, Line 2 all the way from PVG to Dongcheng Rd is pretty much a wash v Maglev + Line 2. And, you're almost guaranteed to be sitting.

WRT getting taxis from the queue at PVG, 180 is also the most I've paid this year. Since the taxi is almost surely captured by CCTV and the authorities know how long the ride is from PVG to Xuhui, I'd set a hard limit of Y200, unless the taxi is really nice.

lsquare

You're right, and it's not that bad. Since PVG is the origin, seat availability is practically guaranteed.

moondog

The subway stations at both PVG and SHA are incredibly conveniently located (SHA-T1 excepted a little bit), and trains run every 2-3 minutes (i.e. much less wait time than the taxi queues). Furthermore, the maximum price you will pay is Y8 pp to reach any station within the 800 km system.

But, I want to highlight two points about the subway drill:
1. Some of the transfers entail 1000 meter walks
2. After you reach the station closest to your destination, you might want a taxi to go the last mile, and getting one might not be easy
-while the cars certainly exist, actually linking up with your car requires figuring out a good pick-up location

The other option is a taxi directly from the airport to your destination. Anyone who is concerned about point 2 (last mile) should avail of this because, while you will need to wait in the queue, your are pretty much guarantied a nonstop journey to your hotel's front door, and the price will be no more than 200 from PVG or 80 from SHA.

By the time you are ready to leave town, you might have figured out that People's Square, Exit 20 is a short walk away, that is doable even with heavy luggage.