Shanghai Timing Questions

[SSOASS]

So .. as part of my "go to all the parks" goal in life (Tokyo and Shanghai left to go)/rack up a ton of miles to get a higher airline status, I have a few chances to get to Shanghai this summer.

Beyond a 2 day trip to Hong Kong for the same reasons, I have spent zero time in Asia .. and I do recall it was pretty hot/humid there even in March.

I can probably get out there in either late July, mid August, or early September

it would probably be a 2 day in and out kind of trip. Any thoughts on what would be best for lesser crowds/better weather?

I would probably have to be there at least partially over a weekend (best case would be a Sunday/Monday)

TIA

 

[zanzibar138]

I would say September would be your best bet. Shanghai summer holidays seem to be mainly based around July, and the hottest months generally seem to be July and August equally, followed by June and September fairly equally too. Of course, you may be unlucky and still get hot and humid days in September, but I think your chances of more mild weather are higher.

FWIW, for Opening Day (in June), I found the weather to be fairly hot and mildly uncomfortable at times (except for the day when it drizzled a bit, which seemed to keep the temperature down). Other people were comparing it to Orlando in summer and really struggling with the heat. Not sure if that's what you'd usually expect for June and September, or whether it was a particularly hot and humid few days.

 

[SSOASS]

Thanks for the help, I'll shoot for September .. now onto figuring out the best way to get a Visa or try to work the 72 hour rule thing into my flight schedule.

 

[zanzibar138]

Thanks for the help, I'll shoot for September .. now onto figuring out the best way to get a Visa or try to work the 72 hour rule thing into my flight schedule.

FWIW, I've never had any trouble with my visa applications. It was quite easy to send away for it - not sure if that's an option for you. The 72 hour transit visa will also now last you 144 hours, although it sounds like you might not need that long.

 

[SSOASS]

There is no mail in service ... so I need to go down to Houston (about a 4 hour drive for me) and I think I'd need to do it twice, once to apply, once to pick it up unless I can get them to do it same day.

There are companies that will do this for you for an additional fee, but I am a bit nervous about sending them my passport in the mail.

So, I am going to try to get a flight that looks something like Dallas-Tokyo-Shanghai-Dallas and that should make me eligible for visa free travel.

 

[zanzibar138]

There is no mail in service ... so I need to go down to Houston (about a 4 hour drive for me) and I think I'd need to do it twice, once to apply, once to pick it up unless I can get them to do it same day.

There are companies that will do this for you for an additional fee, but I am a bit nervous about sending them my passport in the mail.

So, I am going to try to get a flight that looks something like Dallas-Tokyo-Shanghai-Dallas and that should make me eligible for visa free travel.

Yeah it's probably worth aiming for the free transit visa then. From Melbourne, the additional cost and time to go via somewhere else just to get the free visa wasn't worth it given how easy it was to get a regular visa.