I am planning to visit Vancouver in May for about three weeks. Which airlines do you guys use these days? I am hoping to avoid going through USA for all the hassles it involves. I have found a flight which seem cheap enough from China airlines but it has a 20 hour (overnight) stay in Shanghai. Do I need any kind of transit visa? would I be able to leave the airport for a quick look at Shanghai and also get some sleep at a basic hotel?
Taipei - Manila - Vancouver was $30,000NT 2 summers ago with Philippine Airlines. Can have a mini-holiday in the Philippines either coming or going or both!
Oh yeah, it’s a fine airlines. I have used them at least eight times. There’s usually a 6 hour layover in Manila which is dull as you are in the airport and it is a small affair. Coming back the layover is just a couple hours. Service is fine on the airlines.
Usually in the fall the price is around NT24,000. I even flew for that price on Christmas Day, and because of the time different actually arrived in Vancouver for Christmas.
So the question is: has anyone done an overnight stay in Shanghai en route and what was the experience like? 24 hours transit visa, getting out of the airport, visiting a couple of sights, a cheapish hotel?
Never gone through China, but have done the Manilla route. we took a week layover there and went around there then onward to canada. we paid around $33k i think return. 3 month ticket in summer 2010
I’ve done a much shorter layover in Shanghai, but I did have to go through immigration (because transit services in Chinese airports are abysmal, but that’s a rant for another time). Shanghai does have a 24 (or maybe even 48) hr transit thing - you don’t have to do anything but tell them transit and show your ticket. They’ll just stamp your passport with a different shaped stamp.