Hi,

Wonder if anyone can give some guidance. There are six of us travelling to Shanghai soon, and need to arrange a transfer from the airport to the Grand Hyatt. I've checked with the hotel and they do a transfer for 850RMB for all 6 of us. Now in London prices, that seems okay but for the distance involved I think it may be way over the odds for China as I'm sure the hotel is racking a premium.

Anyone know roughly what a taxi would be (appreciate we'd need two), or anyone know of any good comapnies that could meet us at the airport and transfer us en-masse to the hotel?

We're planning on doing the Maglev on the way home, so just a taxi from the hotel to the city station. Any tips for that would be great!

Thanks,
Richard

You're going to stay at a Grand Hyatt and it's going to cost you approx 10 pounds each to get there from the airport?

If thats such a problem perhaps you should think about staying at a 2 - 3 star property.

There are a handful of six passenger taxis out there and IIRC the price is the same as normal taxi, but you should plan on fetching two of the latter @ ~120 each.

I've never used it before, but Ctrip does offer airport pickup services. Looks like the price for a Buick minivan is rmb540(510+30 airport pick up fee), which includes:

1. Vehicle usage fees, driver's wages, gasoline fees.
2. 1-hour parking fee from the time of the landing of the flight.
3. Accident Injury Insurance coverage of CNY 100,000 for each passenger.

OTOH, the price drops to rmb374 if you speak Chinese.

If time is any concern you should take the Maglev both ways and cover the rest of the way in two taxis.

Back in the day, I used to keep a log of airport travel times (taxi v. bus v. Maglev-taxi v. Maglev subway). On average, I found the straight taxi option to be the fastest, though the Maglev options were superior when I happened to catch a train within 5 minutes of showing up at the station (on either end). But, as long as the Maglev only runs 2 or 3 times per hour, the average wait times of 10 or 15 minutes put it at a disadvantage to the taxi (assuming a taxi queue of less than 5 minutes). Certain busses also fare surprisingly well in this contest, provided your hotel/apartment is close to one of their terminal points.

From my place in Shanghai (near the Portman), average travel times are as follows:

Taxi: 45 minutes
Taxi--> bus: 55 minutes
Taxi--> subway --> Maglev: 50 minutes
Taxi --> Maglev: 55 minutes

When I lived in Lujiazui (i.e. near the GH), the numbers were similar.

Thanks for the help chaps, well nearly all of you. Yes I am aware it's only �10 a person and we are staying at the Grand Hyatt but why pay a premium if one can get the same service elsewhere?

If you are the first time in Shanghai I would take the Hotel Service. Depending of your body size and luggage amounts 2 Taxis might not be enough. Two normal sized suitcases don't fit in the trunk. So one will go e.g. in the front seat. Also the amount of 120 RMB is more on the cheap side. We had taxis (three in row, for the same distance and time for 130, 170 and 230RMB!) the last certainly had a problem! But I would consider 150 RMB for each. The taxi bus is an alternative, but I think you need to book in advance. And up to know, no one of my Chinese friends could tell me the number. Also both taxi solutions are not very comfortable (stink (exhaust fumes), hot or cold depending on outside weather) and you have to queue (upps sorry no Problem for the British)

Usually the pick up service of the Hotel works very well. If any Problem I am sure you can bargain for a free drink in the Bar Cloud Number 9 at the 87th floor...

I had the same issue last week, and took the hotel car. There were only three of us, but we had plenty luggage. Check Balance is dead right about the taxis' luggage capacity - unless you're travelling really light, you'll need 3 cars. Which would cost around 360 kuai. So the hotel car will cost double, but it's more comfortable, and way more convenient.

Steer clear of the monorail if you're in a hurry. And it's easier to taxi to the monorail station than from it, IME. The taxis I encountered there were a particularly lawless bunch. Insist that they da biao (turn on the meter) when you get in, or you could be asked for any amount of money at the end of the trip.

^
Thanks again chaps - will book the hotel van option!

Better check out the Cloud 9 Bar now as it will soon not be the world's highest bar with the neighbor WFC nearing completion.

http://picasaweb.google.com/singapor...11776529894658

Beware, 6 adults each with one regular size suitcase is a tough fit for even a full size US van.

First timer: don't be pound foolish and IMHO take the hotel service. They charged you a 'flat rate' - if say you ended needing 2 or 3 of their hotel cars to fit all your luggage, then it's on them and not you.

Fan of Shanghaiist i presume?

Fan of shanghaiist.com i presume? Must have taken them a while to climb the 101 flights of stairs.

Been a fan of Dan Washburn's blog since he started with Shanghai Diaries.^