Flexible Private Shanghai Layover Tour

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. Your professional guide will greet you with your name sign at the Arrival Hall of Airport (PVG or SHA) or Shanghai/Wusongkou cruise terminal port and you will be transferred by the private vehicle to center city (about 40 to 60 minutes). Feel free to discuss with your guide for the things to do list and customize an itinerary based on your interest and layover time. Below is a sample itinerary. Typically, you will visit Lujiazui financial center first, see the amazing city landmarks such as pearl TV Tower, shanghai tower and world financial center. Marvel at the stunning view of skyscrapers and learn about China opening policy in the 1990th from your guide.

   40 min

2. Visit Yuyuan garden, a very ancient and well-preserved garden with the history of 400 years old where to see the stylish Chinese pavilion and authentic old architecture. (Yuyuan garden close at 4:15pm and every Monday, in this case, you will visit yuyuan bazaar instead, which is the old Ming and Qing dynasty architecture market with various of souvenir shops and restaurants).

   1.3 h

3. Head to French concession, the old center of colonial life. See the impressive French style architecture, learn the history of Shanghai during 1840th and take a nice stroll along the walkways with lush trees.

   40 min

4. Continue your visit to the famous Bund, admire the splendid views of old and new Shanghai. Take a stunning shot of the city skyline on the bund.

   40 min

5. If your layover time is long enough, choose to Jade buddha temple. Take a stroll at the beautiful old temple with multiple chambers and impressive buddha statues. See the local worshipers and learn the fascinating religion culture from your guide (Jade buddha temple close at 4:30pm). Based on your interests, you can choose other attractions besides the sample itinerary, such as Tianzifang (old alleyways with small shops), Shanghai Museum(ancient bronze ,furniture and paintings), Shanghai tower (2nd tallest building in the world), Maglev train (fastest train in the world, can take back to airport). Your private layover tour ends with return transport to the airport (PVG or SHA), cruise terminal or drop-off at your Shanghai city hotel.

   1 h

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 124 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Showing reviews written in English.

• 5Amazing layover tour with Snow!

  This was such a great tour. Snow did amazing at educating me, making me feel safe and making sure I had a good time as a solo black girl. Mr Chu was also a great driver and so hospitable despite minimal interactions. And thank you to Alana too for arranging this for me. So glad I used my layover for this and can’t wait to come back and do Shanghai properly!!

  DevoteAugust 2026via Viator

• 5Great tour of the city

  Great experience to see a lot of Shanghai, picked up from the airport with private car to drive around and meet you. Lin was very knowledgeable about all the history and sights and they did a great job catering to my needs and schedule

  382krisjAugust 2026via Tripadvisor

• 5layover tour

  We had a 15-hour layover at PVG and decided to visit Shanghai. We chose this tour based on the great reviews, and I have to say, they went above and beyond! From the very beginning, Alana was incredibly helpful and considerate. Our tour leader, Jane, was knowledgeable, friendly, and made the whole experience enjoyable. Mr. Chi, who drove us around the city, was also extremely kind, patient, and accommodating. Everyone made us feel welcome and took great care of us throughout the tour. Even with our limited time in Shanghai, we were able to see and experience so much. I would give them more than 5 stars if I could! Highly recommended. Keep up the great work!

  331arashnAugust 2026via Tripadvisor

• 5Great way to see so much of Shanghai on a layover!

  Keeping in mind that this is a layover city tour - we managed to not get too much sleep on our overnight flight arriving at 5am to Shanghai. We secured our visas on arrival on our phones, managed to get through immigration, took the maglev to the city and met the tour guide at a hotel reception. It all worked great, she was friendly and knowledgable, great English. We quickly realised we weren't prepared for the heat in Shanghai (38C, 80% humidity) so pivoted to indoors programs, which the guide was happy to do. At the end of the tour, the driver took us back to the airport, making it very easy and convenient. Quick pass through emigration and security, no dramas. All in all, I would easily recommend this tour, if you are deep into summer, consider changing the recommended options to indoor attractions, there are plenty of those as well!

  Balazs_VAugust 2026via Viator

• 5Shanghai Highlights 😍

  Everything went perfectly. The driver picked me up right on time. My guides name was "Snow" and she was fantastic! It was a perfect sampling of the city

  Tory_HAugust 2026via Viator

• 5Excellent layover tour with Kalvin as our guide

  Shanghai has so much to offer, my daughter and I had a 12hr layover and this was an excellent way to see some city highlights. It started a couple of days before our tour was due to begin with communication from Alana the tour coordinator, she was incredibly informative and helpful, she even sent us photos of exactly where our driver would meet us at the airport. Mr Shen was our driver for the day and although he didn't speak English, he was very friendly and it made a big difference having the same car and driver for the whole day. We were able to leave our bags in the car and not have to carry them everywhere with us, he also kept the air-conditioning on in the car which was very welcome especially in the hot & humid weather Shanghai has in July-August. Kalvin was our tour guide and he was very knowledgeable. Kalvin is a Shanghai local and knows the best routes the best spots to go to, he has great historical and geological knowledge of the city, I noticed that others would stop and listen to what he was telling us. Overall we couldn't fault our tour, it was everything we wanted it to be!! Thank you Kalvin, Alana & Mr Shen for an amazing day!!

  Raymond_NAugust 2026via Viator

Know before you go

How it compares in Shanghai

• Its from-price is 15% below the median of the 504 city tours we list in Shanghai.
• Its length is typical for the group.
• By number of reviews it ranks 19 of 504.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Shanghai

Shanghai is China's dazzling financial city on the Huangpu River, where a colonial-era waterfront faces a futuristic skyline and old lanes hide teahouses.

The Bund, a riverside promenade lined with grand banks and hotels from the early twentieth century, faces the towers of Pudong across the water, among them the Oriental Pearl Tower, the Jin Mao Tower and the twisting Shanghai Tower. The view is at its most dramatic after dark, when both banks light up and river boats glide between them.

Top-ranked sights in Shanghai: The Bund (Waitan), Yu Garden (Yuyuan), Shanghai French Concession.

See all 2099 experiences in Shanghai