Cheap flights from Krakow to Shanghai

March is the cheapest month to fly from Krakow to Shanghai, and the price calendar shows fares for every month of the year, so you can compare a spring trip with a summer or winter one. Late winter and early spring are quiet on this route, while the summer months and the weeks around Christmas and New Year push fares up. Chinese New Year is another period when seats fill early, and it moves each year, so check the date before you fix your travel window. Midweek departures from Balice tend to cost less than Friday or Sunday flights, and booking a few months ahead gives you more choice of connections.

Nobody flies Krakow to Shanghai non-stop, so every option is a connection, and the airline list mixes low-cost carriers with full-service long-haul names. Wizz Air and Wizz Air Malta sit at the budget end, where the fare covers a seat and a small bag and everything else costs extra. Finnair, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, LOT Polish Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines, Swiss, Aegean Airlines and Luxair are full-service, so a checked bag and meals usually come with the ticket, though the rules change with the fare family. Where you change planes shapes the trip: Gulf hubs mean one longer connection, while Helsinki, Zurich, Copenhagen or Warsaw keep the legs shorter.

Shanghai has two airports and they are not interchangeable. Pudong International sits well east of the city centre and takes most long-haul arrivals from Europe. Hongqiao International is closer to town and also handles domestic and regional traffic, so some itineraries land there instead. Both have metro lines and airport buses into the city, plus taxi ranks outside arrivals; the metro is the simplest choice if you land before it stops for the night. Check which airport your ticket names before you arrange a pickup, and leave time for immigration, which moves slowly on the big long-haul arrivals. If you connect onwards within China, Hongqiao is usually the easier of the two.

Currency

CNY (¥)

Power sockets

Type A, C, I · 220 V

Language

Putonghua

Emergency number

110, 119, 120

Driving side

right

Calling code

+86

Internet domain

.cn, .中国

Population of Shanghai

24.9 M (2020)

Time zone

UTC+08 (Asia/Shanghai)

Country facts: Wikidata

• Confirm whether your ticket lands at Pudong International or Hongqiao International before you book a transfer.
• Check the baggage allowance on any Wizz Air leg, where a cabin bag and a checked bag are sold separately from the seat.
• Make sure both legs of the journey sit on one ticket if you want the airline to rebook you after a missed connection.
• Check the visa and entry rules for China well before departure, because they depend on your nationality and passport.
• Time your trip around Chinese New Year if you can, as travel inside China spikes and connections fill early.
• Compare a March departure with your preferred month, since March is when fares on this route are lowest.