Tips for Joining Shanghai Expo Group Tours

Expo site

Various traveling packages are available for the Shanghai Expo in the market. Most group tours include Expo admission tickets and round trip transportation. The following questions are perhaps worth to be clarified when considering a group tour:

(1) Is the staying hotel located in Shanghai downtown?

The Expo site is located at downtown of Shanghai. However, some tours arrange hotel accommodations in Shanghai suburb or cities nearby. The traffic of Shanghai is always very busy with heavy traffic congestion in peak hours. Due to the far distance between the Expo site and hotel accommodation, tremendous time will be spent on transportation. To get into Shanghai city from the outlying areas, all vehicles have to go through check points for security purposes.

(2) How many days will be spent on Expo?

The Expo area is immense and there are a number of pavilions to where you may wish to pay a visit. As much time will be expected to be spent on lining up for popular pavilions, you may only be able to achieve a few pavilions in a day. It is recommended that you spend at least 3 days in the Expo  park. Sufficient time will make you feel relaxed and thus have more fun. 

(3) Will the travel agent arrange reservation tickets for group members?

The China pavilions and the five theme pavilions, namely Urbanian Pavilion, Pavilion of City Being, Pavilion of Urban Planet, Pavilion of Footprint, and Pavilion of Future, are the most popular visiting points. Reservation tickets are required for the entries into these pavilions. In the past few days, many people felt disappointed because they failed to get a reservation ticket for the China Pavilion. It would be great if the travel agent could arrange reservation tickets for clients.

(4) Will the tour include factory outlet shopping?

It is better to ask whether the tour will arrange any factory outlet shopping if other Shanghai attractions are also included in the package. If the purpose of the Shanghai visit is not for shopping, you may feel disappointed after you have found out that you can’t fully utilize all your precious time in sightseeing. 

Although it is not yet the peak season for traveling, all quality tours for the Shanghai Expo have been fully booked for May in Hong Kong. There are great variations among tour prices. The cost for a luxury tour can be more than 1.5 fold as that for a budget tour. I have booked a 5-day luxury Expo tour in May.  I will further make a report and share my experience with you.