Copenhagen to Auckland, New Zealand from €826

🏮 Two Shanghai Layovers — Both Worth Leaving the Airport

This itinerary gives you not one but two separate windows in Shanghai — a 10-hour 50-minute evening stopover on the way out, and a 19-hour overnight on the way back. Neither is a layover you need to spend in an airport lounge.

Visa-free transit: Most EU passport holders (including Danish citizens) qualify for China’s 144-hour (6-day) visa-free transit policy. You enter as an international transit passenger between two flights, visit permitted cities in the designated transit zone (Shanghai is included), and return to the airport before your onward flight. Verify eligibility for your specific passport nationality with the Chinese consulate before travel — entry rules can change.

Getting into the city: Shanghai Metro Line 2 departs from PVG Terminal 2 directly to the city centre. The journey to People’s Square takes roughly 45 minutes and costs around ¥4 (under €0.50). Store your checked bags in the left luggage facilities at PVG before exiting — available on both T1 and T2 international levels.

Outbound: 10-Hour 50-Minute Evening Layover

Your flight lands at PVG 13:15 on Friday afternoon. Your connecting flight to Auckland departs at 00:05 the next morning — giving you the entire afternoon and evening in one of the world’s most photogenic cities.

• 13:15–15:00 — Clear immigration (transit lane), store bags, take Line 2 to People’s Square
• 15:00–17:00 — Yu Garden (Yuyuan): the 16th-century classical garden in the Old Town. Entry ¥40 (€5), opens 08:30. The surrounding bazaar is free — try xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) for ¥15–25 a basket.
• 17:00–19:30 — The Bund at golden hour: the 1.5 km riverside promenade facing the Pudong skyline. Late afternoon light on the Art Deco buildings and the Lujiazui towers across the Huangpu River is at its best between 17:00 and sunset.
• 19:30–21:30 — Dinner in the French Concession: tree-lined Wulumuqi Road or Yongkang Road for sit-down dining. Budget ¥80–150 (€10–18) for a full meal with drinks. The neighbourhood is 20 minutes by metro from The Bund.
• 21:30–22:30 — Return to PVG via Line 2 from Jing’an Temple or Zhongshan Park. Allow 60 minutes door-to-gate.
• 22:30–00:05 — Check in, security, airside at Terminal 1. China Eastern’s T1 international has dumpling restaurants and noodle bars past security.

Return: 19-Hour Overnight Layover

Your return flight from Auckland lands at PVG 18:10 on Wednesday evening. Your flight home to Copenhagen departs at 13:15 the next afternoon — a full overnight window. This is effectively a free night in Shanghai.

Accommodation options: The Yotel Shanghai Pudong Airport and Pullman Shanghai Pudong Airport are both airside or landside within the terminal complex — no transit needed if you prefer staying close. For the city, budget hotels in the French Concession or near People’s Square cost ¥300–500 (€37–62) per night and are 45 minutes from PVG by metro.

• 18:10–20:00 — Clear immigration, collect bags (or store if flying onward), check in to hotel or take Line 2 into the city
• 20:00–22:30 — Evening in the French Concession: dinner, cocktail bar on Yongkang Road, or walk the lit-up Bund promenade at night — the Pudong skyline after dark is a different spectacle entirely
• 06:00–08:30 — The Bund at sunrise: one of the best times on the riverside. The promenade is near-empty, the light is soft, and the Lujiazui towers are at their most atmospheric
• 08:30–10:30 — Yu Garden when it opens: early morning before the day-tour coaches arrive. Breakfast xiaolongbao in the surrounding bazaar
• 10:30–11:30 — Return to PVG via Line 2. Allow 60 minutes door-to-gate for an international departure
• 11:30–13:15 — Check in, security, airside lunch before the Copenhagen flight

Budget (each layover): ¥200–400 (€25–50) covers metro both ways, Yu Garden entry, a street breakfast, and a sit-down lunch or dinner. The overnight stay adds ¥300–500 (€37–62) for a city hotel if you prefer not to sleep at the airport. With two separate windows — one afternoon/evening and one overnight-plus-morning — this itinerary gives you more of Shanghai than most dedicated city breaks.