How much does a China trip cost from Australia? A line-by-line budget for a fortnight in Shanghai and Beijing
An honest budget for Australians planning a private China trip: flights from Melbourne by season, hotels by tier in Shanghai and Beijing, what meals really cost from a noodle shop to a banquet, trains, sights, guides and cars, the extras people forget (eSIM, insurance, tips, laundry), three sample budgets for a couple and a family, where China is cheaper than home and where it is not, and how a guided trip compares with doing it yourself.
The first question in most enquiries is some version of “what will it cost?”, and the honest answer depends on three choices: when you fly, where you sleep, and how much of the trip is guided. Everything else in China is cheap by Australian standards. This guide puts numbers on each line, in Australian dollars at a rough rate of 4.6 yuan to the dollar, for a two-week Shanghai and Beijing trip. Prices change; the proportions do not.
The big three lines
Flights. Melbourne to Shanghai return runs roughly $900 to $1,400 per person in economy outside the peaks, $1,600 to $2,200 in the Australian school holidays and at Chinese New Year, and $4,000 and up in business. The flights guide covers the carriers and the booking windows; flying mid-week in a shoulder month is the single biggest saving in the whole budget.
Hotels. Per room per night, Shanghai and Beijing:
| Tier | Shanghai | Beijing | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good local chain or boutique | $90 to $160 | $80 to $150 | Clean, central, small rooms, English at reception |
| International four-star | $180 to $300 | $160 to $280 | The brands you know, breakfast included, a pool |
| Five-star and the Bund / hutong landmarks | $350 to $700+ | $300 to $650+ | The view, the service, the story |
Suzhou, Hangzhou and Xi’an run 20 to 30 per cent below Shanghai. The where to stay guides pick areas; winter and the weeks after Golden Week are the cheap seasons, as the winter guide notes.
Guiding and cars. A private English-speaking guide for a day is roughly $200 to $350; a car with driver for a day $150 to $300 depending on the vehicle and distance; a Great Wall day with both about $400 to $550 for the party, not per person. Our tours bundle these with hotels and trains; the day guide page has the per-day rates.
Day-to-day costs
Food is where China is cheapest. A bowl of noodles or a plate of dumplings is $3 to $6; a neighbourhood restaurant dinner for two with beer $25 to $45; a good mid-range restaurant $40 to $80 for two; a Peking duck dinner $80 to $150 for two at a famous house; a hotpot feast $60 to $100 for four; hairy crab or a banquet $100 and up a head. Street breakfast is $2. Coffee is Melbourne prices or higher at the chains and cheaper at the local ones. The regional food guide names the dishes.
Transport. Metro rides $0.60 to $1.50; taxis $3 flag-fall and $10 across central Shanghai; the airport Maglev $11; a Shanghai to Beijing second-class train $120, business class $400, as the train guide tables; a Suzhou return $25. The metro guide and the getting around guide cover the rest.
Sights. The Forbidden City $13, the Great Wall at Mutianyu with cable car $20 to $25, the Shanghai Tower deck $40, a Suzhou garden $15, the Terracotta Warriors $25, Shanghai Disneyland $100 to $160 by day. Museums are mostly free. Shows run $40 to $120.
The extras people forget. Travel insurance $150 to $400 for two for a fortnight (the healthcare guide says why it is non-negotiable); an eSIM $20 to $40 each (the eSIM guide); hotel laundry $20 to $40 a load; the Alipay foreign-card surcharge of 3 per cent above about $45 a transaction (the payments guide); tips, which are not expected, as the tipping guide explains, apart from guides and drivers; and souvenirs, which the tax refund guide can trim.
Three sample budgets
A fortnight, Shanghai and Beijing with a Suzhou day and the train between, shoulder season, per party:
| Couple, independent, mid-range | Couple, guided, four-star | Family of four, guided, comfortable | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flights | $2,400 | $2,400 | $4,600 |
| Hotels, 13 nights | $2,600 | $3,400 | $4,200 (two rooms some nights) |
| Trains and transfers | $450 | included | included |
| Guides and cars | $800 (two days) | $3,800 (eight guided days) | $4,600 |
| Food | $1,200 | $1,300 | $1,900 |
| Sights and shows | $400 | included | included |
| Insurance, eSIM, extras | $600 | $600 | $900 |
| Total | $8,450 | $11,500 | $16,200 |
Our tour prices fall in the middle column and the right one; the tours page has them per person. Business class on the flight adds about $3,000 per person; five-star hotels throughout add $2,000 to $4,000 per couple; the peak seasons add 20 to 40 per cent to flights and hotels.
Where China is cheap, and where it is not
Cheap: eating, metro and taxis, trains relative to distance, museums, laundry, massages, tailoring, glasses, phone accessories, the markets. Comparable to home: coffee, Western food, international hotels, theme parks, imported wine. Dearer: the foreign-card surcharge, the top-end hotels in peak weeks, and anything bought at the airport.
Guided or independent?
An independent fortnight for a confident couple with the apps set up is very doable and the cheapest line above; the myths guide is honest about what is easy now. A guided trip costs more and buys the things that are hard to put a price on: the Forbidden City booked seven days out when it sells out, the Wall at the hour nobody else is there, the menu read, the taxi that does not get lost, the hospital handled if it comes to that, and two weeks in which nobody in the family had to be the logistics person. For families, elderly parents and first visits, most guests tell us it was the right spend; for a second visit, the day guide model, a guide for the big days and your own feet for the rest, is the value option.
Paying for it
Tour deposits and balances are paid in Australian dollars to our Melbourne account; in China, Alipay linked to an Australian card covers almost everything, and a few hundred yuan in cash covers the rest. Tell us the party, the dates and the style on the contact page and we send an itemised quote, so the number above becomes your number.
