Istanbul to Shanghai runs about 12 times a day, with the first departure around 06:15 and the last around 18:12. One passenger pays between €614.33 and €631.44, every fee included, depending on the operator and the way you travel. The fastest door to door is 13h 53m over 8,226 km, on services run by 2 operators across 1 mode.
What one seat costs
The spread between the cheapest and dearest typical fare on this corridor, across 2 operators and 1 way of making the journey. The operator sets the price on the day.
Typical fares · Priced for 6 October 2026
€614.33 to €631.44
- 179%Moves across the booking window
When it runs, leaving Istanbul
Typical first and last departure on this corridor.
- 06:15First departure
- 18:12Last departure
- 12Services per day
- 67%Run direct
Fares by date
What this journey usually costs, by departure date. It shows which days run dearer.
Typical fares
- about €1,437.38Mon21
- about €1,168.93Tue22
- about €1,227.34Wed23
- about €1,367.17Thu24
- about €1,167.75Fri25
- about €1,286.93Sat26
- about €1,181.91Sun27
- about €776.58Mon28
- about €771.86Tue29
- about €823.78Wed30
- about €943.55Thu1
- about €889.86Fri2
- about €894.58Sat3
- about €911.10Sun4
- about €624.36Mon5
- about €614.33Tue6
- about €645.01Wed7
- about €806.08Thu8
- about €734.69Fri9
- about €740.00Sat10
- about €704.01Sun11
Based on what this route has cost recently. The live fare is confirmed when you book.
The flight gets you into Shanghai. These two partners take it from there, and the bed is theirs to book.
A room in Shanghai for the night the flight gets in
Sort by distance from Shanghai railway station and you can see which places are ten minutes on foot and which are not.
Search Shanghai on Trip.comOr compare on Booking.com
Partner links. We earn a commission when a booking completes, and it never changes what you pay.
When to book Istanbul to Shanghai
The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.
- €800.1890 days
- €675.1060 days
- €515.8045 days
- €525.2430 days
- €704.0121 days
- €911.1014 days
- €1,181.917 days
- €1,227.343 days
- €1,437.381 days
- Cheapest lead time
- Fares bottom out around 45 days ahead, at €515.80.
- How much it moves
- The gap between the cheapest and dearest lead time is 179 percent. The dearest point is €1,437.38, 1 days out.
- What that means
- Today sits inside the cheap window, which closes about 45 days before departure. Waiting from here has usually cost money on this corridor rather than saved it.
Book now Fares on this route are lowest around 45 days ahead. You are inside that window.
This corridor, specifically
Facts that apply to Istanbul to Shanghai and to no other route on the site.
Clocks
5 hours ahead on arrival. The clock moves even though you do not.
The shape of it
8,226 km
7,987 km as the crow flies, 3% further by the route services take. The bearing runs north-east.
Who lives at each end
15,701,602 → 24,874,500
Population at the departure city and at the arrival city, which is usually what decides how often anything runs.
The route
What the journey looks like
Direct or connecting, how far the route really runs, and what happens when a connection is missed.
- Direct or connecting
- 67% of the services we sell on this corridor run through without a change. The remaining 33% involve one connection.
- How far it really runs
- The route covers 8,226 km against 7,987 km in a straight line, a detour of 3 percent. Track and road geometry account for the difference.
- Where the change is
- Connections are made at Bishkek, Tashkent, Almaty, Ürümqi. The gap between arriving and leaving is 46 minutes, of which about 5 is walking.
- If the connection is missed
- The tightest connection we sell here has a 20 percent chance of not being made on the timetable alone. Part of this journey is a self transfer between separate tickets, so leave more time than the minimum and expect to check in again.
Who runs this route
The flight gets in hours before any room is ready. Holding a bag is not what we sell.
Left luggage near Shanghai railway station
Most of the points near Shanghai railway station open before the first train and shut after the last one.
Check Shanghai on StasherOr try Bounce
Partner links. We earn a commission on a booking, and the price is the same as going direct.
Questions about Istanbul to Shanghai
The questions people actually ask about this journey, answered from the same prices and times the page above is built on rather than written once and left to go stale.
How long does it take to get from Istanbul to Shanghai?
The fastest journey from Istanbul to Shanghai takes 13h 53m door to door, of which 10h 46m is spent moving, on the flight. Most services take around 14h 40m, because that average includes slower stopping services and journeys with a connection. Times include reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end.
How much does it cost to travel from Istanbul to Shanghai?
The cheapest fare from Istanbul to Shanghai is €614.33, as of 20 September 2026. A typical fare across the next three weeks is €1,068.63. Both figures are the total for one passenger, including taxes, supplier fees and our service fee, so nothing is added at checkout.
What is the cheapest way to get from Istanbul to Shanghai?
The cheapest way from Istanbul to Shanghai is by flight, at €614.33 for one passenger on 6 October 2026. That journey takes 13h 56m door to door. Cheaper is rarely faster on this corridor, and the comparison table on this page shows what each mode costs against what it saves.
When should I book Istanbul to Shanghai?
Fares from Istanbul to Shanghai bottom out around 45 days before departure, at €515.80. Across the whole booking window the gap between the cheapest and the dearest lead time is 179 percent, measured on 20 September 2026. Booking inside the last week has consistently cost more on this corridor.
Which day of the week is cheapest for Istanbul to Shanghai?
Tuesday is the cheapest day to depart from Istanbul to Shanghai, at €771.86. That is the median of 21 priced departure days across the next three weeks, as of 20 September 2026. Shifting a departure by one day is usually worth more than shifting the booking by one week.
Which month is cheapest for Istanbul to Shanghai?
February is the cheapest of the next 5 months to travel from Istanbul to Shanghai, at €524.65 for one passenger. Each month is priced on its fifteenth, so the comparison is like for like rather than a mix of weekends and midweek departures.
Who runs services from Istanbul to Shanghai?
2 operators sell services from Istanbul to Shanghai across 1 mode: Air China, Turkish Airlines. Journey times, fares and fare conditions differ between them, and the operator table on this page compares all of them on speed, flexibility and what is provided on board.
Is there a direct service from Istanbul to Shanghai?
67 percent of the services we sell from Istanbul to Shanghai are direct. The rest connect at Bishkek, Tashkent, Almaty, Ürümqi, with about 46 minutes between the two services. Both legs are sold on one booking, so a missed connection is rebooked at no charge.
Which station or terminal do services from Istanbul to Shanghai use?
Services from Istanbul to Shanghai by flight leave from İstanbul Airport IST and arrive at Shanghai Pudong International Airport PVG. Allow about 3h 10m in total for reaching the departure terminal and leaving the arrival one, which is already included in every door to door time on this page.
Can I change or refund a ticket from Istanbul to Shanghai?
0 of the 2 operators we sell from Istanbul to Shanghai allow a change or a refund. A change on a changeable fare costs €5.00. The operator table on this page names which is which, and the condition is shown again before you pay.
Where these numbers come from
Places, coordinates, operators, which operator serves which pair, and every distance on this page are real and come from open data. Where a corridor has a filed timetable the departure times are real too, and ferry fares are the prices the operators publish themselves.
Observed service A carrier record names this operator on this pair, carried through unchanged.
Prices come from the supplier wherever we hold a live quote. Elsewhere we show an indicative price built from the real distance, the real operator and a fare curve over lead time, day of the week and season. Those are labelled Estimated fare and cannot be booked.
Defined in full at Door to door, Fares, The booking window, Carbon, Distances
- On this page
- Every figure above was computed for Istanbul to Shanghai on 20 September 2026: 8226 km of route against 7987 km in a straight line, 12 services a day, 2 operators a cheapest fare of €614.33, and 13h 53m door to door on the fastest mode. The return direction is computed separately and its numbers are not these numbers.
Being on the water gives Shanghai a set of days out that do not start at a station.
Day trips out of Shanghai and across China
Day trips that leave Shanghai in the morning and cover a good part of China by evening.
See Shanghai on KlookOr browse GetYourGuide
Partner links. We earn a commission on a booking, and it never changes the price.
The two ends, compared
Istanbul reaches 343 places in 119 countries on services we hold, over distances from 19 to 11,424 km. Shanghai reaches 232 places in 48 countries, from 40 to 11,859 km.
Other ways to make this journey
Leaving Istanbul
- 343Places you can leave for
- 119Countries
- 113Operators
Arriving in Shanghai
Leaving Shanghai
- 232Places you can leave for
- 48Countries
- 92Operators