Most western visitors travel to Hong Kong by air. Located 20 ks west of the city centre, Hong Kong International Airport is modern, efficient and very comfortable, and has been regularly voted as one of the world's best airports.
• Traveling to and from the airport and downtown
• Luggage storage
There are numerous direct flights to Hong Kong from every continent in the world. Most major cities in Oceania, Europe and North America are all served with at least one daily flight. (there are a few daily flights from major cities like London, Sydney and New York).
Flights between Hong Kong and other major Asian cities are extremely frequent: between 10 and 40 flights per day connect Hong Kong with Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo, Shanghai, Manila, Seoul, Bangkok and Beijing.
Non direct flights, however, may be a cheaper way to get to/from Hong Kong.
For destinations within China, it is often cheaper to fly from Shenzhen than straight from Hong Kong. For elsewhere in Asia, consider flying through Macau. Most discount airlines are using those two airports because the fees they charge are lower than those of Hong Kong Airport.
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An important tip for stopover travelers :
The luggage storage counter at the 'Meeters and Greeters Hall', is where you can store your trolley or bag till you come back... The counter is open from 5:30 in the morning till 1:30 at night and the charges are HK$ 10 per hour, or HK$ 120 for 13 - 24 hours).
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Travelling from Hong Kong International Airport to town
Across the arrivals hall, you can see the Airport Express station.
The Airport express railway provides the quickest and most comfortable connection between Hong Kong International Airport and the city center (even though it is more expensive than a bus). It departs every 12 minutes from the airport and reaches Central in about 23 minutes, with stops in Kowloon and Tsing Yi. A free Airport Express Shuttle Bus service takes Airport Express passengers to and from major hotels, transportation interchanges and the Hong Kong and Kowloon stations.
Airport Express passengers using Octopus Card can also enjoy free MTR Connections to or from Airport Express stations, if their cards have usable value and their travel on the MTR and Airport Express is within one hour of each other (For In-town Check-in customers, the MTR trip immediately before check-in is free).
Currently, Airport Express passengers can check-in for flights and receive boarding passes for flights at the Hong Kong and Kowloon Stations, at no extra cost. However, this is not applicable on some small airlines, as well as on flights to the United States (you can check it out at the Airport Express Customer Service Counter, in the airport's Arrivals hall).
Single trips from the airport to Hong Kong (Central), Kowloon and Tsing Yi Stations (or vice-versa) cost HK$100, HK$90 and HK$60 respectively (Round Trip Ticket costs HK$ 180 / HK$ 160 / HK$ 110 and is valid for 30 days from date of issue). Airport Express passengers traveling within the same day can enjoy a FREE return journey. The offer is applicable to both Octopus Card and Same Day Return ticket holders.
The airport express operates daily, from 6:00 am till almost 1:00 am
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A transport-tip from 'Metropolasia-Man':
The Airport Express Travel Pass is something you may want to consider, especially if you are planning on using public transport extensively.
The pass gives you either 1 or 2 single journey(s) on the Airport Express, as well as unlimited use of the MTR and the KCR for a period of 3 consecutive days (except Airport Express, Light Rail, MTR Bus, East Rail Line First Class, Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau stations).
At the time of writing, a pass with one-way journey on the Airport Express costs HK$ 220, while the one with a 2-way journey goes for HK$ 300 (in both cases, a sum of HK$ 50 is a refundable deposit, so you end up 'spending' only HK$ 170 / 250 respectively)
Considering the fact that a regular Airport Express ticket costs HK$ 90-100 / 160-180 (Kowloon or Hong Kong Island, 1-way / 2-way), you have to use more than HK$ 70 worth of travel fare in three days to "justify" the pass's cost, which is not so bad, but it's not such a bargain either... The main hassle is that this pass does not cover public buses, tramways and the Star Ferry, so you'll either have to look for small change if you wan to use them, or to buy a separate Octopus Card... which starts to be a bit of a headache...
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Buses connect the airport with various parts of the city, 24 hours a day. They are quite comfortable and a single trip costs anything between HK$ 20 and HK$ 40. After disembarking, you will need to take either a taxi or the MTR to get to your hotel (although in more than a few cases, the bus stop is right next to your hotel...)
- A11 travels to Causeway bay, Wanchai and Central. Single trip costs HK$ 40.
- N11 is an overnight bus that covers the same route. Single trip costs HK$ 31
- A 21 travels to Tsim sha Tsui. Single trip costs HK$ 33
- N 21 is the overnight service that covers the same route. Single trip costs HK$ 23
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Another transport-tip from 'Metropolasia-Man' :
Although the Airport Express swallows the distance from the airport to the city centre in much less time than the bus (especially during rush hour, when the roads are busy...), it might still make sense to take the bus in some cases... For instance: if your hotel is right next to a bus top, you'll be saving the hassle of disembarking the train and boarding another means of transport...
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