Hong Kong Transportation

Getting There

Hong Kong International Airport
HKIA

Air

Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) is one of the major transport hubs in Asia. As the fourth busiest international passenger airport in the world, it has some 750 aircraft movements every day and it operates  airlines to around 200 destinations around the world, including some 40 cities in Mainland China. No matter where you travel from, overseas or Mainland China cities, you can get there by plane.
 

 

The Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong High Speed Railway has connected Hong Kong with many cities in Mainland China including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Guilin, Kunming, Guiyang, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Changsha, and Wuhan.  A few traditional style trains still run between Hong Kong and Beijing/ Shanghai/ Guangzhou, taking much longer time. 
 

 
Developed from a fishing village, this area has a lot of waters and piers. There are all together 4 cross-boundary ferry piers, one near the International Airport, one in Hong Kong (HK) Island, one in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, and one in Tuen Mun, New Territories. Star Ferry has served the city for a century which brings a great joy for passengers to take star ferry for the glittery and glamorous high-rises between Central and Tsim Sha Tsui, especially during Christmas and New Year time. For those who head for outlying islands,  taking ferry seems to be the only choice. Daily direct sailings also transfer between the city and Shenzhen, Macau as well as cities of Guangdong Provinces, like Zhuhai & Zhongshan.  
 

 It has a variety of cross-boundary buses connections with destinations in Guangdong Province like Guangzhou and Shenzhen. There are also cross-boundary buses connecting Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport and Hong Kong. Besides, with the construction of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, traveling between Hong Kong and Macau by land has been possible and a long-distance bus ride between takes around 2 hours generally.

 Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport - HK, Hong Kong to Guangzhou Bus

Transportation to Other Cities

 How to Travel from Hong Kong to Guangzhou

How to Travel between Hong Kong and Shenzhen

 How to Travel between Hong Kong and Dongguan

How to Travel between Hong Kong and Foshan

How to Travel between Hong Kong and Zhuhai

How to Travel between Hong Kong and BeijingTrain vs. Flight

How to Travel Between Hong Kong and Guilin & Yangshuo

How to Travel between Hong Kong and Zhongshan

 How to Travel between Hong Kong and Shanghai: Train vs. Flight 

 

Getting Around

In the subway, Hong Kong MTR
MTR


It is compact and easy to navigate, with street, bus and subway signs clearly marked in English. Travelers can ride on subway trains, the light rail, city buses, minibusses, ferries, trams and taxis, yet they all have their own fare system and require a new ticket each time you transfer from one to another. However, if you are going to stay there for several days, think of buying the Octopus Card, with which you can hop on and off trains, trams and most buses and ferries, not worrying about purchasing tickets each time.
 


The city's Mass Transit Railway (MTR) is modern, fast and easy to use. It is safe to say that railroads are the backbone of the whole transportation network in this area. The city's MTR network now runs 10 urban subway lines, 1 airport express line, 1 light rail system with 12 routes and 1 tourist cable car system Ngong Ping 360. By 2025, 5 new subway lines are expected to be put into use, which are Guangzhou - HK Express Rail Link, Shantin - Central Line, Tuen Mun South Extension, Tung Chung West Extension and Kowloon East Extension. 
 Subway Map 

Buses in the city cover almost all the regions except some outlying islands. With most buses operating from 05:00 to 01:00 the next day and night buses from 00:00 to 06:00, HK buses provide convenient service for passengers. Most buses are double-decker and some are air-conditioned. As for the payment method, cash, coin and octopus card are all acceptable.

 
Double-decker Buses in Hong Kong
Double-decker Buses
Taxi in Hong Kong
Taxi

Two kinds of mini buses, or public light buses run around the city, one for set routes and the other for unfixed routes. The set route bus is yellow-green coated with fixed pick-up and get-off points. Ticket fare is paid before passengers hop on. Whereas, the unfixed route bus is red-yellow with destinations and fare written on a board on the front of the bus. The pick-up and get-off points can be wherever passengers want, so passengers tell drivers the destination minutes before they hop off and pay.

 

Big Bus has 2 daytime routes covering Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, Aberdeen and Stanley and 1 night route in Kowloon. Passengers can hop off at any of its stops.

 See more Hop on Hop off Buses in Hong Kong

 Visitors usually choose to take the Peak Tram to climb to the Victoria Peak to have a full view of the beautiful scenery of the city. It is the earliest transportation means operated since 1888. Taking the tram is regarded as the best way to explore this city; thousands of visitors are delivered every day.
 Trams have run for more than a century solely in HK Island. Because of the sound trams make, they are called "Ding Ding" by the local. Trams are cheap and move slowly in downtown HK Island and thus a chance to enjoy the pictures around.
 Central Mid-levels Escalator, formed of roofed pedestrian walkways, overbridges, 20 escalators and three moving travellators, is 800 meters (875 yards) long with a vertical height of 150 meters (165 yards), which makes it the longest roofed escalator system in the world.  And it is free for all the passengers. 
Tram in Hong Kong Island
Tram in HK Island
Hong Kong Ferry
Ferry
 It is easy to flag down a taxi, especially at taxi stands or before hotels. To tell whether a taxi is with people in it or not, just see the light box on top of it or the mile indicator. Phone calls are made for taxi service if there is a need. It is worth noting that some of the tunnels are passed with tunnel fees.
 

- Last updated on Aug. 19, 2024 by Gabby Li -