Considering the size of Hong Kong (HK), Hong Kong Airport is, definitely not very close to the city.
Luckily, it’s super duper convenient though. there are many ways to get to the airport: bus, express train, taxi, uber…
Let’s talk about these one by one:
Cheapest: Airport bus!
Why is Airport Bus great:
- Running from early morning til Mid Night, this is always the cheapest way to go n leave the HK Airport
- Covering almost all Hong Kong except outer island like Cheung Chau, Lamma island (but none of the other public transports can go there anyway)
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Downside is
- you may be stuck in traffic during peak hours or when an accident occured
- sometimes it is not that easy to get to a HK Airport bus stop. Hong Kong is a city with loads of hills and honestly walking uphill with your luggage is, just not fun.
Fastest: HK Airport Express Train
Why is Airport Express great:
- the least change you would be suffered from traffic… if airport express is not working fine, very likely that means “it’s just not your day”
- the only way of transportation can ride at 120 km per hour legally
- There are trolleys on the platform
Downside:
- It’s not that easy to get to the stations: only Hong Kong (in central), Kowloon (in Jordan/ Tsim Sha Tsui), Tsing Yi (Kowloon West) and AsiaWorld-Expo (Next to the airport)
- Far from Kowloon east and New Territories Area
Most Convenient: Taxi
Why Taxi?
- Point to point transportation
- less trouble, no need to walk
Downside:
- More expensive
- Sometimes, it’s hard to find a taxi….
- Taxi drivers are, just not that nice (Don’t speak English, or wanna ask for more money)
- Taxi rides are… just not that comfortable. Don’t know why most of the Hong Kong taxi drivers are kinda old and they tend to stop and moves rapidly. Especially in traffic or going up or downhill. It’s kinda… uncomfortable honestly.
- Taxi stinks sometimes…
- Traffic and accidents risks still exist.
Most Comfortable: Uber
Why Uber?
- Another point to point option
- it’s the drivers’ own cars so they tend to keep it nice and tidy
- Quite a bit of Uber drivers are just doing it for fun or simply because they love driving. So sometimes, you may get a very nice car like Tesla.
- You can track the driver’s location, plan your trip well, spare some time and keep a good communication with them would be fine
Downside:
- there is less uber than taxi so sometimes you have to wait a bit longer, sometimes, there may be none out there
- Traffic and accidents risks still exist.
Tips for choosing the best “Going to the HK Airport”
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Considering a mix of both
- During rush hour – take taxi to airport express if you are in a rush, a large part of your trips are still guaranteed with traffic free, for example:
- I lived in Kowloon east, when I need to take something like 09:00 flight which means I need to arrive at the airport by 07:00 – 07:30, I tend to take the Earliest airport bus at 05:45, if I missed it, I will just take a taxi and go to Kowloong station for airport express.
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Make Use of Klook (a mobile app)
- Klook is a very good apps for you to download discounted airport express ticket. For example, the original price for a trip from Kowloong Station to Airport was HKD 105, if I purchase it via Klook, it’s HKD 72 only! That’s 30%off! You dont even need to print it out, just show them your QR Code is fine!
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Check your location and plan your trip
- If you are going from the Kowloon east side? Taking the MTR (Train) is probably the slowest way coz bus or other routes are more direct. Plus our MTR Train are normally quite busy. Hong Kong People just hate people with big luggage taking the train…
- If you are living in New Territories, probably taking taxi or airport buses are the fastest since the chances for you suffering from traffic is reduced.
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Ask the locals
- After you’ve confirmed the flight, check with your accommodation/ where you want to go the best way to get there, provide them the time you will be arriving and ask if it’s gonna be very busy because of peak hours
Conclusion
Hong Kong is a very convenient city, you can easily reach any parts of Hong Kong by all means. The best thing is our taxis is not that expensive comparing to other big cities in the world too!
So what are you waiting for? Come over n grab some fun!