Get an Octopus card first
Buy one at the 7-Eleven or the OBS counter (Terminal 1, Level 5, near Counter A13) as soon as you land. The Tourist Octopus needs no deposit — just preload it, e.g. HK$50 — and it covers the Airport Express, every airport bus, and (from 1 April 2026) taxis too.
There is no free hotel shuttle
The free Airport Express hotel shuttle was discontinued on 30 June 2020 and has not come back — do not expect a free ride to your hotel door. A few private hotels run their own paid or limited shuttles; ask yours directly. In-town check-in is also only partly available now (the Tsing Yi counter is closed, and it is limited to certain airlines).
Uber works here, not Didi — and taxis are the licensed option
Hong Kong doesn't use the mainland's Didi or Alipay ride-hailing — the app that works here is Uber (see the ride-hailing section below). Beyond the Airport Express or bus, you can take an Uber or an official taxi; the taxi rank is the fully-licensed choice, and only the red taxis can take you into Central, Tsim Sha Tsui or Kowloon.
Plan before you land
Which way into Hong Kong?
Pick by your budget, luggage, destination and whether you are staying in Hong Kong or continuing into the mainland — then jump to that section for the exact fares, boarding points and signs.
Airport Express (機場快綫)Fastest ride into town, a hotel near Hong Kong or Kowloon Station, willing to pay more for speed→Airport bus (機場巴士)Budget travel, direct routes into specific districts, no rush→Taxi (的士)Late arrival, heavy luggage, a group, or a hotel that is awkward by rail or bus→Ride-hailing (Uber)App users who want a fare quoted in English and to pay by card — no Octopus or cash needed→Cross-boundary to the mainland (跨境往內地)Connecting onward to Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhuhai or Macau without going into Hong Kong first→
Best for · Fastest ride into town, a hotel near Hong Kong or Kowloon Station, willing to pay more for speed
Airport Express (機場快綫)
- Fare
- HK$120–130
- Frequency
- ~10 min
- Rail stations
- 香港站 · 九龍站 · 青衣站
Where & how to board
- From arrivals, follow 機場快綫 / Airport Express signs down to the station inside the terminal — there is no walk outside and no shuttle bus needed.
- Tap in with an Octopus card, or buy a single Airport Express ticket at the counter or machine before the gate.
- Trains run about every 10 minutes and stop at Tsing Yi, then Kowloon, then Hong Kong Station — check the platform display for your stop.
機場快綫 · Airport Express八達通 · Octopus香港站 · Hong Kong Station九龍站 · Kowloon Station
Fare & cautions
- To Hong Kong Station: HK$120 by Octopus / $130 for a single ticket. To Kowloon: $105 / $115. To Tsing Yi: $73 / $80 — all raised on 22 June 2025, the line’s first fare increase in 8 years.
- The ride takes about 24 minutes to Hong Kong Station. If you tap in with Octopus, you get one free transfer to the regular MTR network within an hour of arriving.
- A cheaper route exists if you don’t need the speed: take the S1 airport shuttle bus (HK$3.5) to Tung Chung Station and ride the Tung Chung Line instead — roughly HK$30–50 all-in (exact total unconfirmed; check the fare board), but slower.
Metro Line 1 — airport to downtown
- 機場Airport
- 青衣Tsing Yi
- 九龍Kowloon
- 香港Hong Kong
From the airport, board toward 三屯碑 (Santunbei). Highlighted stops are the downtown ones this page mentions; confirm the full stop order on the in-station map.
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請問機場快綫在哪裡搭？Where do I board the Airport Express?
八達通可以在哪裡買或增值？Where can I buy or top up an Octopus card?
Fares per the 22 June 2025 MTR increase (cross-checked across multiple sources, re-verified 12 July 2026). mtr.com.hk blocks direct access from our tools — confirm the current fare board or app before you travel.
Best for · Budget travel, direct routes into specific districts, no rush
Airport bus (機場巴士)
- Fare
- HK$14.5–48
Where & how to board
- Follow 機場巴士 / Airport Bus signs to the bus concourse and check the route board for your destination — routes are lettered (A, E, N) by area.
- Board and tap your Octopus card as you get on, or pay the exact fare in cash — most routes are one-person, one-seat with luggage racks below.
- A11 and A21 are the main tourist routes; the E-series is cheaper but makes more stops and takes longer.
機場巴士 · Airport BusA / E / N 線 · A/E/N Routes
Fare & cautions
- A11 to Central/Causeway Bay: HK$41.9. A21 to Tsim Sha Tsui/Mong Kok: HK$34.6. A10: $48. A29: $42.
- Cheaper E-series: E21 to Kowloon HK$14.5, E11 to Hong Kong Island $21.7 — about 2–8x less than the Airport Express, but 45–75 minutes versus 24 on the train.
- Night buses run after the Airport Express stops: N21 to Tsim Sha Tsui HK$23.80, N11 to Central $31.
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請問去中環的A11巴士在哪裡上車？Where do I board the A11 bus to Central?
請問去尖沙咀要搭哪一班巴士？Which bus goes to Tsim Sha Tsui?
Fares per current airport bus operator schedules (verified 12 July 2026); confirm the exact route and timetable on the terminal board, as bus routes and prices can change.
Best for · Late arrival, heavy luggage, a group, or a hotel that is awkward by rail or bus
Taxi (的士)
- Meter
- HK$29 + $2.1/200m
- To city center
- ≈ HK$265–335
Where & how to board
- Follow 的士 / Taxi signs to the taxi rank outside arrivals. Hong Kong has three taxi colours — take a red one if you are going into Central, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon or anywhere in the main urban area; green taxis only serve the New Territories and blue ones only Lantau.
- Queue at the official rank; do not accept offers from anyone approaching you inside the terminal.
- Show the driver your destination in Chinese if you can, and expect the meter to start running as soon as you move.
- From 1 April 2026, all Hong Kong taxis must accept at least two electronic payment methods (an AlipayHK/WeChat Pay HK QR code plus Octopus or a card) — but keep some cash as backup.
的士 · Taxi紅的 · Red Taxi (urban)打表 · Metered
Fare & cautions
- Red taxi meter: HK$29 flagfall, then $2.1 per 200m (dropping to $1.4/200m once the fare passes $102.5). Drivers commonly add HK$6 per piece of luggage — this is trade custom, not an official government charge.
- There is also a cross-harbour tunnel toll of about HK$25, and some drivers charge it in both directions (roughly HK$50 total) depending on the route.
- All-in, expect roughly HK$335 to Central or HK$265 to Tsim Sha Tsui (about 35–45 minutes) — these are rough estimates, not a fixed fare, so watch the meter.
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麻煩到這個地址，請打表，謝謝。Please take me to this address and use the meter.
請問紅色的士在哪裡排隊？Where do the red (urban) taxis queue?
Meter structure and the toll/luggage customs are cross-checked across sources; the all-in Central/Tsim Sha Tsui totals are single-source estimates — treat them as a budget guide and confirm on the meter.
Best for · App users who want a fare quoted in English and to pay by card — no Octopus or cash needed
Ride-hailing (Uber)
Where & how to board
- Uber operates at HKG around the clock. After you clear arrivals, open the Uber app, set your destination and request a ride.
- Go to the car park the app assigns: from Arrivals Hall A that is Car Park 4; from Arrivals Hall B it is Car Park 1 — then follow the app's step-by-step directions to the exact spot.
- Match the car model and plate to the app before you get in.
UberA大堂 → 4號停車場 · Car Park 4 (Hall A)B大堂 → 1號停車場 · Car Park 1 (Hall B)
Fare & cautions
- The app quotes the fare before you confirm; UberX, Uber Comfort, Uber Black and an Uber Taxi option are offered.
- Pay in-app by card — no Octopus or cash required.
- Note: Hong Kong only passed a law to license ride-hailing in 2025, with licensed services expected from around late 2026, so Uber has operated in a legal grey area — the official taxi rank remains the fully licensed option if you prefer certainty.
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我用Uber，請問應該去哪個停車場等車?I am using Uber — which car park is the pickup point?
The pickup points (Car Park 4 from Arrivals Hall A, Car Park 1 from Hall B) are from Uber's own HKG airport page; ride-hailing is being formally licensed under a 2025 law from around late 2026 — confirm the current pickup in the app on arrival.
Best for · Connecting onward to Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhuhai or Macau without going into Hong Kong first
Cross-boundary to the mainland (跨境往內地)
Where & how to board
- For the SkyPier ferry: this is for transfer passengers only — you use it instead of clearing Hong Kong immigration, connecting straight to a boat to Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhuhai or Macau. Check your route is running before you plan around it.
- For a cross-boundary coach: follow signs to Terminal 2, Arrivals Level 3, counters C01–C09, where coaches depart for Shenzhen, Guangzhou and destinations via the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge.
- Have your passport and any onward visa or entry documents ready — you are clearing a border, not just riding a bus.
跨境巴士 · Cross-boundary CoachSkyPier 客運碼頭 · Ferry Transfer
Fare & cautions
- Coach fares were not confirmed on an official page at the time of writing — check the counter board on the day.
- Ferry and coach routes to the mainland change often. Several SkyPier routes have been suspended with no announced restart date, including at times the Macau Taipa line, the Zhuhai line, and the Shenzhen–HK ferry link — do not assume a route is running.
- Always verify current routes and schedules on hongkongairport.com before you commit to this option.
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請問去深圳／廣州的跨境巴士在哪裡買票？Where do I buy a ticket for the cross-boundary coach to Shenzhen or Guangzhou?
請問SkyPier去珠海／澳門的渡輪還有開嗎？Is the SkyPier ferry to Zhuhai or Macau still running?
Route suspensions and schedule changes are confirmed as of the 12 July 2026 verification pass, but this is the fastest-changing option on this page — check hongkongairport.com the same day you travel.
Navigate to your hotel
Open the airport in your map app, then set your hotel as the destination. Amap and Baidu are the reliable maps inside China; Google Maps is limited on the mainland.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How we verify airport routes
- We prefer airport, metro, rail, and government operator pages for route, ticketing, terminal, and schedule claims.
- If an exact fare, pickup bay, or last-train time is not confirmed on an operator page, we tell travelers to check it instead of publishing a number.
- Last-updated dates mark when source links and page claims were reviewed.
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