Getting from Hong Kong International Airport to the city

The cheap way, which is also a good way

• Hong Kong International Airport is on Chek Lap Kok, an artificial island off Lantau. Getting off it is the whole problem, and the ordinary metro network reaches only as far as Tung Chung, on Lantau proper.
• The S1 bus bridges that gap for HK$3.70, in 22 minutes, running as a circular between Tung Chung Station and the airport.
• From Tung Chung the MTR's Tung Chung line runs into the city. Hong Kong and Central stations are HK$24.30 with an Octopus card, Kowloon and Tsim Sha Tsui HK$18.70, Tsing Yi HK$15.90.
• Total to Hong Kong Island: HK$28.00. The rail half of that drops to HK$12.50 for a child and HK$4.90 for an elderly passenger, because the MTR's concessionary fares are steep discounts rather than token ones.

The direct buses

• They are slower but they go where you are staying. All the A-series routes start at the Airport Ground Transportation Centre.
• A21 to Hung Hom Station, via Kowloon: HK$34.60, 84 minutes.
• A11 to North Point Ferry Pier, across Hong Kong Island: HK$41.90, 94 minutes.
• A22 to Lam Tin Station: HK$40.80. A12 to Siu Sai Wan: HK$47.10. A29 to Tseung Kwan O: HK$44.00.
• A31 to Tsuen Wan and A41 to Sha Tin in the New Territories are much cheaper, HK$19.80 and HK$23.40, because they do not cross the harbour.
• The E-series is cheaper still and slower still. E23 to Tsz Wan Shan is HK$18.60 but takes 102 minutes.

Landing in the middle of the night

• The N21 runs overnight to Tsim Sha Tsui Star Ferry for HK$23.80, taking about 99 minutes.
• That is a real overnight bus, not a token one, and it means a 3am arrival at Hong Kong does not force a taxi.

The Airport Express

• MTR runs it and calls it the quickest way to and from the city, from the airport to Tsing Yi, Kowloon and Hong Kong stations.
• We are not quoting its fare here, because MTR's fare page could not be verified from a source we are willing to cite, and a number repeated by a booking site is not a price list. Check it at the counter in the arrivals hall, where the staff sell it.
• It is materially more expensive than everything above, which is the trade for the speed.

Money, and the sting on the way out

• Get an Octopus card. Every fare above is the Octopus fare, and single journey tickets on the MTR cost more, HK$28.00 rather than HK$24.30 for Tung Chung to Hong Kong.
• An Air Passenger Departure Tax of HK$200 applies to everyone aged 12 and over flying out of Hong Kong. It is normally inside your ticket price, but it is worth knowing what the line item is.
• Shops can refuse HK$500 and HK$1,000 notes, legal tender or not, so break large notes early rather than at a bus farebox.