Hong Kong and Macau - 8 theoretical hours in Hong Kong - What to do?

Hello everyone. I'm planning to book a CX flight from Osaka to Amsterdam for the 6th of may 2012. I'd have to change flights in Hong Kong, but I have 2 options.

I could go for the late flight from Osaka, which would give me an hour or 2 in the terminal, and make my flight to Amsterdam without a problem, or I could take the early flight from Osaka, which arrives in Hong Kong around 15:50. That would leave me with 8 hours to spare. The flight to Amsterdam leaves at 00:15.

How much time, choosing the second option, would I have in reality between flights? How long does it take to get through customs both ways? Do I have the time to take a train into the city, get a nice skyline view, have Dim Sum, catch a boat to Kowloon, and go back to the Airport?

If so, I'd like to know what my modes of transport are in Hong Kong itself. Are taxi's cheap? Where do the trams go?

I hope you're all kind enough to answer some of my questions. Thanks a lot in advance!

-Bram

How much time, choosing the second option, would I have in reality between flights? How long does it take to get through customs both ways? Do I have the time to take a train into the city, get a nice skyline view, have Dim Sum, catch a boat to Kowloon, and go back to the Airport?

If so, I'd like to know what my modes of transport are in Hong Kong itself. Are taxi's cheap? Where do the trams go?

Yes, you have plenty of time. If your flight arrives 15:50, you should be out of customs by about 16:30. Airport Express train takes under 30 minutes to get to HK Island, so you'll be there around 17:00.

Immigration can be busy at late night as there are many flights departing for Europe at that time, so you want to be back before 23:00. Meaning taking a train by 22:30 or earlier. So, you have about 5 hours in the city. Plenty of time to walk around, have dinner and ride the ferry across the harbour and more.

The HK Tramway runs along the north shore of HK Island, though very populous areas. No reason to ride the whole way, but you can definitely jump on one, ride for a few km either direction and head back. Or you may be thinking about the Peak Tram, which is a funicular that goes up Victoria Peak.

Taxis are fairly cheap, but traffic can be pretty horrible in HK, so you probably won't be taking one (except for getting back to the Airport Express station late in the evening).

Yes, you have plenty of time. If your flight arrives 15:50, you should be out of customs by about 16:30.

For a tourist who do not have access to the eChannel immigration clearance and in the middle of the afternoon, I would add another 15 minutes to be out of customs by about 4:45PM.

Airport Express train takes under 30 minutes to get to HK Island, so you'll be there around 17:00.

or one can take the "A" prefix Cityflyer bus for a more scenic journey into the city and then the faster Airport Express train back to the airport from the city.

Immigration can be busy at late night as there are many flights departing for Europe at that time, so you want to be back before 23:00. Meaning taking a train by 22:30 or earlier.

Agreed.

So, you have about 5 hours in the city. Plenty of time to walk around, have dinner and ride the ferry across the harbour and more.

The HK Tramway runs along the north shore of HK Island, though very populous areas. No reason to ride the whole way, but you can definitely jump on one, ride for a few km either direction and head back. Or you may be thinking about the Peak Tram, which is a funicular that goes up Victoria Peak.

Taxis are fairly cheap, but traffic can be pretty horrible in HK, so you probably won't be taking one (except for getting back to the Airport Express station late in the evening).

Only other comment is that dim sum is generally served at lunch, not during dinner but there are a limited few places that serve dim sum all day.

How long does it take to get through customs both ways? Do I have the time to take a train into the city, get a nice skyline view, have Dim Sum, catch a boat to Kowloon, and go back to the Airport?


I arrived at HKIA mid afternoon and it took almost an hour from landing to getting out of the airport.

You mention getting the train into the City then catching a boat to Kowloon but if you are short on time you could get off the Airport Express in Kowloon itself, it stops there before going to HK Island. You'll also get the best skyline views from Kowloon side, especially if you are there for the 8pm lightshow. There aren't really many skyline views on HK Island itself unless you want to go up to the peak. If you want to do that then stay on the train to Central and take a walk to the Peak Tram Station.

Have a good trip.

You mention getting the train into the City then catching a boat to Kowloon but if you are short on time you could get off the Airport Express in Kowloon itself, it stops there before going to HK Island. You'll also get the best skyline views from Kowloon side, especially if you are there for the 8pm lightshow. There aren't really many skyline views on HK Island itself unless you want to go up to the peak. If you want to do that then stay on the train to Central and take a walk to the Peak Tram Station.

The hop from Kowloon to HK station is very short, and since Kowloon station is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, it doesn't really make a difference I think. I agree that you'd have a maximum of 5 hours in HK so I'd probably get off at HK station and do something like this:

Do the underground walk to Central station from HK station
Go outside to see some of the famous buildings, like the Pedder Building, HSBC Building, Bank of China Tower, etc.
Peak Tram up to the Peak, walk around to see all of the different views from the top.
Take the Star Ferry from Central to Tsim Sha Tsui and look at the HK skyline.
Walk around TST then eat a late dinner (or you could eat earlier island-side before crossing the harbour too)
Taxi back to Kowloon station to catch the train back to the airport


HK is a small place so there's a lot of places you could go in 4-5 hours.

Only other comment is that dim sum is generally served at lunch, not during dinner but there are a limited few places that serve dim sum all day.

Yup. Forgot to mention that.

I think with the somewhat limited time, it's simply quicker and easier to take the Airport Express both ways, with a same-day return ticket. Even though I'm the biggest fan of the Cityflyer buses. :)

The simplest itinerary that's been repeated many times on this forum:

- Airport Express to HK.
- Peak Tram to Peak and back
- Star Ferry to Kowloon
- Avenue of the Stars. Then dinner in Tsim Sha Tsui.
- Shuttle or taxi to Kowloon Station, ride AE back.

Thank you all for the help and suggested itineraries! I think I'll go up to the peak after having read up on it.

Thank you all for the help and suggested itineraries! I think I'll go up to the peak after having read up on it.

Good idea, make sure you have some small change/notes or an Octopus card as they make a small charge to get up to the very top viewing galleries.