Self drive or pub transportation
 

My family of 5 adults plus 2 kids are travelling to hong kong next week.
I was thinking should I rent a MPV and drive around with GPS or just take public transport?

My main worries is the two old folks and two young kids got to bear with the staircase down to mtr train.

Driving is not very convenient. All MTR have escalators, so this should not be an issue. When folks get too tired, you can still take a taxi. They are very cheap, most only take 4 people inside, some take five (look for the green sign at the outside) but for the late version of the taxi, all 5 and the driver have to be super skinny ;)

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Well the crown comfort are now switching back to 4 Pax. Just dont drive in HK as it will really painful and cost quite a bit to park your car.

Hi philipp & Chris

Thank for your advise! Will take public transport instead :D

Have fun in HK, it's a great city for everybody, no matter if young or old!

Driving is not convenient, so just use taxis. However, not all MTR exits have escalators between concourse and street. If one or more of you cannot do stairs at all, you may have to detour to a different exit.

Thank For your advise. This is what my main worries is :) will try to search for another exit.

This link provides you information on individual MTR station facilities and in particular, whether there is a public lift (elevator) from street to concourse, and from concourse to train platform:

http://www.mtr.com.hk/eng/getting_around/disabled.html

Concessionary fares are offered for the elderly and child on most public transportation. Best to get an Octopus card for each.

Most taxis seat five except for the newer Toyota model can seat only four. It's a design change by Toyota so eventually when older taxis are replaced, they will all only seat 4 passengers.

There used to be some Nissan Cedric and Australian Ford Falcon estate (stationwagon) but have not seen any of those for a long time.

For further information on taxi service in HK:

http://www.td.gov.hk/en/transport_in...axi/index.html

Wearing of seat belt is mandatory.

Depending on where you want to go, don't forget the buses. They are extremely cheap, and a rapidly increasing number of them (almost all KMBs, many Citybus, some (I think) NWFB) have audio & visual display of the next stop in both English and Chinese.

Basically all KMB buses have stop displays, but the English names only flash once, and then stay in Chinese. Other than the Cityflyers, only a few Citybuses have them (many have the displays installed for years, but still showing "in testing"). Some of the newest NWFB buses start to have them.

The newer buses (like the gold-colored KMB ones) are low platform, so just one step to get on the bus. If the elderlies in the OP's party can handle that, buses can be very convenient as christep says. Often means a lot less walk than using the MTR.

As for self-driving, while I grew up in HK previously and visit often, it's only during the last year I've driven there. The driving itself is pretty straight forward, but GPS is basically useless with all the highrises in the city, as well as the very short blocks. Many streets are one-way and many many restricted turns. On the highways, it's extremely important to know exactly which lane to use, and often you have to switch lane exactly at a very short opening or you will end up at totally wrong place.

Road signs and designs are more British/European than US. Outside city center, many roundabouts. And road signs name the area where you're going, not the name of the road or street. Parking garages are more abundant than in years past, but they're not cheap. Also, very tight spots inside. You can only back into the spots in most garages - and nobody in HK park in their spot head-in. Another thing is that stopping and letting passengers on/off are prohibited on many main roads in the city during day-time; and they are enforced.

The toughest thing for the elderly will be to get on the bus and into a seat or out of their seat and off the bus.

Most drivers are crazy and while I am still young and good on my feet, it was always a challenge for me not to trip while getting on since they don't care at all if people are still standing or not.

Also, many bus drivers don't understand a word of English.

Still, buses are a great suggestion, I used them a lot and liked them, too. They are also a good way to discover the city and to soak up some of the atmosphere.

Especially once people get tired, they might be a way to still see stuff (talking about going to Stanley for example) without walking.

Bus drivers have gotten a bit better in recent years, but you can NEVER expect them to wait for people to sit down or find a spot before they start driving. And absolutely grab the handrails tightly at all times. This is not N. America. The younger people in the OP's party has to "protect" their elderlies. :p

The bus drivers at my country are also the same :rolleyes: especially those foreign hired from china. Singaporean here don't want to work such long hours on bus. Very tired.

No, I don't expect them to wait unless somebody really handicapped is trying to get into the seat.

What I think one could expect is some smoother taking off and slowing down in front of a bus station.

Unfortunately, not going to happen. Never their driving style, and if one's slow on like Nathan Road or Hennessy Road, you get cutoff by other buses into and out of the stops.