HK Hong Kong: how to get around

Fares depend on distance. You can tap contactless Visa, Mastercard or UnionPay credit cards (or Apple or Android pay devices linked to one of those) at the MTR fare gates to pay fares. Also Alipay and WeChat Pay can be used at faregates equipped with a QR code scanner. Credit cards cannot be used to buy tickets on most vending machines.

Rides on East Rail line First Class, the Airport Express, and to Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau follow a separate fare structure. MTR system promotions (including the tourist day pass, and the fare saver machines) do not extend to these services. Fares in the first class car (with wider and more comfortable seats) is twice that of the regular cars on the same route, Fines for travelling with an ordinary ticket is up to $500.

Considerations when using the MTR:

• Consumption of food and drinks and smoking are strictly forbidden in the paid area of stations and in trains. Offenders are liable to a fine of up to $2,000.
• Always stand on the right when using escalators to allow people to pass on the left. Hong Kongers do not shove or jostle for seats as is common in mainland Chinese Metro systems.
• Disabled Access and Stroller Access is provided at the MTR stations, but you may have to walk a long way: the lift may be at one end of a platform at train level, whilst the lift to street level will be at the other end. There is usually one designated fare reader for wider (wheelchair/stroller) access, but often it is a long walk around the station or platform. Occasionally, there will be an MTR staff booth at a set of gates, but they may or may not tap your card on their terminal and let you through the goods entrance to the platform. It may be better to collapse your stroller, pick up your child and use the escalators and regular fare readers. A small, lightweight, upright folding stroller will be easier to use on transit.

Some adjacent stations are served by the same two lines (e.g. Central and Admiralty on the Tsuen Wan and Island lines; Yau Ma Tei, Mong Kok, and Prince Edward on the Kwun Tong and Tsuen Wan lines). However some of these stations offer quicker and more convenient cross-platform interchanges than others depending on the direction of transfer. Watch the flashing system maps on the train and listen to the announcements to know which of the stations are convenient for the transfers you wish to make. Tsim Sha Tsui on the Tsuen Wan line and East Tsim Sha Tsui on the Tuen Ma line are considered one station for purposes of fare calculation and transfers. But to transfer from one line to the other on those stations without incurring additional costs, you must tap out from one station and tap in within 30 minutes to the other.

Operated by Hong Kong Tramways, the narrow double-decker trams (also known locally as "ding ding") trundling along the northern coast of Hong Kong Island have provided cheap transport since 1912. Riding the tram is a great and cheap way to sightsee. For an excursion lasting 1 hour, board at the Kennedy Town Terminus and get a good seat on the upper deck. As the tram travels eastward, you will have an elevated view of Hong Kong Island and its different flavours, from bustling Hong Kong street life to its glitzy financial and shopping districts and, finally, a taste of the local residential areas.

• Trams are not air conditioned. Summer months can be very uncomfortable even with the windows open.
• They run 6AM to midnight.
• Passengers board at the rear and a flat $3.3 fare is paid when getting off at the front of the tram. The fare is paid for by Octopus Card, coins (no change given) or contactless Visa/Mastercard (including Apple Pay and Google Pay). Using a contactless Visa provides a $1 discount. There are two readers — one for Octopus Card and the other for contactless Visa/Mastercard, so if you are using Apple Pay with both an Octopus Card and Visa/Mastercard, be careful to tap your device on the correct reader.
• It is widely used by foreign domestic workers on Sundays (their normal day-off). Trams often get crowded on these days.

The Peak Tram, Hong Kong's first mechanised mode of transport, opened in 1888. The remarkably steep 1.7-km track from Central up to Victoria Peak is worth at least one trip despite the comparatively steep price ($62 one-way, $88 return; return tickets must be purchased in advance). The tram turnstiles take Octopus cards.

The Peak Tram is likely to be crowded at night when the view of the city's skyline is magic, and on public holidays. Queues can be very long (waiting an hour is common at busy times), and a lot of pushing has been reported.

The tram is not the only way to get to the Peak, and there are cheaper (but slower and still quite scenic) alternatives such as the #1 green minibus costing $10.2, and the #15 double-decker bus costing $10.3 from Exchange Square Bus Terminus. These buses will often give you great views of both sides of Hong Kong Island on the way up.

MTR operates a tram system in the northwest New Territories called Light Rail. It is a modern and fast tram system connecting Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, and Tin Shui Wai. It uses a proof-of-payment fare system, in which passengers are required to buy a ticket or tap an Octopus card at the station entrance before boarding and there are no fare gates, but ticket inspection is random. The area is seldom visited by foreign tourists but various sights are nonetheless accessible via Light Rail, such as numerous ancient walled villages (highlighted by the Ping Shan Heritage Trail), the Hong Kong Wetland Park, the beaches of Tuen Mun New Town, Yuen Long Town Centre, and seafood towns like Lau Fau Shan and Sam Shing.

There are three types of buses available in Hong Kong. In the city centre, buses will get stuck in traffic and take much longer than the MTR. However, they cover many more destinations than the MTR. While generally easy to use, signs in English can be sparse and finding your bus stop can get difficult. Buses are also the only public option in some areas. Google Maps, Apple Maps, or City Mapper will let you know the best bus route to take from your current position to your destination (if necessary, they will combine it with MTR rides too).

Double-decker buses are used on most routes and cover practically the entire territory, stop frequently and charge varying fares depending on the distance. The first seats of the upper deck offer great views.

The franchised bus operators in Hong Kong include Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB) (and its subsidiary Long Win Bus), Citybus (CTB) and New Lantau Bus (NLB). Route and fare information can be found on their company websites. Alternatively it is also wise to install transportation apps such as "App 1933" and "CitybusNWFB" into your smartphone to check fares outdoors if you use mobile devices regularly during your stay.

The resort towns of Discovery Bay and Ma Wan have separate bus services provided by their real-estate developers, namely Discovery Bay Transportation Services and Park Island Transport.

Fares depend more on where you board rather than where you get-off (except for the cross-boundary route B2 and a few overnight buses) which means it is more expensive to board at an earlier stop on a route rather than the later ones. Hence, the price of bus rides crossing the harbour between Kowloon and the Island exceeds $9 prior to the crossing. The fare is displayed on a digital display above the farebox - one may pay in cash (but no change is given), Octopus Card, contactless VISA or Mastercard (on some routes; including those embedded on Apple Pay and Google Pay), or a ticket purchased from a bus travel centre (only applicable to a few routes found at major transit hubs such as Star Ferry or Central Bus Terminus) must be used. There are plenty of bus routes that provide a fare discount for transferring with a particular set of routes; they are often confusing for visitors, however instructions are written on bus stop timetable leaflets. There are also some bus routes (especially the routes going to Stanley) which offer a discount if a passenger gets off early and taps the Octopus card again prior to alighting.

There are announcements in Cantonese, Mandarin and English.

To catch your bus, go to the bus stop with the right number and when your bus approaches, raise your arm to hail the bus (like you would hail a taxi). Buses only stop when requested so press the red buzzer (by the exit doors and on the grab-rails) to signal to the driver that you want to alight. Passengers should always board at the front and alight from the centre door. When you stand at the bus station, if no-one hails the bus and no-one on the bus presses the stop request button, the driver may ignore you to pass by.

The MTR also maintains a fleet of feeder buses. MTR passengers can enjoy a free feeder service if the bus trip is paid for on an Octopus card along with a connecting railway journey (except for taking K12 on holidays).

Van-sized public light buses or minibuses serve both feeder and trunk routes, carry a maximum of 19 passengers (seats only) and come in two varieties, red minibuses and green minibuses (the red buses are also called maxicabs); the colour refers to a wide stripe painted on top of the vehicle.

• Most minibus station signs only offer Chinese description, and may have nothing more than the route number on the sign. Location markers of minibus stations on online maps are also spotty. Translation apps like Google Translate (including its camera function) and asking other passengers are useful ways to determine whether the route serves your destination.
• Riding a minibus may not be easy for travellers, as it is required to call out the name of the stop and/or ask the driver to stop in Cantonese (shouting please stop loudly in English usually suffices), but more light buses are equipped with bells to notify the driver. Some station names used by minibuses may be outdated.
• If a minibus station requires diversion from a green minibus' usual route and nobody on the minibus asked to stop, drivers may ignore the stop and take short cuts. The foolproof way for travellers is to inform the driver of your destination and remind the driver again when the minibus is approaching your destination.
• Minibuses sometimes depart from terminus only if they're full, so consider include waiting time if you're boarding a minibus at its terminus.
• Some red minibuses still do not accept Octopus but will give you change, while green minibuses accept Octopus payment but cannot give you change if you pay in cash. Prices on red minibuses are often displayed only in Chinese numbers. The price displayed on a red minibus can vary according to the market price, so one might need to pay more at busy times and on special occasions (such as during a typhoon or demonstration), though it is rare.
• Minibus drivers generally drive fast, especially at night. All minibuses have a large digital speedometer in the cabin to discourage speeding and accidents. Dial ☏ +852-2754-7668 to report dangerous driving if you encounter them.
  • Always use minibus seatbelts where available, as it's against the law not to use them. Seatbelts are often ignored by minibus passengers, but the police occasionally have an annual or bi-annual crackdown where offenders may be fined. Faulty seatbelts may also be encountered even on new minibuses: show it to the police officers, and they would likely to spare you from tickets.
• The Hong Kong Island green minibus #1 down from the Peak to Central is particularly exhilarating. Red minibuses tend to have a more Chinese feel than green buses.

There are six independent route numbering systems, applying to: buses (i) on Hong Kong Island, (ii) in Kowloon and the New Territories, and (iii) on Lantau Island; green minibuses (iv) on Hong Kong Island, (v) in Kowloon, and (vi) in New Territories and several exceptional auxiliary bus routes. Red minibuses do not usually have a route number. This leads to duplication of routes in different regions.

Generally you need not mention which district the route belongs to when you are asking for directions (almost all people will assume you are asking for the route which runs in the district you are in), but you really need to mention whether the route is by bus or minibus when you ask, since in some cases both buses and minibuses can have the same route number in the same area which are different routes.

A large fleet of ferries sail between the many islands of Hong Kong. The granddaddy of them all and an attraction in itself is the Star Ferry, whose most popular line travels between Tsim Sha Tsui and Central from early morning until late at night, and offers amazing views (especially when coming from Tsim Sha Tsui). The Star Ferry is an icon of Hong Kong heritage and has carried passengers for over 120 years. Taking its 11-minute ride across the harbour and catching some misty breeze is considered a "must do" when visiting Hong Kong. Navigation enthusiasts will also not want to miss the sight of the crew using a billhook to catch the thrown rope as it moors at the pier, a practice unchanged since the first ferry ran in 1888.

Upper deck seats cost $2.50 on weekdays and $3.40 on weekends while the lower deck costs $2.00 on weekdays and $2.80 on weekends, both payable with Octopus, cash (no change given) or by onsite vending machine. The Star Ferry also operates between Tsim Sha Tsui and Wanchai but only offers upper-deck seating. A 4-day tourist ticket is also available for $25.

Ferries to Lamma, Lantau and other islands depart from a variety of ports, but the largest and most important terminal is at Central adjacent to the Star Ferry. Ferries are usually divided into fast ferries and slow ferries, with fast ferries charging around twice the price for half the journey time, although not all destinations offer both kinds of service. Example fares for trips from Central to Yung Shue Wan (Lamma) are $10/15 slow/fast, and to Mui Wo (Lantau) $10.50/$21. All fares increase by around 50% on Sundays and public holidays. There is sometimes an extra charge for seating in an air-conditioned area.

Ferry services known as kai-to (街渡 ki toe; alternative writing 街艔) serve the city's most remote islands, in which some are also tourist attractions. These ferries are often operated by small motorised sampans. A list of these services can be found on the website of the Transport Department, and are listed on Apple Maps as proper ferries.

Taxis are almost the fastest transportation on ground. Unfortunately, Hong Kong taxi drivers are known to be unprofessional and shamelessly rude, and sometimes overcharge passengers. Reckless speeding should be expected in most rides. If you sadly meet this, you may fill in the form of Transport Advisory Committee or find help from Committee on Taxi Service Quality. If you feel confused that whether a driver is doing things, the government has published a detailed and informative guide to help you; however, some rules which visitors will believe odd are correct and have legal basis, e.g. drivers can request passengers to pay additional fee for phone-calling taxi booking.

In general, there are three types of taxi in Hong Kong, easily identified by their colours: red, green and blue, all of which serve the airport and Hong Kong Disneyland. Taxis that have different colours are fleet taxis, which operate like ridesharing companies but will also carry passengers who flag them down on the street. When in doubt, just take a red taxi.

Rates for each type of taxi are published online. Taxi fleets can set their own rates (usually more expensive) when booked, but must follow these rates when flagged down. Rates as of July 2024:

Considerations when riding taxis:

• Wearing of seat belts is obligatory; a taxi will not carry extra passengers.
• Tipping is usually not required or expected, however the driver will sometimes round the fare up to the nearest dollar.
• Drivers are required to provide change for $100 notes, but not for higher denominations. If you only have a $500 or $1000 note and are going through a tunnel, let the driver know beforehand and he will change it when paying at the toll booth.
• Some taxis accept credit cards, Octopus cards or mobile payment to avoid hassles with small change; these are usually indicated by a sticker in the windscreen. Fleet taxis should accept these payment methods.
• There are no extra late-night charges nor peak-hour surcharges. No charges are levied for airport travel or travel within the centre, but all toll charges for tunnels are added to the bill. The driver will normally pay on your behalf at the toll booth and you just need to reimburse him before alighting.
• Baggage carried in the boot will cost you $5 per piece even if you lift it yourself, except for wheelchairs.
• Harbour crossing passengers (Hong Kong Island to Kowloon or vice versa) are expected to pay the return tolls (e.g. if the tunnel toll is $5, then you will need to pay for $10 on top of your taxi charge). But you can use this to your advantage by picking a homebound taxi from a cross-harbour taxi rank in places like the Star Ferry pier or Hung Hom station. In cross-harbour taxi stands, only single toll charge will be applied to the taxi fare.
• Taxi drivers must display an official name card that includes the driver's photograph and the license plate number. Unless a taxi has an out of service sign displayed, they are legally required to take you to your destination. They must provide a receipt upon request.
• All taxis are radio equipped and can be reserved and requested via an operator for $5, payable to the driver. You are unlikely to need to call a taxi, though, as they are plentiful.
• Take your hotel's business card to show the driver the address in Chinese, as drivers speak limited English or Mandarin. Get your hotel concierge to write the name or address of your destination in Chinese. When using a maps app on a phone, your destination may also have a Chinese name which you can show to the driver.
• Learning some Cantonese pronunciation for your location will help (especially as some names don't sound in Cantonese like they are written in English). "Do" (said like "Doe" – a deer, a female deer, with a middle tone) and "Gai" (said more like "Kai" with a rising tone) are the Cantonese words for Road and Street respectively. If you can pronounce your suburb and local road correctly, this will help considerably.
• Mobile taxi apps like eTaxi and HKTaxi are becoming widespread in Hong Kong. You always get a fair price, all payments are done by card, there's no need to call anyone, and you can get a taxi at any time in less than 10 minutes.
• Uber continues to operate in Hong Kong despite a multi-year legal battle with the government. While the government is planning to legalize ridesharing, the industry is illegal as of July 2025. Drivers without the appropriate permits run the risk of fines, but passengers don't. Uber also operates Uber Taxi, which is free from legal ambiguity.

You may file a complaint to the Transport Complaints Unit Complaint Hotline at ☏ +852-2889-9999 or via their online complaint form. When filing a complaint, do note the taxi driver's name and licence plate for identification.

Traffic in Hong Kong moves on the left (the steering wheel is on the right-hand side), opposite to mainland China. Hong Kong is densely populated, has heavy traffic, a complex road network, and rare and expensive parking spaces, making driving very unappealing for most visitors. Furthermore, it is well-connected by public transportation, so a car may not be necessary. However, there are parts of the New Territories, Lantau Island and southern Hong Kong Island that are poorly served by public transport. The main article has information on driving, renting a car, and crossing the border from mainland China with a car.

Hong Kong is generally not a bicycle-friendly place because of its hilly landscapes, government policies, air pollution and a general lack of consideration by many motorists. Locals sometimes cycle on the pavements if they are not crowded, although most of the time, pavements are too crowded even for pushing your bike. If you plan to use busy urban roads you should be fit enough to keep up with the traffic, which moves surprisingly quickly.

A network of paved cycling trails sprawls across the New Territories making it relatively easy to bike for longer distances, with the longest one stretching 60km from Tuen Mun to Ma On Shan. Unlike cycling in Kowloon and northern Hong Kong Island, riding on these tracks is quite enjoyable for the scenic rural views along the way. Southern Lantau Island is also a good place to cycle, as motor vehicle traffic is heavily restricted and consequently light on the roads there. Visitors should comply with the Road User's Code. Visit this page for maps of major cycle tracks.

There are also several mountain bike trails in the country parks, although a permit is necessary to bring your bicycle into the parks.

Bike rental is available in several locations across the territory. Popular rental spots include Cheung Chau, Mui Wo (Lantau), Sha Tin, Tai Po Market, Tuen Mun and Ma On Shan. Rental fees are typically $40–60 a day for a standard entry-level mountain bike, or around $150 per day for a higher-spec mountain or road bike.

Basic rules to follow:

• Cyclists are prohibited from riding on expressways and in tunnels, which are well patrolled.
• It is an offence to be drunk while cycling.
• By law, you're required to have a front white and rear red light when cycling at night or in poor visibility.
• Electronic bike conversion systems are not allowed. The police have a strict enforcement policy on this offence.
• The maximum penalty for riding on pedestrian walkways is $500 or a three-month jail sentence. Usually offenders get a warning, but the police occasionally have an annual, or bi-annual crackdown.
• For folding bike users, sometimes a bus driver will tell you that it's not allowed, but if you talk to them nicely they will usually let you board. A bicycle bag that makes your bike look like ordinary luggage can make your life a lot easier.

Folding bicycles are permitted on all public transport, provided that they are folded.

• MTR: Non-folding bicycles are permitted to travel on the MTR system. Travel in the first or last carriage and remove the front wheel.
• Ferries: Bicycles are permitted on board slow ferries including the Star Ferry, but are not permitted on the Fast Ferries.
• Taxis: Most taxi drivers will carry bikes in the boot if the front wheel is removed. Some drivers will carry your bike for free, others will legitimately charge extra for 'excess baggage'.

The world's longest outdoor escalator system travels from Central through Soho to the residential developments of the Mid-levels. The escalator moves down in the morning rush hour but up the rest of the time, and using it is free — in fact, you can even get Octopus credits from machines along the way for being willing to use your feet! The escalator is covered, but still relatively exposed to the elements.

The escalator cuts through some of the oldest streets found anywhere in Hong Kong, so if you are happy to take a chance and just wander and explore the back streets you are likely to find something of interest that dates back to colonial times.