darnestown

What are the tramsportation options for going from Hong Kong Island (Conrad Hotel) to the Shenzen airport?

What would the taxi fare be? How long would the trip take? How difficult/time-consuming are customs/immigration.

Are there airport shuttles or buses? Ditto time and customs/immigration? Any info on specific companies would be appreciated.

Thanks

Cicerone

I don’t believe you could take a Hong Kong taxi for the trip, as I don’t think many, if any, Hong Kong taxi drivers also have the proper licenses to take a car or carry passengers in the PRC (nor does every taxi driver have a PRC visa). And vice versa, no PRC taxi would be licensed to pick you up in Hong Kong. You could theoretically take a Hong Kong taxi from the Conrad to the border, cross the border and then a PRC taxi to the airport, but what a pain that would be really, IMO to lug baggage over the border and get another taxi (and you would need RMB for that fare).

If you don’t mind paying for a taxi, then I would suggest you arrange for a private car/limousine company which would be a nicer, larger car and not much more expensive than a taxi. They can take you the whole way, as they will have both Hong Kong and PRC licenses. The fare is about HK$1000. I would recommend Park Lane, see http://www.hongkonglimo.com/html/shuttle.html, contact them for a quote. The Conrad could also arrange for a car, they will probably charge a bit more for the service.

The trip by car is about 1.5 hours, give or take some traffic and assuming there are no long lines at either Hong Kong or PRC Immigration. But check with the driver and the hotel to make sure there are no special considerations like construction, etc on your day of travel which I am not aware of. I have not done the trip in several months myself.

Note that Hong Kong drives on the left but the PRC drives on the right, so the driver will switch the car to the other side of the road when you get to the PRC, a bit freaky as the steering wheel is now on the “wrong” side of the car. But they seem to take this in stride. (Not sure what they are going to do in 38 years when the PRC and Hong Kong actually completely “reunite”.)

Otherwise there are cheaper options like a public bus, private buses, a ferry, or the MTR/KCR train to Lo Wu at the border, at which point you would take a bus/taxi to the airport. These will all take 2-3 hours or so door to door. For public buses, I believe these may require a transfer or two, you could check with the hotel which could provide specific information, or check a guidebook. The private buses cost about HK$100, so they are a fraction of the cost of a private car, but you do have to weigh in the cost and convenience, how much luggage you will have, etc. For a private bus option, see http://www.trans-island.com.hk/eng/index.html. You would get this bus in Wanchai (not sure of the exact address).

You can also get the China Link Bus from the Kowloon side, this departs from the Elements Mall at the Kowloon MTR station (which is also where the Airport Express station is located on the Kowloon side). This would require that you get over to Kowloon, which would add some time and trouble to the journey. However, I believe this bus may be a bit faster and that Immigration is done for both HK and the PRC in a more smooth manner as it uses the Shenzhen Bay crossing which is faster than the Huanggang crossing. You can get to the Elements Mall from the Conrad via the MTR or a taxi. There does not seem to be an English website for Chinalink, see the Chinese at http://www.chinalink.hk/. You can also ask the Conrad. I believe buses run about every half hour at 15 and 45 past the hour.

The ferry only appears to go on weekdays, once a day in the morning, and it departs from the Kowloon side, a little bit of a pain for you as you will be on the Hong Kong side which means either a taxi or the MTR over to the Kowloon side. If you don’t have a lot of luggage, the ferry or MTR would work, but otherwise you will have to take a taxi, I think this would cost like HK$300 but could be more. (It will be a bit of a walk from the MTR to the ferry pier, IMO a taxi would be a better option unless you only have hand luggage.) The ferry costs HK$208 in economy and it takes you right to the airport however, and you would miss the regular commuters going through the road border crossings, so if the timing fits your schedule it would be a good option over a public bus and cheaper than a private car. See http://www.turbojet.com.hk/eng/schedule/prd_2.html

Immigration is not generally a hassle unless you are travelling on the eve a holiday or at rush hour (as people from HK go to the PRC to work), so if you have the option with the flight time, try to avoid evening rush hours, which tend to be worse than the morning.

You of course need a PRC visa to enter the PRC even for just a flight, so I assume you have arranged for that.

rkkwan

Chinalink also has a bus that leaves from Wan Chai. Also uses the Shenzhen Bay crossing. So, no need to cross the harbor to the Elements mall to take the bus:

http://www.chinalink.hk/co_service_routes24.html

Website in Chinese, but you can figure out the time. Departure point is the Wharney Guang Dong Hotel, 57 Lockhart Road. It is a short taxi ride from the Conrad. In fact, it's almost within walking distance if you don't have lots of luggage.

Otherwise, a private car as Ciceone suggested, is the best way.

darnestown

Cicerrone and Rkwan,

Thanks for all the info.

Cicerrone, once again you supplied all the information one could possibly need to make a decision on whether to fly out of Hong Kong or Shenzhen ( to Beijing)

Your help is appreciated.

darnestown

We ended up using the China-Link bus service from the Wharney hotel to the Shenzhen airport. The price was 110 RMG each. (ParkLane Limo quoted 1400 RMG)

While reasonable priced, we found the bus to be somewhat of a hassle as we had to take a total of three buses: one from the Wharney to a bus terminal in Kowloon where we had to change buses and transfer luggage to another bus. At the border control immigration/customs station we again had to change buses and transfer luggage. There was only one bus stop at the Shenzhen airport and the driver had no idea which section of the terminal we should check-in at. Our bus left the Wharney hotel at 9:15 am and we were standing in the check-in line in Shenzhen at 11:55. There was no excessive traffic and the immigration process took a minimal amount of time.

We saved over $400 (U.S.) total for two tickets by flying from Shenzhen to Beijing so I personally think the hassle and time of taking the bus to Shenzhen was worth the savings.

rkkwan

I found out that there's a fairly new shared van service. Every hour from Wan Chai and Kowloon. That's what my parents and I used in December. HK$180 each, no need to get off. They use 5-seater Toyota Alphard van.

For just $70 more per person over the bus, I highly recommend it. One can buy ticket online or in person at China Travel Service (HK).

mcgrhk

rkkwn,

do you know how to find this "shared van service" in Kowloon and Wanchai? Do they have van leaving very early in the morning like 5-5:30am?

rkkwan

mcgrhk - No, not that early. I believe we had ridden them at 8a, which was their first service. But now, they seem to have decreased their schedule to only once every 2 hours, starting at 9a.

mcgrhk

rkkwan, thanks. This is also what the China Travel Service in HK confirmed. Finally the option chosen was the 'Chinalink' bus company getting buses leaving from the Kowloon Airport Express station / Element shopping.