Hi,

I'll be going to HK in July with my mom and sisters. I'm currently researching ways to get from the airport to the hotel, since the hotel does not offer this service to their guests. One of the many things that I came across with is the airport express shuttle service. I got excited cause it says complimentary, if you present your airline ticket or boarding pass. But, it also says for "airport express passengers". So this got me a little confused. Do we need to buy airport express tickets to avail of the complimentary shuttle service to the hotel?

I initially thought you just need to show your passes or airline tickets but as I re-read the stuff written in the Web site, they must have meant to present your airline tickets and boarding pass with your airport express ticket? I'm not sure, can anyone clarify this for me?

Thanks!

The complimentary shuttle service for the airport express is from either the Kowloon or Hong Kong train(airport express) station. If your hotel is the last on the route then it could be a long trip. I prefer to just catch a cab from the station instead.

"Airport Express" refers to the train that runs from/to the airport, which you would have to purchase tickets for. There is then a free shuttle bus from either the Kowloon or Hong Kong Stations to certain hotels. Depending on your hotel and how many people you are, a taxi may be easier and cheaper.

<<<Depending on your hotel and how many people you are, a taxi may be easier and cheaper.>>>

Well, a taxi can't be cheaper than free, so I assume Lizzie means a taxi all the way from the airport

The airport express train is 140HKD one-way for two people from the airport to Kowloon station (160HKD to Hong Kong Station). The bus from the train station to the hotels is free. That's the way we traveled, sorry I don't know the cost of a taxi.

Oh, okay. Now I get it. I thought we can ride the free shuttle bus from the Airport. This is what got me confused. So, from the airport, we would hop on the Airport Express train, and then from Kowloon, hop on the free shuttle service to drop us off the hotel, right?

Thank you Hanuman, Lizzie, and sf307 for clarifying this for me.

Yes that's right mickey_24.

BTW, mickey_24, if you return to the airport via the Airport Express train from either Kowloon Station or Hong Kong Station, you can check in for your flight, including checking your luggage and getting your boarding passes, at the train station!

Yes, you are correct, in order to use the free shuttle, you first need to take the Airport Express Train from the airport to the station in either Kowloon or Hong Kong Island (depending on which side of the harbour your hotel is located on). When going from your hotel back to the airport, you can take the free shuttle from your hotel to the nearest Airport Express station (that is where you need to show your boarding pass).

As noted above, the shuttle runs on a set route and if you are the last hotel on the route, this could add 30-40 minutes or so to your trip. (You may also have to wait for the shuttle once you get to the end train station, which could mean more than 1.5 hours all in to get from the airport to your hotel.) Also, the shuttle only goes near to some hotels, while it stops directly at others. So you may have a walk, with luggage on city streets, to get from a shuttle stop to your hotel. Thus, taking the train, and then a taxi from the Airport Express station may be faster and more convenient that using the shuttle. Esp. if you have a group to split the fare. Short hops in taxis are not expensive. I would be surprised if any fare from a train station to your hotel was more than US$5-8.

Of course splitting the taxi fare for a taxi directly from the airport may work out to be as cheap as taking the Airport Express, and it is certainly faster, so that may be an option as well. Taxi fares will roughly vary from US$45-60 depending on where you are going. But with more than 3 people and/or a lot of luggage you may need more than 1 taxi. You can also arrange for van service, see something like http://www.hongkonglimo.com/. Splitting a van among 4 people to Kowloon appears to run about US$20 each way per person, which when compared to the train price (US$10-12 per person) is not a huge difference, and is certainly more convenient (esp coming off a long-laul flight and/or with a lot of suitcases.)

If you can tell us where you hotel is located, we can give you better suggestions for how to get to and from the airport. If you are on a really tight budget, there are buses from the airport that would be the cheapest, although not necessarily the fastest.

SF- LOL
Mickey- enjoy your trip! I have been here nearly a year and it is a fantastic city.

Hong Kong is one of the wealthiest cities in the world. Previously, it had an airport named Kai Tak. But that was in the middle of the city, endangering human life and property. It had only one run way and the congestion was a lot rather increasing day by day. The airplanes had to fly past the apartments and the tall buildings, very nearly and risk of accident was very high. A new airport was needed, but there was no land available even up to 16 km radially, from the previous airport.

Source: www.enggpedia.com
http://enggpedia.com/civil-engineeri...g-kong-airport
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