How to get from Hong Kong to Xian
 

We arrive in Hong Kong from RSA on Dec 27 at about 12H15, and want to get to Xian. Are their flights ut of HK? Should I be trying Shenzan and if so, what is the best way to get from HK airport to Shenzan airport? There is a 15H30 fligh out of Shenzan, but I am not sure if i can get there in time. Any suggestions?

There are usually two non-stop HKG-XIY a day. A Dragonair at 3:55p and China Eastern at 6:05p.

If you want to go to SZX, there are several "direct" bus services, but only one of them uses the easier Shenzhen Bay crossing. But 3 hours is not enough, as the bus trip will take at least 1.5 hours.

There is also a ferry service, but only 4 sailings a day, and you won't be able to catch that 3:30p flight out of SZX:

http://www.turbojet.com.hk/eng/schedule/airport_2.html

The only way to catch that 3:30p flight is to use a limo or shared private car service. Someone I know just used it, and it's HK$250/person in a shared car. About double the bus, but you don't need to get out of the car, and you don't need to worry about schedule.

There are lots of booths at the ground transportation center at HKG with the various bus and limo companies for SZX (and other parts of China).

Thanks for the tip on flights out of Hong Kong. Hong Kong is my preference for departure but I could not find this trip on any of the airlines' websites. I suspect it may be because Hong Kong is listed as an international destination and Xian is regional within China. So the two just don't link up as flights for some reason. Do you perhaps know why I cannot find these destinations on the sites that I have visited (elong.com and chinatripadvisor.com as well as the actual airline sites)

Hi, I find some information about the flights between HKG and Xi'an on http://www.hongkongairport.com. The flights do exist. But it only provides the flight information of next several days. No information for December 27 yet.

I would be a little wary of trying to make a 3:30 pm connection out of Shenzhen on Saturday December 27. Saturdays are generally a busy border day at the PRC border. In addition that is of course Christmas weekend and is a public holiday weekend (the 25th and 26th are public holidays here), and there may be quite a line at Immigration to enter the PRC, even for the limos. (Not to mention possibly quite a line at Immigration at Hong Kong Airport to get into Hong Kong.)

In my experience waiting for friends arriving into Hong Kong Airport, it takes them at least 40 minutes from the time they land to get out into the arrivals hall after clearing Immigration and Customs. (I use a much faster Immigration line for Hong Kong residents for which you don’t qualify, as I believe does rkkwan who is a former Hong Kong resident). So with luck, you would be on the road to Shenzhen by 1 pm at the very earliest. This gives you 2 hours to make the journey, assuming that the airline cuts off check-in 30 minutes prior to departure, some cut it off earlier, check the airline. If there are any hold ups at Hong Kong Immigration or Hong Kong baggage claim, you could easily miss the flight, not to mention any road delays or lines at PRC Immigration. I think trying to get from Hong Kong Airport to Shenzhen airport in that amount of time on the Saturday of Christmas weekend would be cutting it a bit fine. If it were not Christmas weekend, then it might work, but I would probably re-think it. If I were simply leaving from my home in Hong Kong to make a 3:15 pm flight out of Shenzhen on that day, I would leave at Noon at the latest, if not a bit before.

I agree. If one wants to save money, they should be later SZX-XIY flights, and you can just use a bus. If you want to get to XIY quickly and not too worry about cost, then just fly out of HKG.

Makes little sense to use a limo to hurry to SZX to fly to Xian.