The Airport Express runs from the terminal to Hong Kong station, in Central, in about 24 minutes for HK$120, with a train every 10 minutes and a free return the same day. A taxi to Central is about HK$375, and the S1 bus reaches Tung Chung and the Big Buddha's cable car in about 10 minutes.
What's the best way from Hong Kong airport into the city?
For most layovers, take the Airport Express. It runs from Hong Kong International Airport to Hong Kong station, in Central, in about 24 minutes for HK$120 with an Octopus or contactless card, and the return the same day on the same card is free. The first train leaves the airport at 5:54am and the last train back leaves Hong Kong station at 12:48am. Allow about an hour from landing to the train.
Getting through the border
Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) doesn’t publish queue times at immigration, so this guide allows about an hour from landing to sitting on the Airport Express.
After immigration and baggage reclaim you come out in the arrival halls of Terminal 1. Arrival Hall A has HKIA’s baggage storage counter and the free layover tours’ meeting point, and HKIA’s transport leaflet maps the Airport Express station, the taxi station and the bus terminus beside the terminal. The visa and transit page says who may leave.
The options at a glance
| Airport Express | Bus S1 | Airbus A11 | Taxi | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| To | Hong Kong station (Central), Kowloon station | Tung Chung, for the Big Buddha’s cable car | Central, Wan Chai, Causeway Bay, North Point | Anywhere |
| Time | 24 minutes to Hong Kong, 22 to Kowloon | About 10 minutes | 94 minutes for the whole route | About 40 minutes to Central (derived) |
| Single fare | HK$120 to Hong Kong, HK$105 to Kowloon; return free the same day | HK$3.7 | HK$41.9 | About HK$375 to Central, plus HK$6 a bag |
| Pay with | Octopus, contactless card or QR code | Octopus, contactless card or cash | Octopus, contactless card or cash | Cash, Octopus, cards, Alipay, WeChat Pay |
Airport Express: the best for most layovers
The Airport Express runs from the terminal to Hong Kong station in about 24 minutes, with a train every 10 minutes, says MTR. Its timetable page gives 22 minutes to Kowloon station.
- Fare. Adult to or from Hong Kong: HK$120 with an Octopus, a contactless credit, debit or prepaid card (not a UnionPay debit card) or a QR code; HK$130 for an Airport Express QR Code Ticket; HK$215 for a round trip Smart Ticket valid for 30 days. Kowloon is HK$105, HK$115 and HK$195. Children aged 3 to 11 pay HK$60 to Hong Kong and HK$52.5 to Kowloon, and under 3 travel free.
- Same-day return. A round trip to and from the airport within the same day is free on the way back, if you use the same Octopus, bank card or QR code. MTR asks that an Octopus has no more than 9 transactions in between, and a card or QR code used for any other ride in between loses the offer. So a layover return costs HK$120.
- Free connections. Within one hour of arriving at Hong Kong, Kowloon or Tsing Yi, a change to another MTR line is free with the same payment.
- On board. Free Wi-Fi, and power sockets in the first and last cars.
First and last trains
MTR publishes one timetable for Monday to Friday and one for Saturday, Sunday and public holidays, and the first and last trains are the same in both. These are MTR’s timetables headed September 2026, read on 7 November 2026.
| Monday to Friday | Saturday | Sunday and public holidays | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First train from the airport | 5:54am | 5:54am | 5:54am |
| Last train from the airport | 12:48am | 12:48am | 12:48am |
| Last train from Hong Kong station to the airport | 12:48am | 12:48am | 12:48am |
| Last train from Kowloon station to the airport | 12:52am | 12:52am | 12:52am |
MTR’s service guide says “Service hours: 5:50am to 1:15am”, but that is the window in which service runs, not a last train. The longest gap between trains is 14 minutes from the airport and 12 minutes from Hong Kong and Kowloon stations. MTR can change its timetables, so check at the station on the day.
In typhoons
MTR says its trains run normally under Typhoon Signals 1 and 3. Under Signal 8 they start normally, then keep a limited service with fewer trains as the storm gets closer, and under Signal 9 or above trains on open-air sections stop at once.
Checking in downtown
In-town check-in at Hong Kong and Kowloon stations is for flights that start in Hong Kong, with the airlines MTR lists, and not for codeshares. It matters if you leave Hong Kong after a longer stopover: Cathay Pacific checks in at Hong Kong station from 6am to 11pm, and passengers with an electronic travel document can check in up to 24 hours ahead and until 90 minutes before departure.
Bus S1: to Tung Chung and the Big Buddha
The S1 runs in a loop between the airport and Tung Chung Station, and Ngong Ping 360 says it takes about 10 minutes to the Tung Chung bus terminus, beside the cable car.
- Fare. HK$3.7, says the Transport Department. Octopus is taken on all buses, and Long Win and Citybus take contactless cards, says the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
- Hours. The Transport Department’s timetable data has the S1 leaving Tung Chung Station from 5:30am, every 5 to 10 minutes, and every 10 minutes from 6:30pm to midnight, every day. That puts the first bus at the airport about 5:40am and the last from Tung Chung about 11:50pm.
- Where. HKIA’s transport leaflet marks a Tung Chung bus pick-up point beside Terminal 1, and lists the S1, S56, S64, S64X and the night bus N64 to Tung Chung.
Airbuses: cheaper, but slow
The Hong Kong Tourism Board says “more than 20 convenient Airbus ‘A’ routes” run from the airport to Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories. When you leave the Arrivals Hall, turn right to find them.
| Route | Between | Whole route | Fare |
|---|---|---|---|
| A11 | The airport and North Point Ferry Pier, by Central | 94 minutes | HK$41.9 |
| A21 | The airport and Hung Hom Station, by Tsim Sha Tsui | 84 minutes | HK$34.6 |
| N11 (night) | The airport and Central (Macao Ferry) | 98 minutes | HK$32.1 |
| N21 (night) | The airport and Tsim Sha Tsui (Star Ferry) | 99 minutes | HK$23.8 |
These are the Transport Department’s journey times and fares for each whole route. HKIA’s leaflet lists A11, E11, E11A, N11 and NA11 for Central, and A21, A25, NA20, N21 and N21A for Tsim Sha Tsui. The night buses run after midnight, but a taxi is much quicker. No plan in this guide uses an Airbus.
Taxis
HKIA’s taxi station is near the left-hand ramp outside the Arrivals Hall, with a row for each colour of taxi.
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Which taxi. HKIA says red urban taxis serve most of Hong Kong, green taxis parts of the New Territories, and blue Lantau taxis Lantau and the airport. All of them may pick up at the terminal.
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Fares. HKIA’s approximate fares, tolls included but not extra charges:
To Red urban taxi Blue Lantau taxi Central or Admiralty About HK$375 Wan Chai or Causeway Bay About HK$370 The Peak About HK$400 Tsim Sha Tsui About HK$290 Hong Kong West Kowloon Station About HK$265 Tung Chung MTR Station About HK$75 About HK$65 Ngong Ping (Po Lin Monastery) About HK$255 HKIA’s leaflet adds HK$6 for each bag in the boot. Ngong Ping 360 puts a Lantau taxi from the airport to its Tung Chung terminal at around HK$40.
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Paying. The Hong Kong Tourism Board says taxis take cash, Octopus, credit cards, Alipay and WeChat Pay, and since 1 April 2026 must offer at least two e-payment methods. Fares are metered.
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Time. HKIA gives no taxi time. Ngong Ping 360 gives about 30 minutes from Central to Tung Chung and about 10 from the airport to Tung Chung, so allow about 40 minutes between Central and the airport. This guide counts a taxi as the late-night ride back after the last train at 12:48am.
Private transfers
A pre-booked car meets you in the arrival hall at a fixed price. It costs more than the train, so it suits a group, heavy bags or a return after the last train. HKIA’s prebooked taxi pick-up zone is next to Car Park 1.
Tung Chung and the Big Buddha instead of the city
Tung Chung is closer than Central: about 10 minutes from the airport by the S1 or a Lantau taxi, says Ngong Ping 360. From there the Ngong Ping 360 cable car climbs to the Tian Tan Buddha in 25 minutes. It runs 10am to 6pm on weekdays and 9am to 6:30pm on weekends and public holidays, and it closes for maintenance on 10 November 2026. It doesn’t take bags over 48 x 34 x 23 cm or 4 kg, so leave a cabin bag at the airport first. The itineraries have the plan.
Storing bags
HKIA’s baggage storage is in Arrival Hall A, Arrivals Level (L5), Terminal 1, outside the restricted area, and is open 5:30am to 1:30am. Standard rates are HK$14 a piece an hour or HK$165 a piece a day, whichever is less in any 24 hours (seen November 2026), for bags up to 30 kg and 199 cm in total. Under an hour counts as an hour. Payment is on collection by cash, Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay, Alipay, WeChat Pay, Apple Pay or Samsung Pay, and items not collected after 30 days are removed.
Octopus and your phone
An Octopus pays for the Airport Express, buses, trams, the Star Ferry and taxis. The Hong Kong Tourism Board says a Tourist Octopus is “available from HK$39 without any deposit”, and Mobile Octopus for iPhone and Huawei has a refundable HK$50 deposit. HKIA’s Wi-Fi is free with no registration (“#HKAirport Free WiFi”); a Hong Kong eSIM set up before you land keeps maps working in town.
Timing your return
Be back at the airport 90 minutes before departure, with your onward boarding pass. HKIA says passengers with one go up to the departures level and “must go through security screening” before the gate. Check-in and gate closing times are your airline’s.
| Layover | Time in town |
|---|---|
| 5.5 hours | About 1.5 hours |
| 6 hours | About 2 hours |
| 8 hours | About 4 hours |
| 10 hours | About 6 hours |
| 12 hours | About 8 hours |
The table assumes an hour from landing to the train, 40 minutes to Hong Kong station including the wait, 50 minutes back from Hong Kong station including a walk to the platform and the wait, and 90 minutes at the airport before departure. It is the Star Ferry plan’s ride. The Kowloon plan’s is the same; the Big Buddha’s, by the S1 to Tung Chung, leaves about 35 minutes more.