Hong Kong International Airport (HKG): visitor guide

The Airport Express is the default for anyone heading to Kowloon or Hong Kong Island. Trains leave roughly every 10 minutes, take about 24 minutes to Kowloon and a few minutes more to Central, and run from early morning until around 00:45 (check). Buy at the counter or the ticket machines on the arrivals level; a return ticket or a group ticket costs less per person than two singles (2026 estimate, check).

City buses are the budget route. The A11, A21, A22 and A29-style airport services run to major hotel and transit areas for around HK$40 (2026 estimate, check), take 45–75 minutes depending on traffic, and have racks for luggage. The cheaper E-buses serve the same corridors with more stops and a longer ride.

Taxis are metered and run 24 hours. A ride to Kowloon or Central is roughly HK$300–400 including tunnel and luggage charges (2026 estimate, check). Use the official rank outside arrivals; ignore anyone offering a car inside the hall. DiDi and the local ride-hailing apps work at the airport, with pick-up points on the car park levels.

If you are connecting to mainland China, through high-speed rail from West Kowloon or a ferry from the airport's SkyPier, allow at least 3 hours between landing and the onward departure (check).

The airport does not close. Taxis and ride-hailing run through the night, and the N-prefixed night buses cover the main corridors to Kowloon and Hong Kong Island after the day services stop (check). They are slower and less frequent, so check the last departure for your route before you rely on one.

If you land after midnight, a hotel near the airport or in Tung Chung is often cheaper than a city taxi plus a late check-in. Tung Chung has the cable car base and a cluster of hotels within a short taxi or bus ride of the terminals (check).

The Airport Express stops running in the small hours, so do not plan on it for a 02:00 arrival.

Several pay-in lounges sit airside in Terminal 1, past security and immigration, with some open around the clock and others closing overnight (check). Access is usually by airline status, a business-class ticket, a lounge-membership card or a one-off payment at the door, typically in the HK$300–600 range (2026 estimate, check).

The terminal itself has plenty of seating, charging points and 24-hour food outlets, so a long layover does not require a lounge. Showers are available in some paid facilities (check).

Self-drive rental is not a practical option for most visitors. Hong Kong drives on the left, parking in the city is expensive and scarce, and an International Driving Permit alone is not enough — you need a valid licence plus the correct permit for Hong Kong (check).

If you need a car, hire one with a driver through your hotel or a licensed operator. For mainland China, foreign licences are not valid either; use high-speed rail, metro or a car with driver instead.