How to get around Hong Kong

03.01.2024 - 11:55 / lonelyplanet.com

High-rise Hong Kong has long been a hive of busy worker bees who depend on the city’s efficient transport system to whisk them from apartment to office to mall to restaurant and back again. 

Most people use the MTR, a swish subway and train network with more than 150 stations dispersed across Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, Lantau and the New Territories. But given the hilly island topography, there are many more creative ways to get from A to B, and for visitors it can be far more rewarding to slow down, stay above ground and savor the journey.

Yes, they’re slower than the MTR, but the iconic green and white Star Ferries embody slow travel at its finest. Hop aboard for jaw-dropping skyline views (day or night), a tangible sense of history, and the finest photo op of your trip. Best of all, it costs less than a cup of tea.

Note that there are two Star Ferry routes (you can also sail from Kowloon to Wan Chai) and two ticket types (upper and lower deck). Upper-deck tickets are slightly more expensive (up to HK$6.50 on weekends) but come with air-conditioning and better views.

Looking like slimmed-down London double-deckers, the "ding dings" trundle between the eastern and western districts of Hong Kong Island. They’re a cheap, leisurely and scenic way to go between Central and more laidback Kennedy Town, say, or to the shopping mecca of Causeway Bay in the other direction. 

The flat fare is HK$3, using either the exact amount in coins or an Octopus card. Use the turnstiles at the back of the trams to get on, then pay at the front when you get off. Try to snag a front seat on the top deck for the best views.

Hong Kong’s most famous tram, the Peak Tram isn't really a tram at all but a remarkably steep funicular railway. The route was upgraded in 2022, and the tram cars now carry twice the passengers – 210 in total – for the 396m (1299ft) vertical ascent to Victoria Peak and Hong Kong’s best view.

Connecting the office blocks of Central to more residential zones further up the island, the zig-zagging Central-Mid-Levels Escalator is a commuting lifeline for Hong Kong, shifting almost 80,000 people a day for the 800m (2624ft) trip (down to work in the morning, up from 10am until midnight).

With multiple points to hop on and off, it’s perfect if you’re heading to that hip new SoHo bar and don’t want to sweat your way up the exhaustingly steep and humid streets. It’s also handy for hitting up Tai Kwun, Hong Kong’s former Central Police Station turned heritage arts complex.

Taxis are cheaper than you might think for a city like Hong Kong, and the retro-styled Toyota cars are spacious and comfy (and who doesn’t love those self-opening doors?).

The taxis are color-coded, but for most urban trips you’ll be seeing red, which also