Savings Tips

Guide to Hong Kong Local Transports for the Travellers

Discover Hong Kong's transport system, including trams, MTR, taxis, and ferries. Make your trip hassle-free with the Octopus Card and enjoy seamless travel across the city and its regions.
Adarsh S KMay 23, 2019
Friends sharing laughter and making memories on a fun-filled trip together.
A vibrant Star Ferry gliding across Victoria Harbour, showcasing Hong Kong's iconic skyline and efficient water transport system! Picture: Envato

It is fairly easy and convenient to travel around in Hong Kong thanks to its well-organised and perfectly planned options for one place to the other. The network of transport is incredibly sophisticated, and it is divided into different mediums, including trams, metro railways, City Buses, Taxis and Ferries. Most of these mediums follow specific routes except for the taxis to be hired individually. The development of such a great transportation system has made Hong Kong a convenient place for the locals, especially the ones who commute on a daily basis.

The best aspect for the travellers is that they can leverage the Octopus Card, which allows them the flexibility to travel without having to pay for fares in cash. Octopus card Octopus card is essentially a multi-utility prepaid payment card accepted throughout Hong Kong whether you have to pay for your local transport or do some shopping from the convenience stores, vending machines and supermarkets. So you don’t have to worry about anything as a traveller once you fetch an octopus card. You won’t need to worry from the very beginning of your trip as you can benefit from these online travel deals for Hong Kong with the Klook Promo Code and get your whole travel itinerary well sorted out and arranged before you even keep your foot on the soil of Hong Kong. Here are the mediums of local transport in Hong Kong you can rely upon for seamlessly moving from one place to the other during your trip.

Mass Transit Railway

The Mass Transit Railway, which is more popularly known as the ‘Metro Railway system’, is probably one of the best ways to travel in Hong Kong-Mainland. The network of tracks is absolutely well drafted to reach out and connect with almost every area of the country. There are a total of 10 transit lines, whereas 12 light rail lines are planned out, and these lines consist of a total of 155 railway stations in all. As a tourist, you would mostly need to travel through only a few specific lines, which include The Island, Tsuen Wan, West Rail, Disneyland Resort and Airport Express line, to find the most amazing things to do in Hong Kong most amazing things to do in Hong Kong. The Kowloon Canton Railway Company is the same kind of railway network of Kowloon Territories as MTR is for the Mainland. The lines of KCR and MTR are well connected to each other to serve as the point of intersection for the people travelling between these two territories, making it very easier and accessible for daily office commute. The Mass transit network also runs feeder bus routes for the areas that the railway network does not touch upon.

Star Ferry

The waterways are also used for public transport in Hong Kong and it is, in fact, one of the more prominently presented as the pride of Hong Kong. These ferries have been a part of Hong Kong and its people for over a century as a medium of shuttling people between Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon territory. 12 of the ferries have two decks but the lower deck is only meant for passengers during the peak hours. These ferries have been working for quite a long time, and some unique ferries have been developed over the years, including a coffee house or sunbath decks for visitors. You can try the evening ferry to get some of the best cityscape pictures amidst the flashy lights of skyscrapers from over the water.

Taxis

Hong Kong has a number of Taxi services available for the people and these taxis are uniquely coloured in different colours according to the zone they belong. Hong Kong Island has taxis coloured red, while the New Territories and Lantau Island have taxis of green and blue colours respectively. All the taxis of Hong Kong are Air conditioned and charge according to the standard metre. For more details on fares and regulations, visit the official Hong Kong Transport Department website. These taxis are only allowed to carry 5 people, including the driver, and a fine is charged if more people are found travelling in a single taxi. Most of the taxi drivers in Hong Kong can understand English, though not all of them are versed enough to speak. If you take a Taxi from the Airport, the driver might insist you for specific hotels but don’t accept their proposal as it is better to get the hotels booked in advance with the Hotels.com Promo Code to fetch the cheapest hotel deals through an online booking website.