Zuji is a bit different. The booking is based on return flights. No handling fee is charged. My experience with it has been good. Its flight ticket prices are among the city’s lowest. But it comes with one disadvantage. If you want to change your outbound flight time after the e-ticket is issued, you have to pay a charge, a practice that you won’t encounter if you buy your flight ticket through an “offline” travel agency.

Lo Wu
This is probably the busiest and most popular border crossing among the four. It has East Rail Line train connection at the Hong Kong side, and underground train connection and a busy shopping area at the Shenshen side. Many Hong Kong people tend to use this border because of its convenience for shopping. The disadvantage is, it is not a 24-hour crossing. The border closes at midnight – the last train destined for Lowu border departs from Hong Hum, Kowloon at about 11pm. This crossing during the public holidays can be very crowded.

Lok Ma Chau Spur Line/Futian
This border crossing is a diversion from  the Lo Wu one. It is also connected at two sides, Hong Kong and Shenzhen, by railway. The difference is, the Shenzhen side of this crossing, i.e. Futian, is relatively desolate, with little business activity. It is a springboard for you to go to other parts of Shenzhen via the underground train, itself unlikely a destination. Its advantage is, it is not as crowded as the Lo Wu crossing. To attract more people to use this crossing, ticket discounts for the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line – the railway line at the Hong Kong side connected to the border - are often offered.

Huanggang/Lok Ma Chau
The biggest advantage no doubt is its 24-hour operation. You can find buses and taxies going to/from the border 24 hours. And the biggest disadvantage lies in its traffic and immigration clearance arrangement. You have to get off the bus to clear the customs and immigration of Hong Kong, and then onto the bus to go to the Shenzhen check point, and off again- if you go in the direction of Shenzhen, and vice versa. What is more, at the side of Shenzhen, the transport hub (for taking buses and taxies) is a footbridge away, not readily accessible and hardly convenient, especially for those carrying heavy luggage.

This crossing is very congested during the public holidays, especially the mainland public holidays (such as Golden Week in the first week of October) when tours from the mainland flock to Hong Kong using this crossing.

Shenzhen Bay
This border crossing is used by vehicles only, as it has no rail connection at both the Hong Kong and Shenzhen side. This is its limitation. But since it is closer to the Shenzhen Airport, the bus to/from Shenzhen Airport usually uses this crossing. This crossing, the newest among the four land crossings,  boasts one thing -  the immigration and customs clearance for both Hong Kong and Shenzhen lies under one roof, a stark contrast to the Huanggang/Lok Ma Chau border. And the highway has made the journey to/from the border a fast one.

If you take a taxi from Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon of Hong Kong, for instance, it takes only about half an hour to reach the Shenzhen Bay border, and costs about HK$220. It probably takes you 10-15 minutes to clear all the customs and immigration. Right after leaving the customs and immigration hall, there is a taxi stand – you can take the taxi to anywhere in Shenzhen.

More to read: Hong Kong-Shenzhen Transport

a bike shop in the park

Before you reach the park, you will also find a bike shop which offers bike rental from 9:30am to 8pm for HK$20, and sometimes HK$15. The opening hours are slightly longer.

Hong Kong’s best bike paths are located in the Tai Wai / Ma On Shan / Shatin /Taipo areas in the New Territories. In all these areas, near the MTR stations, you can probably find bike shops for bike rental. But it is sure that you won’t be able to find the rent as cheap as HK$20 for a whole day.

The bike park in Tai Shui Hang is in the Ma On Shan area, from where you can bike to Tai Mei Tuk in Taipo (a place close to Plover Cover Reservoir), passing through the Hong Kong Science Park. Be assured that the scenery along the route is beautiful. You will find yourself biking along the sea or surrounded by hills at times. Well, you will also find yourself biking in the Taipo Industrial Estate area, where some of Hong Kong’s factories are located, including the fast food chain Fairwood. You can smell curry in the air.

the section of path next to science park

If you don’t know much about Hong Kong, biking is a very pleasant way to experience the city. It is a shame that Hong Kong has a very limited number of bike path – there is none on Hong Kong Island.

How to go to Tai Shui Hang bike park

Take exit B of Tai Shui Hang MTR station. Turn right where you see a cement road leading to trees. The park is 2-minute walk away.

More information

It is about 18km from Tai Shui Hang bike park to Tai Mei Tuk. A return journey would be 36km. For a rent of HK$20, you have to return the bike to the bike shop on the same day. Or you pay a little more, to return the bike at Shatin or Taipo at a designated bike shop.

the thai restaurant I went to

It takes 1-2 hour bike ride to finish one way journey, depending on how strong you are and how good your bike is. In my case, it took me almost 4 hours to bike from the bike park to Tai Mei Duk and return, in sweltering heat.

Tai Mei Tuk is famous for Thai food. It is such a pleasure to sit down for some delicious Thai food after some hard biking.

The pier, soft-opened in December 2009, is a cross-bounder ferry terminal situated at the eastern tip of the airport island. The airport’s Automated People Mover system has extended to the pier, resulting in only 4-minute travel time to Terminal 1. There are 20 airline check-in desks and five security screening channels inside the ferry terminal.

The SkyPier has ferry going to/from Shenzhen’s Shekou (40 minutes), Shenzhen Airport (45 minutes), Dongguan (Humen)(1 hr 20 minutes), Zhongshan (1 hr 10 minutes), Zhuhai (50 minutes) and Macau (50 minutes).

For ferry schedule and more information, check out here.

If you want to see more of Hong Kong from the sea, or venture to new parts of Hong Kong by ferry, there is actually more choice. Hong Kong’s Transport Department maintains updated and complete information on the city’s ferry service, including information on schedule and fare. Please refer to here.

One route I recommend you take is from Sai Wan Ho to Tung Lung Island. The scene from the Tung Lung Island is spectacular.

In other words, when you enter any East Rail station using an Octopus Card, you pay the normal non first class price. Once you are on the platform, you can decide if you want to take the first class or not.

Be sure that you pay the extra if you take the first class. If you are caught, a fine of HK$500 awaits you. From last year to now, a total of 22,000 passengers taking the first class were caught not paying the extra. I am sure some of them were visitors who did not know the rule.

If you are not using an Octopus Card, simply buy a first-class train ticket from a service counter before boarding.

First, if you want to go from Tsim Sha Tsui station to East Tsim Sha Tsui station, or vice versa, you have to buy a new ticket (meaning you have to leave the gate of one station before entering the gate of another), though the two stations are connected by a long subway and a long walk of at least 5-10 minutes.

Second, Hung Hom station, one of the busiest stations, is the only station of the whole MTR system where electronic information is displayed to show which train to depart from which platform, and at what time. The station is busy because it is the starting point and the final stop for two MTR lines (the West Rail Line and the East Rail Line that goes to Lowu or Lok Ma Chau). There are four platforms in the station so look out for the electronic information before going to any of the platforms.

Kowloon Tong is another busy station because here the East Rail Line and the Kwun Tong Line intersects. Previously, to transfer from one line to another, you had to buy a new ticket, just like the situation mentioned above regarding Tsim Sha Tsui station and East Tsim Sha Tsui station. But it is no longer the case. The walk from one line to another is long though, taking approximately five minutes. So be prepared. If you come from Lowu, Kowloon Tong is usually the transit point for going to the city.

After going through the Hong Kong immigration, you will find yourself at the Hong Kong Lowu train station. Board the train, and get off at the first stop – Sheung Shui station.

Take exit B2, to get to the Sheung Shui Bus Terminus, where you will find A43 airport bus. It takes about 1 hour to get to the Hong Kong International Airport, with a bus fare of HK$29.2. The bus is every 15-30 minutes.

For details of the bus route, please go to this bus company website to key in the bus route number for checking. Note that the first part of the schedule is for transport to the Airport from Luen Wo Hui (in Fanling, which is about 2-3 stops to Sheung Shui station), and the second part of the schedule is for transport from the Airport.

I’ve tried my hands at the system, and I must say it is a big disappointment. It is not user-friendly – hard to find what you want, and you are often at a loss as to how to search. The instructions are not helpful either. 

But it has an abundance of information, complemented with map, fares, and providing information covering bus, minibus, ferry, train, and tram – all modes of transport in Hong Kong. The system is in a pilot stage and hopefully it will be improved soon to give real benefits to visitors to Hong Kong. 

Here is the website: http://ptes.td.gov.hk/en/index.asp

Hong Kong’ tramway started operation in 1904. There were 16 one-deck trams then. Now the 2-deck tram fleet has expanded to 163. 

Trams are the cheapest means of public transport in Hong Kong. Adults pay HK$2 (US$0.26) and children pay half that price. The fee has remained unchanged for over 10 years. That is pretty amazing. 

When you are in Hong Kong, don’t miss out a ride on this Hong Kong icon.  I hope the tram will remain as cheap a means of transport as it is, and its look and service will sustain the Hong Kong way after the new owner takes over.

From Hong Kong Airport:

Air Asia

Airasia flies to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur from Hong Kong.

HK to Bangkok: Starting from about  HKD470  for a one-way flight, with tax included.

HK to Kuala Lumpur: Starting from about HKD560 for a one way flight, with tax included.

Cebu Pacific

Cebu Pacific  has one of the best connections to the Philippines with very low price. Other flights from Hong Kong go to Shanghai, Singapore, Bangkok and several places in the Philippines.

Jet Star

Hong Kong to Singapore: one way ticket costs about HKD 560 up. From Singapore, Jetstar serves a big network around the region.

Hong Kong Airlines

With Hong Kong Airlines, you can reach all major tourist cities in Mainland China, such as as Guilin, Kunming, Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing. Destination outside China is also served, such as Hanoi, Vietnam or Okinawa, Japan.

Flights to China on Hong Kong Airlines are not particularly cheap. It is even cheaper to take flights from Shenzhen airport across the Hong Kong border. The best place to make a booking for flights from China is through elong.

From Macau Airport

If you have time you could also consider taking the ferry to Macau (about HKD150 one way) and take a budget flight from Macau Airport.  Both Air Asia and Cebu Pacific operate from there as well and the price can be even lower.

For more about flying from Macau, view this post by me.

The good thing about budget airlines is, besides the obvious fact that they are on the cheap, the booking is based on a one-way price so if you travel around the region, it is a good choice indeed.

Its website lists schedules as well as prices. So it is a wonderful reference. But to see the full list of its bus services, you must click on the names of place/border crossing/route on the left navigation bar. You will be surprised how many more bus destinations you can find.

The website is
http://ctsbus.hkcts.com/routes/hk/hk_guangzhou02.html

the Octopus Card used in HK

If you plan on staying in Hong Kong for at least a few days, then it may be worth it buying an Octopus Card – a value stored smart card – for riding train, bus, ferry, tram and for payments in supermarkets convenience stores and food chains.

Most of the Hong Kong residents have such a card, because it is just so convenient. 

You will surely use Hong Kong’s MTR train when touring Hong Kong. So buy the Octopus Card at any of the MTR train station ticketing offices. 

Initially, you pay HK$150 for an adult card, with HK$50 as the deposit. When you leave Hong Kong and return the card, you can have your deposit back, as well as the remaining value on the card. 

You can later add up to HK$1000 to the card. A machine for checking your card balance is available at each MTR station. The remaining value also shows on the small screen on the turnstile when you exit a station.

A convenient way to recharge the Octopus Card (besides using the ticketing office or the recharging machine at each of the MTR stations) is go to the conveneince stores 7 Eleven or Circle K, which are many in Hong Kong. Give the staff your card and tell them the amount of money you want to recharge (minimum HK$50), hand them the money, and it is done! You will get a receipt when the process is completed. 

You can find more info about Octopus Card here.

Previously, Hong Kong’s train transport had two systems, that under the KCRC (Kowloon Canton Railway Corporation), which controlled the current East Rail line from Hung Hom to Lo Wu, and that under the MTRC (Mass Transit Railway Corporation), which was basically the city’s underground train system across Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. 

Late last year, the two corporations merged to become the MTR. So now all the train stations in Hong Kong are called MTR stations, regardless of being underground or not. 

Starting only a few days ago, with the bid to integrate the two systems, passengers can use one ticket for riding across different train lines, without going out of the station and going in again at some major transferal stations such as Kowloon Tong. 

Check out the MTR website for more info.

The Hong Kong MTR company (www.mtr.com.hk), which runs the service, is offering  discounts on this occasion of new train introduction.  If you buy the ticket in Hong Kong, you will have a 10% to 20% discount, depending on if it is a single-way or round-trip ticket. A one-way ticket for Deluxe Soft Sleeper, for instance, costs HK$1072 after discount. The offer is valid until the end of June this year.

The Beijing-Hong Kong Through Train and the Shanghai-Hong Kong Through Train operate on alternate days, taking about 24 & 20 hours respectively.

Check out here for details.