What crew need on the ground
One of the few long-haul stations where a short layover genuinely buys a city, because the Airport Express covers 35.3 km to Hong Kong Station in as little as 24 minutes; the risks are what you are carrying through customs and what the Observatory hoists while you are out.
Airport Express reaches Hong Kong Station in as little as 24 minutes, and the same-day return is free.
Ride-hailing is only now being licensed; until licensed platforms start, the door-to-door option is the metered taxi.
Updated information on dual Chinese-British nationality, E-cigarettes and illegal drugs including CBD (cannabidiol) (‘Warnings and insurance’, ‘Entry requirements’ and ‘Safety and security’ pages).
Read the full advice at UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office →Six hours can buy a city here, which is rare on a long-haul network, but only just.
Twelve hours is a real evening or a real day, and enough for both sides of the harbour.
A full day, and the only window long enough for the weather to change on you.
Airport Express terminus and the free MTR interchange, so it costs the least time of anywhere in the city.
One stop west of Central on the Island line and walkable from it, which adds nothing to a tight return time.
Convention and hotel district on the Island line, a few stops from the Airport Express terminus at Hong Kong Station.
Late-opening retail on the Island line, and the furthest Island district that still returns to Hong Kong Station quickly.
Kowloon waterfront, a short hop from Kowloon Airport Express station, with the Star Ferry as an alternative to the cross-harbour tunnel.
Dense street-market Kowloon, and the longest of these back to either Airport Express station.
CBD is a dangerous drug here, vapes are contraband, and you must be able to produce your passport on demand.
Cannabidiol has been listed as a dangerous drug under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance since 1 February 2023. Possession or consumption carries a maximum of seven years and a HK$1 million fine. Trafficking, which the Narcotics Division states expressly includes importing and exporting, carries a maximum of life imprisonment and a HK$5 million fine.
Vapes and heated tobacco are contraband. No person may import an alternative smoking product, including by bringing one in as an incoming traveller: the penalty is up to HK$500,000 and two years on summary conviction, or HK$2 million and seven years on indictment. Since 30 April 2026 possessing e-cigarette capsules, liquids, heat sticks or herbal cigarettes in a public place has been an offence, with a HK$3,000 fixed penalty within the specified limits of five capsules or 5 mL of substance, 100 heat sticks or 100 herbal cigarettes, and a maximum HK$50,000 fine and six months above them.
Smoking in a statutory no smoking area is a HK$3,000 fixed penalty. The designated areas include any public bus, public light bus, taxi, MTR train, light rail vehicle, tramway car, peak tram car or ferry vessel, plus indoor areas of all restaurants, bars and workplaces, public pleasure grounds, bathing beaches, public swimming pools and stadiums. From 1 January 2026 the ban extends to within three metres outside the entrances and exits of schools, hospitals, childcare centres, residential care homes and specified clinics and health centres.
Carry your passport. Section 17C of the Immigration Ordinance empowers immigration and police officers to require a person to produce proof of identity for inspection, which for a visitor means a valid travel document. Failing to do so is an offence carrying a fine at level 2, and the police note that an officer may bring the person to a police station for further enquiry.
Visa-free entry to Hong Kong runs from 7 days to 180 days depending on nationality, and it is permission to enter Hong Kong. The Immigration Department's own rules treat the Chinese Mainland and Macao as separate destinations, exempting from the onward-ticket requirement only those in transit to them, and it advises checking individual cases with a Chinese diplomatic or consular mission. Do not treat a day trip to Shenzhen as a domestic hop.
The Airport Express runs the 35.3 km between the airport and the city in as little as 24 minutes. AsiaWorld-Expo is about 28 minutes from the city centre.
Getting out of the airport in fullThe Road Traffic (Amendment) (Ride-Hailing Service) Ordinance 2025 requires platforms, vehicles and drivers providing ride-hailing services to obtain licences or permits. When it passed, the government said it expected licensed platforms may start operating in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Ride-hailing in fullPrepaid SIM cards and SIM service plans issued in Hong Kong must complete real-name registration before activation. The Telecommunications (Registration of SIM Cards) Regulation came into operation on 1 September 2021, with registration required from 1 March 2022, and the programme is now fully implemented.
Staying connected in fullTropical cyclone signals run 1, 3, 8, 9 and 10. No. 1 means a cyclone is centred within about 800 km of Hong Kong and may affect the territory. No. 3 means strong wind near sea level, sustained 41 to 62 km/h with gusts that may exceed 110 km/h. No. 8, issued in four directional variants, means gale or storm force wind, sustained 63 to 117 km/h from the quarter indicated with gusts that may exceed 180 km/h. No. 9 means that gale or storm force wind is increasing or expected to increase significantly. No. 10 means hurricane force, sustained 118 km/h or above with gusts that may exceed 220 km/h.
Weather in fullThe Hong Kong Tourism Board says most restaurants add a 10% service charge, though some cafes and diners do not.
Tipping in fullHong Kong Tourism Boardchecked Sep 2026
The 10 per cent service charge is standard, and the Consumer Council's advice to restaurants is to display it clearly on menus, at entrances and exits and other prominent locations, or to have staff explain it when customers arrive or order.
Eating near the crew hotels in fullHong Kong is a free port with a free trade policy and no barriers on trade. No tariff is charged on the import or export of goods, although some goods need a licence to meet international obligations or public health and safety needs.
What to buy in fullSave the guide and its 8 sections now, and read them on the crew bus before you have a SIM.
Fares, timetables and rules change. Where a figure matters to your plan, the publisher above is the one to check.